bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Overview on Untargeted Methods to Combat Food Frauds: A Focus on Fishery Products
Authors: Fiorino Giuseppina M. , Garino Cristiano , Arlorio Marco , Logrieco Antonio F. , Losito Ilario , Monaci Linda
Published: April 2018

Authenticity and traceability of food products are of primary importance at all levels of the production process, from raw materials to finished products. Authentication is also a key aspect for accurate labeling of food, which is required to help consumers in selecting appropriate types of food products. With the aim of guaranteeing the authenticity of foods, various methodological approaches have been devised over the past years, mainly based on either targeted or untargeted analyses. In this review, a brief overview of current analytical methods tailored to authenticity studies, with special regard to fishery products, is provided. Focus is placed on untargeted methods that are attracting the interest of the analytical community thanks to their rapidity and high throughput; such methods enable a fast collection of “fingerprinting signals” referred to each authentic food, subsequently stored into large database for the construction of specific information repositories. In the present case, methods capable of detecting fish adulteration/substitution and involving sensory, physicochemical, DNA-based, chromatographic, and spectroscopic measurements, combined with chemometric tools, are illustrated and commented on.
Extraction of Polysaccharide from Spirulina and Evaluation of Its Activities
Authors: Wang Bingyue , Liu Qian , Huang Yinghong , Yuan Yueling , Ma Qianqian , Du Manling , Cai Tiange , Cai Yu
Published: April 2018

Background. Polysaccharide of Spirulina platensis (PSP) is a kind of water‐soluble polysaccharide extracted from Spirulina platensis. It has been proved to have antitumor, antioxidation, antiaging, and antivirus properties. And it has a promising prospect for wide application. Objective. This study aims to identify an extraction process for high‐purity polysaccharide in Spirulina (PSP) through a series of optimization methods and then evaluates its initial antiaging activities. Methods. Four kinds of extraction methods—hot‐water extraction, alkali extraction, ultrasonic‐assisted extraction, and freeze‐thaw extraction—were compared to find the optimal one, which was further optimized by response surface methodology. PSP was obtained after the crude PSP was deproteinized and depigmented. The antiaging effects of PSP were preliminarily evaluated through in vitro cell experiments. Results. The alkali extraction method was determined as the optimal method, with the optimized extraction process consisting of a solid‐liquid ratio of 1 : 50, a pH value of 10.25, a temperature of 89.24°C, and a time of 9.99 h. The final PSP contained 71.65% of polysaccharide and 8.54% of protein. At a concentration of 50 μg/mL, PSP exerted a significant promoting effect on the proliferation and traumatic fusion of human immortalized epidermal cells HaCaT. Conclusion. An extraction method for high‐purity PSP with a high extraction rate was established, and in vitro results suggest antioxidation and antiaging activities.
Magnetoelectric Dipole Antenna with Dual Polarization and High Isolation
Authors: Yang Xujun , Ge Lei , Zhang Dengguo , Sim Chow-Yen-Desmond
Published: April 2018

A dual‐polarized aperture‐coupled magnetoelectric (ME) dipole antenna is presented in this paper. The feeding network is based on substrate‐integrated coaxial lines (SICLs). To describe the effect of the SICL on improving the isolation, the ME dipole with another two different feeding configurations, microstrip lines and striplines, respectively, is compared. As such, the coupling between the transmission lines is tremendously reduced and the isolation between the two input ports of different polarization is enhanced. An antenna prototype is fabricated and tested, exhibiting good performances, including an isolation level of higher than 30 dB between the two input ports and gains of more than 9.5 dBi. Besides, the proposed design is capable of achieving stable directional radiation patterns with cross‐polarization levels lower than −22 dB and back radiation levels lower than −24 dB.
Online Appointment Scheduling for a Nuclear Medicine Department in a Chinese Hospital
Authors: Xiao Qian , Luo Li , Zhao Shu-zhen , Ran Xiao-bin , Feng Ya-bing
Published: April 2018

Nuclear medicine, a subspecialty of radiology, plays an important role in proper diagnosis and timely treatment. Multiple resources, especially short-lived radiopharmaceuticals involved in the process of nuclear medical examination, constitute a unique problem in appointment scheduling. Aiming at achieving scientific and reasonable appointment scheduling in the West China Hospital (WCH), a typical class A tertiary hospital in China, we developed an online appointment scheduling algorithm based on an offline nonlinear integer programming model which considers multiresources allocation, the time window constraints imposed by short-lived radiopharmaceuticals, and the stochastic nature of the patient requests when scheduling patients. A series of experiments are conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed strategy based on data provided by the WCH. The results show that the examination amount increases by 29.76% compared with the current one with a significant increase in the resource utilization and timely rate. Besides, it also has a high stability for stochastic factors and bears the advantage of convenient and economic operation.
Adaptive Equalizer Design for Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle Image Transmission over Relay Channels
Authors: Wenqian Huang , Wenrui Ding
Published: April 2018

