bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A 52-year-old-male patient with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer and recurrent venous thromboembolism in unusual sites despite anticoagulation
Authors: Matikas Alexios , Vardakis Nikolaos , Souglakos John , Georgoulias Vassilios
Published: September 2013

The link between cancer and venous thromboembolism is well known, with an annual incidence rate of venous thromboembolism between 0.5% and 20% depending on the primary site and background risk factors. Current guidelines suggest treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin over oral vitamin K antagonists. However, data regarding the management of recurrent venous thromboembolism when the patient is under treatment with anticoagulants are sparse. In this article we present a patient with multiple thromboembolic events in unusual sites despite anticoagulant treatment and we discuss the management options.
Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma: clinicopathological and molecular characterisation with emphasis on variant histomorphology
Authors: Kao Yu-Chien , Lan Jui , Tai Hui-Chun , Li Chien-Feng , Liu Kai-Wen , Tsai Jen-Wei , Fang Fu-Min , Yu Shih-Chen , Huang Hsuan-Ying
Published: September 2013

Aims

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (AFH) is histologically typified by nodules of histiocytoid spindle cells with pseudoangiomatoid spaces, fibrous pseudocapsules and lymphocytic cuffs. The principal goal was to expand the spectrum of AFHs through clinicopathological and molecular characterisation.

Methods

Thirteen AFHs, including 11 with confirmed hallmark translocation, were reappraised for classic features, reactive osteoclasts, mitoses and stromal, architectural and cytomorphological variations, with CD99, desmin and EMA stained in available cases.

Results

Seven male and six female patients ranged in age from 4 to 63 years (median, 13), including 4 older than 20 years. Tumours were located on the extremities (n=6), trunk (n=4) and scalp (n=3). Although fibrous pseudocapsules were observed in all cases, four showed solid histology without pseudoangiomatoid spaces and another one lacked peripheral lymphoid infiltrates. Nuclear pleomorphism was striking in two cases, moderate in seven and absent in four, with osteoclasts seen in two cases. In three AFHs with sclerotic matrix, one exhibited perivascular hyalinisation and nuclear palisading, reminiscent of a schwannoma. In three varyingly myxoid tumours, one closely resembled a myoepithelioma with prominent reticular arrangement of spindle cells in an abundant myxoid stroma. BesidesEWSR1gene rearrangement detected in four cases by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH),EWSR1-CREB1fusion was confirmed in nine cases, including a schwannoma-like AFH, andEWSR1-ATF1fusion detected in a myoepithelioma-like AFH. Immunohistochemically, 56% of AFHs were positive for EMA, 78% for desmin and 100% for CD99.

Conclusions

Molecular testing is diagnostic of variant AFHs displaying diverse histomorphological alterations in the architectural patterns, cytomorphology and extracellular matrix.
Decimal numbers and safe interpretation of clinical pathology results
Authors: Sinnott Michael , Eley Robert , Steinle Vicki , Boyde Mary , Trenning Leanne , Dimeski Goce
Published: September 2013

Objective

To determine the understanding of decimal numbers by medical laboratory scientists, doctors and nurses.

Methods

A Decimal Comparison Test determined the comprehension of decimals numbers. Additional questions sought the participants’ understanding of concentrations and reference ranges, and their preferences for the presentation of clinical pathology results.

Results

Of the 108 participants, 40% exhibited poor comprehension of decimal numbers. One-third of the medical laboratory scientists, a quarter of doctors, and half the nurses were characterised as lacking numeracy skills. The majority of participants (60%) thought it would be safer for results to be presented as whole numbers rather than as decimals with leading zeros.

Conclusions

The number of laboratory and clinical staff who show numeracy issues that could lead to misinterpretation of clinical pathology results and contribute to medical error strongly supports recommendations that pathology results should be presented as whole numbers.
Comparison of immune and health markers in intact and neonatally castrated male pigs
Authors: Merlot E. , Thomas F. , Prunier A.
Published: September 2013

Stress and sex hormones are known to regulate immune function. Castration of male piglets is used to avoid boar taint in the meat, but its consequences on immunity and health of male pigs are poorly known. In this study, intact and neonatally surgically castrated male pigs (n=20 per group) were compared along puberty for some immune parameters and hormone receptor expression in lymphoid organs. Pigs were immunised with keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) at 113 and 133 days of age. Blood lymphocyte numbers and proliferation, immunoglobulin titres, haptoglobin and hormone levels at 89, 119 and 152 days and the mRNA expression of androgen, α‐oestrogen, glucocorticoid and β2‐adrenergic receptors in liver, spleen and thymus at 160 days were assessed. Blood lymphocyte numbers were lower (at 119 and 152 days) and total IgG and haptoglobin concentrations were higher (at 152 days) in castrated than intact males. The concanavalin A and KLH proliferation responses and anti‐KLH IgG titres were not altered. At slaughter, intact pigs presented a heavier thymus and a lower hepatic expression of β2‐adrenergic receptor. In conclusion, the effects of neonatal castration were moderate. Other studies are needed to clarify the possible detrimental outcomes of castration on lymphocyte numbers and thymic growth.
Optimization of strength and homogeneity of deep mixing material by the determination of workability limit and optimum water content
Authors: Szymkiewicz Fabien , Tamga Friede-Stéphanie , Kouby Alain Le , Reiffsteck Philippe
Published: September 2013

