bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of six commonly used reference genes for gene expression studies in herbicide‐resistant Avena fatua biotypes
Authors: Wrzesińska B , Kierzek R , Obrępalska‐Stęplowska A
Published: April 2016

Avena fatua of the family Poaceae is one of the most common and economically damaging grass weeds. Resistance to herbicides that inhibit acetyl‐coenzyme A carboxylase and acetolactate synthase activities has recently been detected in A. fatua. The resistance may be due to mutations in the herbicide targets and/or enhanced herbicide metabolism resulting from changes in gene expression, including in genes involved in detoxifying herbicide active ingredients. To analyse gene expression, stable housekeeping genes must be experimentally determined and used for data normalisation. In this study, A. fatua plants were treated with different herbicide types and plant materials were harvested at three time points following treatment. Six candidate reference genes (18S rRNA, ACT, EF1α, GAPDH, TBP, and TUB) were selected, sequenced and analysed by RT‐qPCR. The resulting data were assessed using four algorithms from the RefFinder software to determine gene expression stability. We identified TBP and GAPDH as the most stably expressed A. fatua reference genes following herbicide treatment.
A fourth-order seven-point cubature on regular hexagons
Authors: Lee Daniel , Tien Hui-Chun
Published: April 2016

We investigate the central moments of (regular) hexagons and derive accordingly a discrete approximation to definite integrals on hexagons. The seven-point cubature rule makes use of interior and neighbor center nodes, and is of fourth order by construction. The result is expected to be useful in two-dimensional (open-field) applications of integral equations or image processing.
Psicología Comunitaria y expresiones psicosociales de la pobreza: contribuciones para la intervención en políticas públicas
Authors: Morais Ximenes Verônica , Camurça Cidade Elívia , Barbosa Nepomuceno Bárbara
Published: April 2016

El objetivo es analizar, desde la Psicología Comunitaria, las expresiones psicosociales de la pobreza y sus contribuciones para la intervención en políticas públicas. La Psicología Comunitaria critica los factores perpetuadores de aspectos materiales y simbólicos que interfieren en la constitución subjetiva de los pobres. La investigación exploratoria, de carácter cuantitativo y cualitativo, fue realizada con 417 sujetos adultos de dos comunidades, una rural y otra urbana de Brasil. La pobreza envuelve explicaciones de orden moral sobre el pobre. Se da mayor referencia a la familia, a los vecinos y a la religión como fuentes de apoyo, lo cual resalta la necesidad de estrategias de fortalecimiento de las relaciones comunitarias y el redimensionamiento de la intervención en políticas públicas.
Proceso y oportunidades de la transferencia del conocimiento desde la Psicología Comunitaria a las políticas públicas
Authors: Alfaro Jaime , Martin María Pía
Published: April 2016

La literatura reporta una creciente incorporación y participación de la Psicología Comunitaria en políticas públicas, que genera obstáculos, tensiones y posibilidades. Cobra relevancia académica y profesional analizar los antecedentes sobre transferencia de conocimiento desde la Psicología Comunitaria hacia las políticas públicas. Se revisa y expone literatura respecto de las condiciones que afectan el vínculo entre la producción académica y las respuestas a los problemas sociales desde la perspectiva de las deliberative politcs, del proceso de encuentro y lucha de interpretaciones de actores como factor de cambio de las políticas públicas. Desde la Psicología Comunitaria, se analiza la complejidad de transferencia del conocimiento hacia las políticas públicas, concluyendo con recomendaciones para potenciar la contribución y comprender las tensiones reportadas.
Learning Innovative Methodologies To Foster Personal, Organizational and Community Empowerment through Online and Face-to-Face Community Psychology Courses
Authors: Francescato Donata , Mebane Minou Mebane
Published: April 2016

This paper aims to illustrate the contextual factors that inspired some Italian community psychologists to develop three innovative intervention methodologies to foster personal, organizational and community empowerment. We also summarize several studies we conducted to explore the comparative efficacy of traditional and more innovative online teaching, in helping community psychology students master the competencies needed to carry out these three different intervention modalities. These studies showed that both face-to-face and online collaborative learning settings were effective not only in promoting students’ professional competencies, but also in enhancing their social capital and sociopolitical empowerment. Implications for a wider use of online settings to share community psychology values, principles and practices elaborated in different parts of the world are discussed.
Deformation of Pyramidal PDMS Stamps During Microcontact Printing
Authors: Jin Congrui , Qiao Qichao
Published: April 2016

Microcontact printing (MicroCP) is a form of soft lithography that uses the relief patterns on a master polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp to form patterns of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of ink on the surface of a substrate through conformal contact. Pyramidal PDMS stamps have received a lot of attention in the research community in recent years, due to the fact that the use of the pyramidal architecture has multiple advantages over traditional rectangular and cylindrical PDMS stamps. To better understand the dynamic MicroCP process involving pyramidal PDMS stamps, in this paper, numerical studies on frictionless adhesive contact between pyramidal PDMS stamps and transversely isotropic materials are presented. We use a numerical simulation method in which the adhesive interactions are represented by an interaction potential and the surface deformations are coupled by using half-space Green's functions discretized on the surface. It shows that for pyramidal PDMS stamps, the contact area increases significantly with increasing applied load, and thus, this technique is expected to provide a simple, efficient, and low-cost method to create variable two-dimensional arrays of dot chemical patterns for nanotechnology and biotechnology applications. The DMT-type and Johnson–Kendall–Roberts (JKR)-type-to-DMT-type transition regimes have been explored by conducting the simulations using smaller values of Tabor parameters.
Influence of Porosity in the Fatigue Behavior of the High-Pressure Die-Casting AZ91 Magnesium Alloys
Authors: Preciado M. , Bravo P. M. , Cárdenas D.
Published: April 2016

