bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Src family kinases suppress differentiation of brown adipocytes and browning of white adipocytes
Authors: Usui Mai , Uno Masaharu , Nishida Eisuke
Published: January 2016

Brown adipocytes and beige adipocytes can expend energy, generate heat, and increase whole‐body energy expenditure. The detailed mechanisms of adipogenesis and thermogenesis of these cells are still obscure. Here, we show that Src family kinases (SFKs) regulate both brown adipogenesis and browning of white adipocytes. To identify factors involved in brown adipogenesis, we first examined the effect of several chemical inhibitors on the differentiation of brown preadipocytes isolated from mouse brown adipose tissue (BAT) and found that treatment with PP2, the specific inhibitor of SFKs, promoted the differentiation. Another inhibitor of SFKs, PP1, also promoted the brown adipogenesis, whereas an inactive analogue of PP2, PP3, did not. Moreover, over‐expression of C‐terminal Src kinase (CSK), the negative regulator of SFKs, also promoted brown adipogenesis. Next, we examined the effect of inhibition of SFKs on the differentiation of white preadipocytes isolated from white adipose tissue (WAT). Our results showed that either PP2 treatment or CSK‐over‐expression generated Ucp1‐positive beige adipocytes, thus inducing browning of white adipocytes. Finally, our analysis showed that the expression levels and activity of SFKs in WAT were much higher than in BAT. These results taken together suggest that SFKs regulate differentiation and browning of fat cells in vivo.
Affordances of social media in collective action: the case of Free Lunch for Children in China
Authors: Zheng Yingqin , Yu Ai
Published: January 2016

This paper studies the socialised affordances of social media in the processes of collective action, exploring the role of technology in the under‐researched area of civil society. We examine the case of Free Lunch for Children (FL4C), a charitable programme in China based on the microblogging platform, Weibo. Adopting the perspective of affordances‐for‐practice, we draw upon the collective action model to better understand the sociomaterial practices and social processes involving social media, and seek to address the ‘when’ and ‘how’ questions of affordances. The study generates theoretical and practical implications for understanding the role of social media in social transformation.
Mouse models for gastric cancer: Matching models to biological questions
Authors: Poh Ashleigh R , O'Donoghue Robert J J , Ernst Matthias , Putoczki Tracy L
Published: January 2016

Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer‐related mortality worldwide. This is in part due to the asymptomatic nature of the disease, which often results in late‐stage diagnosis, at which point there are limited treatment options. Even when treated successfully, gastric cancer patients have a high risk of tumor recurrence and acquired drug resistance. It is vital to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying gastric cancer pathogenesis to facilitate the design of new‐targeted therapies that may improve patient survival. A number of chemically and genetically engineered mouse models of gastric cancer have provided significant insight into the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to disease onset and progression. This review outlines the strengths and limitations of current mouse models of gastric cancer and their relevance to the pre‐clinical development of new therapeutics.
The Blush: Literary and Psychological Perspectives
Authors: Crozier W. Ray
Published: January 2016

Literary analysis of the blush in Austen's novels identifies three themes, namely the potential ambiguity of a blush, its association with modesty, and its erotic and gendered nature, issues that scarcely figure in current psychological explanations of the phenomenon. I examine these themes and compare them with current psychological accounts which assign a central place to embarrassment and, more specifically, emphasise either unwanted social attention, exposure of the self, or the blush's signalling function. Analysis of Austen's work suggests that greater attention should be paid to self‐consciousness as it relates to threats to reputation, to the erotic dimension of the blush, and to potential gender differences. It should encourage researchers to be aware of limitations of psychological accounts and to expand their range of sources of information in order to enhance understanding of this elusive phenomenon.
Hope as a Mediator of Loneliness and Academic Self‐efficacy Among Students With and Without Learning Disabilities during the Transition to College
Authors: Feldman David B. , Davidson Oranit B. , Ben‐Naim Shiri , Maza Etai , Margalit Malka
Published: January 2016