With ongoing development of the “deep mixing method”, the scope of applications is always widening. Once confined to ground improvement applications (i.e., to ensure stability and reduce settlements of structures on soft soils), use of this method now ranges from cut-off walls to structural elements and retaining walls. Indeed, the execution is easier, with limited excavated material, and costs less than traditional methods. With these new applications, the required hydraulic and mechanical properties of the soil-mixing material have also evolved, and numerous investigations on the hardened material have been carried out. However, properties of the material in a fresh state must be studied too, and particularly its workability because it is essential for continuity and homogeneity purposes. A laboratory program was carried out to determine the workability evolution of the material with increase of cement content. Results show that the material’s workability limit varies greatly with cement content, and that at constant dosage the clay content still controls the evolution of the material liquid limit. Also, this paper shows a method to determine the optimum water content for the deep mixing material, meaning that instructions can be given on site to ensure that optimum mechanical characteristics are reached.
Family-based exome-sequencing approach identifies rare susceptibility variants for lithium-responsive bipolar disorder
Authors: Cruceanu Cristiana , Ambalavanan Amirthagowri , Spiegelman Dan , Gauthier Julie , Lafrenière Ronald G. , Dion Patrick A. , Alda Martin , Turecki Gustavo , Rouleau Guy A.
Published: September 2013

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by the occurrence of at least two episodes of clinically disturbed mood including mania and depression. A vast literature describing BD studies suggests that a strong genetic contribution likely underlies this condition; heritability is estimated to be as high as 80%. Many studies have identified BD susceptibility loci, but because of the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity observed across individuals, very few loci were subsequently replicated. Research in BD genetics to date has consisted of classical linkage or genome-wide association studies, which have identified candidate genes hypothesized to present common susceptibility variants. Although the observation of such common variants is informative, they can only explain a small fraction of the predicted BD heritability, suggesting a considerable contribution would come from rare and highly penetrant variants. We are seeking to identify such rare variants, and to increase the likelihood of being successful, we aimed to reduce the phenotypic heterogeneity factor by focusing on a well-defined subphenotype of BD: excellent response to lithium monotherapy. Our group has previously shown positive response to lithium therapy clusters in families and has a consistent clinical presentation with minimal comorbidity. To identify such rare variants, we are using a targeted exome capture and high-throughput DNA sequencing approach, and analyzing the entire coding sequences of BD affected individuals from multigenerational families. We are prioritizing rare variants with a frequency of less than 1% in the population that segregate with affected status within each family, as well as being potentially highly penetrant (e.g., protein truncating, missense, or frameshift) or functionally relevant (e.g., 3′UTR, 5′UTR, or splicing). By focusing on rare variants in a familial cohort, we hope to explain a significant portion of the missing heritability in BD, as well as to narrow our current insight on the key biochemical pathways implicated in this complex disorder.
EFFECTIVE THEORY FOR QUANTUM GRAVITY
Authors: CALMET XAVIER
Published: September 2013

In this paper, we discuss an effective theory for quantum gravity and discuss the bounds on the parameters of this effective action. In particular, we show that measurement in pulsars binary systems are unlikely to improve the bounds on the coefficients of the R2 and RμνRμν terms obtained from probes of Newton's potential performed on Earth. Furthermore, we argue that if the coefficients of these terms are induced by quantum gravity, they should be at most of order unity since R2 and RμνRμν are dimension four operators. The same applies to the nonminimal coupling of the Higgs boson to the Ricci scalar.
PROBABILISTIC SPECIMEN PROPERTY-FATIGUE LIFE MAPPING AND P-S-N CURVE FITTING
Authors: XIE LIYANG , LIU JIANZHONG , WU NINGXIANG , QIAN WENXUE
Published: September 2013

Fitting P-S-N curve with small-size sample of fatigue test data is significant in engineering applications. Although several small sample-based P-S-N curve fitting methods have been developed, complexity in mathematics and/or the unrealistic assumption of the methods hinder their application seriously. Based on the principle of probabilistically mapping from the probability distribution of specimen property to that of fatigue life of the specimen, this paper presents a new, easy to apply P-S-N curve fitting method. By collecting the life distribution information dispersed in several small-size samples of fatigue lives tested under different cyclic stress levels, a large-size sample of equivalent fatigue life data can be built based on the mapping mechanism as well as the uniqueness of the relationship between fatigue life standard deviation and cyclic stress level. The basic viewpoint is that the fatigue lives tested at any cyclic stress levels can be equivalently converted to an arbitrary baseline stress level according to the life distribution–stress relationship, and this principle can be applied to determine the P-S-N curves with a limited number of test data. Test results illustrate that the P-S-N curves obtained by such methods with 30, 24 or 20 samples, respectively, are close to those obtained by the conventional test method with 60 or 40 samples.
A Brief History of the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS)
Authors: Phua Kok Khoo
Published: September 2013