The fatigue properties of high-pressure die-casting (HPDC) magnesium (Mg) alloys AZ91 exhibit a high variability, due primarily to the porosity that is inherent in the injection process. In the 94% of the studied samples, the porosity in which crack nucleation originates is at the surface or adjacent to the surface. The threshold stress intensity factor amplitude and the limit of fatigue have been calculated following the classical models of parameterization of defects. A new set of samples were prepared by machining the surface slightly, in order to conserve the microstructure, and the fatigue behavior at low level of stress was improved. All the samples were produced in molds with the final shape by HPDC process, which allowed a realistic study of the surface effect and the influence of grain size variation from the edge to the center of the samples.
Numerical Solution of Unsteady Conduction Heat Transfer in Anisotropic Cylinders
Authors: Imane Aslib , Hamid Hamza , Jawad Lahjomri , Khalid Zniber , Abdelaziz Oubarra
Published: April 2016

This paper investigates a numerical solution of 2D transient heat conduction in an anisotropic cylinder, subjected to a prescribed temperature over the two end sections and a convective boundary condition over the whole lateral surface. The analysis of this anisotropic heat conduction problem is tedious because the corresponding partial differential equation contains a mixed-derivative. In order to overcome this difficulty, a linear coordinate transformation is used to reduce the anisotropic cylinder heat conduction problem to an equivalent isotropic one, without complicating the boundary conditions but with a more complicated geometry. The alternating-direction implicit finite-difference method (ADI) is used to integrate the isotropic equation combined with boundary conditions. Inverse transformation provides profile temperature in the anisotropic cylinder for full-field configuration. The numerical code is validated by the analytical heat conduction solutions available in the literature such as transient isotropic solution and steady-state orthotropic solution. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of cross-conductivity on the temperature profile inside an axisymmetrical anisotropic cylinder versus time, radial Biot number (Bir), and principal conductivities. The results show that cross-conductivity promotes the effect of Bir according to the principal conductivities. Furthermore, the anisotropy increases the time required to achieve the steady-state heat conduction.
Extending Lean and Exhaust Gas Recirculation-Dilute Operating Limits of a Modern Gasoline Direct-Injection Engine Using a Low-Energy Transient Plasma Ignition System
Authors: Sevik James , Wallner Thomas , Pamminger Michael , Scarcelli Riccardo , Singleton Dan , Sanders Jason
Published: April 2016

The efficiency improvement and emissions reduction potential of lean and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)-dilute operation of spark-ignition gasoline engines is well understood and documented. However, dilute operation is generally limited by deteriorating combustion stability with increasing inert gas levels. The combustion stability decreases due to reduced mixture flame speeds resulting in significantly increased combustion initiation periods and burn durations. A study was designed and executed to evaluate the potential to extend lean and EGR-dilute limits using a low-energy transient plasma ignition system. The low-energy transient plasma was generated by nanosecond pulses and its performance compared to a conventional transistorized coil ignition (TCI) system operated on an automotive, gasoline direct-injection (GDI) single-cylinder research engine. The experimental assessment was focused on steady-state experiments at the part load condition of 1500 rpm 5.6 bar indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), where dilution tolerance is particularly critical to improving efficiency and emission performance. Experimental results suggest that the energy delivery process of the low-energy transient plasma ignition system significantly improves part load dilution tolerance by reducing the early flame development period. Statistical analysis of relevant combustion metrics was performed in order to further investigate the effects of the advanced ignition system on combustion stability. Results confirm that at select operating conditions EGR tolerance and lean limit could be improved by as much as 20% (from 22.7 to 27.1% EGR) and nearly 10% (from λ = 1.55 to 1.7) with the low-energy transient plasma ignition system.
Adaptation Behavior of Skilled Infant Bouncers: Leg Movements and Mechanisms of Control
Authors: Habib Perez Olinda , Walters-Stewart Coren , Robertson D.G.E. , Baddour Natalie , Sveistrup Heidi
Published: April 2016

Rhythmic behavior in nonlinear systems can be described as limit cycles or attractors. System perturbations may result in shifts between multiple attractors. We investigated individual cycle-to-cycle leg movement kinematics of three prewalking skilled infant bouncers (10.6 ±0.91 months) during four different spring frequencies (0.9, 1.15, 1.27 and 1.56 Hz). A novel visual analysis phase-plane methodology was introduced to analyze the lower body joint kinematics. It was found that as infants’ bounce frequency increased to match the natural frequency of the system, their joint ranges of motion decreased and lower extremity dynamics shifted from forced to simple harmonic motion. All infants produced highly synchronized and coordinated movements, as supported by moderate to high inter- and intralimb correlations. This study extends from previous work (Habib Perez et al., 2015) by focusing on the lower extremity kinematic movements, joint coordination and the occurrence of different movement patterns for individual bounce cycles over four spring conditions.
Laparoscopic total extraperitoneal repair of preoperatively diagnosed bilateral obturator and incidental bilateral femoral herniae
Authors: Malik Muhammad Usman , Connelly Tara M , Hamid Mustafa , Pretorius Frederik
Published: April 2016

