bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Risk stratification of individuals with low-risk colorectal adenomas using clinical characteristics: a pooled analysis
Authors: Gupta Samir , Jacobs Elizabeth T , Baron John A , Lieberman David A , Murphy Gwen , Ladabaum Uri , Cross Amanda J , Jover Rodrigo , Liu Lin , Martinez Maria Elena
Published: February 2017

Objective

For individuals with 1–2 small (<1 cm) low-risk colorectal adenomas, international guidelines range from no surveillance to offering surveillance colonoscopy in 5–10 years. We hypothesised that the risks for metachronous advanced neoplasia (AN) among patients with low-risk adenomas differ based on clinical factors distinct from those currently used.

Design

We pooled data from seven prospective studies to assess the risk of metachronous AN. Two groups with 1–2 small adenomas were defined based on guidelines from the UK (n=4516) or the European Union (EU)/US (n=2477).

Results

Absolute risk of metachronous AN ranged from a low of 2.9% to a high of 12.2%, depending on specific risk factor and guideline used. For the UK group, the highest absolute risks for metachronous AN were found among individuals with a history of prior polyp (12.2%), villous histology (12.2%), age ≥70 years (10.9%), high-grade dysplasia (10.9%), any proximal adenoma (10.2%), distal and proximal adenoma (10.8%) or two adenomas (10.1%). For the EU/US group, the highest absolute risks for metachronous AN were among individuals with a history of prior polyp (11.5%) or the presence of both proximal and distal adenomas (11.0%). In multivariate analyses, strong associations for increasing age and history of prior polyps and odds of metachronous AN were observed, whereas more modest associations were shown for baseline proximal adenomas and those with villous features.

Conclusions

Risks of metachronous AN among individuals with 1–2 small adenomas vary according to readily available clinical characteristics. These characteristics may be considered for recommending colonoscopy surveillance and require further investigation.
Update on interleukin-17: a role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis and implication for clinical practice
Authors: Miossec Pierre
Published: February 2017

Interleukin-17 (IL-17A) is a cytokine critical for the acute defence against extracellular bacterial and fungal infections. Excess production during chronic inflammation has been associated with many inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. The present review describes the key molecules of the IL-17 pathway, which are or could be targeted for treatment. Since targeting of IL-17A may affect defence mechanisms, the pathogenesis of such possible adverse events is analysed. Then the contributions of IL-17 to bone changes in various forms of arthritis are discussed. Finally, the results of current inhibitors of the IL-17 pathway in clinical trials are detailed. IL-17A inhibition has been first registered for the treatment of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Other therapeutic options are now tested in a long list of diseases.
Identification of flavour additives in tobacco products to develop a flavour library
Authors: Krüsemann Erna JZ , Visser Wouter F , Cremers Johannes WJM , Pennings Jeroen LA , Talhout Reinskje
Published: February 2017

Objectives

This study combines chemical analysis and flavour descriptions of flavour additives used in tobacco products, and provides a starting point to build an extensive library of flavour components, useful for product surveillance.

Methods

Headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to compare 22 commercially available tobacco products (cigarettes and roll-your-own) expected to have a characterising flavour and 6 commercially available products not expected to have a characterising flavour with 5 reference products (natural tobacco leaves and research cigarettes containing no flavour additives). The flavour components naturally present in the reference products were excluded from components present in commercially available products containing flavour additives. A description of the remaining flavour additives was used for categorisation.

Results

GC-MS measurements of the 33 tobacco products resulted in an overview of 186 chemical compounds. Of these, 144 were solely present in commercially available products. These 144 flavour additives were described using 62 different flavour descriptors extracted from flavour databases, which were categorised into eight groups largely based on the definition of characterising flavours from the European Tobacco Product Directive: fruit, spice, herb, alcohol, menthol, sweet, floral and miscellaneous.

Conclusions

We developed a method to identify and describe flavour additives in tobacco products. Flavour additives consist of single flavour compounds or mixtures of multiple flavour compounds, and different combinations of flavour compounds can cause a certain flavour. A flavour library helps to detect flavour additives that are characteristic for a certain flavour, and thus can be useful for regulation of flavours in tobacco and related products.
Telephone care co-ordination for tobacco cessation: randomised trials testing proactive versus reactive models
Authors: Sherman Scott E , Krebs Paul , York Laura S , Cummins Sharon E , Kuschner Ware , Guvenc-Tuncturk Sebnem , Zhu Shu-Hong
Published: February 2017

Objectives

We conducted two parallel studies evaluating the effectiveness of proactive and reactive engagement approaches to telephone treatment for smoking cessation.

Methods

Patients who smoked and were interested in quitting were referred to this study and were eligible if they were current smokers and had an address and a telephone number. The data were collected at 35 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sites, part of four VA medical centres in both California and Nevada. In study 1, participants received multisession counselling from the California Smokers’ Helpline (quitline). In study 2, they received self-help materials only. Patients were randomly assigned by week to either proactive or reactive engagement, and primary care staff were blind to this assignment. Providers gave brief advice and referred them via the electronic health record to a tobacco co-ordinator. All patients were offered cessation medications.