As early as the 1970s, physicists in the Asia Pacific had held some meetings to discuss the possibility of strengthening regional collaboration. The areas of focus of these discussions were three-fold:

1) Organising regional physics meetings

2) Establishing a regional physical society

3) Setting up a regional research centre
Metamorphic constraints on the Caledonian Upper Allochthon of Central Norway: the Gula Complex staurolite–garnet–kyanite mica schist
Authors: Engvik Ane K. , Grenne Tor , Lutro Ole J. , Meyer Gurli B.
Published: September 2013

Petrological studies of staurolite–garnet–kyanite–biotite schist and garnet–muscovite schist of the Gula Complex, central Norway, provide constraints on metamorphic evolution during Scandian continent–continent collision, burial and exhumation of the Caledonian Upper Allochthon. The biotite schist contains conspicuous porphyroblasts of Fe-rich staurolite, garnet and kyanite, set in a fine-grained, well-foliated matrix of biotite, quartz, minor plagioclase and muscovite. The muscovite schist is fine- to medium-grained with a muscovite–quartz-dominated matrix, including garnet, biotite, minor plagioclase and clinozoisite. Pressure–temperature (
P
–
T
) modelling based on thermobarometric calculations and construction of
P
–
T
pseudo-sections illustrate that metamorphism reached 680 °C with pressures estimated up to 1.01±0.11 GPa. Retrogression and decompression are constrained by secondary mineral reactions: local replacement of kyanite to fibrous sillimanite indicates decompression below 0.7 GPa. Growth of foliation-parallel chlorite reflects cooling below 640 °C and the chlorite formation proceeded during cooling and decompression towards 550 °C and 0.4 GPa. The metamorphism is associated with a strong north–south-trending regional foliation, and retrogression and decompression apparently continued within the same strain regime. The
P
–
T
modelling shows that even small variations in whole-rock chemistry and
P–T
conditions can explain heterogeneity and significant shifts in mineralogy and modal concentration of the index minerals of metapelites.
Improved bitwidth-aware variable packing
Authors: Nandivada V. Krishna , Barik Rajkishore
Published: September 2013

Bitwidth-aware register allocation has caught the attention of researchers aiming to effectively reduce the number of variables spilled into memory. For general-purpose processors, this improves the execution time performance and reduces runtime memory requirements (which in turn helps in the compilation of programs targeted to systems with constrained memory). Additionally, bitwidth-aware register allocation has been effective in reducing power consumption in embedded processors. One of the key components of bitwidth-aware register allocation is the
variable packing
algorithm that packs multiple narrow-width variables into one physical register. Tallam and Gupta [2003] have proved that optimal variable packing is an NP-complete problem for arbitrary-width variables and have proposed an approximate solution.

In this article, we analyze the complexity of the variable packing problem and present three enhancements that improve the overall packing of variables. In particular, the improvements we describe are: (a)
Width Static Single Assignment
(W-SSA) form representation that splits the live range of a variable into several fixed-width live ranges (W-SSA) variables); (b) PoTR
Representation
- use of powers-of-two representation for bitwidth information for W-SSA variables. Our empirical results have shown that the associated bit wastage resulting from the overapproximation of the widths of variables to the nearest next power of two is a small fraction compared to the total number of bits in use (≈13%). The main advantage of this representation is that it leads to optimal variable packing in polynomial time; (c)
Combined Packing and Coalescing
- we discuss the importance of coalescing (combining variables whose live ranges do not interfere) in the context of variable packing and present an iterative algorithm to perform coalescing and packing of W-SSA variables represented in PoTR. Our experimental results show up to 76.00% decrease in the number of variables compared to the number of variables in the input program in Single Static Assignment (SSA) form. This reduction in the number of variables led to a significant reduction in dynamic spilling, packing, and unpacking instructions.
Batch Mode Active Sampling Based on Marginal Probability Distribution Matching
Authors: Chattopadhyay Rita , Wang Zheng , Fan Wei , Davidson Ian , Panchanathan Sethuraman , Ye Jieping
Published: September 2013

Active Learning is a machine learning and data mining technique that selects the most informative samples for labeling and uses them as training data; it is especially useful when there are large amount of unlabeled data and labeling them is expensive. Recently, batch-mode active learning, where a set of samples are selected concurrently for labeling, based on their collective merit, has attracted a lot of attention. The objective of batch-mode active learning is to select a set of informative samples so that a classifier learned on these samples has good generalization performance on the unlabeled data. Most of the existing batch-mode active learning methodologies try to achieve this by selecting samples based on certain criteria. In this article we propose a novel criterion which achieves good generalization performance of a classifier by specifically selecting a set of query samples that minimize the difference in distribution between the labeled and the unlabeled data, after annotation. We explicitly measure this difference based on all candidate subsets of the unlabeled data and select the best subset. The proposed objective is an NP-hard integer programming optimization problem. We provide two optimization techniques to solve this problem. In the first one, the problem is transformed into a convex quadratic programming problem and in the second method the problem is transformed into a linear programming problem. Our empirical studies using publicly available UCI datasets and two biomedical image databases demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in comparison with the state-of-the-art batch-mode active learning methods. We also present two extensions of the proposed approach, which incorporate uncertainty of the predicted labels of the unlabeled data and transfer learning in the proposed formulation. In addition, we present a joint optimization framework for performing both transfer and active learning simultaneously unlike the existing approaches of learning in two separate stages, that is, typically, transfer learning followed by active learning. We specifically minimize a common objective of reducing distribution difference between the domain adapted source, the queried and labeled samples and the rest of the unlabeled target domain data. Our empirical studies on two biomedical image databases and on a publicly available 20 Newsgroups dataset show that incorporation of uncertainty information and transfer learning further improves the performance of the proposed active learning based classifier. Our empirical studies also show that the proposed transfer-active method based on the joint optimization framework performs significantly better than a framework which implements transfer and active learning in two separate stages.
Parallel Field Ranking
Authors: Ji Ming , Lin Binbin , He Xiaofei , Cai Deng , Han Jiawei
Published: September 2013