Obturator hernia (OH), a rare type of hernia, is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Diagnosis is often delayed as clinical symptoms are typically non-specific. OH is frequently associated with other occult inguinopelvic herniae. Early diagnosis is vital to decrease morbidity and mortality. We report the case of a 75-year-old woman who presented to the surgical outpatients' department with non-specific bilateral groin pain radiating to the thighs. CT of the pelvis demonstrated bilateral OH with no radiological evidence of bowel obstruction. Semiurgent elective laparoscopic total extraperitoneal mesh repair was performed. Intraoperative findings confirmed bilateral obturator herniae as well as incidental bilateral femoral herniae. This case highlights the need for a high index of suspicion for such concomitant hernias that, in the presence of OH, may only be identified intraoperatively.
Ocular Lyme borreliosis as a rare presentation of unilateral vision loss
Authors: Patterson-Fortin Jeffrey , Kohli Anita , Suarez Maria J , Miller P Elliott
Published: April 2016

Ocular Lyme borreliosis is a rare manifestation of Lyme disease. We describe a case of an 80-year-old woman who presented with a 1-month history of unilateral painless central vision loss. Based on a temporal artery biopsy, she was initially diagnosed with giant cell arteritis and treated with a 3-day course of high-dose intravenous steroids. A more detailed history uncovered multiple previous treatments for Lyme disease and residence in an endemic Lyme area. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with ocular Lyme borreliosis and treated with intravenous antibiotics. After 5 weeks of treatment, unilateral vision loss did not progress and optic disc oedema resolved.
Ginsenoside Rc from Korean Red Ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) Attenuates Inflammatory Symptoms of Gastritis, Hepatitis and Arthritis
Authors: Yu Tao , Rhee Man Hee , Lee Jongsung , Kim Seung Hyung , Yang Yanyan , Kim Han Gyung , Kim Yong , Kim Chaekyun , Kwak Yi-Seong , Kim Jong-Hoon , Cho Jae Youl
Published: April 2016

Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) is an herbal medicine prescribed worldwide that is prepared from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer (Araliaceae). Out of ginseng’s various components, ginsenosides are regarded as the major ingredients, exhibiting anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. Although recent studies have focused on understanding the anti-inflammatory activities of KRG, compounds that are major anti-inflammatory components, precisely how these can suppress various inflammatory processes has not been fully elucidated yet. In this study, we aimed to identify inhibitory saponins, to evaluate the in vivo efficacy of the saponins, and to understand the inhibitory mechanisms. To do this, we employed in vitro lipopolysaccharide-treated macrophages and in vivo inflammatory mouse conditions, such as collagen (type II)-induced arthritis (CIA), EtOH/HCl-induced gastritis, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-triggered hepatitis. Molecular mechanisms were also verified by real-time PCR, immunoblotting analysis, and reporter gene assays. Out of all the ginsenosides, ginsenoside Rc (G-Rc) showed the highest inhibitory activity against the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-[Formula: see text], interleukin (IL)-1[Formula: see text], and interferons (IFNs). Similarly, this compound attenuated inflammatory symptoms in CIA, EtOH/HCl-mediated gastritis, and LPS/D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-triggered hepatitis without altering toxicological parameters, and without inducing gastric irritation. These anti-inflammatory effects were accompanied by the suppression of TNF-[Formula: see text] and IL-6 production and the induction of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in mice with CIA. G-Rc also attenuated the increased levels of luciferase activity by IRF-3 and AP-1 but not NF-[Formula: see text]B. In support of this phenomenon, G-Rc reduced TBK1, IRF-3, and ATF2 phosphorylation in the joint and liver tissues of mice with hepatitis. Therefore, our results strongly suggest that G-Rc may be a major component of KRG with useful anti-inflammatory properties due to its suppression of IRF-3 and AP-1 pathways.
Discrimination of Three Panax Species Based on Differences in Volatile Organic Compounds Using a Static Headspace GC-MS-Based Metabolomics Approach
Authors: Chen Xiao-Jia , Qiu Jian-Feng , Wang Yi-Tao , Wan Jian-Bo
Published: April 2016

Panax ginseng (Asian ginseng), Panax quinquefolium (American ginseng) and Panax notoginseng (notoginseng) are highly valuable tonic herbs derived from the Panax genus that have similar morphological appearances and odors but different pharmacological activities and clinical indications. Thus, the authentication of these three Panax species is crucial for ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of medication. In the present study, a static headspace gas chromatography — mass spectrometry (GC-MS) followed by a multivariate statistical analysis was developed to globally characterize the volatile organic compound (VOC) profiles in P. ginseng, P. quinquefolium, and P. notoginseng, and subsequently to discover differentiating chemical markers. Under the optimized conditions, the headspace VOCs of a total of 49 batches of Panax herbs derived from the three Panax species were profiled, and the dataset of sample code, [Formula: see text]-m/z pair and ion intensity was processed by unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA) and by supervised partial least squared discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to comprehensively compare the chemical differences in Panax across the species. The results demonstrated that Panax herbs derived from three species possess obviously diverse chemical characteristics of VOCs, PCA, and PLS-DA. According to their VOC profiles, 49 tested samples could be clearly differentiated according to species. Chemomarker 1, 2, and 4 might be used as unique chemical markers of P. ginseng, P. notoginseng and P. quinquefolium, respectively. Our findings indicate that static headspace GC-MS-based VOC profiling, combined with multivariate statistical analysis, provide a reliable tool to discriminate between the three Panax species and to identify their differentiation markers, which will be helpful for ensuring their quality, safety and efficacy.
A Proximity and Semantic-Aware Optimisation Model for Sub-Domain-Based Decentralised Resource Discovery in Grid Computing
Authors: Shaikh Abdul Khalique , Alhashmi Saadat M. , Parthiban Rajendran
Published: April 2016

