bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evidence of the Sensitivity of the MoCA Alternate Forms in Monitoring Cognitive Change in Early Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Costa Ana Sofia , Reich Arno , Fimm Bruno , Ketteler Simon Thomas , Schulz Joerg Bernhard , Reetz Kathrin
Published: October 2013

Background/Aims: There is an increasing interest in using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test as a monitoring tool in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in both research and clinical settings. Our aim was to investigate the utility of alternate forms of the MoCA in detecting cognitive deterioration in a sample of early AD patients followed longitudinally in an outpatient memory clinic. Method: Twenty-five patients with early-stage AD (prodromal or mild dementia) were administered the original version and one of two previously validated alternate forms of the MoCA within an interval of about 1 year. The decline over time and the rate of change of the MoCA were compared to the total score of a standardized neuropsychological assessment battery (Consortium to Establish a Registry of Alzheimer's Disease; CERAD-Plus). Responsiveness to change was determined by calculating standard response means and the respective effect sizes. Results: Sixty percent of the sample showed a clinical decline on the clinical dementia rating (CDR) scale. There was significant deterioration in the MoCA and CERAD total scores. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the MoCA is capable of detecting change over time and seems to be a valid tool with small to moderate sensitivity for monitoring cognitive change in early AD.
Special Care Units and Traditional Care in Dementia: Relationship with Behavior, Cognition, Functional Status and Quality of Life - A Review
Authors: Kok Jeroen S. , Berg Ina J. , Scherder Erik J.A.
Published: October 2013

Background: Special care facilities for patients with dementia gain increasing attention. However, an overview of studies examining the differences between care facilities with respect to their effects on behavior, cognition, functional status and quality of life is lacking. Results: Our literature search resulted in 32 studies published until October 2012. Overall, patients with dementia who lived at special care units (SCUs) showed a significantly more challenging behavior, more agitation/aggression, more depression and anxiety, more cases of global cognitive impairment and a better psychosocial functioning. There was a tendency towards a better functional status in specialized care facilities, and a better quality of life was found in favor of the SCU group compared to the traditional nursing home (n-SCU) group. Longitudinal studies showed an increased number of neuropsychiatric cases, more patients displaying deteriorating behavior and resistance to care as well as less decline in activities of daily living (ADL) in the SCU group compared to the n-SCU group. Patients in small-scale, homelike SCUs showed more agitation and less ADL decline compared to SCU patients. Conclusion: This review shows that the patient characteristics in SCU and n-SCU settings and, to a minor extent, in SCU and small-scale, homelike SCU settings are different. Over time, there are differences between n-SCU, SCU and small-scale, homelike SCU facilities for some variables.
Methods of Haemostasis During Liver Resection - A UK National Survey
Authors: Lochan R. , Ansari I. , Coates R. , Robinson S.M. , White S.A.
Published: October 2013

Background: Although haemorrhage is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in liver surgery, there is very little available guidance on its management. Methods: The aim of this study was to identify current practice in the UK in this regard. An online survey was created and hepatobiliary (HPB) specialists who were members of a specialist society and others who were known practitioners were invited by e-mail to complete the survey anonymously. Results: Fifty-one percent responded (n = 36/70), and most of these respondents worked at large HPB centres (>100 liver resections/year; n = 24, 66%). Not all questionnaires were fully completed by the individual surgeons. Thirty-eight percent of the surgeons routinely used Pringle's manoeuvre. Most surgeons used ligation of the inflow vessels (n = 16, 44%) and stapled the outflow vessels (n = 15, 42%). The Cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator (CUSA; 54%, 13/24) was preferred for parenchymal transection. The majority routinely used haemostatic adjuncts (n = 22, 62%), whilst 33% (n = 12) used them occasionally. Twenty-three (64%) felt manufactured haemostatic adjuncts played a major role in maintaining haemostasis and 19 preferred fibrin-based products. Conclusion: The Pringle manoeuvre is a popular technique amongst specialist UK liver surgeons and the CUSA is used by nearly half of the surgeons. Despite the absence of definitive evidence for their benefit, manufactured haemostatic adjuncts are still widely used, especially the fibrin-based adjuncts.
Global Emerging HEmophilia Panel (GEHEP): A Multinational Collaboration for Advancing Hemophilia Research and Treatment
Authors: James Paula , Kasthuri Raj , Kruse-Jarres Rebecca , Soni Amit , Kulkarni Roshni , Bidlingmaier Christoph , Chitlur Meera , Fogarty Patrick , Gomez Keith , Holm Pål Andrè , Mahlangu Johnny , Mancuso Maria Elisa , Mingot-Castellano Maria Eva , Dolan Gerry
Published: October 2013

