bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Respiratory distress syndrome in moderately late and late preterm infants and risk of cerebral palsy: a population-based cohort study
Authors: Thygesen Sandra Kruchov , Olsen Morten , Østergaard John R , Sørensen Henrik Toft
Published: October 2016

Objectives

Infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS) is a known risk factor for intracerebral haemorrhage/intraventricular haemorrhage (ICH/IVH) and periventricular leucomalacia. These lesions are known to increase the risk of cerebral palsy (CP). Thus, we wanted to examine the long-term risk of CP following IRDS in moderately late and late preterm infants.

Design

Population-based cohort study.

Setting

All hospitals in Denmark.

Participants

We used nationwide medical registries to identify a cohort of all moderately and late preterm infants (defined as birth during 32–36 full gestational weeks) born in Denmark in 1997–2007 with and without hospital diagnosed IRDS.

Main outcomes measures

We followed study participants from birth until first diagnosis of CP, emigration, death or end of follow-up in 2014. We computed the cumulative incidence of CP before age 8 years and used Cox's regression analysis to compute HRs of IRDS, comparing children with IRDS to those without IRDS. HRs were adjusted for multiple covariates.

Results

We identified 39 420 moderately late and late preterm infants, of whom 2255 (5.7%) had IRDS. The cumulative incidence of CP was 1.9% in infants with IRDS and 0.5% in the comparison cohort. The adjusted HR of CP was 2.0 (95% CI 1.4 to 2.9). The adjusted HR of CP was 12 (95% CI 4.5 to 34) in children with IRDS accompanied by a diagnosis of ICH/IVH. After restriction to children without diagnoses of perinatal breathing disorders other than IRDS, congenital heart disease and viral or bacterial infections occurring within 4 days of birth, the overall adjusted HR was 2.1 (95% CI 1.4 to 3.1).

Conclusions

The risk of CP was increased in moderately late and late preterm infants with IRDS compared with infants without IRDS born during the same gestational weeks.
Development of guidance on the timeliness in response to acute kidney injury warning stage test results for adults in primary care: an appropriateness ratings evaluation
Authors: Blakeman Tom , Griffith Kathryn , Lasserson Dan , Lopez Berenice , Tsang Jung Y , Campbell Stephen , Tomson Charles
Published: October 2016

Objectives

Tackling the harm associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) is a global priority. In England, a national computerised AKI algorithm is being introduced across the National Health Service (NHS) to drive this change. The study sought to maximise its clinical utility and minimise the potential for burden on clinicians and patients in primary care.

Design

An appropriateness ratings evaluation using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method.

Setting

Clinical scenarios were developed to test the timeliness in (1) communication of AKI warning stage test results from clinical pathology services to primary care, and (2) primary care clinician response to an AKI warning stage test result.

Participants

A 10-person panel was purposively sampled with representation from clinical biochemistry, acute and emergency medicine and general practice. General practitioners (GPs) represented typical practice in relation to rural and urban practice, out of hours care, GP commissioning and those interested in reducing the impact of medicalisation and ‘overdiagnosis’.

Results

There was agreement that delivery of AKI warning stage test results through interruptive methods of communication (ie, telephone) from laboratories to primary care was the appropriate next step for patients with an AKI warning stage 3 test result. In the context of acute illness, waiting up to 72 hours to respond to an AKI warning stage test result was deemed an inappropriate action in 62 out of the 65 (94.5%) cases. There was agreement that a clinician response was required within 6 hours, or less, in 39 out of 40 (97.5%) clinical cases relating AKI warning stage test results in the presence of moderate hyperkalaemia.

Conclusions

The study has informed national guidance to support a timely and calibrated response to AKI warning stage test results for adults in primary care. Further research is needed to support effective implementation, with a view to examine the effect on health outcomes and costs.
Continuous measurement of breast tumour hormone receptor expression: a comparison of two computational pathology platforms
Authors: Ahern Thomas P , Beck Andrew H , Rosner Bernard A , Glass Ben , Frieling Gretchen , Collins Laura C , Tamimi Rulla M
Published: October 2016

Aims

Computational pathology platforms incorporate digital microscopy with sophisticated image analysis to permit rapid, continuous measurement of protein expression. We compared two computational pathology platforms on their measurement of breast tumour oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression.

Methods

Breast tumour microarrays from the Nurses' Health Study were stained for ER (n=592) and PR (n=187). One expert pathologist scored cases as positive if ≥1% of tumour nuclei exhibited stain. ER and PR were then measured with the Definiens Tissue Studio (automated) and Aperio Digital Pathology (user-supervised) platforms. Platform-specific measurements were compared using boxplots, scatter plots and correlation statistics. Classification of ER and PR positivity by platform-specific measurements was evaluated with areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) from univariable logistic regression models, using expert pathologist classification as the standard.

Results

Both platforms showed considerable overlap in continuous measurements of ER and PR between positive and negative groups classified by expert pathologist. Platform-specific measurements were strongly and positively correlated with one another (r≥0.77). The user-supervised Aperio workflow performed slightly better than the automated Definiens workflow at classifying ER positivity (AUCAperio=0.97; AUCDefiniens=0.90; difference=0.07, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.09) and PR positivity (AUCAperio=0.94; AUCDefiniens=0.87; difference=0.07, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.12).

