bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Infectious and Non-infectious Etiologies of Cardiovascular Disease in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection
Authors: Chastain Daniel B. , King S. Travis , Stover Kayla R.
Published: June 2016

Background:

Increasing rates of HIV have been observed in women, African Americans, and Hispanics, particularly those residing in rural areas of the United States. Although cardiovascular (CV) complications in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have significantly decreased following the introduction of antiretroviral therapy on a global scale, in many rural areas, residents face geographic, social, and cultural barriers that result in decreased access to care. Despite the advancements to combat the disease, many patients in these medically underserved areas are not linked to care, and fewer than half achieve viral suppression.

Methods:

Databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed publications reporting infectious and non-infectious etiologies of cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected patients. Relevant articles cited in the retrieved publications were also reviewed for inclusion.

Results:

A variety of outcomes studies and literature reviews were included in the analysis. Relevant literature discussed the manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of infectious and non-infectious etiologies of cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected patients.

Conclusion:

In these medically underserved areas, it is vital that clinicians are knowledgeable in the manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of CV complications in patients with untreated HIV. This review summarizes the epidemiology and causes of CV complications associated with untreated HIV and provide recommendations for management of these complications.
Mobile Health for All: Public-Private Partnerships Can Create a New Mental Health Landscape
Authors: Ben-Zeev Dror
Published: June 2016

Research has already demonstrated that different mHealth approaches are feasible, acceptable, and clinically promising for people with mental health problems. With a robust evidence base just over the horizon, now is the time for policy makers, researchers, and the private sector to partner in preparation for the near future. The Lifeline Assistance Program is a useful model to draw from. Created in 1985 by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Lifeline is a nationwide program designed to help eligible low-income individuals obtain home phone and landline services so they can pursue employment, reach help in case of emergency, and access social services and healthcare. In 2005, recognizing the broad shift towards mobile technology and mobile-cellular infrastructure, the FCC expanded the program to include mobile phones and data plans. The FCC provides a base level of federal support, but individual states are responsible for regional implementation, including engagement of commercial mobile phone carriers. Given the high rates of disability and poverty among people with severe mental illness, many are eligible to benefit from Lifeline and research has shown that a large proportion does in fact use this program to obtain a mobile phone and data plan. In the singular area of mobile phone use, the gap between people with severe mental illness and the general population in the U.S. is vanishing. Strategic multi-partner programs will be able to grant access to mHealth for mental health programs to those who will not be able to afford them—arguably, the people who need them the most. Mobile technology manufacturing costs are dropping. Soon all mobile phones in the marketplace, including the more inexpensive devices that are made available through subsidy programs, will have “smart” capabilities (ie, internet connectivity and the capacity to host apps). Programs like Lifeline could be expanded to include mHealth resources that capitalize on “smart” functions, such as secure/encrypted clinical texting programs and mental health monitoring and illness-management apps. Mobile phone hardware and software development companies could be engaged to add mHealth programs as a standard component in the suite of tools that come installed on their mobile phones; thus, in addition to navigation apps, media players, and games, the new Android or iPhone could come with guided relaxation videos, medication reminder systems, and evidence-based self-monitoring and self-management tools. Telecommunication companies could be encouraged to offer mHealth options with their data plans. Operating system updates pushed out by the mobile carrier companies could come with optional mHealth applications for those who elect to download them. In the same manner in which the Lifeline Assistance Program has helped increase access to fundamental opportunities to so many low-income individuals, innovative multi-partner programs have the potential to put mHealth for mental health resources in the hands of millions in the years ahead.
Epinephrine Affects Pharmacokinetics of Ropivacaine Infiltrated Into Palate
Authors: Yamashiro Mikiko , Hashimoto Shuichi , Yasuda Asako , Sunada Katsuhisa
Published: June 2016

Pulpal anesthesia success rates for ropivacaine following maxillary infiltration anesthesia seem to be low. We investigated the hypothesis that the addition of epinephrine would affect the pharmacokinetics of ropivacaine by retaining ropivacaine in the mucosa of the injected area through the time-dependent distribution of ropivacaine in the rat maxilla and serum following maxillary infiltration anesthesia using 3H-labeled ropivacaine. We then examined the vasoactivity of ropivacaine with or without epinephrine on local peripheral blood flow. The addition of epinephrine to ropivacaine increased ropivacaine concentrations in the palatal mucosa and adjacent maxilla by more than 3 times that of plain ropivacaine at 20 minutes. By observing the autoradiogram of 3H-ropivacaine, plain ropivacaine in the maxilla was remarkably reduced 20 minutes after injection. However, it was definitely retained in the palatal mucosa, hard palate, adjacent maxilla, and maxillary nerve after the administration with epinephrine. Ropivacaine with epinephrine significantly decreased labial blood flow. This study suggests that 10 μg/mL epinephrine added to 0.5% ropivacaine could improve anesthetic efficacy and duration for maxillary infiltration anesthesia over plain ropivacaine.
Variant Inferior Alveolar Nerves and Implications for Local Anesthesia
Authors: Wolf Kevin T. , Brokaw Everett J. , Bell Andrea , Joy Anita
Published: June 2016