A novel length adaptive method is proposed for time domain equalizer by taking the channel attenuation ratio between different multipath components into account in UAV‐UAV and UAV‐ground channels. Then, considering received image quality, the minimum bit error ratio (MBER) criterion is exploited to design adaptive equalizers for both amplify‐and‐forward (AF) and decode‐and‐forward (DF) relaying systems by the proposed length adaptive method. Results show that proposed MBER adaptive equalizers outperform the traditional ones in both AF relaying and DF relaying as channel attenuation ratio in UAV‐ground channel increases. Moreover, DF outperforms AF as channel attenuation ratio in UAV‐UAV channel increases. Furthermore, bit error ratio (BER) and peak signal‐to‐noise ratio (PSNR) performances in both AF and DF are evaluated to show the enhancement by the proposed MBER adaptive equalizers.
Effects of Nanoimprinted Structures on the Performance of Organic Solar Cells
Authors: Gill Hardeep Singh , Li Lian , Ren Haizhou , Mosurkal Ravi , Kumar Jayant
Published: April 2018

The effect of nanoimprinted structures on the performance of organic bulk heterojunction solar cells was investigated. The nanostructures were formed over the active layer employing the soft lithographic technique. The measured incident photon-to-current efficiency revealed that the nanostructured morphology over the active layer can efficiently enhance both light harvesting and charge carrier collection due to improvement of the absorption of incident light and the buried nanostructured cathode, respectively. The devices prepared with the imprinted nanostructures exhibited significantly higher power conversion efficiencies as compared to those of the control cells.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor, and Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor Expression in the Neovascular Iris in Retinal Diseases
Authors: Miao Heng , Hou Xianru , Hwang De-Kuang , Tao Yong
Published: April 2018

Objective. To determine the expression of cytokines in the iris of patients with neovascular glaucoma (NVG). Methods. Patients with NVG associated with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR, group 1) or central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO, group 2) who had undergone surgical treatment were enrolled. Patients with primary open-angle glaucoma requiring surgical treatment were included in the control group (group 3). All iris specimens were obtained during trabeculectomy, 7 days after intravitreal injections of ranibizumab. The messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels of three target cytokines—vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF)—in the iris were analyzed and compared. Results. We included 39 eyes from 39 patients (12, 15, and 12 in groups 1, 2, and 3, resp.). The protein and mRNA levels of PEDF were higher in two NVG groups. The protein levels, but not mRNA level, of bFGF were higher in the two NVG groups. The protein and mRNA levels of VEGF were similar in the three groups. Conclusions. The protein level of bFGF increased in the irises of the NVG patients was not expressed by the iris itself, whereas PEDF may be expressed by the iris tissue in these patients.
The Application of Improved Spherical Harmonics Expansion-Based Multilevel Fast Multipole Algorithm in the Solution of Volume-Surface Integral Equation
Authors: Liu Jinbo , He Mang , Li Zengrui , Su Jianxun
Published: April 2018

During the solution of volume-surface integral equation (VSIE), to reduce the core memory requirement of the radiation patterns (RPs) of the basis functions, an improved spherical harmonics expansion-based multilevel fast multipole algorithm (SE-MLFMA) using the mixed-potential representation and the triangle-/tetrahedron-based grouping scheme is applied. Numerical results show that accompanying with a faster speed, the memory requirement of the RPs in the improved SE-MLFMA is several times less than that in the conventional MLFMA without compromising accuracy. A result employing the OpenMP parallelization and vector arithmetic logic unit (VALU) hardware acceleration technique is also shown to illustrate the robustness and scalability of the improved SE-MLFMA method.
Simulation Model for Dynamics of Dengue with Innate and Humoral Immune Responses
Authors: Perera S. D. , Perera S. S. N.
Published: April 2018

Dengue virus is a mosquito borne Flavivirus and the most prevalent arbovirus in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The incidence of dengue has increased drastically over the last few years at an alarming rate. The clinical manifestation of dengue ranges from asymptomatic infection to severe dengue. Even though the viral kinetics of dengue infection is lacking, innate immune response and humoral immune response are thought to play a major role in controlling the virus count. Here, we developed a computer simulation mathematical model including both innate and adaptive immune responses to study the within-host dynamics of dengue virus infection. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to identify key parameters that would contribute towards severe dengue. A detailed stability analysis was carried out to identify relevant range of parameters that contributes to different outcomes of the infection. This study provides a qualitative understanding of the biological factors that can explain the viral kinetics during a dengue infection.
Vessel Stretching Is a Cause of Lumen Enlargement Immediately After Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty
Authors: Shimokawahara Hiroto , Ogawa Aiko , Mizoguchi Hiroki , Yagi Hiroki , Ikemiyagi Hidekazu , Matsubara Hiromi
Published: April 2018

Background—

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) has become an alternative therapy for patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension who are ineligible for pulmonary endarterectomy. We retrospectively investigated intravascular ultrasound measurements to elucidate how the lumen enlarges immediately after BPA.

Methods and Results—

A total of 326 lesions in 71 patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension were analyzed. The cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the external elastic membrane and lumen measured by intravascular ultrasound before and after BPA were assessed for each lesion type (type A, ring-like stenosis lesions; type B, web lesions; type C, subtotal occlusion lesions). Comparing the lesion types, the proportion of the area occupied by fibrous tissue was smallest in the type A lesions and largest in the type C lesions. The mean lesion lumen CSA was increased after BPA because of an increase in external elastic membrane CSA (from 23.2±12.9 to 27.2±14.3 mm
2
;
P
<0.001) with a slight decrease in fibrous tissue plus media CSA (from 17.7±11.7 to 17.3±11.1 mm
2
;
P
<0.001). The change in lumen CSA correlated strongly with the change in external elastic membrane CSA (
r
2
=0.762;
P
<0.001).

