bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cutaneous human papillomavirus genotypes in different kinds of skin lesions in Argentina
Authors: Correa Rita Mariel , Vladimirsky Sara , Heideman Daniëlle A.M. , Coringrato Mauro , Abeldaño Alejandra , Olivares Liliana , Del Aguila Roxana , Alonio Lidia Virginia , Snijders Peter J.F. , Picconi María Alejandra
Published: July 2016

Cutaneous human papillomaviruses (HPVs) comprise a large and highly heterogeneous virus group. Some of the cutaneous HPVs of the genus Beta have been suggested as a co‐factor in the development of non‐melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). The aim of this study was to determine cutaneous HPV prevalence and type‐specific distribution in different kinds of skin lesions from Argentine patients visiting Dermatology Departments of three hospitals from Buenos Aires. A cross‐sectional analysis was performed. HPV DNA was analyzed in (i) 3 patients with Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) harboring benign lesions (BL) (n = 1) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (n = 4); (ii) 240 non‐EV patients harboring: (a) BL (n = 38), (b) Actinic Keratosis (AK) (n = 83), (c) SCC (n = 74), and (d) basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (n = 96). Detection and genotyping of 35 cutaneous HPV DNA was carried out by BGC‐PCR and GP5+/6 + PCR followed by reverse line blot assay. In EV patients, Beta types were found in all lesions (5/5), including the potentially high‐risk HPV types 5 and 8, mostly in multiple infections. In non‐EV patients, cutaneous types were found in 50.0% of BL, 43.4% of AK, 31.1% of SCC, and 16.7% of BCC. Beta HPVs were the most frequently found in all lesions, being present in all AK and SCC cases that were positive for HPV. No type‐specific correlation with lesion severity was found. In our series, a wide spectrum of cutaneous HPV types was detected in different skin lesions. A possible role for these HPVs in skin carcinogenesis deserves further study. J. Med. Virol. 89:352–357, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Two‐dimensional Raman spectroscopy study of ionogel phase formation in long‐chain ionic liquid/water systems
Authors: Kausteklis Jonas , Balevičius Vytautas , Aleksa Valdemaras
Published: July 2016

The phase behavior of the imidazolium‐based room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) 1‐decyl‐3‐methyl‐imidazolium bromide and chloride ([C10mim][Br], [C10mim][Cl]) were studied by 2D Raman correlation spectroscopy and principal component analysis. The hydrogen‐bonded network changes and the liquid crystalline ionogel phase formation were observed when water content was continuously increased in the system, and the Raman shift of C–H stretching modes in spectra was monitored. The extent of liquid crystalline ionogel phase was determined from the discontinuities in the concentration dependencies. The focus to the Raman bands originated from the imidazolium ring C–H stretching mode region (3000–3200 cm−1) when water content in the IL was increased allowing to determine the lower border of ionogel phase formation in RTIL/water systems. The upper border of the ionogel phase was determined when main attention was carried out to the Raman bands originated from the O–H stretching vibration region (3200–3800 cm−1). The hypothesis of weaker hydrogen bonds involving the C(4)‐H and C(5)‐H groups and stronger hydrogen bonds of the C(2)‐H groups was supported by Raman results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis of raffinose by transfructosylation using recombinant levansucrase from Clostridium arbustiSL206
Authors: Li Wenjing , Yu Shuhuai , Zhang Tao , Jiang Bo , Mu Wanmeng
Published: July 2016

BACKGROUND

Raffinose, a functional trisaccharide of α‐d‐galactopyranosyl‐(1 → 6)‐α‐d‐glucopyranosyl‐(1 → 2)‐β‐d‐fructofuranoside, is a prebiotic that shows promise for use as a food ingredient.

RESULTS

In this study, the production of raffinose from melibiose and sucrose was studied using whole recombinant Escherichia coli cells harboring the levansucrase from Clostridium arbusti SL206. The reaction conditions were optimized for raffinose synthesis. The optimal pH, temperature and washed cell concentration were pH 6.5 (sodium phosphate buffer, 50 mmol L−1), 55 °C and 3% (w/v), respectively. High substrate concentrations, which led to low water activity and thus reduced levansucrase hydrolysis activity, strongly favored the production of raffinose through the fructosyl transfer reaction. Additionally, high concentrations of excess acceptor and donor glycosides favored raffinose production. When 30% (w/v) sucrose and 30% (w/v) melibiose were catalyzed using 3% (w/v) whole cells at pH 6.5 (sodium phosphate buffer, 50 mmol L−1) and 55 °C, the highest raffinose yield was 222 g L−1 after a 6 h reaction. The conversion ratio from each substrate to raffinose was 50%.