A sound knowledge of anatomical variations that could be encountered during surgical procedures is helpful in avoiding surgical complications. The current article details anomalous morphology of inferior alveolar nerves encountered during routine dissection of the craniofacial region in the Gross Anatomy laboratory. We also report variations of the lingual nerves, associated with the inferior alveolar nerves. The variations were documented and a thorough review of literature was carried out. We focus on the variations themselves, and the clinical implications that these variations present. Thorough understanding of variant anatomy of the lingual and inferior alveolar nerves may determine the success of procedural anesthesia, the etiology of pathologic processes, and the avoidance of surgical misadventure.
General Anesthesia for a Patient With Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease
Authors: Kamekura Nobuhito , Nitta Yukie , Takuma Shigeru , Fujisawa Toshiaki
Published: June 2016

We report the successful management of general anesthesia for a patient with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD). PMD is one of a group of progressive, degenerative disorders of the cerebral white matter. The typical clinical manifestations of PMD include psychomotor retardation, nystagmus, abnormal muscle tone, seizures, and cognitive impairment. General anesthesia for a patient with PMD may be difficult mainly because of seizures and airway complications related to poor pharyngeal muscle control. In addition, the possibility of exacerbation of spasticity should be considered. A 20-year-old man with PMD required removal of impacted wisdom teeth under general anesthesia. General anesthesia was induced with thiamylal, fentanyl, and desflurane. Anesthesia was maintained with desflurane and continuous intravenous remifentanil under bispectral index and train-of-4 monitoring. Anesthesia lasted 1 hour 20 minutes and was completed uneventfully. Airway complications, seizures, and exacerbation of spasticity did not occur postoperatively. Preoperatively, our patient had no history of epilepsy attacks or aspiration pneumonia, and no clinical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Therefore, exacerbation of spasticity was one of the most likely potential complications. Identification of these associated conditions and evaluation of risk factors during preoperative examination is important for performing safe anesthesia in these patients.
Rangelands, Volume 23, Number 1 (February 2001)
Authors:   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Complete digitized issue.
Public Opinions about Rangeland Resources in Northeast Nevada
Authors: McAdoo J. Kent ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

This article also includes the column “Sneek A Peek At The
Upcoming Issue Of The Journal of Range Management.”
People From The Past: John L. "Chip" Merrill, Sr.
Authors: Gordon Kindra ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

People from the Past: John L. "Chip" Merrill, Sr..
Keying In On Big Sagebrush
Authors: Frisina Michael R. , Wambolt Carl L. ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

A guide for identifying the four subspecies of big sagebrush
A Utah Success Story: Making Recreation & Agriculture
Compatible
Authors: Gordon Kindra ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

This Utah farm family has been able to maintain their agricultural roots
even as North America's fifth largest ski resort developed nearby.
Stories From The Old Trails: Historic accounts of life along the Texas
cattle trails
Authors: Humphries Ellen ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Historic accounts of life along the Texas cattle trails.
Playing Softball With the Rancher: The softball stubble height
method
Authors: Curtis Paul ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

The softball stubble height method.
Rangelands, Volume 27, Number 2 (April 2005)
Authors:   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Complete digitized issue.
Grazing Impacts on Rangeland Vegetation: What We Have Learned
Authors: Holechek Jerry L. , Baker Terrel T. , Boren Jon C. ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Livestock grazing at light-to-moderate intensities can have positive
impacts on rangeland vegetation in arid-to-semiarid areas.
Wildfire's Place in Land Management: A Case Study
Authors: Hughes Lee E. ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Letting wildfire burn in select remote forest and rangelands is needed
to increase plant community diversity and production, even with the risk of
increased annual bromegrasses.
Collaboration in the Borderlands: The Malpai Borderlands Group
Authors: Allen Larry S. ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

After 10 years of efforts to preserve the open spaces and way of life of
the Borderlands Region, the Malpai Borderlands Group is now internationally
recognized as an outstanding example of collaborative planning and
management of large landscapes.
Rangelands, Volume 28, Number 4 (August 2006)
Authors:   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Complete digitized issue.
Rangelands, Volume 29, Number 1 (February 2007)
Authors:   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Complete digitized issue.
Native American Management and the Legacy of Working Landscapes in
California
Authors: Diekmann Lucy , Panich Lee , Striplen Chuck ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Western landscapes were working long before Europeans arrived.
Public Land Grazing in California: Untapped Conservation Potential for
Private Lands?
Authors: Sulak Adriana , Huntsinger Lynn ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Working landscapes may be linked to public lands.
Rangelands, Volume 29, Number 5 (October 2007)
Authors:   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Complete digitized issue.
Speaking With People in Our Profession: An interview with Dr Mengli
Zhao
Authors: McGuire Susan R. ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Speaking with people in our profession: an interview with Dr Mengli
Zhao
Book Review: Let the Water do the Work: Induced Meandering, an Evolving
Method for Restoring Incised Channels, Bill Zeedyk, Van Clothier
Authors: Trlica Joe ,   Society for Range
                        Management
Published: June 2016