Conclusions—

Lumen enlargement immediately after BPA was obtained by the overall vessel expansion induced by a stretch of the arterial wall. In addition, the amount of fibrous tissue depended on each lesion type. Thus, it might be beneficial to change the balloon size to correspond with the lesion type.
L’hypothèse de la cessation des mouvements célestes au xive siècle : Nicole Oresme, Jean Buridan et Albert de Saxe
Authors: Panzica Aurora
Published: April 2018

Aristotelian cosmology implies the plurality of celestial motion for the process of generation and corruption in the sublunar world. In order to investigate the structure of the cosmos and the degree of dependence of the sublunar on the supralunar region, medieval Latin commentators on Aristotle explored the consequences of the cessation of celestial motion. This paper analyses the position of some philosophers of the fourteenth-century Parisian school, namely Nicole Oresme, John Buridan and Albert of Saxony.
Aquinas’ Ontology of Transeunt Causal Activity
Authors: Frost Gloria
Published: April 2018

This paper reconstructs and analyzes Thomas Aquinas’ intriguing views on transeunt causal activity, which have been the subject of an interpretive debate spanning from the fifteenth century up until the present. In his Physics commentary, Aquinas defends the Aristotelian positions that (i) the actualization of an agent’s active potential is the motion that it causes in its patient and (ii) action and passion are the same motion. Yet, in other texts, Aquinas claims that (iii) action differs from passion and (iv) “action is in the agent” as subject. This paper proposes a solution for how to reconcile Aquinas’ varying claims about what transeunt causal activity is in reality. In addition to advancing understanding of Aquinas’ views on causal activity, the paper also offers insights into more general topics in his thought, such as the relationship between actualities and accidents and the nature of extrinsic accidents.
Lucifer princeps tenebrarum … The Epistola Luciferi and Other Correspondence of the Cistercian Pierre Ceffons (fl. 1348-1353)
Authors: Schabel Chris
Published: April 2018

The famous Epistola Luciferi, written in late 1351 or early 1352, caused quite a stir in the Avignon of Pope Clement vi, quickly became a medieval best-seller, and thereafter remained topical, being copied and printed down to the present day. Traditionally ascribed to Nicole Oresme or Henry of Langenstein, the letter was attributed to the Cistercian Pierre Ceffons by Damasus Trapp in 1957. Trapp merely took Ceffons’ authorship for granted, however, and in the most thorough study of the Epistola Luciferi and of the entire genre of Devil’s letters, her 1982 PhD dissertation, Helen C. Feng rejected the attribution. Presenting codices and works of Ceffons of which Trapp was unaware, this article argues in favor of Ceffons’ responsibility for the Epistola Luciferi, while offering a new critical edition of the letter, an English translation, and a supplemental list of manuscripts and editions.
The Dutch Origins of the Quasi War: John Adams, the Netherlands, and Atlantic Politics in the 1790s
Authors: Van Cleave Peter D.
Published: April 2018

In 1797, John Adams called together a special session of Congress. Adams informed the assembled members that he had sent new ambassadors to France and requested a buildup of the military. Adams’s belligerent message set the stage for the military engagement with France that came to be known as the Quasi War. In the message, Adams included some documents about French depredations in the Netherlands. While these documents have caused some historians pause, this article argues that the use of these documents offer insight into the much larger role the Dutch played in the Early American Republic and in Adams’s own decision-making process. In order to fully understand the origins of the Quasi War, we must consider Adams’s connections with the Netherlands and the Dutch people.
An Investigation of Clerical Script in Chu Regions during the Qin and Han Periods, and its Relationship to “Scribal Writing” (秦漢楚地隷書及關於“史書”的考察)
Authors: Katsuya (大西克也) Ōnishi
Published: April 2018

The term ‘shishu 史書’ refers to “scribal writing,” which implemented an orthography and character selection in accordance with the standard clerical script found on Qin and Han official documents. At the beginning of the Han period, divergent strands of clerical script were still pervasive in the region that once belonged to Chu. “Scribal writing” was therefore employed throughout the empire in order to fully standardize writing. By the mid-Western Han, this “scribal writing” thereby came to be synonymous with Han clerical script. The role of the Cang Jie pian 蒼頡篇 in Han scribal education is also explored.

“史書”是指字形、用字都合乎秦漢官方規範的隸書。漢初楚地充滿了不規範的隸書，國家要用史書來完成漢字的規範化，到了西漢中期以後“史書”成爲漢隸的同義詞。文章還分析了《蒼頡篇》在漢人學字中的地位。
Estimating Smoothly Varying Open Boundary Conditions for a 3D Internal Tidal Model with an Improved Independent Point Scheme
Authors: Jiang Dong , Chen Haibo , Jin Guangzhen , Lv Xianqing
Published: April 2018