Recently, ranking data with respect to the intrinsic geometric structure (manifold ranking) has received considerable attentions, with encouraging performance in many applications in pattern recognition, information retrieval and recommendation systems. Most of the existing manifold ranking methods focus on learning a ranking function that varies smoothly along the data manifold. However, beyond smoothness, a desirable ranking function should vary monotonically along the geodesics of the data manifold, such that the ranking order along the geodesics is preserved. In this article, we aim to learn a ranking function that varies linearly and therefore monotonically along the geodesics of the data manifold. Recent theoretical work shows that the gradient field of a linear function on the manifold has to be a parallel vector field. Therefore, we propose a novel ranking algorithm on the data manifolds, called Parallel Field Ranking. Specifically, we try to learn a ranking function and a vector field simultaneously. We require the vector field to be close to the gradient field of the ranking function, and the vector field to be as parallel as possible. Moreover, we require the value of the ranking function at the query point to be the highest, and then decrease linearly along the manifold. Experimental results on both synthetic data and real data demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.
Spanner's concurrency control
Authors: Malkhi Dahlia , Martin Jean-Philippe
Published: September 2013

The Spanner project reports that one can build practical large-scale systems that combine strong semantics with geo-distribution. In this review manuscript, we provide insight on how Spanner's concurrency control provides both read-only transactions which avoid locking data, and strong consistency.
Complete information flow tracking from the gates up
Authors: Tiwari Mohit , Wassel Hassan M.G. , Mazloom Bita , Mysore Shashidhar , Chong Frederic T. , Sherwood Timothy
Published: September 2013

For many mission-critical tasks, tight guarantees on the flow of information are desirable, for example, when handling important cryptographic keys or sensitive financial data. We present a novel architecture capable of tracking all information flow within the machine, including all explicit data transfers and all implicit flows (those subtly devious flows caused by not performing conditional operations). While the problem is impossible to solve in the general case, we have created a machine that avoids the general-purpose programmability that leads to this impossibility result, yet is still programmable enough to handle a variety of critical operations such as public-key encryption and authentication. Through the application of our novel gate-level information flow tracking method, we show how all flows of information can be precisely tracked. From this foundation, we then describe how a class of architectures can be constructed, from the gates up, to completely capture all information flows and we measure the impact of doing so on the hardware implementation, the ISA, and the programmer.
Early experience with a commercial hardware transactional memory implementation
Authors: Dice Dave , Lev Yossi , Moir Mark , Nussbaum Daniel
Published: September 2013

We report on our experience with the hardware transactional memory (HTM) feature of two pre-production revisions of a new commercial multicore processor. Our experience includes a number of promising results using HTM to improve performance in a variety of contexts, and also identifies some ways in which the feature could be improved to make it even better. We give detailed accounts of our experiences, sharing techniques we used to achieve the results we have, as well as describing challenges we faced in doing so.
Gordon
Authors: Caulfield Adrian M. , Grupp Laura M. , Swanson Steven
Published: September 2013

As our society becomes more information-driven, we have begun to amass data at an astounding and accelerating rate. At the same time, power concerns have made it difficult to bring the necessary processing power to bear on querying, processing, and understanding this data. We describe Gordon, a system architecture for data-centric applications that combines low-power processors, flash memory, and data-centric programming systems to improve performance for data-centric applications while reducing power consumption. The paper presents an exhaustive analysis of the design space of Gordon systems, focusing on the trade-offs between power, energy, and performance that Gordon must make. It analyzes the impact of flash-storage and the Gordon architecture on the performance and power efficiency of data-centric applications. It also describes a novel flash translation layer tailored to data intensive workloads and large flash storage arrays. Our data show that, using technologies available in the near future, Gordon systems can out-perform disk-based clusters by 1.5× and deliver up to 2.5× more performance per Watt.
A novel heart failure mice model of hypertensive heart disease by angiotensin II infusion, nephrectomy, and salt loading
Authors: Tsukamoto Yasumasa , Mano Toshiaki , Sakata Yasushi , Ohtani Tomohito , Takeda Yasuharu , Tamaki Shunsuke , Omori Yosuke , Ikeya Yukitoshi , Saito Yuki , Ishii Ryohei , Higashimori Mitsuru , Kaneko Makoto , Miwa Takeshi , Yamamoto Kazuhiro , Komuro Issei
Published: September 2013