Conclusions

Paired hormone receptor expression measurements from two different computational pathology platforms agreed well with one another. The user-supervised workflow yielded better classification accuracy than the automated workflow. Appropriately validated computational pathology algorithms enrich molecular epidemiology studies with continuous protein expression data and may accelerate tumour biomarker discovery.
Moderate physical activity promotes basal hepatic autophagy in diet-induced obese mice
Authors: Rosa-Caldwell Megan E. , Lee David E. , Brown Jacob L. , Brown Lemuel A. , Perry Richard A. , Greene Elizabeth S. , Carvallo Chaigneau Francisco R. , Washington Tyrone A. , Greene Nicholas P.
Published: October 2016

Obesity is a known risk factor for the development of hepatic disease; obesity-induced fatty liver can lead to inflammation, steatosis, and cirrhosis and is associated with degeneration of the mitochondria. Lifestyle interventions such as physical activity may ameliorate this condition. The purpose of this study was to investigate regulation of mitochondrial and autophagy quality control in liver following Western diet-induced obesity and voluntary physical activity. Eight-week-old C57BL/6J mice were fed a Western diet (WD) or normal chow (NC, control) for 4 weeks; afterwards, groups were divided into voluntary wheel running (VWR) or sedentary (SED) conditions for an additional 4 weeks. WD-SED animals had a median histology score of 2, whereas WD-VWR was not different from NC groups (median score 1). There was no difference in mRNA of inflammatory markers Il6 and Tnfa in WD animals. WD animals had 50% lower mitochondrial content (COX IV and Cytochrome C proteins), 50% lower Pgc1a mRNA content, and reduced content of mitochondrial fusion and fission markers. Markers of autophagy were increased in VWR animals, regardless of obesity, as measured by 50% greater LC3-II/I ratio and 40% lower p62 protein content. BNIP3 protein content was 30% less in WD animals compared with NC animals, regardless of physical activity. Diet-induced obesity results in derangements in mitochondrial quality control that appear to occur prior to the onset of hepatic inflammation. Moderate physical activity appears to enhance basal autophagy in the liver; increased autophagy may provide protection from hepatic fat accumulation.
MHD free convective mass transfer flow of radiative uniform heat generation (absorption) fluid through a wavy permeable channel in the presence of Soret and Dufour effects
Authors: Sengupta Sanjib , Ahmed Nazibuddin
Published: October 2016

The paper aims to present analytically the parametric effect of thermo-diffusion (Soret) and diffusion-thermo (Dufour) effects on a two-dimensional steady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) free convective heat and mass transfer flow of a reasonably viscous incompressible electrically conducting fluid in the presence of thermal radiation and zeroth-order heat generation (absorption) effects. The governing system of partial differential equations with favorable boundary conditions is first non-dimensionalized and then solved by splitting the solution into a mean part and a perturbed part. Ostrach’s static fluid model is used to solve the mean part of the solution, while long wave approximations are employed to deal with the perturbed part of the solution. It is observed that an increase in parametric values of Soret and Dufour numbers as well as wall temperature and wall concentration parameters increase the primary velocity, while the cross flow velocity is found to be decreasing because of the increase in values of Soret and Dufour numbers. The primary and the cross flow velocities are both found to be increasing because of the increase in the thermal radiation parameter. The Nusselt number at the plates decreases because of the increase in the wall temperature parameter. It is also interesting to observe that the temperature and concentration of fluid particles near a plate are regulated by the influence of wall temperature and wall concentration parameters.
Oblique discord
Authors: Xu Jianwei
Published: October 2016

Discord and entanglement characterize two kinds of quantum correlations, and discord captures more correlation than entanglement in the sense that even separable states may have nonzero discord. In this paper, we propose a new kind of quantum correlation that we call as oblique discord. A zero-discord state corresponds to an orthonormal basis, while a zero-oblique-discord state corresponds to a basis which is not necessarily orthogonal. Under this definition, the set of zero-discord states is properly contained inside the set of zero-oblique-discord states, and the set of zero-oblique-discord states is properly contained inside the set of separable states. We give a characterization of zero-oblique-discord states via quantum mapping, provide a geometric measure for oblique discord, and raise a conjecture, which if it holds, then we can define an information-theoretic measure for oblique discord. Also, we point out that the definition of oblique discord can be properly extended to some different versions just as the case of quantum discord.
Characteristics of heat transfer with different dimensionless distance in an enclosure
Authors: Wei Yi-Kun , Dou Hua-Shu , Yang Hui
Published: October 2016

In this paper, the influence of different dimensionless distance on heat transfer characteristics in a rectangular enclosure is studied using lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). It is shown that the relation between the Rayleigh number (Ra) and the Nusselt number (Nu) using LBM is in promising agreement with that of the previous experimental data by Corvaro and Paroncini [Appl. Therm. Eng. 28 (2007) 25]. It is found that the characteristic of heat transport is closely related to the dimensionless distance of heat source. Special attention is paid to investigate the relation between Ra and Nu. Some relations between Ra and Nu for different dimensionless distance are approximately established in natural convection. It is further found that the heat transport is enhanced with the increase of dimensionless distance.
Predicting Breast Cancer Recurrence Using Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Abreu Pedro Henriques , Santos Miriam Seoane , Abreu Miguel Henriques , Andrade Bruno , Silva Daniel Castro
Published: October 2016