GEHEP, established in 2009, is an independent, multi-institutional, international consortium of early career hematology specialists in the field of hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders. The main objective of the group, whose members practice at institutions in North America, Europe, and South Africa, is to advance hemophilia care by providing a forum for mentored collaborative research, developing programs for improving clinical care, and promoting academic career development of junior faculty. GEHEP members collect and document anonymized data on intra- and interinstitutional differences in patient populations, diagnosis, and treatment in the field of hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. To facilitate sharing of aggregated data among GEHEP members, a global protocol was developed and approved by most members' local institutional review board. Current GEHEP research initiatives are varied, encompassing work in pediatric and adult patients. GEHEP members have presented research at international meetings on the initiation of prophylaxis in children, use of immune tolerance induction in adults, and prevalence of acute coronary syndromes in older patients with hemophilia. The main goal of the continuing work of GEHEP is to advance the care of patients with hemophilia worldwide.
Phase II Trial of Biweekly Chemotherapy with Docetaxel and Cisplatin in High-Risk Patients with Unresectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Kim Moon Jin , Kim Seok-Hyun , Kang Jung Hun , Kim Hoon Gu , Cho Yu Ji , Jeong Yi Yeong , Kim Ho-Cheol , Lee Jong Duk , Hwang Young Sil , Kim Min-Gyo , Choi Ja-Yoon , Lee Gyeong-Won
Published: October 2013

Purpose: We investigated the efficacy and toxicity of a biweekly schedule of docetaxel and cisplatin in high-risk patients with unresectable (stages IIIB-IV) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: In this study, 48 high-risk patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC were treated with combination chemotherapy consisting of docetaxel 40 mg/m2 and cisplatin 40 mg/m2; both drugs were given biweekly, on days 1 and 15, every 4 weeks in an outpatient setting. Results: Complete response, partial response, and stable disease were observed in 1 (2.1%), 30 [62.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 47.9-77.1], and 4 (8.3%) patients. The median overall survival was 15.1 months (95% CI 11.7-18.5) and the median time to progression was 7.5 months (95% CI 6.4-8.6). The major toxicity was grade 3 anemia in 7 (14.6%) patients. Grade 3/4 neutropenia was observed in 5 (10.4%) patients. Among the nonhematologic toxicities, grade 3 infection and grade 3 diarrhea were observed in 5 (10.4%) and 4 (8.3%) patients, respectively. No treatment-related mortality was found. Conclusions: As a front-line chemotherapy for high-risk patients with unresectable NSCLC in an outpatient setting, the biweekly schedule of docetaxel and cisplatin showed feasible efficacy with acceptable hematologic toxicities, comparable to the results of previous studies of triweekly or weekly schedules. Additional large randomized studies are needed to optimize the schedule and dosage of combination therapy with docetaxel and cisplatin in high-risk patients with unresectable NSCLC.
Promoting Effects of Heparin on ex vivo Expansion of Megakaryocytopoiesis from Human Cord Blood CD34+ Cells
Authors: Maurer Anne-Marie , Gezer Altay
Published: October 2013

Introduction: Transfusion of ex vivo expanded megakaryocytes (MKs) has been proposed to sustain platelet recovery after cord blood (CB) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this study, we investigated the effects of heparin on ex vivo colony forming unit-megakaryocytes (CFU-MKs) and MKs expansion from CB CD34+ cells. Methods: CB CD34+ cells were stimulated by a combination of thrombopoietin (TPO), stem cell factor (SCF), Flt3-Ligand (FL), IL-6, and IL-11 supplemented with autologous serum and heparin during 14 days. Expanded cells were analyzed by flow cytometry and cultured in a CFU-MK assay. Results: Compared to control cultures, the 5-factor combination with heparin induced significantly (p < 0.05) higher numbers of: CFU-MKs and CD41+ cells on days 7 and 14; CD41+ cells displaying hyperploidy levels (≥8N) on day 14; platelets on day 14. The culture-derived platelets were activated upon collagen stimulation. Conclusion: Heparin can significantly enhance the stimulating effects of a combination of TPO, SCF, FL, IL-6, and IL-11 supplemented with autologous serum on CFU-MK, MK, and platelet production from CB CD34+ cells. This expansion system could represent a promising method to generate CFU-MKs and MKs cells for transfusion to sustain platelet reconstitution following CB transplantation.
Prevalence, Trends and Associated Socio-Economic Factors of Obesity in South Asia
Authors: Jayawardena Ranil , Byrne Nuala M. , Soares Mario J. , Katulanda Prasad , Hills Andrew P.
Published: October 2013

Aim: Worldwide obesity levels have increased unprecedentedly over the past couple of decades. Although the prevalence, trends and associated socio-economic factors of the condition have been extensively reported in Western populations, less is known regarding South Asian populations. Methods: A review of articles using Medline with combinations of the MeSH terms: ‘Obesity', ‘Overweight' and ‘Abdominal Obesity' limiting to epidemiology and South Asian countries. Results: Despite methodological heterogeneity and variation according to country, area of residence and gender , the most recent nationally representative and large regional data demonstrates that without any doubt there is a epidemic of obesity, overweight and abdominal obesity in South Asian countries. Prevalence estimates of overweight and obesity (based on Asian cut-offs: overweight ≥ 23 kg/m2, obesity ≥ 25 kg/m2) ranged from 3.5% in rural Bangladesh to over 65% in the Maldives. Abdominal obesity was more prevalent than general obesity in both sexes in this ethnic group. Countries with the lowest prevalence had the highest upward trend of obesity. Socio-economic factors associated with greater obesity in the region included female gender, middle age, urban residence, higher educational and economic status. Conclusion: South Asia is significantly affected by the obesity epidemic. Collaborative public health interventions to reverse these trends need to be mindful of many socio-economic constraints in order to provide long-term solutions.
A Case of Severe Ganciclovir-Induced Encephalopathy
Authors: Sakamoto Hikaru , Hirano Makito , Nose Kazuhiro , Ueno Shuichi , Oki Takashi , Sugimoto Koichi , Nishioka Tsukasa , Kusunoki Susumu , Nakamura Yusaku
Published: October 2013