Outcome

Using complete case analysis, in study 1 (quitline), patients in the proactive condition were more likely than those in the reactive condition to report abstinence at 6 months (21.0% vs 16.4%, p=0.03). No difference was found between conditions in study 2 (self-help) (16.9% vs 16.5%, p=0.88). Proactive outreach resulted in increased use of cessation medications in both the quitline (70.1% vs 57.6%, p<0.0001) and the self-help studies (74.5% vs 48.2%, p<0.0001).

Conclusion

Proactive outreach with quitline intervention was associated with greater long-term abstinence. Both studies resulted in high rates of medication use. Sites should use a proactive outreach approach and provide counselling whenever possible.

Trial registration number

NCT00123682.
Atomic properties and transition parameters of highly charged Sb-like isoelectronic ions
Authors: Huo Xiaoxuan , Jiang Gang , Li Xiangfu
Published: February 2017

The atomic properties and transition parameters of Sb-like Cs4+, Ba5+, La6+, Ce7+, Pr8+, Nd9+, Pm10+, and Sm11+ ions were first calculated using the GRASP2K package. This method is based on the multi-configuration Dirac–Hartree–Fock (MCDHF) method. In this calculation, the contributions of Breit and QED corrections were taken into consideration. By comparison, our results were in good agreement with the NIST values for Cs4+ and Ba5+, which revealed that our calculations are dependable. Meanwhile, it also showed that these ions have high sensitivity to the fine-structure constant α and long-lived metastable states. In particular, Pm10+ and Sm11+ had very long-lived metastable states with transitions within the optical transition. These ions are useful for the research of ultra-accurate atomic clocks and fundamental physics.
RPA treatment of a motivated QCD Hamiltonian in the SO(4) (2 + 1)-flavor limit: Light and strange mesons
Authors: Yepez-Martinez Tochtli , Civitarese Osvaldo , Hess Peter O.
Published: February 2017

The SO(4) symmetry of a sector of the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) Hamiltonian was analyzed in a previous work. The numerical calculations were then restricted to a particle–hole (ph) space and the comparison with experimental data was reasonable in spite of the complexity of the QCD spectrum at low energy. Here on, we continue along this line of research and show our new results of the treatment of the QCD Hamiltonian in the SO(4) representation, including ground state correlations by means of the Random Phase Approximation (RPA). We are able to identify, within this model, states which may be associated to physical pseudo-scalar and vector mesons, like [Formula: see text], as well as the pion ([Formula: see text]).
Utility of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Surgical Management of Drug Extravasation: A Case Report
Authors: Yan Yet Yen , Tan Tein Jin
Published: February 2017

We report a case of phenytoin extravasation complicated by eschar formation. Pre-operative MRI study showed a large non-enhancing area over the dorsum of the imaged right wrist and hand corresponding with the site of phenytoin extravasation and raising the suspicion of subcutaneous tissue necrosis. The MRI findings correlated well with the intra-operative findings. We believe that pre-operative MRI in drug extravasation cases can characterise the type of soft tissue injury and define the extent of injury. This helps the surgeon in the surgical approach and treatment options.
Isolated Dislocation of Fourth Carpometacarpal Joint: Case Report
Authors: Venkatesh K.P. , Sunil B. , Ankith N.V. , B.R. Anupama
Published: February 2017

We present a case of dislocation of the fourth carpometacarpal joint without associated fractures. This is the first case to be reported in the literature. Carpal injuries are uncommon; it is even rare for isolated carpometacarpal dislocation to occur without associated fractures. The injury is difficult to diagnose because of the swelling of the hand and may be missed on several occasions. A lateral radiograph of the wrist has been found to be mandatory to its precise diagnosis if suspected. Early recognition and anatomical reduction are essential in achieving good long-term outcomes.
Quadrilateral Space Syndrome: A Case Report
Authors: Sato Takuya , Tsai Tsai-Lung , Altamimi Anas , Tsai Tsu-Min
Published: February 2017

We present a case of quadrilateral space syndrome (QSS) in a patient with left arm pain. The patient sustained a trauma to his left arm, and QSS was successfully diagnosed by physical examination, magnetic resonance image, electromyographic evaluation, and nerve conduction studies. Surgery was performed to decompress the axillary nerve and the patient recovered fully with minimal residual symptoms.
On Existence of Hall Subgroups in Finite Groups
Authors: Liu Yufeng , Guo Wenbin , Skiba A.N.
Published: February 2017

In this paper, we give some new conditions of the existence of Hall subgroups in non-soluble finite groups, and so the famous Hall theorem and Schur-Zassenhaus theorem are generalized.
Generalized Graph Ideals of Linear Type
Authors: La Barbiera M. , Staglianò P. L.
Published: February 2017

Let [Formula: see text] be the polynomial ring in two sets of variables over a field K. We investigate some classes of graph ideals of S, namely the generalized graph ideals, in order to classify ideals of linear type.
The Inductive Blockwise Alperin Weight Condition for PSL(3, q)
Authors: Feng Zhicheng , Li Conghui , Li Zhenye
Published: February 2017