Background: Recurrence is an important cornerstone in breast cancer behavior, intrinsically related to mortality. In spite of its relevance, it is rarely recorded in the majority of breast cancer datasets, which makes research in its prediction more difficult. Objectives: To evaluate the performance of machine learning techniques applied to the prediction of breast cancer recurrence. Material and Methods: Revision of published works that used machine learning techniques in local and open source databases between 1997 and 2014. Results: The revision showed that it is difficult to obtain a representative dataset for breast cancer recurrence and there is no consensus on the best set of predictors for this disease. High accuracy results are often achieved, yet compromising sensitivity. The missing data and class imbalance problems are rarely addressed and most often the chosen performance metrics are inappropriate for the context. Discussion and Conclusions: Although different techniques have been used, prediction of breast cancer recurrence is still an open problem. The combination of different machine learning techniques, along with the definition of standard predictors for breast cancer recurrence seem to be the main future directions to obtain better results.
Virtualizing the Edge of the Cloud
Authors: Gavrilovska Ada
Published: October 2016

Over the last two decades, virtualization technologies have turned datacenter infrastructure into multitenant, dynami- cally provisionable, elastic resource, and formed the basis for the wide adoption of cloud computing. Many of todays cloud applications, however, are based on continuous inter- actions with end users and their devices, and the trend is only expected to intensify with the expansion of the Internet of Things. The consequent bandwidth and latency require- ments of these emerging workloads push the cloud bound- ary outside of traditional datacenters, giving rise to an edge tier in the end-device-to-cloud-backend infrastructure. Com- putational resources embedded in anything from standalone microservers to WiFi routers and small cell access points, and their open APIs, present opportunities for deploying ap- plication logic and state closer to where it is being used, addressing both latency and backhaul bandwidth problems. This talk will look at the role that existing virtualization tech- nologies can play in providing in this edge tier the required flexibility, dynamic provisioning and isolation, and will out- line open problems that require development of new solu- tions. We will also discuss the opportunities to leverage these technologies to further deal with the diversity in the end-user device and IoT space.
Sweet Spots and Limits for Virtualization
Authors: Waldspurger Carl , Berger Emery , Bhattacharjee Abhishek , Pedretti Kevin , Peter Simon , Rossbach Chris
Published: October 2016

This year at VEE, we added a panel to discuss the state of virtualization: what problems are solved? what problems are important? and what problems may not be worth solving? The panelist are experts in areas ranging from hardware virtualization up to language-level virtualization.
Enabling Efficient Hypervisor-as-a-Service Clouds with Ephemeral Virtualization
Authors: Williams Dan , Hu Yaohui , Deshpande Umesh , Sinha Piush K. , Bila Nilton , Gopalan Kartik , Jamjoom Hani
Published: October 2016

When considering a hypervisor, cloud providers must balance conflicting requirements for simple, secure code bases with more complex, feature-filled offerings. This paper introduces Dichotomy, a new two-layer cloud architecture in which the roles of the hypervisor are split. The cloud provider runs a lean hyperplexor that has the sole task of multiplexing hardware and running more substantial hypervisors (called featurevisors) that implement features. Cloud users choose featurevisors from a selection of lightly-modified hypervisors potentially offered by third-parties in an "as-a-service" model for each VM. Rather than running the featurevisor directly on the hyperplexor using nested virtualization, Dichotomy uses a new virtualization technique called eemeral virtualization which efficiently (and repeatedly) transfers control of a VM between the hyperplexor and featurevisor using memory mapping techniques. Nesting overhead is only incurred when the VM is accessed by the featurevisor. We have implemented Dichotomy in KVM/QEMU and demonstrate average switching times of 80 ms, two to three orders of magnitude faster than live VM migration. We show that, for the featurevisor applications we evaluated, VMs hosted in Dichotomy deliver up to 12% better performance than those hosted on nested hypervisors, and continue to show benefit even when the featurevisor applications run as often as every 2.5~seconds.
SRVM
Authors: Xu Xin , Davda Bhavesh
Published: October 2016

Single-Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) is a specification that allows a single PCI Express (PCIe) device (ysical function or PF) to be used as multiple PCIe devices (virtual functions or VF). In a virtualization system, each VF can be directly assigned to a virtual machine (VM) in passthrough mode to significantly improve the network performance. However, VF passthrough mode is not compatible with live migration, which is an essential capability that enables many advanced virtualization features such as high availability and resource provisioning.