Book Review: Let the Water do the Work: Induced Meandering, an Evolving
Method for Restoring Incised Channels, Bill Zeedyk, Van Clothier. The
Quivira Coalition, Santa Fe, NM, USA (2009).
A Post Publication Review of "Good Old Gamers, Good Drivers: Results from a correlational experiment among older drivers"
Authors: Harvey Gillian , Eustace Kenneth
Published: June 2016

A short post publication review of a recent AJIS paper.
Looking at Penalty Scales: How Judicial Actors and the General Public Judge Penal Severity
Authors: Leclerc Chloé , Tremblay Pierre
Published: June 2016

This article focuses on penal severity judgements made by judicial actors (118 defence attorneys, 48 crown prosecutors, 36 probation officers, and 33 judges; N = 135) and the general public (N = 297), who were asked to estimate the severity of a range of penalties using the magnitude-scale technique, developed by Stevens (1975). A group-based approach developed by Nagin (2005) was applied to discover the diversity in penalty scales. Results reveal that while there is reasonable consensus about penal severity for prison sentences, neither members of the public nor judicial actors agree on the underlying metric of severity scales for custodial sentences. Penal equivalencies derived from each penalty scale are used to determine their relative quality. Results show that judicial actors are no better than inexperienced citizens at producing penal severity judgements that seem reasonable and feasible.
Comment on Estimating the True Rate of Repeat Victimization from Police-Recorded Crime Data
Authors: Demers Simon
Published: June 2016

The Recorded Repeats Adjustment Calculator (RRAC) methodology introduced by Frank, Brantingham, and Farrell (2012) doesn’t consider the entire probability mass function associated with the binomial distribution. Although the authors recognized and documented this as a limitation, the implications are significant because some of their key findings are not internally consistent with their explicit underlying assumptions or the available empirical data. This article proposes revised estimates, based on a Bayesian treatment of the empirical data and underlying assumptions stated by the authors themselves. According to the initial RRAC estimates they reported, repeat burglary victims would have represented 47.1% of all burglaries or 22.0% of all burglary victims. The proposed revisions suggest instead that repeat burglary victims represent approximately 30.8% of all burglaries or 15.9% of all burglary victims. By comparison, based strictly on the police-recorded data, repeat victims account for 19.8% of all reported burglaries or 10.0% of all burglary victims. While these findings tend to temper the empirical findings and original conclusions of Frank, Brantingham, and Farrell (2012), they provide renewed support for their insight that raw police-recorded crime data are likely to underestimate the true rate of repeat victimization.
Improved Annual Average Daily Traffic Estimation Processes
Authors: Jessberger Steven , Krile Robert , Schroeder Jeremy , Todt Frederick , Feng Jingyu
Published: June 2016

Annual average daily traffic (AADT) volume is estimated for federal, state, and local uses for roadway segments throughout the United States. The AADT estimates derived from permanent or portable counts are critical to roadway planning, system operations, and distribution of funding. The AASHTO AADT estimation formula is the most commonly used method, in part because it can be used under many circumstances when hourly traffic volume observations are missing, which is a common measurement issue with permanent traffic-counting sites. Despite its utility, the AASHTO AADT method has limitations in that it requires complete hourly data for any day that is included, and it does not account for variations in the numbers of each day of the week within a month or variations in the number of days within a month. This research evaluated new AADT estimation methods that incorporate days in which some, but not all, hourly observations are available and adjusts volume for the number of times each day of the week occurs in a month and the number of days per month. The bias and precision of four methods were examined for AADT estimation from hundreds of permanent traffic-counting sites. The analysis used more than 48 million records from the FHWA Travel Monitoring Analysis System, covering 14 years (2000 through 2013). This research quantified the improvement in accuracy and precision of the new methods, which effectively allow for a greater proportion of data to be retained in the estimation formula.
Current concepts in the diagnosis and pathobiology of intraepithelial neoplasia: A review by organ system
Authors: Voltaggio Lysandra , Cimino‐Mathews Ashley , Bishop Justin A. , Argani Pedram , Cuda Jonathan D. , Epstein Jonathan I. , Hruban Ralph H. , Netto George J. , Stoler Mark H. , Taube Janis M. , Vang Russell , Westra William H. , Montgomery Elizabeth A.
Published: June 2016

Answer questions and earn CME/CNE

In this report, a team of surgical pathologists has provided a review of intraepithelial neoplasia in a host of (but not all) anatomic sites of interest to colleagues in various medical specialties, namely, uterine cervix, ovary, breast, lung, head and neck, skin, prostate, bladder, pancreas, and esophagus. There is more experience with more readily accessible sites (such as the uterine cervix and skin) than with other anatomic sites, and the lack of uniform terminology, together with divergent biology in various sites, makes it difficult to paint a unifying, relevant portrait. The authors' aim was to provide a framework from which to move forward as we care for patients with such precancerous lesions. CA Cancer J Clin 2016;66:408–436. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Calcium entry blocking activity of the Elaeagnus umbellata fruit extract explains its use in diarrhea and gut spasm
Authors: Rafique Nayyab , Khan Taous , Shah Abdul Jabbar
Published: June 2016