The blockwise Alperin weight conjecture assets that for any finite group G and any prime l, the number of the Brauer characters in an l-block B equals the number of the G-conjugacy classes of l-weights belonging to B. Recently, the inductive blockwise Alperin weight condition has been introduced such that the blockwise Alperin weight conjecture holds if all non-abelian simple groups satisfy these conditions. We will verify the inductive blockwise Alperin weight condition for the finite simple groups PSL(3, q) in this paper.
Photographic feature: Acoustic emission monitoring of coastal slopes in NE England, UK
Authors: Smith Alister , Dixon Neil , Moore Roger , Meldrum Philip
Published: February 2017

Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring of an active waveguide (a steel tube with a granular backfill surround) installed through a slope can provide real-time warning of slope instability by quantifying increasing rates of movement (i.e. accelerations) in response to slope destabilizing effects. The technique can also quantify decelerations in movement in response to stabilizing effects (e.g. remediation or porewater pressure dissipation). This paper describes the AE monitoring approach and presents results from a field trial that compares AE measurements with continuous subsurface deformation measurements. The results demonstrate that AE monitoring provides continuous information on slope displacement rates with high temporal resolution. Case studies are presented where the AE technique is being used to monitor coastal slopes at Filey and Scarborough in North Yorkshire, UK, to inform continuing risk assessments for these slopes. The results demonstrate that the AE approach can successfully be used to monitor slopes with relatively deep shear surfaces (>14 m); however, they also show that potentially contaminating AE can be generated by groundwater flowing through the active waveguide from relatively high-permeability strata in response to rainfall events.
Rethinking, "Rethinking: Post-Human Boundaries"
Authors: Orsatti Jo , Hafermalz Ella , Hovorka Dirk S.
Published: February 2017

Our rejoinder engages with two issues central to Ramiller's orientation to sociomaterial and posthumanism research. The first is the acceptance of pre-given boundaries between self and technology. The second is that appropriation of technology is a human accomplishment. In addressing these issues Ramiller presents us with a conundrum, where assumptions and language tug us in two different research directions. For example, by focusing from the outset on appropriation and resistance in terms of users and external systems, Ramiller invites the reader to backslide into the divided world he seeks to move beyond. We argue that framing research with a language of separation undermines the potential insight of a sociomaterial perspective and closes off lines of inquiry. As an alternative we suggest a relational sociomaterial grounding, where the question becomes, how is boundary work carried out and what do these processes include and exclude? We consider how categories (e.g. "new technology", "novice") are performed in practice. We thus show that from a relational view, boundaries take on a different meaning and require us to attune ourselves to the ways in which relationships and categories are (re)configured in practice in important ways. This prompts us to consider the consequences of such categories and what their (re)configurations might be.
Get Your Act Together
Authors: Mueller Benjamin , Renken Uta , van den Heuvel Gijs
Published: February 2017

Research in the larger management discipline is increasingly turning towards practice as an important unit of analysis to study organizational form and function. Reflecting this practice turn, information systems research is specifically interested in what people think they do when confronted with technology, what they actually do in the process of using technology, and what using technology does to them and the organizations they are a part of. In the wake of this development, sociomateriality has been proposed as a concept to study these organizational phenomena. The concept of sociomateriality, however, is not without its difficulties. Much debate has ensued on the ontological assumptions the practice turn and the concept of sociomateriality should be based on, and many scholars using the concept report how difficult it is to empirically investigate the intertwining or entanglement of the social and the material in practice. In this paper, we revisit Parsons' and Shils' (1951) general theory of action to address some of these difficulties and develop a framework for researching the social and the material in practice. Particularly, we propose that Parsons' and Shils' orientations of action help to better understand and conceptualize what individuals do before acting, what role technology plays, and how individuals and technology shape and are being shaped by each other in action across time. Through ten methodological principles, we demonstrate that such a framework can improve conceptualization and guide the selection and design of research methods in order to generate the data needed for sociomaterial theorizing.
Doing Sociomateriality Research in Information Systems
Authors: Elbanna Amany R.
Published: February 2017

This paper agrees with Mueller et al.'s (2016) view that researchers who want to adopt a sociomaterial approach often find themselves confused regarding research methods. However, it departs from Mueller's et al. suggestion to seek guidance from the structural-functionalist approach of Parsons' and Shils' (1951) General Theory of Action. The paper argues that finding a methodological framework for research following a sociomaterial approach has to be consistent with the philosophy, ontology and roots of this approach and that it is limiting to read the post-human approach of sociomateriality through a structural-functionalist lens. The paper briefly reviews the roots of the sociomaterial approach in sociology and information systems and offers a methodological guidance based on Actor Network Theory (ANT) and post ANT/Feminist lenses.
Isotope
Authors: Shin Ji-Yong , Balakrishnan Mahesh , Marian Tudor , Weatherspoon Hakim
Published: February 2017