To solve this problem, we design SRVM which provides hypervisor support to ensure the VF device can be correctly used by the migrated VM and the applications. SRVM is implemented in the hypervisor without modification in guest operating systems or guest VM drivers. Our experimental results show that SRVM can effectively migrate all memory state, and there is no data loss or corruption in applications after live migration. SRVM does not increase VM downtime. It only costs limited resources (an extra CPU core), and there is no significant runtime overhead in VM network performance. In fact, since the VF can continue to be used during the pre-copy ase, it offers network throughput which is 9.6 times and network latency which is 98% lower compared to other solutions that switch to para-virtualization mode during live migration.
Performance Implications of Extended Page Tables on Virtualized x86 Processors
Authors: Merrifield Timothy , Taheri H. Reza
Published: October 2016

Managing virtual memory is an expensive operation, and becomes even more expensive on virtualized servers. Process- ing TLB misses on a virtualized x86 server requires a two-dimensional page walk that can have 6x more page table lookups, hence 6x more memory references, than a native page table walk. Thus much of the recent research on the subject starts from the assumption that TLB miss processing in virtual environments is significantly more expensive than on native servers. However, we will show that with the latest software stack on modern x86 processors, most of these page-table lookups are satisfied by internal paging structure caches and the L1/L2 data caches, and the actual virtualization overhead of TLB miss processing is a modest fraction of the overall time spent processing TLB misses.

In this paper, we present a detailed accounting of the TLB miss processing costs on virtualized x86 servers for an exhaustive set of workloads, in particular, two very demanding industry standard workloads. We show that an implementation of the TPC-C workload that actively uses 475 GB of memory on a 72-CPU Haswell-EP server spends 20% of its time processing TLB misses when the application runs in a VM. Although this is a non-trivial amount, it is only 4.2% higher than the TLB miss processing costs on bare metal. The multi-VM VMmark benchmark sees 12.3% in TLB miss processing, but only 4.3% of that can be attributed to virtualization overheads. We show that even for the heaviest workloads, a well-tuned application that uses large pages on a recent OS release with a modern hypervisor running on the latest x86 processors sees only minimal degradation from the additional overhead of the two-dimensional page walks in a virtualized server.
Mosquito Vectors and the Globalization of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria
Authors: Molina-Cruz Alvaro , Zilversmit Martine M. , Neafsey Daniel E. , Hartl Daniel L. , Barillas-Mury Carolina
Published: October 2016

Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains a devastating public health problem. Recent discoveries have shed light on the origin and evolution of Plasmodium parasites and their interactions with their vertebrate and mosquito hosts. P. falciparum malaria originated in Africa from a single horizontal transfer between an infected gorilla and a human, and became global as the result of human migration. Today, P. falciparum malaria is transmitted worldwide by more than 70 different anopheline mosquito species. Recent studies indicate that the mosquito immune system can be a barrier to malaria transmission and that the P. falciparum Pfs47 gene allows the parasite to evade mosquito immune detection. Here, we review the origin and globalization of P. falciparum and integrate this history with analysis of the biology, evolution, and dispersal of the main mosquito vectors. This new perspective broadens our understanding of P. falciparum population structure and the dispersal of important parasite genetic traits.
Plant Transgenerational Epigenetics
Authors: Quadrana Leandro , Colot Vincent
Published: October 2016

Transgenerational epigenetics is defined in opposition to developmental epigenetics and implies an absence of resetting of epigenetic states between generations. Unlike mammals, plants appear to be particularly prone to this type of inheritance. In this review, we summarize our knowledge about transgenerational epigenetics in plants, which entails heritable changes in DNA methylation. We emphasize the role of transposable elements and other repeat sequences in the creation of epimutable alleles. We also argue that because reprogramming of DNA methylation across generations seems limited in plants, the inheritance of DNA methylation defects results from the failure to reinforce rather than reset this modification during sexual reproduction. We compare genome-wide assessments of heritable DNA methylation variation and its phenotypic impact in natural populations to those made using near-isogenic populations derived from crosses between parents with experimentally induced DNA methylation differences. Finally, we question the role of the environment in inducing transgenerational epigenetic variation and briefly present theoretical models under which epimutability is expected to be selected for.
Tissue Engineering: Toward a New Era of Medicine
Authors: Shafiee Ashkan , Atala Anthony
Published: October 2016

The goal of tissue engineering is to mitigate the critical shortage of donor organs via in vitro fabrication of functional biological structures. Tissue engineering is one of the most prominent examples of interdisciplinary fields, where scientists with different backgrounds work together to boost the quality of life by addressing critical health issues. Many different fields, such as developmental and molecular biology, as well as technologies, such as micro- and nanotechnologies and additive manufacturing, have been integral for advancing the field of tissue engineering. Over the past 20 years, spectacular advancements have been achieved to harness nature's ability to cure diseased tissues and organs. Patients have received laboratory-grown tissues and organs made out of their own cells, thus eliminating the risk of rejection. However, challenges remain when addressing more complex solid organs such as the heart, liver, and kidney. Herein, we review recent accomplishments as well as challenges that must be addressed in the field of tissue engineering and provide a perspective regarding strategies in further development.
Critical Functions of the Lysosome in Cancer Biology
Authors: Davidson Shawn M. , Vander Heiden Matthew G.
Published: October 2016