Background: Ganciclovir, a drug against cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, is generally well tolerated, but can cause neurotoxicity such as encephalopathy. Although ganciclovir-induced encephalopathy has been described in several reports, a literature search revealed that ganciclovir concentrations in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid were previously measured in only 3 patients with encephalopathy. Symptoms usually include confusion and disturbed consciousness, which mimic CMV encephalitis. Prompt and accurate diagnosis is thus sometimes difficult, and is derived solely from accumulated clinical information of definite cases, since ganciclovir concentrations, not routinely measured, become available after several days or a few weeks. Case Presentation: Here, we summarize clinical information of all patients with definite ganciclovir-induced encephalopathy including our own patient, who had severe symptoms, with the highest reported trough concentration of ganciclovir in the blood, and underwent therapeutic dialysis with complete recovery. Conclusion: Our summary of patients with definite encephalopathy could lead to prompt and accurate diagnoses.
A Rare Adrenal Incidentaloma: Adrenal Schwannoma
Authors: Adas Mine , Ozulker Filiz , Adas Gokhan , Koc Bora , Ozulker Tamer , Sahin Ilknur Mansuroglu
Published: October 2013

Adrenal schwannoma is an extremely uncommon cause of incidentaloma. It originates from neural sheath Schwann cells of the adrenal gland. We report the case of a left adrenal schwannoma incidentally discovered in a 32-year-old woman during examination of bloated feeling and stomach ache. The patient was incidentally found to have a left adrenal mass of 9 cm on abdominal ultrasonography. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) were also performed. Metabolic evaluation was unremarkable. Due to the large size of the tumor, left adrenalectomy was performed. The postoperative course was uneventful. Histological examination established the diagnosis of schwannoma. This diagnosis was supported by immunohistochemistry of S-100 and vimentin positivity. In conclusion, adrenal schwannoma is an extremely rare entity and can grow considerably in size. The present case report emphasizes that clinicians should be aware of the possibility of retroperitoneal schwannoma. Total excision of benign schwannoma is associated with a favorable outcome. To our knowledge, there are case reports of schwannoma with CT and magnetic resonance imaging findings in the literature, although this is the first schwannoma case with PET-CT imaging.
A Retroperitoneal Bronchogenic Cyst Mimicking a Pancreatic or Adrenal Mass
Authors: Runge Tina , Blank Annika , Schäfer Stephan C. , Candinas Daniel , Gloor Beat , Angst Eliane
Published: October 2013

Retroperitoneal location of bronchogenic cysts is extremely rare. Most commonly they are encountered in the posterior mediastinum. Bronchogenic cysts arise from developmental aberrations of the tracheobronchial tree in the early embryologic period. We report a 42-year-old female patient with a retroperitoneal bronchogenic cyst in the left adrenal region. She was admitted to our hospital with epigastric pain and subsequently underwent CT of the abdomen. The examination revealed a mass related to the left adrenal gland. Endocrine tests for adrenal hypersecretion were negative. Because of the uncertain entity, laparoscopic adrenalectomy was performed. Pathological examination revealed a bronchogenic cyst in proximity to an inconspicuous left adrenal gland. Although very rare, bronchogenic cysts should be considered in the differential diagnosis of retroperitoneal cystic lesions and surgical resection pursued for symptom resolution and to establish a definitive histology.
Ameboma: A Colon Carcinoma-Like Lesion in a Colonoscopy Finding
Authors: Lin Chung-Cheng , Kao Kuo-Yao
Published: October 2013

Ameboma is a rare complication of amebic colitis presenting as a mass of granulation tissue with peripheral fibrosis and a core of inflammation related to amebic chronic infection. The initial presentations are usually obstruction and low gastrointestinal bleeding. The most common sites are the ascending colon and the cecum. It may mimic colon carcinoma, Crohn's disease, carcinoma of the colon, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, tuberculosis, fungal infection, AIDS-associated lymphoma and Kaposi's sarcoma in colonoscopy findings. The therapeutic strategy should be combined with antibiotics for invasive dysentery and eradication of luminal cysts.
Repeated Pancreatectomy for Metachronous Duodenal and Pancreatic Metastases of Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Hata Tatsuo , Sakata Naoaki , Aoki Takeshi , Yoshida Hiroshi , Kanno Atsushi , Fujishima Fumiyoshi , Motoi Fuyuhiko , Masamune Atsushi , Shimosegawa Tooru , Unno Michiaki
Published: October 2013