An improved independent point (IP) scheme was proposed to estimate the open boundary conditions (OBCs) for a 3D internal tidal model through assimilating the TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) altimeter data. Under the assumption that the OBCs were spatially and smoothly varying, values at a set of independent points along the open boundary were inverted using the adjoint method and values at other points were interpolated by the spline method. The scheme was calibrated through idealized experiments where the M2 tidal constituent in the northern South China Sea was simulated. The OBCs can be successfully inverted with the improved scheme and were better in spatial smoothness than the results obtained with the Cressman interpolation when embedded in the IP scheme. Simulations in realistic domains showed that the errors between simulations and observations were smaller when the spline interpolation was employed instead of the Cressman interpolation. Three boundary conditions of spline interpolation were used in simulations in realistic domains, and the result of the periodic boundary condition had the smallest error compared with the first and second boundary conditions.
Why is Informal Employment Too Difficult to Control? Further Evidence from Cultural Perspective
Authors: Sirisankanan Aeggarchat
Published: April 2018

Much of the literature on informal employment examines the impact of tangible benefits such as earnings. Little attention has focused on the impact of non-pecuniary benefits on informality. The article has initially applied some of Schwartz’s cultural indices, which include autonomy and embeddedness as a proxy for the desire to be independent, and hypothesizes that such cultural perspective have a substantial influence on informal employment. Using many empirical approaches, the results show that embeddedness has a large, negative, significant effect on informal employment, while an increase in the level of intellectual autonomy results in a great expansion in informal employment.

JEL: A14, J46, O17
Adaptation Planning to Mitigate Coastal-Road Pavement Damage from Groundwater Rise Caused by Sea-Level Rise
Authors: Knott Jayne F. , Daniel Jo Sias , Jacobs Jennifer M. , Kirshen Paul
Published: April 2018

Sea level in coastal New England is projected to rise 3.9–6.6 ft (1.2–2.0 m) by the year 2100. Many climate-change vulnerability and adaptation studies have investigated surface-water flooding from sea-level rise (SLR) on coastal-road infrastructure, but few have focused on rising groundwater. Groundwater modeling in New Hampshire’s Seacoast Region has shown that SLR-induced groundwater rise will occur three to four times farther inland than surface-water flooding, potentially impacting 23% of the region’s roads. Pavement service-life has been shown to decrease when the unbound layers become saturated. In areas where groundwater is projected to rise with SLR, pavements with groundwater 5.0 ft (1.5 m) deep or less are at risk of premature failure as groundwater moves into the pavement’s underlying unbound layers. In this study, groundwater hydrology and multi-layer elastic pavement analysis were used to identify two case-study sites in coastal New Hampshire that are predicted to experience pavement service-life reduction caused by SLR-induced groundwater rise. Various pavement structures were evaluated to determine adaptation feasibility and costs to maintain the designed service-life in the face of rising groundwater. This investigation shows that relatively simple pavement structural modifications to the base and asphalt concrete (AC) layers of a regional corridor can eliminate the 80% to 90% service-life reduction projected with 1.0 ft SLR (year 2030) and will delay pavement inundation by 20 years. Pavements with adequate base-layer materials and thickness require only AC thickness modification to avoid premature pavement failure from SLR-induced groundwater rise.
Isotachophoretic Pattern of LDH Inhibiting Fractions Obtained from Uremic Ultrafiltrate by Gelchromatography
Authors: De Smet R. , Van Landschoot N. , Van Der Stiggel G. , Ringoir S. , Van Kaer J.
Published: April 2018

Uremic ultrafiltrate was fractioned by chromatography on Sephadex G15; two fractions were highly inhibiting the total lactate dehydrogenase activity in ratkidney homogenate. The inhibiting fractions were eluates number 10 and 11 with an elution volume of respectively 17.4 ml and 19.3 ml and a Kav of 0.17 and 0.25. Both fractions presented a different pattern on analysis by analytical isotachophoresis.
Thyroid Status and Nephron Loss - A study in Patients with Chronic Renal Failure, End Stage Renal Disease and/or on Hemodialysis
Authors: Giordano C. , De Santo N.G. , Carella C. , Capodicasa G. , Amato G. , Nuzzi F. , Mioli V. , Bazzato G. , De Simone V. , Tarchini A. , Landini A. , Coli U. , Bordoni V. , Mottola G. , Capuano F.
Published: April 2018

Thyroid function was measured in 30 healthy subjects and 84 patients with various degrees of nephron loss (GRF: 70 ± 15 m/min, 30 ± 16 ml/min, 10 ± 7 ml/min and 2.1 ± 1.3 ml/min).

A low T3 and T4 syndrome is evident when GRF is reduced to 30 ± 16 ml/min while a blunted TSH response is detected earlier in the course of nephron loss. T3 response to TRH was normal and FT4 was not affected by renal dysfunction. The data indicate that in nephron loss hypothalamic-pituitary abnormalities occur.
Endstage Renal Failure due to Multiple Myeloma — Poor Survival on Peritoneal Dialysis
Authors: Tapson J.S. , Mansy H. , Wilkinson R.
Published: April 2018

This report describes five subjects with endstage renal failure due to multiple myeloma. All of the patients died within seven months of commencing chronic peritoneal dialysis. Complications were frequent during the dialysis period. Our experience supports the opinion that patients with multiple myeloma and a high tumour cell mass should not be offered dialysis.
Prescribing Dialysate Bicarbonate Concentrations for Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Heineken F.G. , Brady-Smith M. , Haynie J. , Van Stone J.C.
Published: April 2018