Lysosomes (or lytic bodies) were so named because they contain high levels of hydrolytic enzymes. Lysosome function and dysfunction have been found to play important roles in human disease, including cancer; however, the ways in which lysosomes contribute to tumorigenesis and cancer progression are still being uncovered. Beyond serving as a cellular recycling center, recent evidence suggests that the lysosome is involved in energy homeostasis, generating building blocks for cell growth, mitogenic signaling, priming tissues for angiogenesis and metastasis formation, and activating transcriptional programs. This review examines emerging knowledge of how lysosomal processes contribute to the hallmarks of cancer and highlights vulnerabilities that might be exploited for cancer therapy.
Nanodomain Regulation of Cardiac Cyclic Nucleotide Signaling by Phosphodiesterases
Authors: Kokkonen Kristen , Kass David A.
Published: October 2016

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) form an 11-member superfamily comprising 100 different isoforms that regulate the second messengers cyclic adenosine or guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP or cGMP). These PDE isoforms differ with respect to substrate selectivity and their localized control of cAMP and cGMP within nanodomains that target specific cellular pools and synthesis pathways for the cyclic nucleotides. Seven PDE family members are physiologically relevant to regulating cardiac function, disease remodeling of the heart, or both: PDE1 and PDE2, both dual-substrate (cAMP and cGMP) esterases; PDE3, PDE4, and PDE8, which principally hydrolyze cAMP; and PDE5A and PDE9A, which target cGMP. New insights regarding the different roles of PDEs in health and disease and their local signaling control are broadening the potential therapeutic utility for PDE-selective inhibitors. In this review, we discuss these PDEs, focusing on the different mechanisms by which they control cardiac function in health and disease by regulating intracellular nanodomains.
Forcespinning of Microfibers and their Applications in Lithium-Ion and Sodium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Agubra Victor , Zuniga Luis , Flores David , Alcoutlabi Mataz
Published: October 2016

In this paper, a scalable technique, Forcespinning (FS) is employed to produce SnO2/carbon composite microfibers as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SBIs). The fiber preparation process involved the FS of Tin (II) 2-ethylhexanoate/PAN and PAN solution precursors into fibers and subsequently stabilizing in air at 280oC and calcined at 800oC under an inert atmosphere. A hollow and pore microstructure of the SnO2/CFs were produced that were flexible and were directly used as free-standing anodes in LIBs and SBIs An improved electrochemical performance was observed in the SnO2/C composite electrode in particular for the sodium ion battery (SIB), with a recorded specific capacity of 198 mAhg-1 after 50 cycles at a current density of 100 mAg-1. The FS method clearly produced both carbon and SnO2/C composite fiber electrodes that showed improved electrochemical performance for the SIB due largely to the unique structure and properties of the microfibers.
Study of Room Temperature Solid Polymer Electrolyte for Lithium Sulfur Battery
Authors: Liu Kathy , Lin Yue , Miller Jan D , Liu Jin , Wang Xuming
Published: October 2016

Natural materials as the basis for solid electrolyte development can sustainably innovate for high-performing batteries. A sucrose based solid polymer electrolyte was developed, displaying high room temperature ionic transport properties, with ionic conductivity of 4.28 × 10-4 S cm-1 and lithium ion transference number of 0.76. Lithium sulfur batteries assembled achieve an initial discharge capacity of 1302.7 mAh g-1 and 644.2 mAh g-1 in the 94th cycle at 25 oC and 0.1C, and 517.5 mAh g-1 in the 200th cycle at 45 oC and 0.2 C. These demonstrate the potential for nature derived materials in green energy innovation.
Effects of Hydrogen on the Surface Films Formed on Iron in Pure Water at Various Temperatures
Authors: Ejaz Ahsan , Xiao Qian , Chen Junjie , Han Guangdong , Lu Zhanpeng
Published: October 2016

Effects of hydrogen on the types, morphologies and electrochemical properties of the surface films formed on iron in aerated pure water at 25, 40, 50 and 70 oC were investigated by using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction measurements, Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Mott-Schottky (M-S) plots. Increasing temperature from 25 oC to 70 oC significantly accelerated the corrosion of non-charged iron. Yellow rusts formed on the non-charged iron after immersion 21 h at 40 oC, while the surface of hydrogen-charged iron after immersion in the same condition was gray. The film formed on the non-charged iron after immersion 21 h at 70 oC was dark, while the surface of hydrogen-charged iron was covered with loosely distributed yellow rust particles. Raman spectra showed the different compositions of formed films on non-charged and hydrogen-charged iron specimens. Normally the high valence iron oxides were formed on non-charged iron while relative low valence iron oxides were formed on the hydrogen-charged iron, with exceptions. The stability and semiconductor properties of the surface films formed on non-charged and hydrogen-charged specimens were characterized by EIS and M-S plot measurements in boric acid-borate buffer solutions, showing significant effect of hydrogen.
Effects of Hydrogen on Corrosion Products Formed on Iron in Chloride Solutions
Authors: Ejaz Ahsan , Xiao Qian , Chen Junjie , Han Guangdong , Lu Zhanpeng
Published: October 2016