A 50-year-old woman had undergone left nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma 13 years previously. Ten years later, a solitary metastatic tumor had been detected in the pancreatic tail and she had undergone subsequent resection of the pancreatic tail and spleen. Three years after surgery, she was admitted to our hospital for severe anemia resulting from gastrointestinal tract bleeding. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a 3-cm solid tumor at the oral side of the papilla of Vater. Histology of the bioptic duodenal tissue revealed inflammatory granulation without malignancy. Computed tomography showed a well-contrasted hypervascular tumor in the descending portion of the duodenum. We diagnosed the patient with metachronous duodenal metastasis of renal cell carcinoma and performed a pancreaticoduodenectomy. An ulcerated polypoid mass was detected at the oral side of the papilla of Vater. Histology revealed clear cell carcinoma coated by granulation tissue across the surface of the tumor. Immunohistology demonstrated that the cells were positive for vimentin, CD10 and epithelial membrane antigen and negative for CK7. After a repeated pancreatectomy, the patient had no symptoms of gastrointestinal bleeding and maintained good glucose tolerance without insulin therapy because the remnant pancreas functioned well. In conclusion, for the diagnosis of patients who have previously undergone nephrectomy and present with gastrointestinal bleeding, the possibility of metastasis to the gastrointestinal tract, including the duodenum, should be considered. With respect to surgical treatment, the pancreas should be minimally resected to maintain a free surgical margin during the first surgery taking into account further metachronous metastasis to the duodenum and pancreas.
Signal Regulatory Protein-α Protects Against Cardiac Hypertrophy Via the Disruption of Toll-Like Receptor 4 Signaling
Authors: Jiang Ding-Sheng , Zhang Xiao-Fei , Gao Lu , Zong Jing , Zhou Heng , Liu Yu , Zhang Yan , Bian Zhou-Yan , Zhu Li-Hua , Fan Guo-Chang , Zhang Xiao-Dong , Li Hongliang
Published: October 2013

Signal regulatory protein-α (SIRPA/SIRPα) is a transmembrane protein that is expressed in various tissues, including the heart. Previous studies have demonstrated that SIRPA is involved in multiple biological processes, including macrophage multinucleation, skeletal muscle differentiation, neuronal survival, protection against diabetes mellitus, and negative regulation of immune cells. However, the role of SIRPA in cardiac hypertrophy remains unknown. To examine the role of SIRPA in pathological cardiac hypertrophy, we used SIRPA knockout mice and transgenic mice that overexpressed mouse SIRPA in the heart. Cardiac hypertrophy was evaluated by echocardiographic, hemodynamic, pathological, and molecular analyses. We observed downregulation of SIRPA expression in dilated cardiomyopathy human hearts and in animal hearts after aortic banding surgery. Accordingly, SIRPA
−/−
mice displayed augmented cardiac hypertrophy, which was accompanied by increased cardiac fibrosis and reduced contractile function, as compared with SIRPA
+/+
mice 4 weeks after aortic banding. In contrast, transgenic mice with the cardiac-specific SIRPA overexpression exhibited the opposite phenotype in response to pressure overload. Likewise, SIRPA protected against angiotensin II–induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro. Mechanistically, we revealed that SIRPA-mediated protection during cardiac hypertrophy involved inhibition of the Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor-κB signaling axis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the disruption of Toll-like receptor 4 rescued the adverse effects of SIRPA deficiency on pressure overload–triggered cardiac remodeling. Thus, our results identify that SIRPA plays a protective role in cardiac hypertrophy through negative regulation of the Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor-κB pathway.
Endogenous Prostaglandin D
2
and Its Metabolites Protect the Heart Against Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury by Activating Nrf2
Authors: Katsumata Yoshinori , Shinmura Ken , Sugiura Yuki , Tohyama Shugo , Matsuhashi Tomohiro , Ito Hideyuki , Yan Xiaoxiang , Ito Kentaro , Yuasa Shinsuke , Ieda Masaki , Urade Yoshihiro , Suematsu Makoto , Fukuda Keiichi , Sano Motoaki
Published: October 2013

We recently demonstrated that glucocorticoids markedly upregulate the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in cardiomyocytes and protect hearts from ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury by activating lipocalin-type prostaglandin D (PGD) synthase (L-PGDS)–derived PGD
2
biosynthesis. We examined a downstream mechanism of cardioprotection elicited by PGD
2
biosynthesis. Acute PGD
2
treatment did not protect hearts against I/R injury. We then speculated that PGD
2
and its metabolite 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-PGJ
2
activate gene expression networks to mediate the glucocorticoid-mediated cardioprotection. Using an unbiased approach, we identified that glucocorticoids induce a number of well-known erythroid-derived 2–like 2 (Nrf2) target genes in the heart in an L-PGDS–dependent manner and that the cardioprotective effect of glucocorticoids against I/R injury was not seen in Nrf2-knockout hearts. We showed relatively low expression of PGD
2
receptors (ie, DP1 and DP2) in the heart but abundant expression of PGF
2α
receptor (FP), which binds PGF
2α
and PGD
2
with equal affinity. Glucocorticoids also failed to induce the expression of L-PGDS–dependent Nrf2 target genes in FP-knockout hearts. PGD
2
acted through its metabolite 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-PGJ
2
in the heart as evidenced by the glucocorticoid-mediated activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ. In turn, glucocorticoids failed to induce the expression of L-PGDS–dependent Nrf2 target genes in hearts pretreated with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ antagonist GW9662, and glucocorticoid-mediated cardioprotection against I/R injury was compromised in FP-knockout mice and GW9662-treated mice. In conclusion, PGD
2
protects heart against I/R injury by activating Nrf2 predominantly via FP receptor. In addition, we propose activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ by the dehydrated metabolite of PGD
2
(15-deoxy-Δ12,14-PGJ
2
) as another mechanism by which glucocorticoids induce cardioprotection.
In Vivo Transfection of Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Gene or Nuclear Factor κB shRNA in Nodose Ganglia Improves Aortic Baroreceptor Function in Heart Failure Rats
Authors: Zhang Dongze , Liu Jinxu , Tu Huiyin , Muelleman Robert L. , Cornish Kurtis G. , Li Yu-Long
Published: October 2013