A rearranged equation of Sargent and Gotch (1) was used to determine dialysate bicarbonate concentrations for hemodialysis patients. Parameters in this equation include an estimate of the acid generated by each patient between treatments, an estimate for the dialyzer dialysance for bicarbonate, ultrafiltration rate, blood flow rate and a targeted mid-dialysis plasma bicarbonate concentration of 25 mEq/L. Nine patients were studied over a 35 week period to verify this method of determining each patient's dialysate bicarbonate concentration. Prescribed dialysate bicarbonate concentrations for the nine patients varied from 29 to 38 mEq/L with five patients having a prescribed value of 35 mEq/L. After a baseline period of five weeks, five patients switched from a 37 mEq/L acetate dialysate to their prescribed dialysate bicarbonate concentration. Four patients who had already been on bicarbonate dialysis at a concentration of 35 mEq/L were dialyzed with their prescribed dialysate bicarbonate concentrations. Patients were then followed for a study period of 30 weeks. The prescribed dialysate bicarbonate concentration resulted in more normal acid/base chemistries for both groups of patients. The results also demonstrate that chronic hemodialysis patients require individualization of dialysate bicarbonate concentrations.
Endotoxin and Bacterial Contamination of Dialysis Center Water and Dialysate; a Cross Sectional Survey
Authors: Harding G.B. , Klein E. , Pass T. , Wright R. , Million C.
Published: April 2018

The bacterial and endotoxin levels of purified water and effluent dialysate were examined in a cross section of dialysis centers in the central United States. All samples were collected within a four-hour drive of the University of Louisville and were collected, processed and analyzed by our personnel, to eliminate variability in sample handling. A medium capable of higher bacteria recovery from aqueous environments than those ordinarily employed in clinical assays was used. Endotoxins were determined by a quantitative colorimetric assay.

By the more sensitive bacterial assay 53% of the centers had bacterial counts above the AAMI standard of 200 colony-forming units per ml (CFU/ml) for water and 35% of the centers had bacterial counts above the 2000 CFU/ml standard for dialysate in at least one sampling period. The samples showed 35% and 19% of water and dialysate above the standards, respectively. While there are no standards for endotoxin concentrations in water used to prepare dialysate, 2% of the centers had endotoxin levels in their water above five endotoxin units per ml (5 EU/ml = 1 ng/ml in our assay kit), the limit set by the AAMI standards for reprocessor water. Both bacterial and endotoxin levels tended to be elevated in dialysate, with the highest levels of endotoxin in dialysates posing an obvious potential risk when high-flux dialyzers are used.
Comparison of Different Parathyroid Hormone Radioimmunoassays in Uremic Patients with Secondary Hyperparathyroidism
Authors: Togashi K. , Takahashi N. , Ando K. , Tsukamoto Y. , Marumo F.
Published: April 2018

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels of patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) were measured by three different radioimmunoassays (RIA); RIA for mid-region PTH by antibody CH9 (i-PTH) (1), RIA for intact fragments of PTH (intact PTH) and RIA for C-terminal fragments of PTH (PTH-C). PTH levels were higher in CRF patients undergoing hemodialysis therapy (hemodialysis patients) by all three methods. However, PTH levels measured only by i-PTH assay and intact PTH assay were significantly higher in patients with CRF who were not on dialysis (non-dialyzed CRF patients). PTH levels were above normal when creatinine clearance was below 45 ml/min in the intact PTH assay and 66 ml/min in the i-PTH assay. I-PTH levels were well correlated with the severity of osteitis fibrosa evaluated by the degree of periosteal resorption in the digits of hemodialysis patients. Since special handling of the sample is required for the intact PTH assay, i-PTH assay is the most suitable method for diagnosing secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with CRF.
Superoxide Generation by Neutrophils after Exposure to a Conventional Peritoneal Dialysis Solution for Different Time Periods
Authors: Gupta D.K. , Ing B.L. , Manahan F.J. , Zhou F-Q. , Yu A.W. , Nawab Z.M. , Rahman M.A.
Published: April 2018

Neutrophils were isolated from canine blood and exposed to a conventional, acidic, lactate-containing peritoneal dialysis solution for 0, 2 and 4 minutes in one study and 0, 4, 7 and 10 minutes in another. Superoxide generation, expressed in nanomoles per million cells, was determined using a method based on the superoxide dismutase-inhibitable reduction of ferricytochrome c. Brief exposure of neutrophils to a conventional dialysis solution could significantly inhibit the generation of superoxide by neutrophils.
Experience with Vascular Grafts in total Artificial Heart Replacement
Authors: Weidemann H. , Müller K.M. , Hennig E. , Meissler M. , Bücherl E.S.
Published: April 2018

In total artificial heart replacement the pumps are attached to the vascular system with the help of connectors. These consist of a woven Dacron vessel graft to which a short silastic segment is vulcanized. In 36 calves surviving total artificial heart replacement between one and seven months (average 85 days) the morphological alterations due to interfacial reactions were studied: thrombus formation and neointimal fibrous hyperplasia at the anastomoses.