This study was aimed to explore the pharmacological basis of potential medicinal use of Elaeagnus umbellata in gut disorders. Crude extract of E. umbellata, which was found positive for flavonoids, terpenoids and tannins, provided 9.9-71.9% protection in castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice, like verapamil. In isolated rabbit jejunum preparations, crude extract caused inhibition of spontaneous and high K+-induced contractions, with respective EC50 values of  0.3 (0.1-0.5) and 0.5 mg/mL, suggesting Ca++ channel blockade (CCB). Pretreatment of tissue with crude extract (0.1–1 mg/mL) caused a rightward shift in Ca++ concentration-response curves. With the exception of aqueous fraction, n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate inhibited spontaneous and high K+-induced contractions and displaced rightward Ca++ concentration-response curves. Extract was found safe up to 10 mg/kg in mice. Our data shows that anti-diarrheal effect of crude extract of E. umbellate is due to CCB-mediated spasmolytic effect, concentrated in the ethyl acetate fraction and suggests its medicinal importance in diarrhea and spasm.

Video Clip

Isolation of rat jejunum:  2 min 32 sec 
Detection and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases (ESBLs) Producing Gram Negative Bacteria from Different Clinical Samples
Authors: Biswas Suma Mita , Ara Nikhat , Huda Nasreen , Andalib Sofia , Rahman Mohammad Hefzur , Miah Md Ruhul Amin
Published: June 2016

Introduction: Extended spectrum ?-lactamases (ESBLs) are enzymes that mediate resistance to extended-spectrum (third generation) cephalosporins (e.g., ceftazidime, cefotaxime, and ceftriaxone) and monobactams (e.g., aztreonam) but do not affect cephamycins (e.g., cefoxitin and cefotetan) or carbapenems (e.g., meropenem or imipenem). Though the no. of ESBLs producing organism has been increasing day by day, the detection methods and treatment option for them are extremely limited.Aims & Objective: The present study was undertaken to investigate the rate of ESBLs production and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern.Materials & Method: A total 110 Gram negative isolates from various clinical samples from a tertiary care hospital were studied and ESBLs production was detected by double disc synergy test. Antibiotic susceptibility test was done for commonly used antibiotics.Results: Among the total isolates 66.36% (73) were ESBLs producer, and the rate of ESBLs positivity was 80.32% for E.coli (49 out of 61), 25% for Pseudomonas spp (6 out of 24), 71.42% for Klebsiella spp (10 out of 14), 80% for Enterobacter spp (4 out of 5), 100% for Acinetobacter spp (4 out of 4) and 0% for Proteus spp (0 out of 2). ESBLs producing organisms were resistant to most of the antibiotics but 100% were sensitive to imepenem.Conclusion: Screening for ESBLs production needs to be carried out routinely in every clinical diagnostic laboratory to guide clinicians in proper selection of antibiotics.Pulse Vol.8 January-December 2015 p.15-20
Role of Kisspeptin in Female Infertility
Authors: Bhuiyan Md Rafiqul Islam , Khaliduzzaman SM , Priti Khairun Nahar
Published: June 2016

Background: Kiss1, a noble G protein coupled receptor designated as GPR54, was first identified in rat brain in 1999 and orthologue gene identified in human in 2001 the original niche for the function of kisspeptin was restricted to cancer biology for their ability to suppress tumor metastasis. However, kisspeptin has recently emerged as a key player in the field of reproductive endocrinology.Method: A systematic literature review was done by using PUBMED. Though there is lack of human data, used animal data also hold translational potential for human. Results: Inactivating mutation of GPR54 gene is linked with absence of puberty onset and idiopathic hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism. Furthermore, recent studies support critical role of kisspeptin/GPR54 system on regulation of GnRH neurons, involvement of puberty onset and gonadal steroid feedback.Conclusion: This review will briefly discuss on cellular and molecular level of kisspeptin, their potential effects on human and clinical application of kisspeptin on human reproductive disorder.Pulse Vol.8 January-December 2015 p.43-50
Atypical Pituitary Adenoma: A Case Report
Authors: Khaled Ahmed , Joarder Md Aliuzzaman , Karim AKM Bazlul , Chandy Mathew J , Nasir Tareak Al
Published: June 2016

A 56 years old diabetic hypertensive male was admitted through neurosurgery OPD with the complaint of vision problems in the right eye for the last 1 and 1/2 years. Peri-metry reveals bilateral temporal field defects and MRI examination showed a sellar and suprasellar mass infiltrating the surrounding structures including cavernous sinus. Histomorphologically and inmmunohistochemically, a diagnosis of atypical pituitary adenoma was made.Pulse Vol.8 January-December 2015 p.66-68
Chondroma of the Cerebellopontine Angle: A Case Report
Authors: Khaled Ahmed , Ahsan Sania , Joarder Md Aliuzzaman , Karim AKM Bazlul , Chandy Mathew J , Nasir Tareak Al
Published: June 2016