Arterial baroreflex sensitivity is attenuated in chronic heart failure (CHF) state, which is associated with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in patients with CHF. Our previous study showed that CHF-induced sodium channel dysfunction in the baroreceptor neurons was involved in the blunted baroreflex sensitivity in CHF rats. Mitochondria-derived superoxide overproduction decreased expression and activation of the sodium channels in the baroreceptor neurons from CHF rats. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the sodium channel dysfunction in the baroreceptor neurons from CHF rats remain unknown. We tested the involvement of nuclear factor κB (NFκB) in the sodium channel dysfunction and evaluated the effects of in vivo transfection of manganese superoxide dismutase gene and NFκB shRNA on the baroreflex function in CHF rats. CHF was developed at 6 to 8 weeks after left coronary artery ligation in adult rats. Western blot and chromatin immunoprecipitation data showed that phosphorylated NFκB p65 and ability of NFκB p65 binding to the sodium channel promoter were increased in the nodose ganglia from CHF rats. In vivo transfection of adenoviral manganese superoxide dismutase gene or lentiviral NFκB p65 shRNA into the nodose ganglia partially reversed CHF-reduced sodium channel expression and cell excitability in the baroreceptor neurons and improved CHF-blunted arterial baroreflex sensitivity. Additionally, transfection of adenoviral manganese superoxide dismutase also inhibited the augmentation of phosphorylated NFκB p65 in the nodose neurons from CHF rats. The present study suggests that superoxide–NFκB signaling contributes to CHF-induced baroreceptor dysfunction and resultant impairment of baroreflex function.
Yellow Skin, White Masks
Authors: Yang Mina
Published: October 2013

Ethnic studies scholars have long bemoaned the near absence of Asians on the big and small screens and popular music charts in the United States, rendering them as outsiders vis-à-vis the American public sphere. In the last few years, however, Asians have sprung up on shows like “Glee” and “America's Best Dance Crew” in disproportionately large numbers, challenging entrenched stereotypes and creating new audiovisual associations with Asianness. This essay considers how emerging Asian American hiphop dancers and musicians negotiate their self-representation in different contexts and what their strategies reveal about the postmillennial Asian youth's relationship to American and transpacific culture and the outer limits of American music.
Listening to the Now
Authors: Robertson David
Published: October 2013

The future of classical music is almost universally thought bleak. Attendance figures are dropping, and some even question whether it is possible to write new classical music that concertgoers will be able to appreciate. This essay locates the origins of such doomsday prophecy in unquestioned assumptions and seeks to establish just the opposite: that classical music is alive and vibrant, that new creative horizons are constantly opening up, and that audiences will actually enjoy many contemporary classical compositions. The key is to present these unfamiliar works as they are understood by their composers: in a context that allows listeners to make connections between the familiar and unfamiliar, opening their minds to a wealth of new human experience.
Blocked 3×2 Cross-Validated t-Test for Comparing Supervised Classification Learning Algorithms
Authors: Yu Wang , Ruibo Wang , Huichen Jia , Jihong Li
Published: October 2013

In the research of machine learning algorithms for classification tasks, the comparison of the performances of algorithms is extremely important, and a statistical test of significance for generalization error is often used to perform it in the machine learning literature. In view of the randomness of partitions in cross-validation, a new blocked 3×2 cross-validation is proposed to estimate generalization error in this letter. We then conduct an analysis of variance of the blocked 3×2 cross-validated estimator. A relatively conservative variance estimator that considers the correlation between any two two-fold cross-validations, and was previously neglected in 5×2 cross-validated t and F-tests is put forward. A corresponding test using this variance estimator is presented to compare the performances of algorithms. Simulated results show that the performance of our test is comparable with that of 5×2 cross-validated tests but with less computation complexity.
Information-Maximization Clustering Based on Squared-Loss Mutual Information
Authors: Sugiyama Masashi , Niu Gang , Yamada Makoto , Kimura Manabu , Hachiya Hirotaka
Published: October 2013

Information-maximization clustering learns a probabilistic classifier in an unsupervised manner so that mutual information between feature vectors and cluster assignments is maximized. A notable advantage of this approach is that it involves only continuous optimization of model parameters, which is substantially simpler than discrete optimization of cluster assignments. However, existing methods still involve nonconvex optimization problems, and therefore finding a good local optimal solution is not straightforward in practice. In this letter, we propose an alternative information-maximization clustering method based on a squared-loss variant of mutual information. This novel approach gives a clustering solution analytically in a computationally efficient way via kernel eigenvalue decomposition. Furthermore, we provide a practical model selection procedure that allows us to objectively optimize tuning parameters included in the kernel function. Through experiments, we demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed approach.
Learning with Convex Loss and Indefinite Kernels
Authors: Tong Hongzhi , Chen Di-Rong , Yang Fenghong
Published: October 2013