One of the fundamental issues in Grid decentralised resource discovery services is high communication overheads that affect the Grid system’s performance significantly. The rationale is that Grid resources are geographically distributed across the world through a wide area network under various virtual organisations. To address the issue, a significant amount of effort has been made by proposing various decentralised overlay algorithms with semantic solutions. Current Grid literature reveals that when semantic features are added into discovery services, the probability of finding resources is enhanced and communication overheads could be better. However, most of the existing decentralised resource discovery models utilise a domain-based semantic ontology with First Come First Serve (FCFS) basis scheduling for allocating Grid resources that can cause job rejection at run time and can pick resources that are far from the user nodes. As a result, communication overheads of the models are affected as the proximity criterion is not being considered in the selection process. To overcome these issues and enhance the application performance, we propose a Unification of Proximity and Semantic similarity for Appropriate Resource Selection (UPSARS) algorithm in a decentralised resource discovery model by using a sub-domain ontology structure for Grid computing environments. The purpose of this unification is to get optimised resources for user jobs (Gridlets) so that Grid brokers could select optimum resources in terms of proximity with high semantic relevancy. The algorithm considers both semantic and proximity criteria and selects the nearby nodes resources and reduces the communication overheads in terms of proximity and latency. We design and implement the model using the GridSim and the FreePastry simulation and modelling toolkits. The experimental results provide promising outcomes to reduce communication overheads and enhance resource allocation performance.
The Two-Edge Connectivity Survivable-Network Design Problem in Planar Graphs
Authors: Borradaile Glencora , Klein Philip
Published: April 2016

Consider the following problem: given a graph with edge costs and a subset
Q
of vertices, find a minimum-cost subgraph in which there are two edge-disjoint paths connecting every pair of vertices in
Q
. The problem is a failure-resilient analog of the Steiner tree problem arising, for example, in telecommunications applications. We study a more general mixed-connectivity formulation, also employed in telecommunications optimization. Given a number (or
requirement
)
r
(
v
) ∈ {0, 1, 2} for each vertex
v
in the graph, find a minimum-cost subgraph in which there are min {
r
(
u
),
r
(
v
)} edge-disjoint
u
-to-
v
paths for every pair
u
,
v
of vertices.

We address the problem in planar graphs, considering a popular relaxation in which the solution is allowed to use multiple copies of the input-graph edges (paying separately for each copy). The problem is max SNP-hard in general graphs and strongly NP-hard in planar graphs. We give the first polynomial-time approximation scheme in planar graphs. The running time is
O
(
n
log
n
).

Under the additional restriction that the requirements are only non-zero for vertices on the boundary of a single face of a planar graph, we give a polynomial-time algorithm to find the optimal solution.
Fast Constructions of Lightweight Spanners for General Graphs
Authors: Elkin Michael , Solomon Shay
Published: April 2016

It is long known that for every
weighted
undirected
n
-vertex
m
-edge graph
G
= (
V
,
E
, ω), and every integer
k
⩾ 1, there exists a ((2
k
− 1) · (1 + ϵ))-spanner with
O
(
n

1 + 1/
k

) edges and weight
O
(
k
·
n

1/
k

· ω(
MST
(
G
)), for an arbitrarily small constant ϵ > 0. (Here ω(
MST
(
G
)) stands for the weight of the minimum spanning tree of
G
.) To our knowledge, the only algorithms for constructing sparse and lightweight spanners for general graphs admit high running times. Most notable in this context is the greedy algorithm of Althöfer et al. [1993], analyzed by Chandra et al. [1992], which requires
O
(
m
· (
n

1 + 1/
k

+
n
· log
n
)) time.

In this article, we devise an efficient algorithm for constructing sparse and lightweight spanners. Specifically, our algorithm constructs ((2
k
− 1) · (1 + ϵ))-spanners with
O
(
k
·
n

1 + 1/
k

) edges and weight
O
(
k
·
n

1/
k

) · ω(
MST
(
G
)), where ϵ > 0 is an arbitrarily small constant. The running time of our algorithm is
O
(
k
·
m
+ min {
n
· log
n
,
m
· α(
n
)}). Moreover, by slightly increasing the running time we can reduce the other parameters. These results address an open problem by Roditty and Zwick [2004].
The Traveling Salesman Problem for Lines, Balls, and Planes
Authors: Dumitrescu Adrian , Tóth Csaba D.
Published: April 2016

We revisit the traveling salesman problem with neighborhoods (TSPN) and propose several new approximation algorithms. These constitute either first approximations (for hyperplanes, lines, and balls in R

d

, for
d
⩾ 3) or improvements over previous approximations achievable in comparable times (for unit disks in the plane).