The transition to college often occasions excitement as well as elevated stress for students. The latter may be especially the case for those with learning disabilities (LD), who can encounter problems both socially and academically. This study follows students both with and without LD during the first month of college to explore the relationships between LD status and two outcomes: loneliness/social distress and academic self‐efficacy. In particular, we hypothesized that hope and optimism would mediate the relationship between LD status and these outcomes. The sample consisted of 344 first‐year undergraduates at the beginning of the academic year (Time‐1) and a month later (Time‐2). Results showed that LD status predicted Time‐2 levels of academic self‐efficacy and loneliness only indirectly, demonstrating that relationships between LD and loneliness as well as between LD and academic self‐efficacy are mediated by hope.
Degradation of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia: A study of the environmental perceptions of school students
Authors: Desta Hayal , Lemma Brook , Albert Gerhard , Stellmacher Till
Published: January 2016

Lake Ziway in Ethiopia is a freshwater lake supporting multitude uses, including irrigation, fishing, water supply and recreation. However, the lake is being degraded primarily because of various land‐ and water‐use activities in its watershed. Recognizing these human impacts on the lake's water quality and quantity, the perceptions of school students were surveyed under the belief that the future of the lake is largely dependent on this younger generation. The goal of this study was to better understand how students actually recognize the extent to which various human activities impact the water quantity and quality of Lake Ziway. As major stakeholders in their communities, the perceptions of school students from four high schools regarding the changes to the lake over time were investigated. Students were contacted by purposive sampling, based on criteria of student academic performances, and their proximity to the lake. Their perceptions were studied on the basis of an interview survey. The majority of students indicated that high levels of human activities, especially water abstractions and water pollution, were the main lake impacts. Students believe there is a lack of sustainable utilization and protection of the lake. They suggested coordinated activities among all lake stakeholders in the participation and decision‐making process to properly manage the lake. Provision of awareness to both local administrations and local communities, concern for establishing an appropriate regulatory body and allocating a sufficient budget, and strict controls on flower farm practices in the lakeshore, also was considered to be of high priority as a means of conserving the sustainability of the lake. The result derived from this survey has important implications for facilitating improved school curricula, and for federal, regional and district level water resource management authorities, in setting priorities and developing policies for the sustainability of Lake Ziway.
Catch per unit effort estimation and factors influencing it from recreational angling of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and management implications for Lake Toya, Japan
Authors: Sweke Emmanuel A. , Su Yu , Baba Shinya , Denboh Takashi , Ueda Hiroshi , Sakurai Yasunori , Matsuishi Takashi
Published: January 2016

The present study examined the factors influencing catch per unit effort (CPUE) and standardized theCPUEof sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) from offshore angling in Lake Toya, northern Japan. A generalized linear model (GLM), based on a negative binomial error distribution, was used to standardize the catch‐and‐effort data collected from anglers, using questionnaires and interview surveys during the fishing season (June) in 1998, 1999 and 2001–2012. Year, week, fishing area, number of fishing rods, fishing duration and Year × Week were the factors that significantly (P < 0.05) influencedCPUE. Anglers' fishing experience had no significant effect (P = 0.06) onCPUE. Limiting fishing duration, number of anglers and fishing rods may reduce fishing pressure and ensure sustainable management of the fishery. The results of the present study on standardizedCPUEcan also be useful in fine‐tuning age‐based models, such as Virtual Population Analysis (VPA–ADAPT), for the fish species in the lake, studies that are currently lacking. Regular and interdisciplinary studies that include biophysical factors are required to provide more understanding of the variations in the abundance of the fish species in the lake and in the ecosystem at large.
Epidemiology and molecular mechanisms of antifungal resistance in Candida and Aspergillus
Authors: Gonçalves Sarah Santos , Souza Ana Carolina Remondi , Chowdhary Anuradha , Meis Jacques F. , Colombo Arnaldo Lopes
Published: January 2016