We consider a kind of kernel-based regression with general convex loss functions in a regularization scheme. The kernels used in the scheme are not necessarily symmetric and thus are not positive semidefinite; l1−norm of the coefficients in the kernel ensembles is taken as the regularizer. Our setting in this letter is quite different from the classical regularized regression algorithms such as regularized networks and support vector machines regression. Under an established error decomposition that consists of approximation error, hypothesis error, and sample error, we present a detailed mathematical analysis for this scheme and, in particular, its learning rate. A reweighted empirical process theory is applied to the analysis of produced learning algorithms, which plays a key role in deriving the explicit learning rate under some assumptions.
A Stochastic Skeleton Model for the MJO
Authors: Thual Sulian , Majda Andrew J. , Stechmann Samuel N.
Published: October 2013

The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is the dominant mode of variability in the tropical atmosphere on intraseasonal time scales and planetary spatial scales. Despite the primary importance of the MJO and the decades of research progress since its original discovery, a generally accepted theory for its essential mechanisms has remained elusive. In recent work by two of the authors, a minimal dynamical model has been proposed that recovers robustly the most fundamental MJO features of (i) a slow eastward speed of roughly 5 m s−1, (ii) a peculiar dispersion relation with dω/dk ≈ 0, and (iii) a horizontal quadrupole vortex structure. This model, the skeleton model, depicts the MJO as a neutrally stable atmospheric wave that involves a simple multiscale interaction between planetary dry dynamics, planetary lower-tropospheric moisture, and the planetary envelope of synoptic-scale activity. In this article, it is shown that the skeleton model can further account for (iv) the intermittent generation of MJO events and (v) the organization of MJO events into wave trains with growth and demise, as seen in nature. The goal is achieved by developing a simple stochastic parameterization for the unresolved details of synoptic-scale activity, which is coupled to otherwise deterministic processes in the skeleton model. In particular, the intermittent initiation, propagation, and shut down of MJO wave trains in the skeleton model occur through these stochastic effects. This includes examples with a background warm pool where some initial MJO-like disturbances propagate through the western region but stall at the peak of background convection/heating corresponding to the Maritime Continent in nature.
Diagnosing the Strength of Land–Atmosphere Coupling at Subseasonal to Seasonal Time Scales in Asia
Authors: Liu Di , Wang Guiling , Mei Rui , Yu Zhongbo , Gu Huanghe
Published: October 2013

This paper focuses on diagnosing the strength of soil moisture–atmosphere coupling at subseasonal to seasonal time scales over Asia using two different approaches: the conditional correlation approach [applied to the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) data, the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) data, and output from the regional climate model, version 4 (RegCM4)] and the Global Land–Atmosphere Coupling Experiment (GLACE) approach applied to the RegCM4. The conditional correlation indicators derived from the model output and the two observational/reanalysis datasets agree fairly well with each other in the spatial pattern of the land–atmosphere coupling signal, although the signal in CFSR data is stronger and spatially more extensive than the GLDAS data and the RegCM4 output. Based on the impact of soil moisture on 2-m air temperature, the land–atmosphere coupling hotspots common to all three data sources include the Indochina region in spring and summer, the India region in summer and fall, and north-northeastern China and southwestern Siberia in summer. For precipitation, all data sources produce a weak and spatially scattered signal, indicating the lack of any strong coupling between soil moisture and precipitation, for both precipitation amount and frequency. Both the GLACE approach and the conditional correlation approach (applied to all three data sources) identify evaporation and evaporative fraction as important links for the coupling between soil moisture and precipitation/temperature. Results on soil moisture–temperature coupling strength from the GLACE-type experiment using RegCM4 are in good agreement with those from the conditional correlation analysis applied to output from the same model, despite substantial differences between the two approaches in the terrestrial segment of the land–atmosphere coupling.
Comparison of Cockcroft-Gault and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Formulas as Predictors of Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Myocardial Infarction Treated With Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: Ekmekci Ahmet , Uluganyan Mahmut , Gungor Baris , Tufan Fatih , Cekirdekci Elif Iclal , Ozcan Kazim Serhan , Erer Hatice Betul , Orhan Ahmet , Osmanov Damir , Bozbay Mehmet , Cicek Gokhan , Sayar Nurten , Eren Mehmet
Published: October 2013

We prospectively assessed the value of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) and Cockcroft-Gault (C-G) equations in predicting inhospital adverse outcomes after primary coronary intervention for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. We classified 647 patients into 3 categories according to eGFR, <60, 60 to 90, and >90 mL/min/1.73 m2. The eGFRC-G classified 17 patients in the >90 mL/min/1.73 m2 subgroup and 6 and 11 patients in the 60 to 90 and <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 subgroups, respectively. In multivariate analysis, patients with eGFRC-G < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 had 19.5-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.55-178) higher mortality risk and 5.48-fold (95% CI 1.75-24.21) higher major adverse cardiac events risk compared to patients with eGFRC-G >90 mL/min/1.73 m2 ( P = .01 and P = .01, respectively); the eGFRMDRD was not predictive. Although the MDRD equation more accurately estimates GFR in certain populations, the CG formula may be a better predictor of adverse events.
A novel approach for classification of failure modes in single lap joints using acoustic emission data
Authors: Bak K Mohamed , Kalaichelvan K , Arumugam V
Published: October 2013