Existing storage stacks are top heavy and expect little from block storage. As a result, new high-level storage abstractions—and new designs for existing abstractions—are difficult to realize, requiring developers to implement from scratch complex functionality such as failure atomicity and fine-grained concurrency control. In this article, we argue that pushing transactional isolation into the block store (in addition to atomicity and durability) is both viable and broadly useful, resulting in simpler high-level storage systems that provide strong semantics without sacrificing performance. We present Isotope, a new block store that supports ACID transactions over block reads and writes. Internally, Isotope uses a new multiversion concurrency control protocol that exploits fine-grained, subblock parallelism in workloads and offers both strict serializability and snapshot isolation guarantees. We implemented several high-level storage systems over Isotope, including two key-value stores that implement the LevelDB API over a hash table and B-tree, respectively, and a POSIX file system. We show that Isotope’s block-level transactions enable systems that are simple (100s of lines of code), robust (i.e., providing ACID guarantees), and fast (e.g., 415MB/s for random file writes). We also show that these systems can be composed using Isotope, providing applications with transactions across different high-level constructs such as files, directories, and key-value pairs.
Frequency characteristics of human muscle and cortical responses evoked by noisy Achilles tendon vibration
Authors: Mildren Robyn L. , Peters Ryan M. , Hill Aimee J. , Blouin Jean-Sébastien , Carpenter Mark G. , Inglis J. Timothy
Published: February 2017

Noisy stimuli, along with linear systems analysis, have proven to be effective for mapping functional neural connections. We explored the use of noisy (10–115 Hz) Achilles tendon vibration to examine somatosensory reflexes in the triceps surae muscles in standing healthy young adults ( n = 8). We also examined the association between noisy vibration and electrical activity recorded over the sensorimotor cortex using electroencephalography. We applied 2 min of vibration and recorded ongoing muscle activity of the soleus and gastrocnemii using surface electromyography (EMG). Vibration amplitude was varied to characterize reflex scaling and to examine how different stimulus levels affected postural sway. Muscle activity from the soleus and gastrocnemii was significantly correlated with the tendon vibration across a broad frequency range (~10–80 Hz), with a peak located at ~40 Hz. Vibration-EMG coherence positively scaled with stimulus amplitude in all three muscles, with soleus displaying the strongest coupling and steepest scaling. EMG responses lagged the vibration by ~38 ms, a delay that paralleled observed response latencies to tendon taps. Vibration-evoked cortical oscillations were observed at frequencies ~40–70 Hz (peak ~54 Hz) in most subjects, a finding in line with previous reports of sensory-evoked γ-band oscillations. Further examination of the method revealed 1) accurate reflex estimates could be obtained with <60 s of low-level (root mean square = 10 m/s2) vibration; 2) responses did not habituate over 2 min of exposure; and importantly, 3) noisy vibration had a minimal influence on standing balance. Our findings suggest noisy tendon vibration is an effective novel approach to characterize somatosensory reflexes during standing.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY We applied noisy (10–115 Hz) vibration to the Achilles tendon to examine the frequency characteristics of lower limb somatosensory reflexes during standing. Ongoing muscle activity was coherent with the noisy vibration (peak coherence ~40 Hz), and coherence positively scaled with increases in stimulus amplitude. Our findings suggest that noisy tendon vibration, along with linear systems analysis, is an effective novel approach to study somatosensory reflex actions in active muscles.
Thyroid Hormone Regulation and Insulin Resistance: Insights From Animals Naturally Adapted to Fasting
Authors: Martinez Bridget , Ortiz Rudy M.
Published: February 2017

The contribution of thyroidal status in insulin signaling and glucose homeostasis has been implicated as a potential pathophysiological factor in humans, but the specific mechanisms remain largely elusive. Fasting induces changes in both thyroid hormone secretion and insulin signaling. Here, we explore how mammals that undergo natural, prolonged bouts of fasting provide unique insight into evolved physiological adaptations that allow them to tolerate such conditions despite intermittent states of reversible insulin resistance. Such insights from nature may provide clues to better understand the basis of thyroidal involvement in insulin dysregulation in humans.
Tensor-Based Methods for Blind Spatial Signature Estimation in Multidimensional Sensor Arrays
Authors: Gomes Paulo R. B. , de Almeida André L. F. , da Costa João Paulo C. L. , Mota João C. M. , Valle de Lima Daniel , Del Galdo Giovanni
Published: February 2017

The estimation of spatial signatures and spatial frequencies is crucial for several practical applications such as radar, sonar, and wireless communications. In this paper, we propose two generalized iterative estimation algorithms to the case in which a multidimensional (R-D) sensor array is used at the receiver. The first tensor-based algorithm is anR-D blind spatial signature estimator that operates in scenarios where the source’s covariance matrix is nondiagonal and unknown. The second tensor-based algorithm is formulated for the case in which the sources are uncorrelated and exploits the dual-symmetry of the covariance tensor. Additionally, a new tensor-based formulation is proposed for anL-shaped array configuration. Simulation results show that our proposed schemes outperform the state-of-the-art matrix-based and tensor-based techniques.
Upscaled Lattice Boltzmann Method for Simulations of Flows in Heterogeneous Porous Media
Authors: Li Jun , Brown Donald
Published: February 2017