CONCLUSION

Raffinose could be effectively produced with melibiose as an acceptor and with sucrose as a fructosyl donor by whole recombinant E. coli cells harboring C. arbusti levansucrase. The yield from E. coli was significantly higher than those of the previously reported Bacillus subtilis levansucrase and fungal α‐galactosidases. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Determination of the stereoisomers in aqueous medium and serum and validation studies of racemic aminoalkanol derivatives of 1,7‐dimethyl‐8,9‐diphenyl‐4‐azatricyclo[5.2.1.02,6]dec‐8‐ene‐3,5,10‐trione, potential new anticancer drugs, by capillary electrophoresis
Authors: Grodner Błażej , Łukaszkiewicz Jacek , Napiórkowska Mariola
Published: July 2016

A new method for the determination of the stereoisomers, in aqueous medium and serum, of the racemic aminoalkanol derivatives I and II of 1,7‐dimethyl‐8,9‐diphenyl‐4‐azatricyclo[5.2.1.02,6]dec‐8‐ene‐3,5,10‐trione, which were found in earlier studies to be potential anticancer drugs, was developed and validated. The optimized conditions included 25 mM phosphate buffer adjusted to pH 2.5, containing γ‐cyclodextrin at a concentration of 5% m/v, as background electrolyte, an applied voltage of +10 kV, and a temperature of 25°C. Separations were carried out using a fused‐silica capillary. The developed method of determining the enantiomers of compounds I(S), I(R) and II(S), II(R) was characterized by the following parameters: a detection time within 10.8 min, a detection limit in the range of 141.2–141.7 ng/mL using the UV absorption detection at 200 nm. Good linearity (R2 = 0.9989–0.9998) was achieved within the range of concentrations studied. A very good extraction yield of 95.4–99.7% was achieved, and recoveries were carried out from both aqueous solutions and matrix serum. The repeatability of the method for peak areas with an accuracy of the determined concentrations of the analytes in the range of 1.43–1.89%, and limits of quantitation in the range of 432.4–436.3 ng/mL were achieved.
Qualitative screening of absorbed indoloquinazoline alkaloids and their metabolites in rat plasma after the oral administration of Wu‐Zhu‐Yu decoction by high‐resolution mass spectrometry with multiple data mining algorithms
Authors: Xu Huarong , Geng Yajing , Liu Ran , Yuan Ziyue , Liu Xujia , Li Qing , Bi Kaishun
Published: July 2016

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography with high‐resolution mass spectrometry method with multiple data processing algorithms was developed and applied for the metabolite profiling of evodiamine and its analogous alkaloids in rat plasma after the administration of Wu‐Zhu‐Yu decoction. All samples were purified using hydrophilic‐lipophilic balanced solid‐phase extraction cartridges and analyzed by a Sciex TripleTOF 5600+ mass spectrometer with a 35 min liquid chromatography gradient elution. High‐resolution full‐scan mass spectrometry and information‐dependent acquisition tandem mass spectrometry data were analyzed using multiple data processing approaches. The results indicated that the detected eight prototype alkaloids could be metabolized to 58 metabolites through both phase I and phase II reactions. Oxidation was demonstrated to be the principle metabolic pathway of the parent compounds. The study contributes to the understanding of the absorption and metabolism of the alkaloids in Wu‐Zhu‐Yu decoction and provides a detailed analysis of scientific data.
First Experimental and Theoretical Kinetic Study of the Reaction of 4‐Hydroxy‐4‐methyl 2‐pentanone as a Function of Temperature
Authors: Priya Angappan Mano , Lakshmipathi Senthilkumar , Chakir Abdelkhaleq , El Dib Gisèle
Published: July 2016

In this work, experimental and theoretical rate coefficients were determined for the first time for the gas‐phase reaction of 4‐hydroxy‐4‐methyl‐2‐pentanone (4H4M2P) with OH radicals as a function of temperature. Experimental studies were carried out over the pressure range of 5–80 Torr and the temperature range of 280–365 K, by using a cryogenically cooled cell coupled to the pulsed laser photolysis‐laser induced fluorescence (PLP–LIF) technique. A detailed oxidation mechanism of 4H4M2P with OH radicals was discussed theoretically under three hydrogen abstraction pathways by using density functional theory calculations and wave function based MP2 method. Single‐point energy calculations were performed at CCSD(T) level of theory with 6–311++G(d,p) basis set. The H‐atom abstraction from the ‐CH2 group was found to be the dominant channel. The reaction force analysis predicts that the abstraction process is mainly dominated by structural rearrangement. Linear kinetic behavior for all the pathways was found in the range of 278–365 K. An atmospheric lifetime less than 3 days was evaluated for 4H4M2P with respect to its reaction with OH, indicating that the reaction with OH of 4H4M2P may be competitive with losses via photolysis.
Synthesis of Vegetable Oil‐Based Polyurethane: A Study on Curing Kinetics Behavior
Authors: Sahoo Swarnalata , Kalita Hemjyoti , Mohanty Smita , Nayak Sanjay K.
Published: July 2016

In the present study, biobased polyurethane (BPU) samples were synthesized from three different polyols along with polymeric hexamethylene diisocyanate. The three different polyols were synthesized by reacting castor oil with ethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, and triethanolamine. The synthesized polyols were confirmed using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectra analysis. BPU samples were confirmed by the disappearance of isocyanate peak in the FTIR spectra. The cross‐linking densities of all BPU samples were determined using swelling studies. Curing kinetics behavior of all BPU samples were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry at three different heating rates (5, 7.5, and 10°C/min). The curing kinetic parameters were studied using three nonisothermal methods such as Kissinger, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa, and Ozawa, respectively. The activation energies were found to increase with increasing degree of cure (α). Surface properties of all the synthesized BPU samples were evaluated by dynamic mechanical analysis and scanning electron microscopy.
Proliferation, migration, and expression of oral‐mucosal‐healing‐related genes by oral fibroblasts receiving low‐level laser therapy after inflammatory cytokines challenge
Authors: Basso Fernanda G. , Soares Diana G. , Pansani Taisa N. , Cardoso Lais M. , Scheffel Débora L. , de Souza Costa Carlos Alberto , Hebling Josimeri
Published: July 2016