Although the mouse heart failure (HF) model of hypertensive heart disease (HHD) is useful to investigate the pathophysiology and new therapeutic targets for HHD, the model using simple experimental procedures and stable phenotypes has not been established. This study aimed to develop a novel mouse HF model of HHD by combining salt loading and uninephrectomy with ANG II infusion. Eight-week-old C57BL/6 male mice were treated with ANG II infusion (AT), ANG II infusion and uninephrectomy (AN), ANG II infusion and salt loading (AS), or ANG II infusion, uninephrectomy, and salt loading (ANS). Systolic blood pressure was significantly elevated and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy was found in AT, AN, AS, and ANS mice, and there were no significant differences in those parameters between the four groups. At 6 wk after the procedures, only ANS mice showed significant decreases in LV fractional shortening and increases in lung weight with a high incidence. This phenotype was reproducible, and there were few perioperative or early deaths in the experimental procedures. Severe LV fibrosis was found in ANS mice. Oxidative stress was enhanced and small GTPase Rac1 activity was upregulated in the hearts of ANS mice. After the addition of salt loading and uninephrectomy to the ANG II infusion mouse model, cardiac function was significantly impaired, and mice developed HF. This might be a novel and useful mouse HF model to study the transition from compensated LV hypertrophy to HF in HHD.
Soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitor trans-4-[4-(3-adamantan-1-yl-ureido)-cyclohexyloxy]-benzoic acid is neuroprotective in rat model of ischemic stroke
Authors: Shaik Jafar Sadik B. , Ahmad Muzamil , Li Wenjin , Rose Marie E. , Foley Lesley M. , Hitchens T. Kevin , Graham Steven H. , Hwang Sung Hee , Hammock Bruce D. , Poloyac Samuel M.
Published: September 2013

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) diminishes vasodilatory and neuroprotective effects of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids by hydrolyzing them to inactive dihydroxy metabolites. The primary goals of this study were to investigate the effects of acute sEH inhibition by trans-4-[4-(3-adamantan-1-yl-ureido)-cyclohexyloxy]-benzoic acid ( t-AUCB) on infarct volume, functional outcome, and changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) in a rat model of ischemic stroke. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced in rats for 90 min followed by reperfusion. At the end of 24 h after reperfusion rats were euthanized for infarct volume assessment by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Brain cortical sEH activity was assessed by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Functional outcome at 24 and 48 h after reperfusion was evaluated by arm flexion and sticky-tape tests. Changes in CBF were assessed by arterial spin-labeled-MRI at baseline, during ischemia, and at 180 min after reperfusion. Neuroprotective effects of t-AUCB were evaluated in primary rat neuronal cultures by Cytotox-Flour kit and propidium iodide staining. t-AUCB significantly reduced cortical infarct volume by 35% (14.5 ± 2.7% vs. 41.5 ± 4.5%), elevated cumulative epoxyeicosatrienoic acids-to-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids ratio in brain cortex by twofold (4.40 ± 1.89 vs. 1.97 ± 0.85), and improved functional outcome in arm-flexion test ( day 1: 3.28 ± 0.5 s vs. 7.50 ± 0.9 s; day 2: 1.71 ± 0.4 s vs. 5.28 ± 0.5 s) when compared with that of the vehicle-treated group. t-AUCB significantly reduced neuronal cell death in a dose-dependent manner (vehicle: 70.9 ± 7.1% vs. t-AUCB0.1μM: 58 ± 5.11% vs. t-AUCB0.5μM: 39.9 ± 5.8%). These findings suggest that t-AUCB may exert its neuroprotective effects by affecting multiple components of neurovascular unit including neurons, astrocytes, and microvascular flow.
Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate regulates CapZβ1 and actin dynamics in response to mechanical strain
Authors: Li Jieli , Russell Brenda
Published: September 2013

Mechanical stress causes filament remodeling leading to myocyte hypertrophy and heart failure. The actin capping protein Z (CapZ) tightly binds to the barbed end of actin filaments, thus regulating actin assembly. The hypothesis is that the binding between CapZ and the actin filament is modulated through phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and how the COOH-terminus of CapZβ1 regulates this binding. Primary neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) were strained at 10% amplitude and 1-Hz frequency. Dot blotting measured the PIP2 amount, and affinity precipitation assay assessed the direct interaction between PIP2 and CapZβ1. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching of green fluorescent protein-CapZβ1 and actin-green fluorescent protein after 1 h of strain shows the dynamics significantly increased above the unstrained group. The increases in CapZ and actin dynamics were blunted by neomycin, suggesting PIP2 signaling is involved. The amount of PIP2 dramatically increased in NRVMs strained for 1 h. With a ROCK or RhoA inhibitor, changes were markedly reduced. Subcellular fractionation and antibody localization showed PIP2 distributed to the sarcomeres. More PIP2-bound CapZβ1 was found in strained NRVMs. Less PIP2 bound to the CapZβ1 with its COOH-terminus intact than in the COOH-terminal mutant of CapZβ1, suggesting some inhibitory role for the COOH-terminus. Myocyte hypertrophy normally induced by 48 h of cyclic strain was blunted by dominant negative RhoA or neomycin. This suggests that after many hours of cyclic strain, a possible mechanism for cell hypertrophy is the accumulation of thin filament assembly triggered partially by the increased PIP2 level and its binding to CapZ.
Smartphone Delivery of Mobile HIV Risk Reduction Education
Authors: Phillips Karran A. , Epstein David H. , Mezghanni Mustapha , Vahabzadeh Massoud , Reamer David , Agage Daniel , Preston Kenzie L.
Published: September 2013