(I) Given a set of
n
hyperplanes in R

d

, a traveling salesman problem (TSP) tour whose length is at most
O
(1) times the optimal can be computed in
O
(
n
) time when
d
is constant.

(II) Given a set of
n
lines in R

d

, a TSP tour whose length is at most
O
(log
3
n
) times the optimal can be computed in polynomial time for all
d
.

(III) Given a set of
n
unit balls in R

d

, a TSP tour whose length is at most
O
(1) times the optimal can be computed in polynomial time when
d
is constant.
Adapting the DySER Architecture with DSP Blocks as an Overlay for the Xilinx Zynq
Authors: Jain Abhishek Kumar , Li Xiangwei , Fahmy Suhaib A. , Maskell Douglas L.
Published: April 2016

Coarse-grained overlay architectures have been shown to be effective when paired with general purpose processors, offering software-like programmability, fast compilation, and improved design productivity. These architectures enable general purpose hardware accelerators, allowing hardware design at a higher level of abstraction, but at the cost of area and performance overheads. This paper examines the DySER overlay architecture as a hardware accelerator paired with a general purpose processor in a hybrid FPGA such as the Xilinx Zynq. We evaluate the DySER architecture mapped on the Xilinx Zynq and show that it suffers from a significant area and performance overhead. We then propose an improved functional unit architecture using the flexibility of the DSP48E1 primitive which results in a 2.5 times frequency improvement and 25% area reduction compared to the original functional unit architecture. We demonstrate that this improvement results in the routing architecture becoming the bottleneck in performance.
High Throughput Sketch Based Online Heavy Hitter Detection on FPGA
Authors: Tong Da , Prasanna Viktor
Published: April 2016

In the context of networking, a heavy hitter is an entity in a data stream whose amount of activity (such as bandwidth consumption or number of connections) is higher than a given threshold. Detecting heavy hitters is a critical task for network management and security in the Internet and data centers. Data streams in modern network usually contain millions of entities, such as traffic flows or IP domains. It is challenging to detect heavy hitters at a high throughput while supporting such a large number of entities. I this work, we propose a high throughput online heavy hitter detector based on the Count-min sketch algorithm on FPGA. We propose a high throughput hash computation architecture, optimize the Count-min sketch for hardwarebased heavy hitter detection and use forwarding to deal with data hazards. The post place-and-route results of our architecture on a state-of-the-art FPGA shows high throughput and scalability. Our architecture achieves a throughput of 114 Gbps while supporting a typical 1 M concurrent entities. It sustains 100+ Gbps throughput while supporting various number of concurrent entities, stream sizes and accuracy requirements. Our implementation demonstrates improved performance compared with other sketch acceleration techniques on various platforms using similar sketch configurations.
An (In)Significant Ventricular Septal Defect and/or Double-Chambered Right Ventricle: Are There Any Differences in Diagnosis and Prognosis in Adult Patients?
Authors: Nikolic Aleksandra , Jovovic Ljiljana , Ilisic Tamara , Antonic Zelimir
Published: April 2016

A double-chambered right ventricle (DCRV) is an uncommon congenital anomaly: the right ventricle (RV) is divided into two chambers due to the presence of an abnormally located muscular band or anomalous muscle hypertrophy in the subinfundibular part of RV outflow tract, with a variable degree of obstruction. Generally, DCRV is well recognized in childhood and misdiagnosed in adult patients. Transthoracic and/or transesophageal echocardiography are the mеthods of choice for the diagnosis of DCRV. Due to limitations of echocardiography in adult patients, this entity may be missed, particularly if it presents concomitant with other congenital defects, and therefore additional imaging methods such as MRI or cardiac catheterization are required for a definitive diagnosis.
Characterization and Developmental Expression Profile of the Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein (StAR) in the Gonad-Mesonephros Complex of Lithobates sylvaticus
Authors: Robertson Courtney , Pauli Bruce D. , Trudeau Vance L. , Navarro-Martín Laia
Published: April 2016

The steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein is responsible for the movement of cholesterol across mitochondrial membranes and is therefore a key factor in regulating the timing and rate of steroidogenesis. In this study, we characterized the coding region of the star gene in the ranid Lithobates sylvaticus and studied star mRNA levels in steroidogenic tissues during development and under natural conditions. Our results support previous research showing that the StAR sequence is well conserved. We determined that star is expressed in both the interrenal and gonadal tissues of adults and in the tadpole gonad-mesonephros complex (GMC). The mRNA levels of star in the GMC were found to increase during tadpole development, reaching a maximum between Gosner stages (Gs) 32 and 38. We observed a significant drop in star mRNA levels at the end of prometamorphosis (Gs40-41), just before the start of the metamorphic climax. Significant differences in star levels between females and males, with males presenting higher levels than females, were detected at Gs36-38. To our knowledge, this is the first study that reports transitory star sex differences in tadpoles' developing GMC. Our results suggest an involvement of StAR in anuran late male GMC formation and development that requires further investigation.
Diagnostic Impacts of Serum CA-125 Levels, Pap Smear Evaluation, and Endometrial Sampling in Women with Endometrial Clear Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Cetinkaya Nilufer , Selcuk İlker , Ozdal Bulent , Meydanli Mehmet M. , Gungor Tayfun
Published: April 2016