Background and Objectives

Increased expression of inflammatory cytokines in the oral cavity has been related to the etiopathogenesis of oral mucositis and to delayed oral mucosal repair. Low‐level laser therapy (LLLT) stimulates proliferation and migration of gingival fibroblasts, but the effects of specific inflammatory cytokines on oral mucosal cells and the modulation of these effects by LLLT have not been fully investigated. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of LLLT on oral fibroblasts after being challenged by oral‐mucositis‐related inflammatory cytokines.

Methods

Human gingival fibroblasts were seeded in plain culture medium (DMEM) containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) for 24 hours. Then, cells were kept in contact with inflammatory cytokines (TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, and IL‐8) in serum‐free DMEM for 24 hours. After this period, cells were subjected to LLLT with a diode laser device (LaserTABLE, InGaAsP, 780 nm, 25 mW) delivering energy doses from 0.5 to 3 J/cm2. Irradiation was repeated for 3 consecutive days. Twenty‐four hours after the last irradiation, cell migration (wound‐healing and transwell migration assays), cell proliferation (BrdU), gene expression of COL‐I and growth factors (real‐time PCR), and synthesis of COL‐I (Sirius Red assay) and VEGF (ELISA) were assessed. Data were subjected to two‐way ANOVA and Tukey's tests or Kruskall–Walis and Mann–Whitney tests (P < 0.05).

Results

The inflammatory cytokines decreased the migration capacity of gingival fibroblasts. However, a statistically significant difference was observed only for IL‐6, detected by transwell assay, where 30% less cells migrated through the pores (P < 0.05) and IL‐8, with an increased wound area (116%; P < 0.05), detected by the wound healing method. Cell proliferation was not affected by contact with cytokines, while growth factors and COL‐I expression (approximately 80%; P < 0.05), as well as VEGF synthesis (approximately 20%; P < 0.05), were decreased after contact to all tested cytokines. The opposite was seen for total collagen synthesis. LLLT promoted an acceleration of fibroblast migration (30%; P < 0.05) and proliferation (112%; P < 0.05) when delivering 0.5 J/cm2 to the cells previously in contact with the inflammatory cytokines. Gene expression of VEGF (approximately 30%; P < 0.05), and EGF (17%; P < 0.05), was stimulated by LLLT after contact with TNF‐α and IL‐6.

Conclusion

LLLT can counteract the negative effects of high concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, especially IL‐6 and IL‐8 on gingival fibroblast functions directly related to the wound‐healing process. Lasers Surg. Med. 48:1006–1014, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Mussel‐Inspired Coatings Directed and Accelerated by an Electric Field
Authors: He Ai , Zhang Chao , Lv Yan , Zhong Qi‐Zhi , Yang Xi , Xu Zhi‐Kang
Published: July 2016

Polydopamine‐based coatings are fabricated via an electric field‐accelerating and ‐directing codeposition process of polydopamine with charged polymers such as polycations, polyanions, and polyzwitterions. The coatings are uniform and smooth on various substrates, especially on those adhesion‐resistant materials including poly(vinylidene fluoride) and poly(tetrafluoroethylene) membranes. Moreover, this electric field‐directed deposition method can be applied to facilely prepare Janus membranes with asymmetric chemistry and wettability.

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An adaptive Paris Metro Pricing scheme for mobile data networks
Authors: Huang Huai‐Sheng , Hu Shu‐Chiung , Lee Po‐Han , Tseng Yu‐Chee
Published: July 2016

Because static pricing models (such as flat‐rate or tiered‐rate models) cannot improve user utility for subscribers and ease network congestion for operators during peak time, Smart Data Pricing has become an important incentive for mobile data markets. Paris Metro Pricing (PMP), which is a static pricing mode inspired by the pricing model for the Paris metro system, uses differentiated prices to motivate users to choose different train classes. Before choosing a class, people will consider their expected quality of service versus the prices that they are willing to pay. Even though PMP cannot guarantee the actual quality of service during service time, a balance between users' utilities and operators' revenue is achieved. In this paper, we propose an adaptive PMP scheme, so‐called APMP, which determines the dynamic access prices of different classes for the next 24 h. The accessible prices should try to increase the revenue while operators can serve more subscribers. Our simulation results show that APMP can significantly improve total revenue and average revenue per user for the operator. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Influence of hydrostatic pressure on water absorption of polyoxymethylene: experiment and molecular dynamics simulation
Authors: Chen Song , Xu Haiping , Duan Haitao , Hua Meng , Wei Lei , Shang Hongfei , Li Jian
Published: July 2016