The effects of charged-hydrogen on the properties of the surface films formed on iron after 21 h immersion in pure water and 10-4 to 0.5 mol/L NaCl solutions at 25 °C are investigated by open circuit potential (OCP) measurements, optical microscope, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Hydrogen-charging favors the formation of with dark film with yellow corrosion sites on iron. After immersion in 10-4 mol/L NaCl solution, the non-charged iron is partly covered by surface film, while the hydrogen-charged iron is fully covered by surface film. After immersion in 0.5 mol/L NaCl solution, the surface of the non-charged iron is partly dark and partly covered with yellow rusts, and the surface of the hydrogen-charged iron has a larger area covered with yellow rusts than that on the non-charged iron. OCP values for hydrogen-charged iron in pure water, 10-3 and 10-4 mol/L NaCl solutions are lower than those for non-charged iron. In 0.5 mol/L NaCl solution, the OCP difference between non-charged iron and hydrogen-charged iron is at first large and gradually becomes smaller with increasing immersion time. Raman spectra and XRD patterns show the presence of magnetite in the film on hydrogen-charged iron after immersion in 10-4 mol/L NaCl solution. In solutions with a high chloride concentration, hydrogen in iron can promote the formation of high valence iron oxide layer by precipitation.
The Effect of Hydrogen on the Corrosion and Anodic Behavior of 13Cr Stainless Steel in Chloride Solution
Authors: Peng Hao , Xiao Qian , Li Hongjuan , Chen Junjie , Ru Xiangkun , Lu Zhanpeng
Published: October 2016

The effects of charged-hydrogen in 13Cr stainless steel on corrosion and anodic behavior in 200 ppm (wt%) NaCl solution is investigated with immersion tests, potentiodyanmic polarization, potentiostatic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that the charged-hydrogen decreases the open circuit potential, increases the anodic current density, decreases the capacitive arcs both in the high frequency region and frequency region of the EIS Nyquist diagram. Charged hydrogen increases the ratio of Fe/Cr of the specimen surface after immersion in NaCl solution.
Impact of Business Trends on Advanced CMP Process Technology Development
Authors: Rhoades R.
Published: October 2016

The technology of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is directly influenced by business trends within the semiconductor industry. Companies that manufacture devices and integrated circuits can be grouped into three broad industry segments: leading edge, mainstream or established, and emerging technology. Development of new device architectures, new integration schemes, and ultimately new commercial products are often enabled by development of new and optimized CMP processes. This is illustrated with examples from three different CMP development projects: oxide CMP for advanced silicon substrates with inlaid features requiring sub-nanometer topography, Pt CMP for high temperature vias, and polymer CMP for an advanced packaging interposer design.
Advanced Carriers on Legacy CMP Tools - an Intelligent Solution for Flexible Production Environments and R&D Labs
Authors: Franz Mathias , Schubert Ina , Junghans Romy , Martinka Ronny , Rudolph Catharina , Wachsmuth Holger , Trojan Dan , VanDevender Barrie , Wrschka Peter , Gottfried Knut Christoph
Published: October 2016

This paper describes the potential of a membrane carrier upgrade for legacy CMP tools, such as an IPEC 472. Seventeen different polish parameter settings were applied for both, 150 mm and 200 mm wafers in order to cover a wide range of applications. Resulting from these experiments, a significant performance gain in comparison to stiff carriers becomes evident.
Surface Characterization Driven CMP Optimization for Gallium Nitride
Authors: Karagoz Ayse , Siebert Max , Leunissen Peter , Basim G. Bahar
Published: October 2016

Gallium nitride is a hard and chemically inert material demoting high material removal rates in the chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) applications. This paper focuses on the optimization of the process conditions to enhance material removal rates while controlling surface defectivity for GaN CMP. Two different crystallographic orientations of the GaN are characterized and compared to a commercial 2” GaN wafer to optimize the CMP performance on the basis of the wafer crystallographic nature, surface charge and topography. Slurry pH, the type of polishing pad and applied conditioning were evaluated to increase material removal rates of GaN while minimizing defect formation and enhancing the selectivity against silica.
Hormone phase influences sympathetic responses to high levels of lower body negative pressure in young healthy women
Authors: Usselman Charlotte W. , Nielson Chantelle A. , Luchyshyn Torri A. , Gimon Tamara I. , Coverdale Nicole S. , Van Uum Stan H. M. , Shoemaker J. Kevin
Published: October 2016

We tested the hypothesis that sympathetic responses to baroreceptor unloading may be affected by circulating sex hormones. During lower body negative pressure at −30, −60, and −80 mmHg, muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), heart rate, and blood pressure were recorded in women who were taking ( n = 8) or not taking ( n = 9) hormonal contraceptives. All women were tested twice, once during the low-hormone phase (i.e., the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle and the placebo phase of hormonal contraceptive use), and again during the high-hormone phase (i.e., the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle and active phase of contraceptive use). During baroreceptor unloading, the reductions in stroke volume and resultant increases in MSNA and total peripheral resistance were greater in high-hormone than low-hormone phases in both groups. When normalized to the fall in stroke volume, increases in MSNA were no longer different between hormone phases. While stroke volume and sympathetic responses were similar between women taking and not taking hormonal contraceptives, mean arterial pressure was maintained during baroreceptor unloading in women not taking hormonal contraceptives but not in women using hormonal contraceptives. These data suggest that differences in sympathetic activation between hormone phases, as elicited by lower body negative pressure, are the result of hormonally mediated changes in the hemodynamic consequences of negative pressure, rather than centrally driven alterations to sympathetic regulation.
Clarithromycin increases neuronal excitability in CA3 pyramidal neurons through a reduction in GABAergic signaling
Authors: Bichler Edyta K. , Elder Courtney C. , García Paul S.
Published: October 2016