The significant increase in the use of antifungal agents, both for the treatment of candidiasis and invasive aspergillosis and as azole fungicides in agricultural crop protection has resulted in the emergence of resistant clinical isolates, particularly to triazoles and echinocandins. Notably, among isolates that were primarily sensitive to fluconazole such as Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis have witnessed an emerging resistance development. Also for echinocandins, the occurrence of Candida isolates with lower susceptibility to these drugs has been reported, which is possibly due to its broad clinical use. Triazole resistance among Aspergillus fumigatus and other Aspergillus species is commonly found in European and Asian countries. Specific mutations are associated with azole resistance in A. fumigatus and these mutations are now reported globally from six continents. Therefore, we highlight the need to conduct antifungal resistance surveillance studies using clinical isolates of Candida and Aspergillus in different geographical regions and monitoring of the infection rates in distinct population groups for early detection of resistance to these drugs and implementation of efficient policies for infection control and treatment.
Gas–Liquid Flow Dispersion in Micro-Orifices and Bubble Coalescence With High Flow Rates
Authors: Tollkötter A. , Reichmann F. , Schirmbeck F. , Wesholowski J. , Kockmann N.
Published: January 2016

The flow of microbubbles in millichannels with typical dimensions in the range of few millimeters offers a reduced pressure loss with simultaneous large specific contact surface. The transformation of pressure into kinetic energy creates secondary flow in micro-orifices, which results in continuous bubble dispersion. In this work, bubble flow through different orifices and channel modules with widths up to 7 mm are experimentally and numerically studied. The effect of the orifice dimensions on bubble sizes is evaluated for hydraulic diameters of 0.25–0.5 mm with different aspect ratios. To provide larger residence times of the generated dispersions in the reactor, several channel structures are analyzed to offer less coalescence. Volume flow rates of 10–250 mL/min are studied with various phase ratios. Bubble diameters are generated in the range of less than 0.1–0.7 mm with narrow size distributions depending on the entire flow rate. Opening angles of the orifices above 6 deg resulted in flow detachments and recirculation zones around the effluent jet. The first break-up point is shifted closer to the orifice outlet with increasing velocity and hydraulic diameter. The entire break-up region stays nearly constant for each orifice indicating stronger velocity oscillations acting on the bubble surface. Linear relation of smaller bubble diameters with larger energy input was identified independent from Reynolds number. Flow detachment and coalescence in bends were avoided by an additional bend within the curve based on systematically varied geometrical dimensions.
Why Do Verification and Validation?
Authors: Hu Kenneth T. , Paez Thomas L.
Published: January 2016

In this discussion paper, we explore different ways to assess the value of verification and validation (V&V) of engineering models. We first present a literature review on the value of V&V and then use value chains and decision trees to show how value can be assessed from a decision maker's perspective. In this context, the value is what the decision maker is willing to pay for V&V analysis with the understanding that the V&V results are uncertain. The 2014 Sandia V&V Challenge Workshop is used to illustrate these ideas.
Improved Ensemble Superwavelet Transform for Vibration-Based Machinery Fault Diagnosis
Authors: He Wangpeng , Zi Yanyang , Wan Zhiguo , Chen Binqiang
Published: January 2016

In the previous work of authors, the authors have presented an automatic fault feature extraction method, called ensemble superwavelet transform (ESW), based on the combination of tunable Q-factor wavelet transform (TQWT) and Hilbert transform. However, the nonstationary fault feature ratio which defined to guide the optimal wavelet basis selection does not take the interferences of high-frequency components into consideration. In addition, the original ESW utilizes one optimal subband to reconstruct the signal, which may result in the leakage of useful fault features. The present paper improves the ESW to address these problems. Specifically, the authors modify the definition of fault feature ratio by eliminating the high-frequency components when calculating total amplitudes of Hilbert envelope spectrum. Moreover, for the purpose of preserving more useful fault features and recovering the signal more accurately, a novel approach to reconstruct the processed result by incorporating two optimal subbands is proposed in this paper. The comprehensive comparisons by processing two simulation signals are provided to verify the effectiveness and utility of the improved ESW. Moreover, the improved ESW is applied to a range of engineering applications, and the obtained results demonstrate that the improved ESW can act as an effective technique in extracting weak fault features.
Knockdown of Five Genes Encoding Uncharacterized Proteins Inhibits Entamoeba histolytica Phagocytosis of Dead Host Cells
Authors: Sateriale Adam , Miller Peter , Huston Christopher D.
Published: January 2016