This work experimentally investigated the influence of hydrostatic pressure on the water absorption of polyoxymethylene, followed by analyzing its micro‐mechanism via molecular dynamics simulation. Tests results show that the polyoxymethylene water absorption decreases with the increase in hydrostatic pressure when the latter is within 0–3.0 MPa; it subsequently increases with the increase in hydrostatic pressure in the range of 3.0–5.0 MPa. Simulation of water molecules diffusion on polyoxymethylene surface shows that water molecules diffuse into polyoxymethylene surface during an equilibration run, and water molecule displacement value of maximum relative concentration gives almost the same characteristics: firstly decreases and then increases with the increase of hydrostatic pressure. Simulation of water molecule diffusion inside polyoxymethylene suggests the following: (i) water molecules vibrate from the interior to the edge of polyoxymethylene cell during the equilibration run, and (ii) water diffusion coefficient in polyoxymethylene gives trend of firstly decreasing and then increasing with the increase of hydrostatic pressure. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new microcellular foam injection‐molding technology using non‐supercritical fluid physical blowing agents
Authors: Yusa Atsushi , Yamamoto Satoshi , Goto Hideto , Uezono Hiromasa , Asaoka Fumiya , Wang Long , Ando Megumi , Ishihara Shota , Ohshima Masahiro
Published: July 2016

A new foam injection‐molding technology was developed to produce microcellular foams without using supercritical fluid (SCF) pump units. In this technology, physical blowing agents (PBA), such as nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2), do not need to be brought to their SCF state. PBAs are delivered directly from their gas cylinders into the molten polymer through an injector valve, which can be controlled by a specially designed screw configuration and operation sequence. The excess PBA is discharged from the molten polymer through a venting vessel. Alternatively, additional PBA is introduced through the venting vessel when the polymer is not saturated with PBA. The amount of gas delivered into the molten polymer is controlled by the gas dosing time of the injector valve, the secondary reducing pressure of the gas cylinder and the outlet (back) pressure of the venting vessel. Microcellular polypropylene foams were prepared using the developed foam injection‐molding technology with 2–6 MPa CO2 or 2–8 MPa N2. High expansion foams with an average cell size of less than 25 μm were prepared. The developed technology dispels arguments for the necessity to pressurize N2 or CO2 to the SCF to prepare microcellular foams. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 57:105–113, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers
Elastomeric ethylene copolymers with carbon nanostructures having tailored strain sensor behavior and their interpretation based on the excluded volume theory
Authors: Palza Humberto , Garzon Cristhian , Rojas Mauricio
Published: July 2016

Two ethylene/1‐butene thermoplastic elastomer copolymers were melt mixed with either multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or thermally reduced graphite oxide (TrGO) resulting in piezoresistive composite materials. The effect of the polymer matrix, carbon nanostructure and filler concentration on the electrical behavior of the sensors was analyzed. The percolation process confirmed the relevance of these parameters as different thresholds were found depending on both the matrix and the filler. For instance, composites based on TrGO presented higher percolation thresholds than those based on CNTs. Regarding the strain sensor behavior of the electrically conductive composites, by using a matrix with a low amount of 1‐butene comonomer, higher resistance sensitivities were observed compared with the other matrix. Noteworthy, composites based on TrGO filler presented strain sensitivities one order of magnitude higher than composites based on CNT filler. These results are explained by the excluded volume theory for percolated systems. Based on these findings, polyethylene piezoresistive sensors can be designed by a proper selection of polymer matrix, filler concentration and carbon nanoparticles. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Large single‐crystal diamond substrates for ionizing radiation detection
Authors: Girolami Marco , Bellucci Alessandro , Calvani Paolo , Trucchi Daniele M.
Published: July 2016

The need for large active volume detectors for ionizing radiations and particles, with both large area and thickness, is becoming more and more compelling in a wide range of applications, spanning from X‐ray dosimetry to neutron spectroscopy. Recently, 8.0 × 8.0 mm2 wide and 1.2 mm thick single‐crystal diamond plates have been put on the market, representing a first step to the fabrication of large area monolithic diamond detectors with optimized charge transport properties, obtainable up to now only with smaller samples. The more‐than‐double thickness, if compared to standard plates (typically 500 µm thick), demonstrated to be effective in improving the detector response to highly penetrating ionizing radiations, such as γ‐rays. Here we report on the first measurements performed on large active volume single‐crystal diamond plates, both in the dark and under irradiation with optical wavelengths (190–1100 nm), X‐rays, and radioactive γ‐emitting sources (57Co and 22Na).
A fuzzy detection approach toward different speed port scan attacks based on Dempster–Shafer evidence theory
Authors: Shao Guo‐lin , Chen Xing‐shu , Yin Xue‐yuan , Ye Xiao‐ming
Published: July 2016

Port scan detection is one of the important topics in network security and has received lots of attention by researchers; however a slow port scan attack can deceive most of the existing IDS. Besides, it is unreasonable in typical detection to decide whether it is a probe based on the precise threshold especially when the feature values are around the threshold without taking the uncertainty into consideration. To address these problems, a novel approach was proposed by collecting traffic statistics information called access port set (APS) for each IP address in time windows; several traffic features are extracted from APS which are considered as multiple evidences to indicate a probe. For each evidence, three probabilities are concerned to evaluate the likelihood of the probe occurring which include the probabilities of support, nonsupport and uncertainty. The comprehensive evidence can be obtained from the combination of multiple evidences to evaluate the probe threaten. Several experiments were performed to evaluate the approach with DARPA/MIT datasets and our own generated attack datasets; the experimental results show the feasibility of our approach in terms of detection accuracy and effectiveness. The mechanism can be applied not only in port scan detection but also other precise threshold based situations such as traffic abnormal analysis and intrusion detection. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An alternative empirical likelihood method in missing response problems and causal inference
Authors: Ren Kaili , Drummond Christopher A. , Brewster Pamela S. , Haller Steven T. , Tian Jiang , Cooper Christopher J. , Zhang Biao
Published: July 2016