New innovative basalt fiber/epoxy composite materials are used in engineering applications such as aerospace, automotive, and civil structures due to the potential low cost of this material together with its mechanical characteristics and its failure mechanisms. Acoustic emission is a passive nondestructive testing technique for real-time monitoring of damage developed in materials and structures, which have been used successfully for the identification of damage mechanisms in composite joints under tensile loading. The present study is focussed on acoustic emission characterization of failure modes in three prominent joining methods namely, bonded, riveted, and hybrid joints during tensile test. Parametric analysis is performed on the acoustic emission data obtained during the tensile testing of these types of joints to discriminate the failure modes. Fast Fourier transform analysis using acoustic emission waveform analysis is carried out to analyze the different failure events and associate them with their dominant frequency ranges. The predominance of failure modes in each signal is used as a key in the study to discriminate failure modes on single-lap joints in basalt/epoxy composite laminate, and the results are validated with fast Fourier Transform analysis.
Cross-Cultural Differences in Cyberbullying Behavior
Authors: Barlett Christopher P. , Gentile Douglas A. , Anderson Craig A. , Suzuki Kanae , Sakamoto Akira , Yamaoka Ayuchi , Katsura Rui
Published: October 2013

The current study tested the relation between culture and cyberbullying using a short-term longitudinal research design. College-aged participants from the United States ( n = 293) and Japan ( n = 722) completed several questionnaires at Wave 1 that measured cyberbullying frequency, cyberbullying reinforcement, positive attitudes toward cyberbullying, and interdependent self-construal. Approximately 2 months later, participants completed the cyberbullying frequency questionnaire again. Results showed higher levels of cyberbullying change for the U.S. sample compared with the Japanese sample. Follow-up analyses showed that cyberbullying reinforcement and interdependent self-construal moderated this effect. Specifically, cyberbullying change was the highest (showing an increase over time) for the U.S. sample when reinforcement was highest and when interdependent self-construal was the lowest. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Visceral larva migrans presenting as multiple liver abscesses
Authors: Ramachandran Jeyamani , Chandramohan Anuradha , Gangadharan Sajith Kattiparambil , Unnikrishnan LS , Priyambada Leena , Simon Anna
Published: October 2013

Eosinophilic necrotizing granulomas in the liver, known as visceral larva migrans (VLM), are a rare cause of liver abscesses. The term VLM refers to infections in human tissues caused by the larval stages of ascarid worms of dogs and cats. We report two cases of VLM which presented with high grade fever and abdominal pain for 3-4 months. Marked peripheral eosinophilia, multiple confluent perivenous lesions in the right lobe of liver with characteristic migratory tracts on imaging and biopsy evidence of necrotizing eosinophilic granulomas led to the diagnosis. Complete recovery was achieved with repeated courses of a combination of anthelmintics.
Robust vision-based control of an underactuated flying robot tracking a moving target
Authors: Asl Hamed Jabbari , Bolandi Hossein
Published: October 2013

In this paper a robust image-based visual servo (IBVS) scheme is presented for a quadrotor tracking a moving target. The objective is to consider the full dynamics of the system to design vision-based controllers for the translational motion and the yaw rotation of this unmanned aerial vehicle. Passivity properties of the dynamics of the image features obtained from perspective image moments in a virtual image plane are used to solve the problem of designing full dynamic IBVS controllers for these robots. Nonlinear robust controllers are designed to deal with uncertainties in the dynamics of the image features and also uncertainties in the dynamics of the robot. The controllers need neither 3D information of the target model nor yaw information of the robot. Stability analysis guarantees that the states of the system are uniformly ultimately bounded. Simulation results are presented to validate the designed controllers.
Prelinguistic infants’ communicative system: Role of caregiver social feedback
Authors: Miller Jennifer L. , Lossia Amanda K.
Published: October 2013

Infants’ prelinguistic vocalizations and gestures are rarely studied as a communicative system. As a result, there are few studies examining mechanisms of change concurrently in prelinguistic vocal and gesture behavior. Here we report the first evidence that contingent caregiver social feedback to infant gestures influences not only gesture production, but also prelinguistic vocal behavior. Study 1 demonstrates the relationship between gesture and vocal behavior in 12-month-old infants and contingent caregiver social feedback. Caregiver feedback to infant gesture production was positively associated with infant gestures, gesture–vocal combinations, and vocalizations. To test the mechanism underlying changes in infant gesture production, Study 2 instructed caregivers to respond either contingently or noncontingently to their infants’ gestures. Infants given contingent social feedback produced more gestures, more gesture–vocal combinations and used their vocalizations differently compared to infants given noncontingent feedback. Thus, prelinguistic vocal and gesture behavior are mechanistically linked before the first word and should be studied concurrently to understand the development of the communicative system.
Music as a Medium of Oral Transmission in Jesus Communities
Authors: Hearon Holly E.
Published: October 2013