A 41 year old nondiabetic, non hypertensive male was admitted in AHD through neurosurgery OPD with the complaints of left eye watering and left sided weakness for 1 month. MRI examination revealed a mass / lesion in the left prepontine cistern, left CP angle with extension to left middle cranial fossa which was histologically found to be chondroma, an extremely rare tumour in the above mentioned location.Pulse Vol.8 January-December 2015 p.81-84
A Commercial Aircraft Fuel Burn and Emissions Inventory for 2005–2011
Authors: Wasiuk Donata , Khan Md , Shallcross Dudley , Lowenberg Mark
Published: June 2016

The commercial aircraft fuel burn and emission estimates of CO2, CO, H2O, hydrocarbons, NOx and SOx for 2005–2011 are given as the 4-D Aircraft Fuel Burn and Emissions Inventory. On average, the annual fuel burn and emissions of CO2, H2O, NOx, and SOx increased by 2%–3% for 2005–2011, however, annual CO and HC emissions decreased by 1.6% and 8.7%, respectively because of improving combustion efficiency in recent aircraft. Approximately 90% of the global annual aircraft NOx emissions were emitted in the NH between 2005 and 2011. Air traffic within the three main industrialised regions of the NH (Asia, Europe, and North America) alone accounted for 80% of the global number of departures, resulting in 50% and 45% of the global aircraft CO2 and NOx emissions, respectively, during 2005–2011. The current Asian fleet appears to impact our climate strongly (in terms of CO2 and NOx) when compared with the European and North American fleet. The changes in the geographical distribution and a gradual shift of the global aircraft NOx emissions as well as a subtle but steady change in regional emissions trends are shown in particular comparatively rising growth rates between 0 and 30°N and decreasing levels between 30 and 60°N.
iPS Cells—The Triumphs and Tribulations
Authors: Sharma Riddhi
Published: June 2016

The year 2006 will be remembered monumentally in science, particularly in the stem cell biology field, for the first instance of generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from mouse embryonic/adult fibroblasts being reported by Takahashi and Yamanaka. A year later, human iPSCs (hiPSCs) were generated from adult human skin fibroblasts by using quartet of genes, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc. This revolutionary technology won Yamanaka Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 2012. Like human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), iPSCs are pluripotent and have the capability for self-renewal. Moreover, complications of immune rejection for therapeutic applications would be greatly eliminated by generating iPSCs from individual patients. This has enabled their use for drug screening/discovery and disease modelling in vitro; and for immunotherapy and regenerative cellular therapies in vivo, paving paths for new therapeutics. Although this breakthrough technology has a huge potential, generation of these unusual cells is still slow, ineffectual, fraught with pitfalls, and unsafe for human use. In this review, I describe how iPSCs are being triumphantly used to lay foundation for a fully functional discipline of regenerative dentistry and medicine, alongside discussing the challenges of translating therapies into clinics. I also discuss their future implications in regenerative dentistry field.
Zero Entropy Is Generic
Authors: Bowen Lewis
Published: June 2016

Dan Rudolph showed that for an amenable group, Γ, the generic measure-preserving action of Γ on a Lebesgue space has zero entropy. Here, this is extended to nonamenable groups. In fact, the proof shows that every action is a factor of a zero entropy action! This uses the strange phenomena that in the presence of nonamenability, entropy can increase under a factor map. The proof uses Seward’s recent generalization of Sinai’s Factor Theorem, the Gaboriau–Lyons result and my theorem that for every nonabelian free group, all Bernoulli shifts factor onto each other.
Understanding the Performance of Low Power Raspberry Pi Cloud for Big Data
Authors: Hajji Wajdi , Tso Fung
Published: June 2016

Nowadays, Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices generate data at high speed and large volume. Often the data require real-time processing to support high system responsiveness which can be supported by localised Cloud and/or Fog computing paradigms. However, there are considerably large deployments of IoT such as sensor networks in remote areas where Internet connectivity is sparse, challenging the localised Cloud and/or Fog computing paradigms. With the advent of the Raspberry Pi, a credit card-sized single board computer, there is a great opportunity to construct low-cost, low-power portable cloud to support real-time data processing next to IoT deployments. In this paper, we extend our previous work on constructing Raspberry Pi Cloud to study its feasibility for real-time big data analytics under realistic application-level workload in both native and virtualised environments. We have extensively tested the performance of a single node Raspberry Pi 2 Model B with httperf and a cluster of 12 nodes with Apache Spark and HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System). Our results have demonstrated that our portable cloud is useful for supporting real-time big data analytics. On the other hand, our results have also unveiled that overhead for CPU-bound workload in virtualised environment is surprisingly high, at 67.2%. We have found that, for big data applications, the virtualisation overhead is fractional for small jobs but becomes more significant for large jobs, up to 28.6%.
Quantification and Mitigation of Unfairness in Active Power Curtailment of Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems Using Sensitivity Based Coordinated Control
Authors: Latif Aadil , Gawlik Wolfgang , Palensky Peter
Published: June 2016