Missing responses are common problems in medical, social, and economic studies. When responses are missing at random, a complete case data analysis may result in biases. A popular debias method is inverse probability weighting proposed by Horvitz and Thompson. To improve efficiency, Robins et al. proposed an augmented inverse probability weighting method. The augmented inverse probability weighting estimator has a double‐robustness property and achieves the semiparametric efficiency lower bound when the regression model and propensity score model are both correctly specified. In this paper, we introduce an empirical likelihood‐based estimator as an alternative to Qin and Zhang (2007). Our proposed estimator is also doubly robust and locally efficient. Simulation results show that the proposed estimator has better performance when the propensity score is correctly modeled. Moreover, the proposed method can be applied in the estimation of average treatment effect in observational causal inferences. Finally, we apply our method to an observational study of smoking, using data from the Cardiovascular Outcomes in Renal Atherosclerotic Lesions clinical trial. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bi(OTf)3 Catalyzed Solvent Free Approach to Unsymmetrical Diaryl(2‐indolyl)methanes through 1,6‐Conjugate Addition of 3‐Substituted Indoles to para‐Quinone Methides
Authors: Goswami Prithwish , Anand Ramasamy Vijaya
Published: July 2016

An efficient 1,6‐conjugate addition of 3‐substituted indoles to para‐quinone methides (p‐QMs) using catalytic amount of Bi(OTf)3 is described. This mild and atom‐economical protocol allowed us to access unsymmetrical diaryl(2‐indolyl)methanes in moderate to excellent yields under solvent‐free grinding conditions.
Unusual 1,2‐Acyl Rearrangement Accompanying Ring Expansion Reaction of Alkaloid Cotarnine under the Action of α‐Haloketones: a New Route to 5‐Acyl‐1,2‐dihydro‐3‐benzazepine Moiety
Authors: Zubenko Alexander A. , Kartsev Viktor G. , Morkovnik Anatolii S. , Divaeva Ludmila N. , Suponitsky Kyrill Yu.
Published: July 2016

The ring expansion reaction of the isoquinoline alkaloid cotarnine with α‐haloketones which normally leads to the formation of 4‐acyl‐7,8‐metylenedioxy‐1,2‐dihydro‐3‐benzazepines, in some cases, occurs with an unusual, non‐acid‐catalytic 1,2‐acyl rearrangement. As a result, corresponding 5‐acyl isomers are formed. A carbocation mechanism of the rearrangement was proposed. It involves formation of 4‐acyl‐5‐hydroxy‐7,8‐metylenedioxy‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐3‐benzazepines and their dissociation (as leuko bases) into corresponding benzazepine carbocations. As it follows from DFT calculations, these carbocations are prone to almost barrierless intracationic 1,2‐acyl group migration with conversion into corresponding isomeric carbocations. At the last stage of the reaction, these cations are deprotonated into final rearranged compounds.
XHAMI – extended HDFS and MapReduce interface for Big Data image processing applications in cloud computing environments
Authors: Kune Raghavendra , Konugurthi Pramod Kumar , Agarwal Arun , Chillarige Raghavendra Rao , Buyya Rajkumar
Published: July 2016

Hadoop distributed file system (HDFS) and MapReduce model have become popular technologies for large‐scale data organization and analysis. Existing model of data organization and processing in Hadoop using HDFS and MapReduce are ideally tailored for search and data parallel applications, for which there is no need of data dependency with its neighboring/adjacent data. However, many scientific applications such as image mining, data mining, knowledge data mining, and satellite image processing are dependent on adjacent data for processing and analysis. In this paper, we identify the requirements of the overlapped data organization and propose a two‐phase extension to HDFS and MapReduce programming model, called XHAMI, to address them. The extended interfaces are presented as APIs and implemented in the context of image processing application domain. We demonstrated effectiveness of XHAMI through case studies of image processing functions along with the results. Although XHAMI has little overhead in data storage and input/output operations, it greatly enhances the system performance and simplifies the application development process. Our proposed system, XHAMI, works without any changes for the existing MapReduce models and can be utilized by many applications where there is a requirement of overlapped data. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mass Spectrometric Back Reaction Screening of Quasi‐Enantiomeric Products as a Mechanistic Tool
Authors: Isenegger Patrick G. , Pfaltz Andreas
Published: July 2016

In this account, we discuss a mass spectrometric method that enables unambiguous identification of intermediates involved in the enantioselective step of a catalytic cycle. This method, which we originally developed for rapid evaluation of chiral catalysts, is based on monitoring the back reaction of mass‐labeled quasi‐enantiomeric products by ESI‐MS. In this way, the intrinsic enantioselectivity of a chiral catalyst can be determined directly by quantification of catalytically relevant intermediates. By comparing the results from the forward and back reaction, direct evidence for the involvement of a catalytic intermediate in the enantioselective step can be obtained. In addition, insights about the energy profile of the catalytic cycle may be gained. The potential of back reaction screening as a mechanistic tool is demonstrated for organocatalytic aldol reactions, 1,4‐additions of aldehydes to nitroolefins, Diels–Alder reactions, Michael additions, and Morita–Baylis–Hillman reactions.