An upscaled Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) for flow simulations in heterogeneous porous media at the Darcy scale is proposed in this paper. In the Darcy-scale simulations, the Shan-Chen force model is used to simplify the algorithm. The proposed upscaled LBM uses coarser grids to represent the average effects of the fine-grid simulations. In the upscaled LBM, each coarse grid represents a subdomain of the fine-grid discretization and the effective permeability with the reduced-order models is proposed as we coarsen the grid. The effective permeability is computed using solutions of local problems (e.g., by performing local LBM simulations on the fine grids using the original permeability distribution) and used on the coarse grids in the upscaled simulations. The upscaled LBM that can reduce the computational cost of existing LBM and transfer the information between different scales is implemented. The results of coarse-grid, reduced-order, simulations agree very well with averaged results obtained using a fine grid.
Ultrasonographic Validation of Anatomical Landmarks for Localization of the Tendon of the Long Head of Biceps Brachii
Authors: Hou Saiyun , Harrell John , Li Sheng
Published: February 2017

Objectives. To establish anatomical landmarks for biceps tendon groove localization based on intrinsic anatomical relations and to validate the localization with ultrasonographic measurement. Design. Perspective, observational, single-blinded pilot study. Participants. 25 healthy male and female volunteers ages 24–50 years. Methods. We used two anatomical landmarks, the medial epicondyle vertical line related landmark and the coracoid process landmark. The distance from the groove skin mark to the medial epicondyle vertical line and the coracoid process was measured horizontally and was measured at 0° and 45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. Results. Medial epicondyle vertical lines were 9.3 mm/21.5 mm medial to the groove at 0°/45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. Correlation coefficients were 0.04/0.10, 0.32/0.42, and 0.26/0.37 for weight, height, and BMI in 0°/45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. The distance between the coracoid process and the groove was 44.0 mm/62.2 mm in 0°/45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. Correlation coefficients were 0.36/0.41, 0.36/0.54, and 0.18/0.12 for weight, height, and BMI in 0°/45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. Conclusions. The medial epicondyle vertical line and the coracoid process landmark are both useful anatomical landmarks to localize the biceps groove. The anatomical landmark based localization is essentially not correlated with subject’s weight, height, or BMI.
Numerical Method for the Design of Healing Chamber in Additive-Manufactured Dental Implants
Authors: Lee Hsiao-Chien , Tsai Pei-I , Huang Chih-Chieh , Chen San-Yuan , Chao Chuen-Guang , Tsou Nien-Ti
Published: February 2017

The inclusion of a healing chamber in dental implants has been shown to promote biological healing. In this paper, a novel numerical approach to the design of the healing chamber for additive-manufactured dental implants is proposed. This study developed an algorithm for the modeling of bone growth and employed finite element method in ANSYS to facilitate the design of healing chambers with a highly complex configuration. The model was then applied to the design of dental implants for insertion into the posterior maxillary bones. Two types of ITI® solid cylindrical screwed implant with extra rectangular-shaped healing chamber as an initial design are adopted, with which to evaluate the proposed system. This resulted in several configurations for the healing chamber, which were then evaluated based on the corresponding volume fraction of healthy surrounding bone. The best of these implants resulted in a healing chamber surrounded by around 9.2% more healthy bone than that obtained from the original design. The optimal design increased the contact area between the bone and implant by around 52.9%, which is expected to have a significant effect on osseointegration. The proposed approach is highly efficient which typically completes the optimization of each implant within 3–5 days on an ordinary personal computer. It is also sufficiently general to permit extension to various loading conditions.
Mathematical Modelling of Immune Parameters in the Evolution of Severe Dengue
Authors: Premaratne M. K. , Perera S. S. N. , Malavige G. N. , Jayasinghe Saroj
Published: February 2017

Aims. Predicting the risk of severity at an early stage in an individual patient will be invaluable in preventing morbidity and mortality caused by dengue. We hypothesized that such predictions are possible by analyzing multiple parameters using mathematical modeling. Methodology. Data from 11 adult patients with dengue fever (DF) and 25 patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) were analyzed. Multivariate statistical analysis was performed to study the characteristics and interactions of parameters using dengue NS1 antigen levels, dengue IgG antibody levels, platelet counts, and lymphocyte counts. Fuzzy logic fundamentals were used to map the risk of developing severe forms of dengue. The cumulative effects of the parameters were incorporated using the Hamacher and the OWA operators. Results. The operator classified the patients according to the severity level during the time period of 96 hours to 120 hours after the onset of fever. The accuracy ranged from 53% to 89%. Conclusion. The results show a robust mathematical model that explains the evolution from dengue to its serious forms in individual patients. The model allows prediction of severe cases of dengue which could be useful for optimal management of patients during a dengue outbreak. Further analysis of the model may also deepen our understanding of the pathways towards severe illness.
Experimental Evaluation for the Microvibration Performance of a Segmented PC Method Based High Technology Industrial Facility Using 1/2 Scale Test Models
Authors: Kim Sijun , Choi Se Woon
Published: February 2017