With increasing photovoltaic (PV) penetration in low voltage networks (LVNs), voltage regulation is a challenge. Active power curtailment (APC) is one possible solution for mitigating over voltages resulting from active power injection in LVNs. There is an inherent unfairness in the APC scheme. When generation is high and consumption is low, the voltages at the end of the feeder tend to be the highest. This results in high curtailment of active power output of the inverters located at the end of the feeder and low or even no curtailment for the inverts located closer to the transformer. A secondary voltage controller has been implemented to mitigate this unfairness in APC based voltage support schemes. The focus of this work is to quantify this unfairness and develop methods that enable residential PV owners serviced by the same feeder to participate equally in voltage regulation in the LVN.
Health-Care Waste Treatment Technology Selection Using the Interval 2-Tuple Induced TOPSIS Method
Authors: Lu Chao , You Jian-Xin , Liu Hu-Chen , Li Ping
Published: June 2016

Health-care waste (HCW) management is a major challenge for municipalities, particularly in the cities of developing nations. Selecting the best treatment technology for HCW can be regarded as a complex multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) issue involving a number of alternatives and multiple evaluation criteria. In addition, decision makers tend to express their personal assessments via multi-granularity linguistic term sets because of different backgrounds and knowledge, some of which may be imprecise, uncertain and incomplete. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to propose a new hybrid decision making approach combining interval 2-tuple induced distance operators with the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) for tackling HCW treatment technology selection problems with linguistic information. The proposed interval 2-tuple induced TOPSIS (ITI-TOPSIS) can not only model the uncertainty and diversity of the assessment information given by decision makers, but also reflect the complex attitudinal characters of decision makers and provide much more complete information for the selection of the optimum disposal alternative. Finally, an empirical example in Shanghai, China is provided to illustrate the proposed decision making method, and results show that the ITI-TOPSIS proposed in this paper can solve the problem of HCW treatment technology selection effectively.
Hand- and Object-Mouthing of Rural Bangladeshi Children 3–18 Months Old
Authors: Kwong Laura , Ercumen Ayse , Pickering Amy , Unicomb Leanne , Davis Jennifer , Luby Stephen
Published: June 2016

Children are exposed to environmental contaminants by placing contaminated hands or objects in their mouths. We quantified hand- and object-mouthing frequencies of Bangladeshi children and determined if they differ from those of U.S. children to evaluate the appropriateness of applying U.S. exposure models in other socio-cultural contexts. We conducted a five-hour structured observation of the mouthing behaviors of 148 rural Bangladeshi children aged 3–18 months. We modeled mouthing frequencies using 2-parameter Weibull distributions to compare the modeled medians with those of U.S. children. In Bangladesh the median frequency of hand-mouthing was 37.3 contacts/h for children 3–6 months old, 34.4 contacts/h for children 6–12 months old, and 29.7 contacts/h for children 12–18 months old. The median frequency of object-mouthing was 23.1 contacts/h for children 3–6 months old, 29.6 contacts/h for children 6–12 months old, and 15.2 contacts/h for children 12–18 months old. At all ages both hand- and object-mouthing frequencies were higher than those of U.S. children. Mouthing frequencies were not associated with child location (indoor/outdoor). Using hand- and object-mouthing exposure models from U.S. and other high-income countries might not accurately estimate children’s exposure to environmental contaminants via mouthing in low- and middle-income countries.
Nutrient Intakes in Early Life and Risk of Obesity
Authors: Rolland-Cachera Marie , Akrout Mouna , Péneau Sandrine
Published: June 2016

There is increasing evidence that environmental factors in early life predict later health. The early adiposity rebound recorded in most obese subjects suggests that factors promoting body fat development have operated in the first years of life. Birth weight, growth velocity and body mass index (BMI) trajectories seem to be highly sensitive to the environmental conditions present during pregnancy and in early life (“The first 1000 days”). Particularly, nutritional exposure can have a long-term effect on health in adulthood. The high protein-low fat diet often recorded in young children may have contributed to the rapid rise of childhood obesity prevalence during the last decades. Metabolic programming by early nutrition could explain the development of later obesity and adult diseases.
Individual Characteristics Influencing Physicians’ Perceptions of Job Demands and Control: The Role of Affectivity, Work Engagement and Workaholism
Authors: Mazzetti Greta , Biolcati Roberta , Guglielmi Dina , Vallesi Caryn , Schaufeli Wilmar
Published: June 2016