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Financialization, water governance, and uneven development
Authors: Ahlers Rhodante , Merme Vincent
Published: July 2016

Mainstream global actors in the water sector argue that the key to long‐term water security is to accelerate the development of water infrastructure for which new financial sources are sorely needed. The return of large infrastructural solutions to water management is attracting nontraditional water investors such as private equity and institutional investors seeking to diversify their portfolio assets. Recent research into how such an investment is a hedging option for corporate water industry actors or an investment vehicle for institutional investors raises questions about ownership, control, distribution, and affordability of water as well as the long‐run consequences for operation and maintenance of infrastructure. We identify a number of key questions that the water sector needs to resolve before contemplating the alluring easy money that new financial sources appear to offer. The nature and scale of financialization make it a deeply undemocratic process with potentially highly uneven impacts on social‐ecological landscapes. WIREs Water 2016, 3:766–774. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1166

This article is categorized under:

Engineering Water > Planning Water

Human Water > Rights to Water

Human Water > Water Governance
Plasma protein profiling in a stage defined pancreatic cancer cohort – Implications for early diagnosis
Authors: Gerdtsson Anna Sandström , Wingren Christer , Persson Helena , Delfani Payam , Nordström Malin , Ren He , Wen Xin , Ringdahl Ulrika , Borrebaeck Carl A.K. , Hao Jihui
Published: July 2016

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a disease where detection preceding clinical symptoms significantly increases the life expectancy of patients. In this study, a recombinant antibody microarray platform was used to analyze 213 Chinese plasma samples from PDAC patients and normal control (NC) individuals. The cohort was stratified according to disease stage, i.e. resectable disease (stage I/II), locally advanced (stage III) and metastatic disease (stage IV). Support vector machine analysis showed that all PDAC stages could be discriminated from controls and that the accuracy increased with disease progression, from stage I to IV. Patients with stage I/II PDAC could be discriminated from NC with high accuracy based on a plasma protein signature, indicating a possibility for early diagnosis and increased detection rate of surgically resectable tumors.
Improving Risk Adjustment Above Current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Methodology Using Electronically Available Comorbid Conditions
Authors: Jackson Sarah S. , Leekha Surbhi , Pineles Lisa , Magder Laurence S. , Thom Kerri A. , Wang Yuan , Harris Anthony D.
Published: July 2016

OBJECTIVE

To identify comorbid conditions associated with surgical site infection (SSI) among patients undergoing renal transplantation and improve existing risk adjustment methodology used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).

PATIENTS

Patients (≥18 years) who underwent renal transplantation at University of Maryland Medical Center January 1, 2010-December 31, 2011.

METHODS

Trained infection preventionists reviewed medical records to identify surgical site infections that developed within 30 days after transplantation, using NHSN criteria. Patient demographic characteristics and risk factors for surgical site infections were identified through a central data repository. International Statistical Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes were used to analyze individual component comorbid conditions and calculate the Charlson and Elixhauser comorbidity indices. These indices were compared with the current NHSN risk adjustment methodology.

RESULTS

A total of 441 patients were included in the final cohort. In bivariate analysis, the Charlson components of cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, and rheumatologic disorders and Elixhauser components of obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, and weight loss were significantly associated with the outcome. A model utilizing the variables from the NHSN methodology had a c-statistic of 0.56 (95% CI, 0.48–0.63), whereas a model that also included comorbidities from the Charlson and Elixhauser indices had a c-statistic of 0.65 (95% CI, 0.58–0.73). The model with all 3 risk adjustment scores performed best and was statistically different from the NHSN model alone, demonstrated by improvement in the c statistic (0.65 vs 0.56).

CONCLUSION

Risk adjustment models should incorporate electronically available comorbid conditions.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1–6
Attitude Dynamics and Control of Liquid Filled Spacecraft with Large Amplitude Fuel Slosh
Authors: Deng M.-L. , Yue B.-Z.
Published: July 2016

This paper focuses on the attitude dynamics and control of liquid filled spacecraft, and the large amplitude fuel slosh dynamics is included by using an improved moving pulsating ball model. The moving pulsating ball model is an equivalent mechanical model that is capable of imitating the whole liquid reorientation process, specifically for the occurrence of large amplitude slosh. This model is improved by incorporating a static capillary force and an effective mass factor. The improvements on this model are validated with previously published experiment results. The spacecraft attitude maneuver is implemented by the momentum transfer technique, and the feedback control strategy is designed based on Lyapunov theory. The effects of liquid viscosity, tank location and desired steady time on sloshing torque and control torque are investigated. The attitude control strategy applied in this paper is proved to be applicable for the coupled liquid filled spacecraft system. The obtained conclusions are useful to aid in liquid filled spacecraft overall design.
Online processing of Verb–Argument Constructions: lexical decision and meaningfulness
Authors: ELLIS NICK C.
Published: July 2016