Background: Endometrial clear cell carcinoma (ECCC) is a rare variant of endometrial cancer with an unfavorable prognosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships, if any, between preoperative serum cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) levels, the last Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, the results of endometrial biopsy and tumor histology, and disease-stage according to permanent histopathology. Materials and Methods: The data of 26 women with ECCC were collected from their medical records to compare demographics, preoperative serum CA-125 levels, Pap test results, histological diagnosis of the endometrial biopsy, and tumor histology, as well as the disease stage according to permanent histopathology. Results: The mean age at diagnosis was 64.0 years. There were 17 (65.3%) women with pure ECCC and 8 (30.7%) women with a mixed histology. Stage III-IV disease was diagnosed in 12 (46.2%) women and occurred more frequently in pure ECCC (n = 11, 91.7%). CA-125 values were significantly higher in advanced stage disease. Cytological evaluation indicated the presence of 71.4% (10/14) cytological abnormalities in pure ECCC. The overall sensitivity of endometrial sampling for the detection of malignancy was 92.3% (24/26), whereas the accurate diagnosis of ECCC was only 34.7% (8/23) with the Pipelle sampler. Conclusion: Pap test abnormalities are frequent in ECCC. Although it is less accurate in the diagnosis of ECCC than in the detection of malignancy, endometrial sampling is still the main procedure for the diagnosis of ECCC. Higher preoperative CA-125 concentrations imply the presence of advanced stage ECCC.
Advances in Image-Guided Radiation Therapy for Primary Cardiac Angiosarcoma: The Role of PET-CT and MRI
Authors: Elsayad Khaled , Scobioala Sergiu , Kriz Jan , Haverkamp Uwe , Eich Hans Theodor
Published: April 2016

Background: With advances in modern diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, the main goal of intrathoracic radiation treatment is to reduce treatment-related toxicities. Here, we describe a series of cases that involved positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiation therapy (RT) for the treatment of primary cardiac angiosarcoma (PCA). Patients and Methods: The medical records of 3 patients who underwent image-guided RT at our department between 2012 and 2015 were analyzed. Results: 3 patients with PCA underwent pre-therapeutic imaging with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/CT (n = 3), as well as PET/MRI (n = 2) or MRI alone (n = 1). 2 patients underwent primary tumor resection (cases 1 and 2). The tumor in case 3 was unresectable and the patient underwent definitive chemoradiation. Intensity-modulated RT was applied with a median RT dose of 50.4 Gy. At the end of the study, 2 of the patients had survived for 35 and 16 months post-treatment (cases 1 and 3, respectively), and no evidence of tumor progression has since been detected. Conclusion: For the cases examined, RT was a feasible and tolerable treatment for PCA, and FDG-PET-MRI successfully characterized each PCA for therapy planning.
C-Reactive Protein is a Prognostic Marker for Patients with Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Authors: Liao Shao-Guang , Cheng Hui-Hua , Lei Yong
Published: April 2016

Introduction: As an acute-phase protein synthesized in response to systemic inflammation, the C-reactive protein (CRP) has been shown to be an independent prognostic factor for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between CRP and progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and radiological response in CRPC patients treated with docetaxel. Methods: 115 histologically confirmed CRPC patients who were treated with docetaxel chemotherapy from 2008 to 2013 were selected. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression models were used to predict the association of CRP as a dichotomous variable with PFS and OS after chemotherapy initiation. Results: None of the clinicopathological features were associated with the CRP. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, the median PFS (9.8 vs. 7.5 months, p < 0.001) and OS (26.5 vs. 13.5 months, p = 0.002) were higher in patients who did not have an elevated CRP than in those with an elevated CRP. In univariable analysis, the pretreatment CRP was significantly associated with PFS (p < 0.001) and OS (p = 0.003).In multivariable analysis, patients with a CRP > 8 mg/l were at significantly higher risk of tumor progress (hazard ratio (HR) 2.184; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.401-3.403; p = 0.001) and death (HR 2.003; 95% CI 1.285-3.121; p = 0.002) than patients with a CRP ≤ 8 mg/l. Conclusions: CRP may be an important biomarker of PFS and OS in CRPC patients treated with docetaxel. The findings require validation in further prospective, large cohort-size studies.
Successful Treatment of Metastatic Anal Canal Adenocarcinoma with mFOLFOX6 + Bevacizumab
Authors: Matsunaga Mototsugu , Miwa Keisuke , Oka Yosuke , Nagasu Sachiko , Sakaue Takahiko , Fukahori Masaru , Ushijima Tomoyuki , Akagi Yoshito
Published: April 2016