We sought to develop and deploy a video-based smartphone-delivered mobile HIV Risk Reduction (mHIVRR) intervention to individuals in an addiction treatment clinic. We developed 3 video modules that consisted of a 10-minute HIVRR video, 11 acceptability questions, and 3 knowledge questions and deployed them as a secondary study within a larger study of ecological momentary and geographical momentary assessments. All 24 individuals who remained in the main study long enough completed the mHIVRR secondary study. All 3 videos met our a priori criteria for acceptability “as is” in the population: they achieved median scores of ≤2.5 on a 5-point Likert scale; ≤20% of the individuals gave them the most negative rating on the scale; a majority of the individuals stated that they would not prefer other formats over video-based smartphone-delivered one (allP<0.05). Additionally, all of our video modules met our a priori criteria for feasibility: ≤20% of data were missing due to participant noncompliance and ≤20% were missing due to technical failure. We concluded that video-based mHIVRR education delivered via smartphone is acceptable, feasible and may increase HIV/STD risk reduction knowledge. Future studies, with pre-intervention assessments of knowledge and random assignment, are needed to confirm these findings.
Inhibition of Nitric Oxide Synthase by L-NAME Promotes Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Male Rats
Authors: Moslemi Fatemeh , Nematbakhsh Mehdi , Eshraghi-Jazi Fatemeh , Talebi Ardeshir , Nasri Hamid , Ashrafi Farzaneh , Moeini Maryam , Mansouri Azam , Pezeshki Zahra
Published: September 2013

Objective. Nitric oxide (NO) has numerous important functions in the kidney. The role of NO in cisplatin (CP)-induced nephrotoxicity is not completely understood. This study was designed to determine the role of NO synthase inhibitor (L-NAME) on the severity of CP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Methods. Sixty four male (M) and female (F) Wistar rats were randomly divided into eight groups. The sham groups (group 1, male, n=6 and group 2, female, n=6) received saline. Groups 3 (male, n=8) and 4 (female, n=8) were treated with L-NAME (4 mg/kg, i.p.), and groups 5 (male, n=8) and 6 (female, n=8) received CP (3 mg/kg) for 7 days. Groups 7 (male, n=8) and 8 (female, n=8) were treated with L-NAME and CP for 7 days. Results. The CP-alone treated rats showed weight loss and increase in serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr). Coadministration of L-NAME and CP did not improve weight loss, and it increased the levels of BUN and Cr in male but not in female rats (P<0.05). CP alone increased kidney damage significantly (P<0.05
), however, the damage induced by combination of CP and L-NAME was gender-related. Conclusion. NOS inhibition by L-NAME increased CP-induced nephrotoxicity, which was gender-related.
Differential Evolution-Based PID Control of Nonlinear Full-Car Electrohydraulic Suspensions
Authors: Pedro Jimoh O. , Dangor Muhammed , Dahunsi Olurotimi A. , Ali M. Montaz
Published: September 2013

This paper presents a differential-evolution- (DE-) optimized, independent multiloop proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller design for full-car nonlinear, electrohydraulic suspension systems. The multiloop PID control stabilises the actuator via force feedback and also improves the system performance. Controller gains are computed using manual tuning and through DE optimization to minimise a performance index, which addresses suspension travel, road holding, vehicle handling, ride comfort, and power consumption constraints. Simulation results showed superior performance of the DE-optimized PID-controlled active vehicle suspension system (AVSS) over the manually tuned PID-controlled AVSS and the passive vehicle suspension system (PVSS).
Upregulated MicroRNA-155 Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Long Li , Yu Ping , Liu Yanying , Wang Shiyao , Li Ru , Shi Jinxia , Zhang Xiaoping , Li Yanmei , Sun Xiaolin , Zhou Bin , Cui Liufu , Li Zhanguo
Published: September 2013

Objective. This study was to screen for the miRNAs differently expressed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of RA, to further identify the expression of miR-155 in RA PBMC and fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), and to evaluate the function of miR-155 in RA-FLS.Methods. Microarray was used to screen for differentially expressed miRNAs in RA PBMC. miR-155 expression in PBMC and FLS of RA were identified by real-time PCR. Enforced overexpression and downexpression of miR-155 were used to investigate the function of miR-155 in RA-FLS. Expression of IKBKE which was previously identified as the actual target of miR-155 was examined by Western blot and real-time PCR in RA-FLS.Results. miR-155 levels were increased in both PBMC and FLS of RA and could be induced by TNF-α. Upregulation of miR-155 decreased MMP-3 levels and suppressed proliferation and invasion of RA-FLS. Inverse relationship between the expressions of miR-155 and the MMPs production-related protein IKBKE was found.Conclusion. An inflammatory milieu may alter miRNA expression profiles in rheumatoid arthritis. miR-155 is upregulated in RA-FLS, and it may be a protective factor against the inflammatory effect in part by attenuating expression of IKBKE.
An Efficient Pseudospectral Method for Solving a Class of Nonlinear Optimal Control Problems
Authors: Tohidi Emran , Pasban Atena , Kilicman A. , Noghabi S. Lotfi
Published: September 2013