The first purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of individual characteristics, i.e., positive and negative affectivity, in explaining the different perception of job control and job demands in a particularly demanding environment such as the healthcare setting. In addition, we aimed to explore the mediational role of work engagement and workaholism using the Job Demands-Resources Model as a theoretical framework. Data were collected using a sample of 269 Italian head physicians working in nine general hospitals. To test our hypotheses, the collected data were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Moreover, Sobel Test and bootstrapping were employed to assess the mediating hypotheses. Our results indicated that positive affectivity is related to work engagement, which, in its turn, showed a positive association with job control. In addition, workaholism mediated the relationship between negative affectivity and job demands. All in all, this study represents a first attempt to explore the role of trait affectivity as a dispositional characteristic able to foster the level of work engagement and workaholism exhibited by employees and, in turn, to increase the perceived levels of job control and job demands.
A Nonlinear Model for Gene-Based Gene-Environment Interaction
Authors: Sa Jian , Liu Xu , He Tao , Liu Guifen , Cui Yuehua
Published: June 2016

A vast amount of literature has confirmed the role of gene-environment (G×E) interaction in the etiology of complex human diseases. Traditional methods are predominantly focused on the analysis of interaction between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and an environmental variable. Given that genes are the functional units, it is crucial to understand how gene effects (rather than single SNP effects) are influenced by an environmental variable to affect disease risk. Motivated by the increasing awareness of the power of gene-based association analysis over single variant based approach, in this work, we proposed a sparse principle component regression (sPCR) model to understand the gene-based G×E interaction effect on complex disease. We first extracted the sparse principal components for SNPs in a gene, then the effect of each principal component was modeled by a varying-coefficient (VC) model. The model can jointly model variants in a gene in which their effects are nonlinearly influenced by an environmental variable. In addition, the varying-coefficient sPCR (VC-sPCR) model has nice interpretation property since the sparsity on the principal component loadings can tell the relative importance of the corresponding SNPs in each component. We applied our method to a human birth weight dataset in Thai population. We analyzed 12,005 genes across 22 chromosomes and found one significant interaction effect using the Bonferroni correction method and one suggestive interaction. The model performance was further evaluated through simulation studies. Our model provides a system approach to evaluate gene-based G×E interaction.
Gene Set-Based Functionome Analysis of Pathogenesis in Epithelial Ovarian Serous Carcinoma and the Molecular Features in Different FIGO Stages
Authors: Chang Chia-Ming , Chuang Chi-Mu , Wang Mong-Lien , Yang Ming-Jie , Chang Cheng-Chang , Yen Ming-Shyen , Chiou Shih-Hwa
Published: June 2016

Serous carcinoma (SC) is the most common subtype of epithelial ovarian carcinoma and is divided into four stages by the Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system. Currently, the molecular functions and biological processes of SC at different FIGO stages have not been quantified. Here, we conducted a whole-genome integrative analysis to investigate the functions of SC at different stages. The function, as defined by the GO term or canonical pathway gene set, was quantified by measuring the changes in the gene expressional order between cancerous and normal control states. The quantified function, i.e., the gene set regularity (GSR) index, was utilized to investigate the pathogenesis and functional regulation of SC at different FIGO stages. We showed that the informativeness of the GSR indices was sufficient for accurate pattern recognition and classification for machine learning. The function regularity presented by the GSR indices showed stepwise deterioration during SC progression from FIGO stage I to stage IV. The pathogenesis of SC was centered on cell cycle deregulation and accompanied with multiple functional aberrations as well as their interactions.
A Matter of the Heart: The African Clawed Frog Xenopus as a Model for Studying Vertebrate Cardiogenesis and Congenital Heart Defects
Authors: Hempel Annemarie , Kühl Michael
Published: June 2016

The African clawed frog, Xenopus, is a valuable non-mammalian model organism to investigate vertebrate heart development and to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms of human congenital heart defects (CHDs). In this review, we outline the similarities between Xenopus and mammalian cardiogenesis, and provide an overview of well-studied cardiac genes in Xenopus, which have been associated with congenital heart conditions. Additionally, we highlight advantages of modeling candidate genes derived from genome wide association studies (GWAS) in Xenopus and discuss commonly used techniques.
Angiogenesis in Ischemic Stroke and Angiogenic Effects of Chinese Herbal Medicine
Authors: Seto Sai-Wang , Chang Dennis , Jenkins Anita , Bensoussan Alan , Kiat Hosen
Published: June 2016

Stroke is one of the major causes of death and adult disability worldwide. The underlying pathophysiology of stroke is highly complicated, consisting of impairments of multiple signalling pathways, and numerous pathological processes such as acidosis, glutamate excitotoxicity, calcium overload, cerebral inflammation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. The current treatment for ischemic stroke is limited to thromolytics such as recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). tPA has a very narrow therapeutic window, making it suitable to only a minority of stroke patients. Hence, there is great urgency to develop new therapies that can protect brain tissue from ischemic damage. Recent studies have shown that new vessel formation after stroke not only replenishes blood flow to the ischemic area of the brain, but also promotes neurogenesis and improves neurological functions in both animal models and patients. Therefore, drugs that can promote angiogenesis after ischemic stroke can provide therapeutic benefits in stroke management. In this regard, Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has a long history in treating stroke and the associated diseases. A number of studies have demonstrated the pro-angiogenic effects of various Chinese herbs and herbal formulations in both in vitro and in vivo settings. In this article, we present a comprehensive review of the current knowledge on angiogenesis in the context of ischemic stroke and discuss the potential use of CHM in stroke management through modulation of angiogenesis.
Morphisms and Order Ideals of Toric Posets
Authors: Macauley Matthew
Published: June 2016