Anal canal adenocarcinoma is a relatively rare malignancy without established diagnostic and treatment criteria. Case reports of chemotherapy for anal canal adenocarcinoma with distant metastasis are limited, and there is no convincing evidence for treatment effectiveness. A 62-year-old man complained of difficulty in defecation, anal pain, and bleeding during bowel movement. He was diagnosed with moderately differentiated primary anal canal adenocarcinoma. A computed tomography scan revealed multiple metastases in the lung and liver. The patient was treated with abdominoperineal resection to control local tumor growth and then with chemotherapy consisting of mFOLFOX6 + bevacizumab. Because he had an activating KRAS mutation, anti-EGFR therapy was not considered. A reduction in the size of lung and liver metastases was observed after 4 courses of mFOLFOX6 + bevacizumab, and after 22 courses, maximum reduction in the metastatic lesions was achieved. The patient demonstrated tolerable levels of oxaliplatin-related peripheral neurotoxicity (grades 1-2) and was considered as having partial response to treatment. He is currently at the partial response state for 1 year. We plan to continue the treatment unless the patient develops progressive disease or intolerable adverse reactions. This case demonstrates that anal canal adenocarcinoma with distant metastases could be successfully treated with mFOLFOX6 + bevacizumab therapy according to the guidelines for rectal carcinoma. However, as anal canal carcinoma has multiple histological subtypes, it is important to establish subtype-specific treatment strategies.
Tuberculose em primatas
Authors:   Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Valvassoura Tatiana Almeida , Ferreira Neto José Soares ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia
Published: April 2016

A​ Tuberculose é um dos maiores problemas sanitários dos animais selvagens mantidos em​ cativeiro para os mais variados propósitos. Grande parte das ocorrências envolve​ a transmissão zoonótica e os primatas não humanos são os animais mais frequentemente afetados.​ ​Em função das complexidades para o seu controle, determina grandes perdas econômicas e a estigmatização da instituição que​ a reporta. Enquanto nos países da América do Norte e Europa é tratada como prioridade, havendo estratégias definidas por legislação, no Brasil, existe​ quase completa omissão em relação à doença, o que resulta em individualismo no trato do problema por parte das instituições mantenedoras de animais cativos. Assim, este livro trata desse assunto sob a ótica da medicina veterinária preventiva, com natural ênfase nas populações animais. Aborda desde aspectos históricos até sistemas de vigilância, passando por detalhes da etiologia, epidemiologia, patogenia, sinais clínicos, diagnóstico e legislação brasileira, visando chamar atenção para o tema e inspirar iniciativas para o bom encaminhamento da questão no nosso meio.
0 Ideograma e a poesia
Authors: Atik Maria Luiza Guarnieri
Published: April 2016

Neste trabalho procuramos demonstrar como a lógica poética subjacente na estrutura do ideograma e desenvolvida na mais lacônica forma de poesia japonesa, o haicai, impulsionou uma nova concepção de poesia no mundo ocidental.
A Problematização da alteridade no conto "A menor mulher do mundo", de Clarice Lispector
Authors: Resende Neide Luiza de
Published: April 2016

Este texto analisa o conto "A menor mulher do mundo", do livro laços de Família, de Clarice Lispector, construído segundo uma técnica que se pode denominar "encaixe" ou mise en abíme. Essa técnica permite à autora conectar o mundo primitivo da personagem Pequena Flor ao mundo moderno da comunicação de massa e trazer à tona a problemática da alteridade.
Método e Miragem: Murilo Mendes e Paul Valéry
Authors: Barreto Ricardo Gonçalves
Published: April 2016

Figura essencial no que tange à reflexão acerca do poético, Paul Valéry foi a base sobre a qual se delineou a continuidade do ideário estético que vai de Baudelaire aos poetas contemporâneos. Este trabalho tem por objetivo sondar as inter-relações entre as concepções do poeta francês e a obra de Murilo Mendes, indicando como Murilo vai se aproximando de um fazer poético marcado pela reflexão e pelo rigor, marcas indeléveis da poesia de Valéry.
Polissistema, tradução e diversidade de vozes no Spleen de Paris
Authors: Almeida Mônica Sousa
Published: April 2016

Tomando como ponto de partida a teoria do Polissistema de Itamar Zohar e as novas perspectivas que o autor apresenta no que diz respeito especificamente à tradução, o propósito deste ensaio consiste em um levantamento de questões acerca das diferentes transposições do poema em prosa baudelairiano para a língua portuguesa
Um guardião desarmado, o reconhecimento trágico
Authors: Escolastico Cristiane
Published: April 2016

Trata-se de uma análise do poema "Oficina irritada", de Carlos Drummond de Andrade, que objetiva mostrar como esse soneto realiza, em sua forma, a dissonância agressiva ali tematizada e discutir o significado da poesia dissonante na conduta estética e ideológica do poeta a partir de 1948.
A Cabala do Maracanã
Authors: Parreira Marcelo Pen
Published: April 2016

Partindo de uma breve reflexão sobre a atitude da crítica literária diante da problemática do espaço versus tempo na ficção, o autor analisa o desenvolvimento do espaço no conto "A procura de uma dignidade", de Clarice Lispector, cujos pontos de contato com o "Inferno" de Dante, entre outros procedimentos de caráter lírico-simbóli­ co, subvertem  a aparente "normalidade" da narrativa clariceana.
Literatura Comparada e Literatura de Viagem: estratégias ópticas
Authors: Mello Jefferson Agostini
Published: April 2016

Neste artigo, analisam-se as relações entre os primórdios da Lietartura Comparada, textos de Ferdinand Brunétière publicados na Revue des Deux Mondes sobre Zola, Flaubert, e a Literatura de Viagens publicada à mesma época nesta revista.
Discurso sobre o método poético: o medalhão enigmático in the carpet
Authors: Vassoler Flávio Ricardo
Published: April 2016