The oral transmission of early Christian traditions continues to be a subject of scholarly interest (see, e.g., Bauckham, J. Dewey, Dunn, Gerhardsson, Hearon, Kelber, Le Donne, Wire). Relatively unexplored is the intersection between the transmission of oral traditions and music as a medium of communication in the ancient world. In turn, while there is no shortage of studies on music, singing, and hymnody in the early church (Cosgrove, McKinnon, Quasten, J. A. Smith, W. S. Smith, Page, to name but a few), these studies tend to focus more on questions of terminology, origins, settings, and content than on how music functioned as a medium of communication. In this essay, I seek to fill this gap by examining music as a medium of communication in the ancient world and proposing ways in which attention to music opens new avenues of exploration in the study of oral traditions.
Job the Afflicted
Authors: El-Shamy Hasan
Published: October 2013

Job (Ayyûb) is one of God's prophets cited in the Koran. His name, experiences and patience are cited proverbially and as a narrative account in the daily lives of Arabs and Moslems. A seasonal folk ritual performed in Egypt at the beginning of Spring mimics certain aspects of the Job belief-cycle thus reinforcing its foundations. This ritual is presumed to restore health and prevent skin maladies. The account is found on other cultural levels, including parareligious stories in older literary works, and on oral folk levels, where a ballad (narrative folksong) describes the tribulations Job's wife Ruth withstood. The ballad circulates in the form of a pamphlet and as a song or hymn performed by wandering “maddâhîn (praisers)” who travel on foot in the countryside and city quarters expecting donations from listeners. In the early 1950s the Job ballad was presented to middle-class Egyptians on the national radio as a play. Its emotional impact proved to be profound.
The Magicians’ Ghetto: Moving Slums and Everyday Life in a Postcolonial City
Authors: Kalyan Rohan
Published: October 2013

This essay elaborates a magical realist reading of urban dispossession and the displacement of slum dwellers in contemporary New Delhi. More generally it argues that realist descriptions of the magical and magical descriptions of the real can help us sense and engage the multiple, fractured temporalities of the postcolonial city. The essay foregrounds an impending slum demolition in postcolonial Delhi’s (in)famous magicians’ ghetto in the heart of the city, excavating a concept of ‘moving slums’ from Salman Rushdie’s classic magical realist text Midnight’s Children. The interpretive concept of ‘moving slums’ describes the precarious temporality of slum demolition and re-settlement in postcolonial Delhi, juxtaposing dominant urbanist ideologies with everyday experiences and narratives of urban change. In societies deeply marked by the historical violence of uneven development, moving slums index the haunted morphology of the postcolonial city.
Camera as Object and Process: An Interview with Victor Burgin
Authors: Bishop Ryan , Cubitt Sean
Published: October 2013

Using a number of his recent site-specific installations, conceptual artist and theorist Victor Burgin discusses the status and future of the camera from photography to moving image to computer-generated virtual works that combine both still and moving images. In the process he modifies Bazin’s question ‘What is cinema?’ to ask ‘What is a camera?’ These works extend and develop Burgin’s long-standing interest in the relationship of aesthetics and politics as rendered through visualization technologies, especially as it pertains to space. Burgin’s discussion constructs a genealogy of seeing, visualizing and image-making as technologically-determined and crafted. The ideology of vision and the ideological artefacts produced by and through visual technologies from perspectival painting to analog photography to computer imaging constitute, in Burgin’s argument, ‘the ideological chora of our spectacular global village’.
Terminating Architecture: Mega-Development in Hong Kong
Authors: Shiqiao Li
Published: October 2013

This paper examines large development projects as a function of finance in the context of Hong Kong, taking Kowloon Station as an exceptionally revealing case. Hong Kong's property market is one of the most established in Asia, and it points to the ways in which large-scale development schemes proliferate along efficient and affordable mass transit railway systems with great speed and success. At Kowloon Station, finance redefines architecture; instead of focusing on aesthetics and community, it is now promoting standardization, market visibility and semantic control. The financial viability of these developments depends entirely on these new goals; mega-developments such as Kowloon Station – and those in other parts of Asia – are successful in inventing major mass transit railway stations as terminals, in capturing commuters within spatial enclosures surrounded by barrier-like physical features, and in terminating architecture as it has long been established as a discipline. Mega-development is increasingly reinventing the contemporary Asian city.
Non-Renewable Resources: The Poetics and Politics of Vivan Sundaram’s Trash
Authors: Roy Tania
Published: October 2013

This article approaches the recent work of pre-eminent Indian conceptual artist Vivan Sundaram, Trash (2008), as a supplement to dominant representational practices of, and within, the Indian megacity. Re-purposing tropes that motivate both popular and specialist discourses, Sundaram’s recent ensemble rehearses the discursive construction of the megacity-as-waste, by representing an urban totality through elaborate, ordered arrangements of garbage. Working collaboratively with waste-pickers who are members of the non-governmental organization Chintan: Environmental and Research Action Group in New Delhi, the artist sorts, re-assembles and scales the found-objects of Trash into detailed models of a monumental urban landscape. Through a close reading of its formal aspects, the entry examines Trash’s reflection on logics of planned obsolescence which govern both the work as well as fantasies of economic nationalism premised on dualistic images of the global/mega-city.