In 15 calves (41.7%) thrombus growth within the outflow tract led to anastomotic stenosis: pulmonary artery 14 (93.3%), aorta-anastomosis 1 (2.8%), both vessels 1 (2.8%), in combination with pannus growth in atrial location 13 (86.7%). In 73.3% the pannus consisted of infected organized thrombus imitating the course of septic vegetative endocarditis. Two calves were reoperated in order to remove the vegetative thrombi, one successfully. In five animals pulmonary stenosis was the main cause of death. The presence and location of excessive tissue growth and thrombus formation within the outflow tract are also inherent to the fluid mechanical design of the valve. Neointimal fibrous hyperplasia at the anastomoses of the grafts seems to be a reparative process started up by platelet-induced subendothelial cell proliferation in response to intimal injuries.
Fluid Transport in Peritoneal Dialysis
Authors: Lindholm B. , Werynski A. , Bergström J.
Published: April 2018

Standard peritoneal ultrafiltration characteristics in 18 patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) were investigated in a total of 21 single dwell studies of 6 h duration with 2 L of 3.86% glucose dialysis fluid. Intraperitoneal dialysate volumes were determined using radioiodinated serum albumin (RISA). Calculations were based on a novel mathematical method in which RISA elimination from the peritoneal cavity was taken into account. The RISA elimination rate, KE, was calculated as 2.1 ± 0.5 ml/min. The true dialysate volume after 360 min (2957±196 ml) was on the average 28% lower than the volume (3737 ± 260 ml) calculated without correction for the elimination of RISA. The mean maximum true volume plus sampling losses was 3255 ml at 240 min corresponding to a mean ultrafiltration of 762 ml between 3 min and 240 min. Our method of peritoneal volume determination proved to be useful for clinical investigations. The present study demonstrates that CAPD patients, without any major ultrafiltration problems, exhibit relatively small interpatient variations in their peritoneal volume over time curve.
Influence of Membranes on Generation of β2 M and Release of Leukocyte Lysosomal Enzymes
Authors: Stein G. , Schauer ST. , Süss J. , Müller A. , Hüller M. , Schaefer K. , Falkenhagen D. , Linβ W.
Published: April 2018

Normal leukocyte functional capacity was investigated by evaluation of phagocytosis of opsonised yeast cells in a radiometric test system. After incubation with dialysis membranes (different cellulosic membranes, polysulfon membrane (PS), polymethylmetacrylate membrane (PMMN), the phagocytosis index, expressed as percent decrease with respect to initial values without membrane, decreased by 10%–25%. The most pronounced effect was observed with PS, cuprophane, modified cellulose and PMMA. The results are not related to differences in the viability of PMN during the test procedure; dead PMN amounted to about 4–6.5%. A significant increase in β-NAG and β-Gluc activities was released in the supernatants of the phagocytosis suspensions. This increase activity can be explained by the phagocytosis of PMN but it was not influenced by membrane contact. There was no influence of membrane contact or phagocytosis activity of PMN on the β2M concentration in the supernatant demonstrating that no in vitro generation during incubation with either membrane exists.
Detection of Low Molecular Size Lipopolysaccharide Contaminated in Dialysates used for Hemodialysis Therapy with Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis in the Presence of Sodium Deoxycholate
Authors: Komuro T. , Nakazawa R.
Published: April 2018

Dialysis membranes are generally considered to be impermeable for bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) contaminated in dialysates used for hemodialysis therapy, since LPS molecular size in aqueous media has been reported to be more than 106. However, there are few reports concerning its size in dialysates. We have already presented a newly developed polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with sodium deoxycholate (DOC-PAGE) which proves the LPS size. Using this method, therefore, we attempted to clarify the size of LPS in dialysates. We demonstrated that LPS in dialysates had roughly two different molecular sizes with DOC-PAGE and that compared to migration profiles of Salmonella LPS as controls on DOC-PAGE, one molecular size of LPS was approximately 4,000 and the other in tens of thousands. This investigation indicates the possibility of LPS transfer across dialysis membranes.
Ticlopidine Improves Dialysis Clearance of Solutes in Uremic Patients by Reducing Blood Clotting in Dialyser Fibers
Authors: Milutinović S. , Gašparovlć V. , Milutinović E. , Buturovlć-Ponikvar J.
Published: April 2018

Ticlopidine, a platelet aggregation inhibitor was tested, in a double blind comparative cross-over study versus placebo, in 51 dialysed uremic patients who had increased dialyser blood clotting (> 25 fibers clotted / dialyser). At the end of a 7-day treatment period with 250 mg daily, the clearance of urea, creatinine and phosphate was determined at 30 and 210 minutes of dialysis, as well as the number of fibers clotted at the end of dialysis. Ticlopidine improved dialyser clearances for urea, creatinine and phosphate from 165 ± 41 to 182 ± 35 (p < 0.01), 135 ± 37 to 143 ± 35 (p < 0.05), and 120 ± 36 to 130 ± 35 (p < 0.05) ml/min, respectively, at 30 min of HD and a similar effect was seen after 210 min of dialysis. The number of dialyser fibers clotted after dialysis was reduced by ticlopidine therapy from 110 ± 48 to 15 ± 8 (p < 0.01). Ticlopidine reduced the initial dialysis-induced drop in leucocyte count by 20% (p < 0.05); no change in platelet or erythrocyte count was observed. Two out of 51 patients experienced an adverse reaction from ticlopidine (cutaneous haematoma and minor gingival bleeding). We conclude that ticlopidine is an efficient and safe drug for dialysed uremic patients since it can reduce blood clotting and thereby increase dialysis efficiency.
Financial Management and Charitable Giving in Gay and Lesbian Households
Authors: Dale Elizabeth J.
Published: April 2018