The precast concrete (PC) method used in the construction process of high technology industrial facilities is limited when applied to those with greater span lengths, due to the transport length restriction (maximum length of 15~16 m in Korea) set by traffic laws. In order to resolve this, this study introduces a structural system with a segmented PC system, and a 1/2 scale model with a width of 9000 mm (hereafter Segmented Model) is manufactured to evaluate vibration performance. Since a real vibrational environment cannot be reproduced for vibration testing using a scale model, a comparative analysis of their relative performances is conducted in this study. For this purpose, a 1/2 scale model with a width of 7200 mm (hereafter Nonsegmented Model) of a high technology industrial facility is additionally prepared using the conventional PC method. By applying the same experiment method for both scale models and comparing the results, the relative vibration performance of the Segmented Model is observed. Through impact testing, the natural frequencies of the two scale models are compared. Also, in order to analyze the estimated response induced by the equipment, the vibration responses due to the exciter are compared. The experimental results show that the Segmented Model exhibits similar or superior performances when compared to the Nonsegmented Model.
Treatment with Myo-Inositol and Selenium Ensures Euthyroidism in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroiditis
Authors: Nordio Maurizio , Basciani Sabrina
Published: February 2017

Clinical evidences have highlighted the efficacy of myo-inositol and selenium in the treatment of autoimmune thyroiditis. Aim of this study was to further analyze the role of myo-inositol plus selenium (Myo-Ins-Se) in restoring a normal thyroid function of Hashimoto’s patients with subclinical hypothyroidism. Eighty-six patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis having thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels between 3 and 6 mIU/L, elevated serum antithyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and/or antithyroglobulin (TgAb), and normal free thyroxine (fT4) and free triiodothyronine (fT3) levels were enrolled in the study: one hyperthyroid subject with TSH about 0.14 μU/ml was included in this trial as a single case. Patients were assigned to receive Myo-Ins-Se. TSH, TPOAb, and TgAb levels were significantly decreased in patients treated with combined Myo-Ins-Se after 6 months of treatment. In addition, a significant fT3and fT4increase, along with an amelioration of their quality of life, was observed. Remarkably, TSH values of the hyperthyroid patient increased from 0.14 μU/ml up to 1.02 μU/ml, showing a complete restoration of TSH values at a normal range. In conclusion, the administration of Myo-Ins-Se is significantly effective in decreasing TSH, TPOAb, and TgAb levels, as well as enhancing thyroid hormones and personal wellbeing, therefore restoring euthyroidism in patients diagnosed with autoimmune thyroiditis.
Saikosaponin A Alleviates Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder through Downregulation of DAT and Enhancing BDNF Expression in Spontaneous Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Jichao Sun , Xinmin Han , Xianguo Ren , Dongqi Yin , Rongyi Zhou , Shuang Lei , Yue You , Yuchen Song , Jingnan Ying
Published: February 2017

The disturbed dopamine availability and brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression are due in part to be associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study, we investigated the therapeutical effect of saikosaponin a (SSa) isolated from Bupleurum Chinese DC, against spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model of ADHD. Methylphenidate and SSa were orally administered for 3 weeks. Activity was assessed by open‐field test and Morris water maze test. Dopamine (DA) and BDNF were determined in specific brain regions. The mRNA or protein expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine transporter (DAT), and vesicles monoamine transporter (VMAT) was also studied. Both MPH and SSa reduced hyperactivity and improved the spatial learning memory deficit in SHRs. An increased DA concentration in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum was also observed after treating with the SSa. The increased DA concentration may partially be attributed to the decreased mRNA and protein expression of DAT in PFC while SSa exhibited no significant effects on the mRNA expression of TH and VMAT in PFC of SHRs. In addition, BDNF expression in SHRs was also increased after treating with SSa or MPH. The obtained result suggested that SSa may be a potential drug for treating ADHD.
Role of Vitamin D in Uremic Vascular Calcification
Authors: Hou Yi-Chou , Liu Wen-Chih , Zheng Cai-Mei , Zheng Jing-Quan , Yen Tzung-Hai , Lu Kuo-Cheng
Published: February 2017

The risk of cardiovascular death is 10 times higher in patients with CKD (chronic kidney disease) than in those without CKD. Vascular calcification, common in patients with CKD, is a predictor of cardiovascular mortality. Vitamin D deficiency, another complication of CKD, is associated with vascular calcification in patients with CKD. GFR decline, proteinuria, tubulointerstitial injury, and the therapeutic dose of active form vitamin D aggravate vitamin D deficiency and reduce its pleiotropic effect on the cardiovascular system. Vitamin D supplement for CKD patients provides a protective role in vascular calcification on the endothelium by (1) renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inactivation, (2) alleviating insulin resistance, (3) reduction of cholesterol and inhibition of foam cell and cholesterol efflux in macrophages, and (4) modulating vascular regeneration. For the arterial calcification, vitamin D supplement provides adjunctive role in regressing proteinuria, reverse renal osteodystrophy, and restoring calcification inhibitors. Recently, adventitial progenitor cell has been linked to be involved in the vascular calcification. Vitamin D may provide a role in modulating adventitial progenitor cells. In summary, vitamin D supplement may provide an ancillary role for ameliorating uremic vascular calcification.
Semantic Health Knowledge Graph: Semantic Integration of Heterogeneous Medical Knowledge and Services
Authors: Shi Longxiang , Li Shijian , Yang Xiaoran , Qi Jiaheng , Pan Gang , Zhou Binbin
Published: February 2017