Toric posets are in some sense a natural “cyclic” version of finite posets in that they capture the fundamental features of a partial order but without the notion of minimal or maximal elements. They can be thought of combinatorially as equivalence classes of acyclic orientations under the equivalence relation generated by converting sources into sinks, or geometrically as chambers of toric graphic hyperplane arrangements. In this paper, we define toric intervals and toric order-preserving maps, which lead to toric analogues of poset morphisms and order ideals. We develop this theory, discuss some fundamental differences between the toric and ordinary cases, and outline some areas for future research. Additionally, we provide a connection to cyclic reducibility and conjugacy in Coxeter groups.
Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Alginate to Produce Oligosaccharides by a New Purified Endo-Type Alginate Lyase
Authors: Zhu Benwei , Chen Meijuan , Yin Heng , Du Yuguang , Ning Limin
Published: June 2016

Enzymatic hydrolysis of sodium alginate to produce alginate oligosaccharides has drawn increasing attention due to its advantages of containing a wild reaction condition, excellent gel properties and specific products easy for purification. However, the efficient commercial enzyme tools are rarely available. A new alginate lyase with high activity (24,038 U/mg) has been purified from a newly isolated marine strain, Cellulophaga sp. NJ-1. The enzyme was most active at 50 °C and pH 8.0 and maintained stability at a broad pH range (6.0–10.0) and temperature below 40 °C. It had broad substrate specificity toward sodium alginate, heteropolymeric MG blocks (polyMG), homopolymeric M blocks (polyM) and homopolymeric G blocks (polyG), and possessed higher affinity toward polyG (15.63 mM) as well as polyMG (23.90 mM) than polyM (53.61 mM) and sodium alginate (27.21 mM). The TLC and MS spectroscopy analysis of degradation products suggested that it completely hydrolyzed sodium alginate into oligosaccharides of low degrees of polymerization (DPs). The excellent properties would make it a promising tool for full use of sodium alginate to produce oligosaccharides.
Evaluating the Applicability of GTN Damage Model in Forward Tube Spinning of Aluminum Alloy
Authors: Wang Xianxian , Zhan Mei , Guo Jing , Zhao Bin
Published: June 2016

Tube spinning is an effective plastic-forming technology for forming light-weight, high-precision and high-reliability components in high-tech fields, such as aviation and aerospace. However, cracks commonly occur in tube spinning due to the complexity of stress state, which severely restricts the improvement of the forming quality and forming limit of components. In this study, a finite element (FE) model coupled with Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) damage model for forward tube spinning of 3A21-O aluminum alloy is established and its applicability is evaluated by experiment. Meanwhile, the GTN damage model is employed to study the damage evolution for forward tube spinning of 3A21-O aluminum alloy. The results show that the FE model is appropriate for predicting the macroscopic crack appearing in uplift area for forward tube spinning, while the damage evolution in deformation area could not be predicted well due to the negative stress triaxiality and the neglect of shear deformation. Accumulation of damage in forward tube spinning occurs mainly in the uplift area. Void volume fraction (VVF) in the outer surface of the tube is higher than that in the inner surface. In addition, it is prone to cracking in the outer surface of tube in the material uplift area.
Dioscin Induces Apoptosis in Human Cervical Carcinoma HeLa and SiHa Cells through ROS-Mediated DNA Damage and the Mitochondrial Signaling Pathway
Authors: Zhao Xinwei , Tao Xufeng , Xu Lina , Yin Lianhong , Qi Yan , Xu Youwei , Han Xu , Peng Jinyong
Published: June 2016

Dioscin, a natural product, has activity against glioblastoma multiforme, lung cancer and colon cancer. In this study, the effects of dioscin against human cervical carcinoma HeLa and SiHa cells were further confirmed, and the possible mechanism(s) were investigated. A transmission electron microscopy (TEM) assay and DAPI staining were used to detect the cellular morphology. Flow cytometry was used to assay cell apoptosis, ROS and Ca2+ levels. Single cell gel electrophoresis and immunofluorescence assays were used to test DNA damage and cytochrome C release. The results showed that dioscin significantly inhibited cell proliferation and caused DNA damage in HeLa and SiHa cells. The mechanistic investigation showed that dioscin caused the release of cytochrome C from mitochondria into the cytosol. In addition, dioscin significantly up-regulated the protein levels of Bak, Bax, Bid, p53, caspase-3, caspase-9, and down-regulated the protein levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl. Our work thus demonstrated that dioscin notably induces apoptosis in HeLa and SiHa cells through adjusting ROS-mediated DNA damage and the mitochondrial signaling pathway.