To date, most charitable giving research assumes that all households are heterosexual and that couples make giving decisions from joint financial resources. This study examines household financial management and charitable decision making among a purposeful sample of 19 gay and lesbian couples. Semistructured joint interviews were conducted and analyzed using grounded theory techniques. The study finds that same-sex couples practice financial management systems that preserve independence (independent and partial-pooling systems), in contrast to different-sex couples, who favor joint management. These systems yield more accounts from which charitable giving can occur. Same-sex couples’ giving does not always follow the household’s financial management structure, and many couples give both jointly and separately. Finally, some same-sex couples use their giving as a way to give lesbian, gay, and bisexual people visibility and recognition as supporters of mainstream (non-LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender]) organizations. Future research should consider both sexual orientation and financial management practices in understanding charitable behavior.
Optimal preview position control for shifting actuators of automated manual transmission
Authors: Chen Zhiqiang , Zhang Bangji , Zhang Nong , Du Haiping , Kong Guoling
Published: April 2018

This paper is concerned with the problem of position tracking control for the motor-driven gear-shift actuating mechanism for electro-mechanical automated manual transmissions (AMT). It is well known that torque interruption is an inherent flaw of AMT. As shift duration directly affects the torque interruption interval, shift quality can be improved by minimizing the duration of the shift. To realize rapid and precise gear-shift control, an optimal discrete-time preview position control scheme is proposed. The proposed control scheme consists of state-feedback control, a discrete integrator, and preview feed-forward control. Instead of the traditional difference method, the state transformation method is utilized to construct the augmented error system such that the augmented system can be kept in a simple form. The H∞ performance index is employed to reduce the effect of the shifting load disturbance during the gear-shifting process. The controller gains are obtained by solving a linear matrix inequality (LMI). Simulation and test bench results all show that the proposed preview control algorithm has better dynamic response and adaptability under different loads compared to the optimal linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller and the standard PID controller.
Combined mepacrine–hydroxychloroquine treatment in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and refractory cutaneous and articular activity
Authors: Ugarte A , Porta S , Ríos R , Martinez-Zapico A , Ortego-Centeno N , Agesta N , Ruiz-Irastorza G
Published: April 2018

Aim

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical response to combined therapy with hydroxychloroquine and mepacrine in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and refractory joint and/or skin disease.

Methods

Mepacrine was added to 46 systemic lupus erythematosus patients unresponsive to treatment with the following drug combinations: hydroxychloroquine + prednisone + immunosuppressive drugs ( n = 24), hydroxychloroquine + prednisone ( n = 16), hydroxychloroquine + prednisone + retinoids ( n = 2), hydroxychloroquine alone ( n = 1), hydroxychloroquine + one immunosuppressive drug ( n = 1), hydroxychloroquine + prednisone + one immunosuppressive drug + belimumab ( n = 1) or hydroxychloroquine + prednisone + belimumab ( n = 1). The outcome variable was the clinical response, either complete or partial, based on clinical judgement. The Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index (CLASI) and the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score were additionally used.

Results

A total of 91% patients showed complete/partial response, with similar rates among those with joint or skin disease. In patients with cutaneous activity, a statistically significant decrease in the CLASI was seen. There also was a statistically significant decrease in the SLEDAI. The mean daily dose of prednisone decreased from 5.8 to 3.4 mg/d ( p = 0.001). Prednisone could be discontinued in 20% of patients. No serious adverse events were seen. Smoking was the only predictor of complete response.

Conclusion

In the setting of refractory skin and/or joint disease, the addition of mepacrine to previous therapy including hydroxychloroquine was safe and effective in reducing disease activity and decreasing prednisone doses. The fact that smokers responded better opens the door to further studying the combination of mepacrine–hydroxychloroquine as a first-line therapy in such patients.
Cardiotrophic Growth Factor–Driven Induction of Human Muse Cells Into Cardiomyocyte-Like Phenotype
Authors: Amin Mohamed , Kushida Yoshihiro , Wakao Shohei , Kitada Masaaki , Tatsumi Kazuki , Dezawa Mari
Published: April 2018

Multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring (Muse) cells are endogenous nontumorigenic stem cells collectable as stage-specific embryonic antigen 3 (SSEA-3) + from various organs including the bone marrow and are pluripotent-like. The potential of human bone marrow-derived Muse cells to commit to cardiac lineage cells was evaluated. We found that (1) initial treatment of Muse cells with 5′-azacytidine in suspension culture successfully accelerated demethylation of cardiac marker Nkx2.5 promoter; (2) then transferring the cells onto adherent culture and treatment with early cardiac differentiation factors including wingless-int (Wnt)-3a, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP)-2/4, and transforming growth factor (TGF) β1; and (3) further treatment with late cardiac differentiation cytokines including cardiotrophin-1 converted Muse cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells that expressed α-actinin and troponin-I with a striation-like pattern. MLC2a expression in the final step suggested differentiation of the cells into an atrial subtype. MLC2v, a marker for a mature ventricular subtype, was expressed when cells were treated with Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK-1) and Noggin, inhibitors of Wnt3a and BMP-4, respectively, between steps (2) and (3). None of the steps included exogenous gene transfection, making induced cells feasible for future clinical application.
Arterial Stiffness Is Associated With QTc Interval Prolongation in Patients With Heart Failure
Authors: Al-Zaiti Salah , Saba Samir , Pike Rodolfo , Williams Jennifer , Khraim Fadi
Published: April 2018

Background:

A prolonged corrected QT (QTc) interval is a known risk factor for adverse cardiac events. Understanding the determinants and physiologic correlates of QTc is necessary for selecting proper strategies to reduce the risk of adverse events in high-risk patients. We sought to evaluate the role of arterial stiffness in heart failure as a determinant of QTc prolongation.