With the explosion of healthcare information, there has been a tremendous amount of heterogeneous textual medical knowledge (TMK), which plays an essential role in healthcare information systems. Existing works for integrating and utilizing the TMK mainly focus on straightforward connections establishment and pay less attention to make computers interpret and retrieve knowledge correctly and quickly. In this paper, we explore a novel model to organize and integrate the TMK into conceptual graphs. We then employ a framework to automatically retrieve knowledge in knowledge graphs with a high precision. In order to perform reasonable inference on knowledge graphs, we propose a contextual inference pruning algorithm to achieve efficient chain inference. Our algorithm achieves a better inference result with precision and recall of 92% and 96%, respectively, which can avoid most of the meaningless inferences. In addition, we implement two prototypes and provide services, and the results show our approach is practical and effective.
Global Attractivity in a Discrete Mutualism Model with Infinite Deviating Arguments
Authors: Xie Xiangdong , Xue Yalong , Wu Runxin
Published: February 2017

A set of sufficient conditions is obtained for the global attractivity of the following two-species discrete mutualism model with infinite deviating arguments: x1(k+1)=x1kexp⁡r1(K1+α1∑s=0+∞J2sx2k-s)/(1+∑s=0+∞J2sx2k-s)-x1k and  x2(k+1)=x2kexp⁡r2(K2+α2∑s=0+∞J1sx1k-s)/(1+∑s=0+∞J1sx1k-s)-x2k, where ri,Ki,αi, i=1,2, are all positive constants, ∑j=1+∞Ji(n)=1, and αi>Ki. Our results generalize the main result of Yang et al. (2014).
Syntheses, Characterization, Resolution, and Biological Studies of Coordination Compounds of Aspartic Acid and Glycine
Authors: Aiyelabola Temitayo , Akinkunmi Ezekiel , Ojo Isaac , Obuotor Efere , Adebajo Clement , Isabirye David
Published: February 2017

Enantiomerically enriched coordination compounds of aspartic acid and racemic mixtures of coordination compounds of glycine metal-ligand ratio 1 : 3 were synthesized and characterized using infrared and UV-Vis spectrophotometric techniques and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Five of the complexes were resolved using (+)-cis-dichlorobis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride, (+)-bis(glycinato)(1,10-phenanthroline)cobalt(III) chloride, and (+)-tris(1,10-phenanthroline)nickel(II) chloride as resolving agents. The antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of these complexes were then determined. The results obtained indicated that aspartic acid and glycine coordinated in a bidentate fashion. The enantiomeric purity of the compounds was in the range of 22.10–32.10%, with (+)-cis-dichlorobis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) complex as the more efficient resolving agent. The resolved complexes exhibited better activity in some cases compared to the parent complexes for both biological activities. It was therefore inferred that although the increase in the lipophilicity of the complexes may assist in the permeability of the complexes through the cell membrane of the pathogens, the enantiomeric purity of the complexes is also of importance in their activity as antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents.
Procedure to Solve Network DEA Based on a Virtual Gap Measurement Model
Authors: Liu Fuh-hwa Franklin , Liu Yu-cheng
Published: February 2017

Network DEA models assess production systems that contain a set of network‐structured subsystems. Each subsystem has input and output measures from and to the external network and has intermediate measures that link to other subsystems. Most published studies demonstrate how to employ DEA models to establish network DEA models. Neither static nor dynamic network DEA models adjust the links. This paper applies the virtual gap measurement (VGM) model to construct a mixed integer program to solve dynamic network DEA problems. The mixed integer program sets the total numbers of “as‐input” and “as‐output” equal to the total number of links in the objective function. To obtain the best‐practice efficiency, each DMU determines a set of weights for inputs, outputs, and links. The links are played either “as‐input” or “as‐output.” Input and as‐input measures reduce slack, whereas output and as‐output measures increase slacks to attain their target on the production frontier.
Predicting Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Neurotoxins by Developing Feature Selection Technique
Authors: Tang Hua , Yang Yunchun , Zhang Chunmei , Chen Rong , Huang Po , Duan Chenggang , Zou Ping
Published: February 2017

Presynaptic and postsynaptic neurotoxins are proteins which act at the presynaptic and postsynaptic membrane. Correctly predicting presynaptic and postsynaptic neurotoxins will provide important clues for drug-target discovery and drug design. In this study, we developed a theoretical method to discriminate presynaptic neurotoxins from postsynaptic neurotoxins. A strict and objective benchmark dataset was constructed to train and test our proposed model. The dipeptide composition was used to formulate neurotoxin samples. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was proposed to find out the optimal feature set which can produce the maximum accuracy. In the jackknife cross-validation test, the overall accuracy of 94.9% was achieved. We believe that the proposed model will provide important information to study neurotoxins.
Stability Analysis for Stochastic Neutral‐Type Memristive Neural Networks with Time‐Varying Delay and S‐Type Distributed Delays
Authors: Wang Changjian , Xiong Zuoliang , Liang Min , Yin Hongwei
Published: February 2017