Iniciaremos a análise buscando os rastros deixados pelo enigma de “The figure in the carpet”, de Henry James. Procuraremos desvelar a tessitura do tapete, os fios que entretecem o conteúdo enigmático precipitado pela forma poética. A poética de James nos levará a Machado de Assis segundo o hábito benjaminiano de retomar o era uma vez narrativo para tentar apreender o possível foi assim crítico em seu constante devir – a lógica da movimentação poética ao invés do enrijecimento de uma leitura unívoca; está sendo assim, portanto. A escavação estrutural do conto de James preparará a forja para a “Teoria do Medalhão” machadiano, de modo que a volubilidade do pai de Janjão nos conduza ao movimento estrutural da ironia que dialoga de forma rente com o enigma autoral enredado pela figure in the carpet.
A representação ficcional em dois romances de Bernardo Carvalho
Authors: Frighetto Gisele Novaes
Published: April 2016

Este artigo propõe analisar a representação ficcional em dois romances de Bernardo Carvalho, Nove noites (2002) e O Sol se põe em São Paulo (2007), de forma a perceber como neles são problematizadas a linguagem literária e a construção da narrativa. Além disso, relacionaremos os aspectos analisados com as resenhas e crônicas do autor publicadas em O mundo fora dos eixos (2005) e com textos de Barthes (2004) e Foucault (1990 e 2009), para delinear uma proposta literária na qual o texto ocupe o primeiro plano e enrede o leitor em relatos complementares ou contraditórios, numa narrativa aberta à ambiguidade.
Gastrointestinal and Liver Issues in Heart Failure
Authors: Sundaram Varun , Fang James C.
Published: April 2016

Heart failure affects ≈23 million people worldwide and continues to have a high mortality despite advancements in modern pharmacotherapy and device therapy. HF is a complex clinical syndrome that can result in the impairment of endocrine, hematologic, musculoskeletal, renal, respiratory, peripheral vascular, hepatic, and gastrointestinal systems. Although gastrointestinal involvement and hepatic involvement are common in HF and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, their bidirectional association with HF progression remains poorly fathomed. The current understanding of multiple mechanisms, including proinflammatory cytokine milieu, hormonal imbalance, and anabolic/catabolic imbalance, has been used to explain the relationship between the gut and HF and has been the basis for many novel therapeutic strategies. However, the failure of these novel therapies such as anti–tumor necrosis factor-α has resulted in further complexity. In this review, we describe the involvement of the gastrointestinal and liver systems within the HF syndrome, their pathophysiological mechanisms, and their clinical consequences.
Imperfection in Paradise: Reading Genesis 2 through the Lens of Disability and a Theology of Limits
Authors: Estes Joel D.
Published: April 2016

Genesis 2 has been interpreted from many angles, but rarely through the lens of disability studies. Such a reading, however, provides a necessary corrective to interpretations that import into the text idealistic notions of bodily perfection and thereby inadvertently disenfranchise those with disabilities. By attending to the range of bodily experiences and the fluidity of embodied existence, this article seeks to shed new light on Genesis 2 and on the wider task of theological anthropology. More specifically, reading Genesis 2 with and for those with disabilities lifts up three essential themes in the text that all express human limitation as a good aspect of God’s creation: embodiment, imperfection, and relationship.
Toward a Scientific Designation: Apocalypticism in Biblical and Modern Studies—A Comparative Approach
Authors: Becker Patrick , Jöris Steffen
Published: April 2016

Apocalyptic studies are nowadays a prominent field of enquiry within biblical studies. Yet, scholars have not been able to agree upon a definition of the term apocalyptic. The following study attempts to move this debate foreword by acknowledging the term as a modern scientific designation that scholars apply to historical sources and thus requires a definition based upon its use in modern scholarship. Since the use of the term has become a modus operandi in biblical and modern studies, an analysis of the various applications of the term by modern scholars provides the point of departure for a reflection upon its definition by means of a comparative study.
Untangling the West Indian Dioscoreaceae: New combinations, lectotypification and synonymy
Authors: Raz Lauren
Published: April 2016

A synopsis of the West Indian Dioscoreaceae is presented. The genus Rajania L. is reduced to a section of Dioscorea L., requiring six new names, 11 new combinations, and reestablishment of two names. Explanations are provided in cases where mixed specimens or otherwise inadequate type material has led to the historical misapplication of names. Lectotypes are designated for 26 names and updated synonymy is provided for all native members of the West Indian Dioscoreaceae. Of the 121 names cited at species level and below, 26 species, one subspecies and a single variety are recognized.
An updated description of Galianthe vaginata (Spermacoceae, Rubiaceae), a species endemic to the Serra da Mantiqueira and Serra do Mar, Southeast Brazil
Authors: Carmo João Afonso Martins , Salas Roberto Manuel , Simões André Olmos
Published: April 2016

An updated description of Galianthe vaginata is here presented. This species is endemic to the Serra da Mantiqueira and Serra do Mar, Southeast Brazil, and occurs in remnants of the Atlantic forest phytogeographic domain, in the campos de altitude, rocky outcrops, and along trails in montane rainforest. Its bracts, short-styled flowers, fruits and seeds are described and illustrated for the first time. The conspicuously winged stems and the pubescent stipules constitute a combination of diagnostic characters useful for distinguishing G. vaginata from G. polygonoides. Its conservation status is reassessed based on recent collections.