abstract

This paper discusses how patterns of construction usage, implicitly learned over lifelong experience, tune the language processing system for fluent interactive lexical, syntactic, and semantic access. It reports on three experiments that investigate online processing of Verb–Argument Constructions (VACs) and the degree to which this is effected by (i) verb frequency in the language, (ii) verb frequency in the VAC, (iii) VAC-verb contingency, and (iv) verb prototypicality in terms of centrality within the VAC semantic network. Experiment 1 tested lexical decision of VAC exemplars presented as successive verb–preposition pairs. Experiment 2 tested lexical decision of VAC exemplars presented as arbitrarily interrupted verb–adverb–preposition pairs. Experiment 3 had participants judge whether two-word utterances were meaningful or not. All of the experiments show effects of Verb Frequency and Verb-VAC frequency: learners have rich implicit statistical knowledge of verb-VAC type–token frequency that guides processing. Lexical decision is additionally driven by semantic prototypicality (but not VAC-verb contingency ΔPcw), whereas meaning judgment is affected by VAC-verb contingency ΔPcw (but not semantic prototypicality). These findings, I argue, index the spreading activation of unconscious meaning representation in lexical decision in comparison to the election of a unitary interpretation in conscious comprehension. I conclude that speeded automatic VAC processing involves rich associations, tuned by verb type and token frequencies, their contingencies of usage, and their histories of prototypical and specific interpretations which interface syntax, lexis, and semantics.
Improving the sustainability of global meat and milk production
Authors: Salter Andrew M.
Published: July 2016

Global demand for meat and dairy products has increased dramatically in recent decades and, through a combination of global population growth, increased lifespan and improved economic prosperity in the developing world will inevitably continue to increase. The predicted increases in livestock production will put a potentially unsustainable burden on global resources, including land for production of crops required for animal feed and fresh water. Furthermore, animal production itself is associated with greenhouse gas production, which may speed up global warming and thereby impact on our ability to produce food. There is, therefore, an urgent need to find methods to improve the sustainability of livestock production. This review will consider various options for improving the sustainability of livestock production with particular emphasis on finding ways to replace conventional crops as sources of animal feeds. Alternatives, such as currently underutilised crops (grown on a marginal land) and insects, reared on substrates not suitable for direct consumption by farm animals, represent possible solutions. Coupled with a moderation of excessive meat consumption in wealthier countries, such strategies may secure the long-term sustainability of meat and milk production and mitigate against the adverse health effects of excessive intake.
Extremely low birth weight babies grown up: Gene–environment interaction predicts internalizing problems in the third and fourth decades of life
Authors: Lahat Ayelet , van Lieshout Ryan J. , Mathewson Karen J. , Mackillop James , Saigal Saroj , Morrison Katherine M. , Boyle Michael H. , Schmidt Louis A.
Published: July 2016

Extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) infants have been exposed to stressful intrauterine and early postnatal environments. Even greater early adversity has been experienced by ELBW survivors who were also born small for gestational age (SGA; <10th percentile for GA) compared to those born appropriate for GA (AGA). ELBW survivors, particularly those born SGA, face increased risk for internalizing problems compared to normal BW (NBW; ≥2500 g) controls. Internalizing problems are related to allelic variations in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region gene (5-HTTLPR). We followed the oldest longitudinal cohort of ELBW survivors to adulthood. Participants provided buccal cells and reported on internalizing problems, using the Young Adult Self-Report when they were in their mid-20s (ELBW/SGA, N = 28; ELBW/AGA, N = 60; NBW, N = 81) and mid-30s (ELBW/SGA, N = 27; ELBW/AGA, N = 58; NBW, N = 76). The findings indicate that ELBW/SGAs carrying the 5-HTTLPR short allele reported increased internalizing problems, particularly depression, during the third and fourth decades of life. This is the first known report on gene–environment interactions predicting psychopathology among ELBW survivors. Our findings elucidate putative neurobiological pathways that underlie risk for psychopathology.
(Un)Conventional Wisdom and Presidential Politics: The Myth of Convention Locations and Favorite-Son Vice Presidents
Authors: Schultz David
Published: July 2016

Conventional wisdom pervades presidential politics, and there is no doubt that this will again be true in 2016. First among “old politicians’ tales” is that a political party’s placement of a national convention in a specific state can affect presidential voting there, swinging or flipping it to its presidential candidate. Second, the selection of a vice-presidential candidate as a favorite son (or daughter) will deliver a state’s electoral votes to a presidential ticket. Is either of these pearls of wisdom true? This article tests the truth of both the convention location and favorite-son claims and finds little evidence of their efficacy.
Perceptions of Threat to Religious Liberty
Authors: Goidel Kirby , Smentkowski Brian , Freeman Craig
Published: July 2016

Religious freedom in the United States is widely enjoyed and vigorously protected. Yet, a substantial percentage of Americans believe that their religious liberties are threatened. This article investigates the origins of these perceptions, focusing on the role of political orientations, religious identities and behaviors, social issues (i.e., gay marriage and abortion), and news attentiveness. We found that perceptions of threat are related to political orientations (i.e., partisan affiliation, ideology, and Tea Party identification) and issue positions (i.e., opposition to gay marriage). Consistent with theories of elite cue-taking, the effects of partisan affiliation are contingent on news attentiveness. Republicans who pay closer attention to the news are more likely to state that their religious liberties are threatened.
Old English verbs of saying and verb-initial order
Authors: CICHOSZ ANNA
Published: July 2016