Method:

This was an observational study that recruited ambulatory heart failure patients (New York Heart Association Classes I–II) from an outpatient heart failure clinic. In the supine resting position, consented patients underwent noninvasive 12-lead electrocardiograph (ECG) and hemodynamic monitoring using BioZ Dx impedance cardiography. ECGs were evaluated by a reviewer blinded to clinical data, and QTc interval was automatically computed. Patients with pacing or bundle branch block (BBB) were analyzed separately. Strengths of associations were evaluated using Pearson’s r coefficients and multivariate linear regression.

Results:

The final sample ( N = 44) was 62 ± 13 years of age and 64% male with ejection fraction of 34% ± 12%. At univariate level, QTc interval moderately ( r > .50) correlated with cardiac output, left cardiac work index, systemic vascular resistance, and total arterial compliance in patients with intrinsically narrow QRS complexes. At the multivariate level, increasing systemic vascular resistance and decreasing total arterial compliance remained independent predictors of widening QTc interval in this group ( R2 = .54). No significant correlations were seen in patients with pacing or BBB.

Conclusions:

In the absence of conduction abnormalities, magnitude of arterial stiffness, an indirect measure of endothelial dysfunction, is associated with QTc interval prolongation.
Trying to teach dialogically: The good, the bad, and the misguided
Authors: Shea David P.
Published: April 2018

The goal of dialogic teaching is to position students as active participants who engage in academically accountable talk, but research consistently suggests that a major stumbling block is the teacher’s own interactional style. To explore the issue from an emic perspective, I carried out an action research investigation of advanced proficiency classes for English as a foreign language (EFL) that I taught on the university level in Japan. Data included audiotaped recordings of teacher-fronted whole-class discussions that were analysed qualitatively. I found that the effort to teach dialogically was somewhat successful, but missteps and misguided assumptions about effective instructional strategies were also evident. Findings point to both the complexities of orchestrating active engagement of reticent students within the third space of the second language (L2) classroom, and the critical role of teacher authority to elicit and coordinate student engagement.
Gambling participation, gambling habits, gambling-related harm, and opinions on gambling advertising in Finland in 2016
Authors: Salonen Anne H. , Hellman Matilda , Latvala Tiina , Castrén Sari
Published: April 2018

Background:

This report is an overview of results from the 2016 Finnish Gambling Harms Survey covering the population and clinical perspectives. It summarises the main findings on gambling participation, gambling habits, gambling-related harm, and opinions on gambling advertising.

Methods:

The population sample ( n = 7186) was collected from three regions and the clinical sample ( n = 119) in a gambling help clinic.

Results:

Frequency of gambling in the population sample was characteristically once a week, while in the clinical sample it was daily. Men gambled more often than women only in the population sample. The most common gambling environments were kiosks, grocery stores or supermarkets, and home. The most typical gambling-related harms were financial or emotional/psychological harms; the amount of experienced harm was considerable among the clinical sample. The clinical sample also perceived gambling advertising as obtrusive and as a driving force for gambling.

Conclusions:

The results of the clinical sample imply that when gambling gets out of hand, the distinctions between gamblers’ habits diminish and become more streamlined, focusing on gambling per se – doing it often, and in greater varieties (different game types). There is a heightened need to monitor gambling and gambling-related harm at the population level, especially amongst heavy consumers, in order to understand what type of external factors pertaining to policy and governance may contribute to the shift from recreational to problem gambling.
Living with poverty: A simulation
Authors: Smith-Carrier Tracy , Leacy Kim , Bouck Michelle S , Justrabo Jessica , Decker Pierce Barbara
Published: April 2018

This research explores whether participating in a poverty simulation resulted in changes to participants’ beliefs about the causes and effects of poverty, as well as shifts in their attitudes and actions towards people experiencing poverty. In this multiple case study, we analysed quantitative and qualitative data from participant feedback surveys and pre-, post- and follow-up questionnaires from two samples: undergraduate students and community participants. We conclude that the poverty simulation is only a step, albeit a potentially important one, to enhance participants’ understanding about the causes of poverty, and to alter their attitudes and beliefs about people living in poverty.

Findings

We found statistically significant results (p < .05) on cumulative scores of the modified Attitudes Toward Poverty Scale, indicating an improvement in participants’ attitudes towards poverty (both samples). Although generally positive about their experiences, participating in the simulation did not appear to have prompted participants to take action to reduce poverty.

Applications

Poverty simulation planners should be wary of adopting scenarios that emphasize, or fail to adequately contextualize, behaviours or responses that might perpetuate individual explanations of poverty. Moreover, organizers must carefully consider how to ensure participants in their audience currently experiencing low income do not become emotionally distressed, triggered or further marginalized in the process. While overall participants were positive about their experiences in the simulation, the events did not appear to have prompted them to action. Moving beyond the goal of increasing participants’ understandings of poverty, interventions that foster greater engagement in poverty issues over the long term are necessary.