Antibiotics are used in the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections, but effects on neuron excitability have been documented. A recent study demonstrated that clarithromycin alleviates daytime sleepiness in hypersomnia patients (Trotti LM, Saini P, Freeman AA, Bliwise DL, García PS, Jenkins A, Rye DB. J Psychopharmacol 28: 697–702, 2014). To explore the potential application of clarithromycin as a stimulant, we performed whole cell patch-clamp recordings in rat pyramidal cells from the CA3 region of hippocampus. In the presence of the antibiotic, rheobase current was reduced by 50%, F-I relationship (number of action potentials as a function of injected current) was shifted to the left, and the resting membrane potential was more depolarized. Clarithromycin-induced hyperexcitability was dose dependent; doses of 30 and 300 μM clarithromycin significantly increased the firing frequency and membrane potential compared with controls ( P = 0.003, P < 0.0001). We hypothesized that clarithromycin enhanced excitability by reducing GABAA receptor activation. Clarithromycin at 30 μM significantly reduced ( P = 0.001) the amplitude of spontaneous miniature inhibitory GABAergic currents and at 300 μM had a minor effect on action potential width. Additionally, we tested the effect of clarithromycin in an ex vivo seizure model by evaluating its effect on spontaneous local field potentials. Bath application of 300 μM clarithromycin enhanced burst frequency twofold compared with controls ( P = 0.0006). Taken together, these results suggest that blocking GABAergic signaling with clarithromycin increases cellular excitability and potentially serves as a stimulant, facilitating emergence from anesthesia or normalizing vigilance in hypersomnia and narcolepsy. However, the administration of clarithromycin should be carefully considered in patients with seizure disorders.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Clinical administration of the macrolide antibiotic clarithromycin has been associated with side effects such as mania, agitation, and delirium. Here, we investigated the adverse effects of this antibiotic on CA3 pyramidal cell excitability. Clarithromycin induces hyperexcitability in single neurons and is related to a reduction in GABAergic signaling. Our results support a potentially new application of clarithromycin as a stimulant to facilitate emergence from anesthesia or to normalize vigilance.
Periesophageal Pseudoaneurysms: Rare Cause of Refractory Bleeding Treated with Transarterial Embolization
Authors: Kohli Divyanshoo R. , Shah Rachit D. , Komorowski Daniel J. , Smallfield George B.
Published: October 2016

A 43-year-old female with history of systemic lupus erythematosus, prior cytomegalovirus esophagitis treated with ganciclovir, and long segment Barrett’s esophagus (Prague class C8 M9) with high grade dysplasia treated with radiofrequency ablation presented to the hospital with hematemesis. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed multiple esophageal ulcers with active arterial spurting which could not be controlled with endoscopic interventions including placement of hemostatic clips. An emergent angiogram demonstrated actively bleeding saccular dilations (pseudoaneurysms) in the esophageal branches of the lower thoracic aorta as well as left gastric artery for which gelfoam and coil embolization was initially successful. Due to recurrence of massive bleeding, she subsequently underwent emergent esophagectomy and bipolar exclusion. Pathology demonstrated submucosal hemorrhage, esophagitis with dysplastic Barrett’s mucosa, and an ulcer containing cytomegaloviral inclusions. We report the first case of arterial bleeding from periesophageal pseudoaneurysms as well as use of angiographic embolization for arterial bleeding in the esophagus.
A Novel Murine Model of Parvovirus Associated Dilated Cardiomyopathy Induced by Immunization with VP1-Unique Region of Parvovirus B19
Authors: Bogomolovas Julijus , Šimoliūnas Egidijus , Rinkūnaitė Ieva , Smalinskaitė Luka , Podkopajev Andrej , Bironaitė Daiva , Weis Cleo-Aron , Marx Alexander , Bukelskienė Virginija , Gretz Norbert , Grabauskienė Virginija , Labeit Dittmar , Labeit Siegfried
Published: October 2016