OE verb-initial main clauses are associated with a number of stylistic functions and they are said to co-occur with specific verb types, including verbs of saying (Mitchell 1985; Petrova 2006; Ohkado 2005). It has also been observed that the general frequency of the V-1 pattern in OE is text-specific and that the structure is exceptionally well represented in Bede (Calle-Martín & Miranda-García 2010; Ohkado 2000; Mitchell 1985). Latin influence has been suggested as a possible explanation for the high frequency of V-1 in this text, but this hypothesis has never been tested (Ohkado 2000). The aim of this study is to analyse V-1 main clauses containing verbs of saying in order to determine the motivation for the use of the pattern in OE and the possibility of foreign influence on the Bede translation. The analysis shows that OE V-1 clauses with verbs of saying are to a great extent lexically recurrent formulas used for turn-taking in conversations as well as marking transition in a story, and that their frequent use in the OE Bede is only partly influenced by the source text.
The psychosocial needs of students conducting research with patients and their families in advanced cancer and palliative care: A scoping review
Authors: Penner Jamie L. , Stevenson Moire , Parmar Monica P. , Bélanger Emmanuelle
Published: July 2016

Objective:

The objective of this article was to explore the extent of the scientific literature and evidence base about the psychosocial needs of students conducting research in the fields of advanced cancer and palliative care.

Method:

A scoping review was conducted in major scientific databases. English-language articles on the topic of interest were retained if they were published in peer-reviewed journals between 1995 and 2013.

Results:

A total of 3,161 references were screened, and 7 were retained for analysis. Only two articles were empirical studies involving the collection of primary empirical data. The remaining ones were commentaries and personal reflections. While there is a near absence of empirical research about the psychosocial needs of students, several commentaries suggest that students in this field have a high need for support. Three themes were identified in the limited literature retrieved: (1) the importance of proper training and supervision; (2) the availability of emotional support structures; and (3) the use of effective and deliberate self-care strategies.

Significance of results:

This scoping review demonstrates that little is known about the psychosocial needs of students conducting research in advanced cancer and palliative care. However, what is clear is that there is a large emotional impact on student researchers engaged in this type of work. Adequate training and support is needed to promote students' health and well-being, encourage retention of students, and foster high-quality studies. More empirical data are needed to better understand the experiences of students conducting this type of research and to ensure the sustainability of training and research in this field.
Education scholarship in emergency medicine part 3: a “how-to” guide
Authors: Bhanji Farhan , Cheng Adam , Frank Jason R. , Sherbino Jonathan
Published: July 2016

Successful emergency medicine (EM) education scholarship requires a systematic approach that includes searching the (grey) literature, mobilizing resources, adopting frameworks to focus the innovation, integrating a component of program evaluation, and disseminating the innovation via traditional and emerging avenues. This paper provides direction for EM teachers and educators looking to transform their education innovation into scholarship. Recommendations on producing EM education scholarship from the 2013 consensus conference of the Academic Section of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians are presented.
Clinical education guideline creation by residents for junior learners in emergency medicine: a novel educational experience
Authors: Baw Bandar , Chan Teresa , Upadhye Suneel
Published: July 2016

Clinical practice guidelines are an important vehicle for knowledge translation and improving patient care. For most learners, these documents can be daunting and confusing. We describe a novel educational experience that clarified the guideline generation process for learners while at the same time creating clinical educational guidelines (simplified learning aids) for junior learners in the emergency department (ED). We devised a system using near-peer mentors to generate a series of clinical education guideline learning materials created by residents and junior learners for the evaluation of undifferentiated chest pain in the ED. This process assisted in teaching residents and junior learners and generated an endurable educational product.
Combination of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and hypothermia for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to Taxus intoxication
Authors: Thooft Aurélie , Goubella Ahmed , Fagnoul David , Taccone Fabio S. , Brimioulle Serge , Vincent Jean-Louis , De Backer Daniel
Published: July 2016

A young woman presented with cardiac arrest following ingestion of yew tree leaves of the Taxus baccata species. The toxin in yew tree leaves has negative inotropic and dromotropic effects. The patient had a cardiac rhythm that alternated between pulseless electrical activity with a prolonged QRS interval and ventricular fibrillation. When standard resuscitation therapy including digoxin immune Fab was ineffective, a combination of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and hypothermia was initiated. The total duration of low flow/no flow was 82 minutes prior to the initiation of ECMO. After 36 hours of ECMO (including 12 hours of electrical asystole), the patient’s electrocardiogram had normalized and the left ventricular ejection fraction was 50%. At this time, dobutamine and the ECMO were stopped. The patient had a full neurologic recovery and was discharged from the intensive care unit after 5 days and from the hospital 1 week later.
Anticholinergic visual hallucinosis from atropine eye drops
Authors: Bishop Andrew G. , Tallon John M.
Published: July 2016

A 37-year-old man with type I diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure presented to the emergency department complaining of hallucinations. He was 5 days postoperative for left pars plana vitrectomy and intra-ocular lens implantation and had been taking ophthalmic atropine, tobramycin and prednisolone. He had presented 5 months earlier, on the same ophthalmic medications, with postoperative hallucinations after a right pars plana vitrectomy. Visual hallucinations are a major side effect of anticholinergic poisoning. Ophthalmic instillation of atropine has been documented to cause many central nervous sytstem symptoms, including hallucinations.