This paper gives a robust pseudospectral scheme for solving a class of nonlinear optimal control problems (OCPs) governed by differential inclusions. The basic idea includes two major stages. At the first stage, we linearize the nonlinear dynamical system by an interesting technique which is called linear combination property of intervals. After this stage, the linearized dynamical system is transformed into a multi domain dynamical system via computational interval partitioning. Moreover, the integral form of this multidomain dynamical system is considered. Collocating these constraints at the Legendre Gauss Lobatto (LGL) points together with using the Legendre Gauss Lobatto quadrature rule for approximating the involved integrals enables us to transform the basic OCPs into the associated nonlinear programming problems (NLPs). In all parts of this procedure, the associated control and state functions are approximated by piecewise constants and piecewise polynomials, respectively. An illustrative example is provided for confirming the accuracy and applicability of the proposed idea.
Spontaneous Regression of Primary Malignant Lymphoma of the Prostate
Authors: Monzen Yoshio , Nakahara Mitsuru , Nishisaka Takashi
Published: September 2013

We herein report a case of primary lymphoma of the prostate, which arose in an 85-year-old male with dysuria. CT and MRI examinations demonstrated a large mass in the prostate. A transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy of the prostate was performed. The histological examination showed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The large lesion in the prostate showed spontaneous regression. Spontaneous regression of primary lymphoma of the prostate has not been reported previously. The spontaneous regression of primary lymphoma of the prostate observed in this patient suggests that observation may represent a viable treatment option following a biopsy that has provided a histopathological diagnosis.
A Rabbit Hole between Topology and Geometry
Authors: Glynn David G.
Published: September 2013

Topology and geometry should be very closely related mathematical subjects dealing with space. However, they deal with different aspects, the first with properties preserved under deformations, and the second with more linear or rigid aspects, properties invariant under translations, rotations, or projections. The present paper shows a way to go between them in an unexpected way that uses graphs on orientable surfaces, which already have widespread applications. In this way infinitely many geometrical properties are found, starting with the most basic such as the bundle and Pappus theorems. An interesting philosophical consequence is that the most general geometry over noncommutative skewfields such as Hamilton's quaternions corresponds to planar graphs, while graphs on surfaces of higher genus are related to geometry over commutative fields such as the real or complex numbers.
Preparation of Biodegradable Silk Fibroin/Alginate Blend Films for Controlled Release of Antimicrobial Drugs
Authors: Srisuwan Yaowalak , Baimark Yodthong
Published: September 2013

Silk fibroin (SF)/alginate blend films have been prepared for controlled release of tetracycline hydrochloride, an antimicrobial model drug. The blend films were analysed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-vis spectroscopy. The functional groups of the SF/alginate blends were monitored from their FTIR spectra. The homogeneity of the blend films was observed from SEM images. The dissolution and film transparency of the blend films depended on the SF/alginate blend ratio. Thein vitrodrug release profile of the blend films was determined by plotting the cumulative drug release versus time. It was found that the drug release significantly decreased as the SF/alginate blend ratio increased. The results demonstrated that the SF/alginate blend films should be a useful controlled-release delivery system for water-soluble drugs.
A Study on User Authentication Methodology Using Numeric Password and Fingerprint Biometric Information
Authors: Ju Seung-hwan , Seo Hee-suk , Han Sung-hyu , Ryou Jae-cheol , Kwak Jin
Published: September 2013

The prevalence of computers and the development of the Internet made us able to easily access information. As people are concerned about user information security, the interest of the user authentication method is growing. The most common computer authentication method is the use of alphanumerical usernames and passwords. The password authentication systems currently used are easy, but only if you know the password, as the user authentication is vulnerable. User authentication using fingerprints, only the user with the information that is specific to the authentication security is strong. But there are disadvantage such as the user cannot change the authentication key. In this study, we proposed authentication methodology that combines numeric-based password and biometric-based fingerprint authentication system. Use the information in the user's fingerprint, authentication keys to obtain security. Also, using numeric-based password can to easily change the password; the authentication keys were designed to provide flexibility.
Direct Evaluation of L-DOPA Actions on Neuronal Activity of Parkinsonian TissueIn Vitro
Authors: Plata Víctor , Duhne Mariana , Pérez-Ortega Jesús E. , Barroso-Flores Janet , Galarraga Elvira , Bargas José
Published: September 2013