Background. Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is a common finding in endomyocardial biopsy specimens from myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy patients. However, current understanding of how B19V is contributing to cardiac damage is rather limited due to the lack of appropriate mice models. In this work we demonstrate that immunization of BALB/c mice with the major immunogenic determinant of B19V located in the unique sequence of capsid protein VP1 (VP1u) is an adequate model to study B19V associated heart damage.Methods and Results. We immunized mice in the experimental group with recombinant VP1u; immunization with cardiac myosin derived peptide served as a positive reference and phosphate buffered saline served as negative control. Cardiac function and dimensions were followed echocardiographically 69 days after immunization. Progressive dilatation of left ventricle and decline of ejection fraction were observed in VP1u- and myosin-immunized mice. Histologically, severe cardiac fibrosis and accumulation of heart failure cells in lungs were observed 69 days after immunization. Transcriptomic profiling revealed ongoing cardiac remodeling and immune process in VP1u- and myosin-immunized mice.Conclusions. Immunization of BALB/c mice with VP1u induces dilated cardiomyopathy in BALB/c mice and it could be used as a model to study clinically relevant B19V associated cardiac damage.
Overexpression of Prolyl-4-Hydroxylase-α1 Stabilizes but Increases Shear Stress-Induced Atherosclerotic Plaque in Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice
Authors: Cao Xiao-qing , Liu Xin-xin , Li Meng-meng , Zhang Yu , Chen Liang , Wang Lin , Di Ming-xue , Zhang Mei
Published: October 2016

The rupture and erosion of atherosclerotic plaque can induce coronary thrombosis. Prolyl-4-hydroxylase (P4H) plays a central role in the synthesis of all known types of collagens, which are the most abundant constituent of the extracellular matrix in atherosclerotic plaque. The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is thought to be in part caused by shear stress. In this study, we aimed to investigate a relationship between P4Hα1 and shear stress-induced atherosclerotic plaque. Carotid arteries of ApoE−/− mice were exposed to low and oscillatory shear stress conditions by the placement of a shear stress cast for 2 weeks; we divided 60 male ApoE−/− mice into three groups for treatments with saline (mock) (n=20), empty lentivirus (lenti-EGFP) (n=20), and lentivirus-P4Hα1 (lenti-P4Hα1) (n=20). Our results reveal that after 2 weeks of lenti-P4Hα1 treatment both low and oscillatory shear stress-induced plaques increased collagen and the thickness of fibrous cap and decreased macrophage accumulation but no change in lipid accumulation. We also observed that overexpression of P4Ha1 increased plaque size. Our study suggests that P4Hα1 overexpression might be a potential therapeutic target in stabilizing vulnerable plaques.
Association between Tumor Vasculogenic Mimicry and the Poor Prognosis of Gastric Cancer in China: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Guo Qiujun , Yuan Yuan , Jin Zhichao , Xu Tao , Gao Yebo , Wei Huamin , Li Conghuang , Hou Wei , Hua Baojin
Published: October 2016

Background. Vasculogenic mimicry can promote tumor growth and metastasis. This article is aimed at conducting a systematic meta-analysis to explore the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of vasculogenic mimicry and gastric cancer.Methods. We searched Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the VIP and Wanfang Database for eligible studies. We manually searched for printed journals and relevant textbooks. Subgroups analyses were performed based on the region, manuscript quality, methods of vasculogenic mimicry identification, pathology, and number of patients.Results. Nine studies with 997 patients were included in this meta-analysis. A significant association was observed between vasculogenic mimicry-positive patients and those with gastric cancer with poor overall survival (hazard ratio = 2.24, 95% confidence interval: 1.45–3.47), poor pathological grading, high tumor node metastasis clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, deep tumor invasion, and distant metastasis.Conclusions. Vasculogenic mimicry is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer in China. Clinical studies with large samples are needed worldwide and standardized protocols should be adopted in the future to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between gastric cancer and vasculogenic mimicry.
CNS Vasculitis Associated with Waldenström Macroglobulinemia
Authors: Riangwiwat Tanawan , Wu Chris Y. , Santos-Ocampo Alberto S. , Liu Randal J. , McMurtray Aaron M. , Nakamoto Beau K.
Published: October 2016

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is an indolent B cell lymphoproliferative disorder with monoclonal IgM secretion. We present a patient with WM who presented with multifocal acute cortical ischemic strokes and was found to have central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis. Workup was negative for cryoglobulins and hyperviscosity syndrome. Immunosuppression with intravenous steroids and cyclophosphamide stabilized the patient’s mental status and neurologic deficits. On followup over 7 years, patient gained independence from walking aids and experienced no recurrences of CNS vasculitis. To our knowledge, CNS vasculitis in a WM patient, in the absence of cryoglobulins, has not been reported. Immunosuppression is the preferred treatment.
Estimating Compressive Strength of High Performance Concrete with Gaussian Process Regression Model
Authors: Hoang Nhat-Duc , Pham Anh-Duc , Nguyen Quoc-Lam , Pham Quang-Nhat
Published: October 2016

This research carries out a comparative study to investigate a machine learning solution that employs the Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) for modeling compressive strength of high-performance concrete (HPC). This machine learning approach is utilized to establish the nonlinear functional mapping between the compressive strength and HPC ingredients. To train and verify the aforementioned prediction model, a data set containing 239 HPC experimental tests, recorded from an overpass construction project in Danang City (Vietnam), has been collected for this study. Based on experimental outcomes, prediction results of the GPR model are superior to those of the Least Squares Support Vector Machine and the Artificial Neural Network. Furthermore, GPR model is strongly recommended for estimating HPC strength because this method demonstrates good learning performance and can inherently express prediction outputs coupled with prediction intervals.