In this paper, we consider the input‐to‐stability for a class of stochastic neutral‐type memristive neural networks. Neutral terms and S‐type distributed delays are taken into account in our system. Using the stochastic analysis theory and Itô formula, we obtain the conditions of mean‐square exponential input‐to‐stability for system. A numerical example is given to illustrate the correctness of our conclusions.
The Correlation of Decreased Heart Rate Recovery and Chronotropic Incompetence with Exercise Capacity in Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients
Authors: Wu Changwei , Guo Jian , Liu Hui , Pudasaini Bigyan , Yang Wenlan , Zhao Qinhua , Wang Lan , Liu Jinming
Published: February 2017

We show by this study that a decrease in HRR1 in IPAH patients is associated with severe limitation of exercise capacity. HRR1 < 16 beats and CI just after completion of a CPET could be an indicator of poor prognosis.
Evaluation of Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Some Common Herbs
Authors: Abdul Qadir Muhammad , Shahzadi Syeda Kiran , Bashir Asad , Munir Adil , Shahzad Shabnam
Published: February 2017

The study was designed to evaluate the phenolic, flavonoid contents and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of onion (Allium cepa), garlic (Allium sativum), mint (Mentha spicata), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), oak (Quercus), aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller), and ginger (Zingiber officinale). All extracts showed a wide range of total phenolic contents, that is, 4.96 to 98.37 mg/100 g gallic acid equivalents, and total flavonoid contents, that is, 0.41 to 17.64 mg/100 g catechin equivalents. Antioxidant activity (AA) was determined by measuring reducing power, inhibition of peroxidation using linoleic acid system, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activity. Different extracts inhibited oxidation of linoleic acid by 16.6–84.2% while DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 values) ranged from 17.8% to 79.1 μg/mL. Reducing power at 10 mg/mL extract concentration ranged from 0.11 to 0.84 nm. Furthermore the extracts of these medicinal herbs in 80% methanol, 80% ethanol, 80% acetone, and 100% water were screened for antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion method against selected bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Pasteurella multocida, and fungal strains, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus solani, and Alternaria alternata. The extracts show better antimicrobial activity against bacterial strains as compared to fungal strains. Results of various assays were analyzed statistically by applying appropriate statistical methods.
Naoxintong/PPARγ Signaling Inhibits Cardiac Hypertrophy via Activation of Autophagy
Authors: Yuan Shuping , Jin Jianhua , Chen Lu , Hou Yongzhong , Wang Hong
Published: February 2017

As a traditional Chinese medicine, Naoxintong capsule (NXT) has been approved by China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), which is used for cardiocerebrovascular disease treatment. Here we found that NXT extract significantly promoted H9c2 cardiomyocyte cell autophagy involved in increased autophagy‐associated gene expression leading to inhibition of mTOR signaling. Moreover, NXT extract increased PPARγ protein expression and transcription activity of H9c2 cell. Consistent with this, in PPARγ gene silenced H9c2 cells, NXT had no effect on autophagy and mTOR signaling. Furthermore, NXT/PPARγ‐mediated H9c2 autophagy led to inhibition of cardiomyocyte cell hypertrophy. These findings suggest that the extract of NXT inhibited H9c2 cardiomyocyte cell hypertrophy via PPARγ‐mediated cell autophagy.
Neutralizing SQL Injection Attack Using Server Side Code Modification in Web Applications
Authors: Dalai Asish Kumar , Jena Sanjay Kumar
Published: February 2017

Reports on web application security risks show that SQL injection is the top most vulnerability. The journey of static to dynamic web pages leads to the use of database in web applications. Due to the lack of secure coding techniques, SQL injection vulnerability prevails in a large set of web applications. A successful SQL injection attack imposes a serious threat to the database, web application, and the entire web server. In this article, the authors have proposed a novel method for prevention of SQL injection attack. The classification of SQL injection attacks has been done based on the methods used to exploit this vulnerability. The proposed method proves to be efficient in the context of its ability to prevent all types of SQL injection attacks. Some popular SQL injection attack tools and web application security datasets have been used to validate the model. The results obtained are promising with a high accuracy rate for detection of SQL injection attack.
Prognostic Relevance and Function of MSX2 in Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Liu Jiancheng , An Huaying , Yuan Wei , Feng Qiang , Chen Lianzhen , Ma Jie
Published: February 2017

Colorectal cancer patients with diabetes had the high risks of total mortality. High expression of MSX2 is related to development of diabetes. There are few reports about the clinical implications and function of MSX2 in colorectal cancer (CRC). The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the expression of MSX2 and clinical relevance and discover the possible mechanism of MSX2 in the development of CRC. Compared with adjacent tissues, the expression of MSX2 was higher in tumor tissues in both mRNA and protein levels (P<0.01). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that high mRNA expression of MSX2 was associated with short survival time (P=0.013). Chi-squared test analysis indicated that MSX2 expression was related to tumor size (P=0.04), tumor locus (P=0.025), clinical stage (P<0.001), tumor invasion (P=0.003), lymphatic metastasis (P=0.01), and distant metastasis (P=0.033). In vitro experiments demonstrated that knockdown of MSX2 expression attenuated cell proliferation and invasion, promoted cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and inactivated Akt phosphorylation. In conclusion, MSX2 played a crucial role in the progression of CRC and may be a potential novel prognostic factor and therapeutic target for CRC therapy. Our work may provide certain enlightenment for investigating the mechanism of MSX2 in the process of diabetes.