Physiological and biochemical experimentsin vivoandin vitrohave explored striatal receptor signaling and neuronal excitability to posit pathophysiological models of Parkinson's disease. However, when therapeutic approaches, such as dopamine agonists, need to be evaluated, behavioral tests using animal models of Parkinson's disease are employed. To our knowledge, recordings of population neuronal activityin vitroto assess anti-Parkinsonian drugs and the correlation of circuit dynamics with disease state have only recently been attempted. We have shown that Parkinsonian pathological activity of neuronal striatal circuits can be characterized inin vitrocerebral tissue. Here, we show that calcium imaging techniques, capable of recording dozens of neurons simultaneously with single-cell resolution, can be extended to assess the action of therapeutic drugs. We used L-DOPA as a prototypical anti-Parkinsonian drug to show the efficiency of this proposed bioassay. In a rodent model of early Parkinson's disease, Parkinsonian neuronal activity can be returned to control levels by the bath addition of L-DOPA in a reversible way. This result raises the possibility to use calcium imaging techniques to measure, quantitatively, the actions of anti-Parkinsonian drugs over time and to obtain correlations with disease evolution and behavior.
A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing the Effect of Different Haemostatic Agents for Haemostasis of the Liver after Hepatic Resection
Authors: Kakaei Farzad , Seyyed Sadeghi Mir Salim , Sanei Behnam , Hashemzadeh Shahryar , Habibzadeh Afshin
Published: September 2013

Introduction. Operative blood loss is still a great obstacle to liver resection, and various topical hemostatic agents were introduced to reduce it. The aim of the current study is to evaluate effects of 3 different types of these agents. Methods. In this randomized clinical trial, 45 patients undergoing liver resection were assigned to receive TachoSil, Surgicel, and Glubran 2 for controlling bleeding. Intraoperative and postoperative findings were compared between groups. Results. Postoperative bleeding (0 versus 33.3%, P=0.04) and drainage volume first day after surgery (281.33±103.98 versus 150.00±60.82 mL, P=0.02) were significantly higher in Surgicel than in TachoSil group. Postoperative complications included bile leak (3 cases in Surgicel, 1 case in TachoSil and Glubran 2), noninfectious collection (2 cases in TachoSil and Surgicel and 1 case in Glubran 2), perihepatic abscess, and massive hematoma around hepatectomy site both in Surgicel group. There was no death during the study period. Conclusion. Due to higher complications in Surgicel group, its application as hemostatic agent after liver resection is not recommended. Better results in TachoSil in comparison to the other two are indicative of its better efficacy and superiority in controlling hemostasis.
Virological Investigation of Avian Influenza Virus on Postglacial Species of Phasianidae and Tetraonidae in the Italian Alps
Authors: Delogu Mauro , Ghetti Giulia , Gugiatti Alessandro , Cotti Claudia , Piredda Isabella , Frasnelli Matteo , De Marco Maria A.
Published: September 2013

Land-based birds, belonging to Galliformes order are considered to be potential intermediaries in the emergence of new strains of influenza A viruses (AIVs), but the viral circulation in these birds remains largely unknown. To gain insights into the circulation of AIV in the wild Galliformes populations in Italian Alps, we conducted a virological survey on rock partridge (Alectoris graeca saxatilis) belonging to Phasianidae family and on tetraonids including rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus helveticus) and black grouse (Tetrao tetrix tetrix). In 2003 and 2004, during the hunting seasons, 79 wildGalliformes, categorised into age and sex classes, were hunted in the Sondrio Province (Central Alps). Cloacal swabs were collected from 11 rock partridges and from 68 tetraonids including 23 alpine rock ptarmigans and 45 black grouses. We tested cloacal swabs by a high sensitive reverse transcription- (RT-) PCR detecting the matrix gene of AIV. No AIV was detected in the investigated samples, thus, suggesting the lack of AIV circulation in these relict populations in the study period. In terms of threatened species conservation, during wildlife management activities, it is very important to exclude the introduction of AIV-carrier birds in shared territories, a fact representing a health risk for these populations.
Alkaline Phosphatase: The Next Independent Predictor of the Poor 90-Day Outcome in Alcoholic Hepatitis
Authors: Kasztelan-Szczerbinska Beata , Slomka Maria , Celinski Krzysztof , Szczerbinski Mariusz
Published: September 2013

Aim. Determination of risk factors relevant to 90-day prognosis in AH. Comparison of the conventional prognostic models such as Maddrey’s modified discriminant function (mDF) and Child-Pugh-Turcotte (CPT) score with newer ones: the Glasgow Alcoholic Hepatitis Score (GAHS); Age, Bilirubin, INR, Creatinine (ABIC) score, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), and MELD-Na in the death prediction.Patients and Methods. The clinical and laboratory variables obtained at admission were assessed. The mDF, CPT, GAHS, ABIC, MELD, and MELD-Na scores’ different areas under the curve (AUCs) and the best threshold values were compared. Logistic regression was used to assess predictors of the 90-day outcome.Results. One hundred sixteen pts fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Twenty (17.4%) pts died and one underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) within 90 days of follow-up. No statistically significant differences in the models‘ performances were found. Multivariate logistic regression identified CPT score, alkaline phosphatase (AP) level higher than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN), and corticosteroids (CS) nonresponse as independent predictors of mortality.Conclusions. The CPT score, AP > 1.5 ULN, and the CS nonresponse had an independent impact on the 90-day survival in AH. Accuracy of all studied scoring systems was comparable.