Entamoeba histolyticais the protozoan parasite that causes invasive amebiasis, which is endemic to many developing countries and characterized by dysentery and liver abscesses. The virulence ofE. histolyticacorrelates with the degree of host cell engulfment, or phagocytosis, andE. histolyticaphagocytosis alters amebic gene expression in a feed-forward manner that results in an increased phagocytic ability. Here, we used a streamlined RNA interference screen to silence the expression of 15 genes whose expression was upregulated in phagocyticE. histolyticatrophozoites to determine whether these genes actually function in the phagocytic process. When five of these genes were silenced, amebic strains with significant decreases in the ability to phagocytose apoptotic host cells were produced. Phagocytosis of live host cells, however, was largely unchanged, and the defects were surprisingly specific for phagocytosis. Two of the five encoded proteins, which we namedE. histolyticaILWEQ (EhILWEQ) andE. histolyticaBAR (EhBAR), were chosen for localization via SNAP tag labeling and localized to the site of partially formed phagosomes. Therefore, both EhILWEQ and EhBAR appear to contribute toE. histolyticavirulence through their function in phagocytosis, and the large proportion (5/15 [33%]) of gene-silenced strains with a reduced ability to phagocytose host cells validates the previously published microarray data set demonstrating feed-forward control ofE. histolyticaphagocytosis. Finally, although only limited conclusions can be drawn from studies using the virulence-deficient G3Entamoebastrain, the relative specificity of the defects induced for phagocytosis of apoptotic cells but not healthy cells suggests that cell killing may play a rate-limiting role in the process ofEntamoeba histolyticahost cell engulfment.
SrrAB Modulates Staphylococcus aureus Cell Death through Regulation of
cidABC
Transcription
Authors: Windham Ian H. , Chaudhari Sujata S. , Bose Jeffrey L. , Thomas Vinai C. , Bayles Kenneth W.
Published: January 2016

The death and lysis of a subpopulation in
Staphylococcus aureus
biofilm cells are thought to benefit the surviving population by releasing extracellular DNA, a critical component of the biofilm extracellular matrix. Although the means by which
S. aureus
controls cell death and lysis is not understood, studies implicate the role of the
cidABC
and
lrgAB
operons in this process. Recently, disruption of the
srrAB
regulatory locus was found to cause increased cell death during biofilm development, likely as a result of the sensitivity of this mutant to hypoxic growth. In the current study, we extended these findings by demonstrating that cell death in the Δ
srrAB
mutant is dependent on expression of the
cidABC
operon. The effect of
cidABC
expression resulted in the generation of increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and was independent of acetate production. Interestingly, consistently with previous studies,
cidC
-encoded pyruvate oxidase was found to be important for the generation of acetic acid, which initiates the cell death process. However, these studies also revealed for the first time an important role of the
cidB
gene in cell death, as disruption of
cidB
in the Δ
srrAB
mutant background decreased ROS generation and cell death in a
cidC
-independent manner. The
cidB
mutation also caused decreased sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide, which suggests a complex role for this system in ROS metabolism. Overall, the results of this study provide further insight into the function of the
cidABC
operon in cell death and reveal its contribution to the oxidative stress response.

IMPORTANCE
The manuscript focuses on cell death mechanisms in
Staphylococcus aureus
and provides important new insights into the genes involved in this ill-defined process. By exploring the cause of increased stationary-phase death in an
S. aureus
Δ
srrAB
regulatory mutant, we found that the decreased viability of this mutant was a consequence of the overexpression of the
cidABC
operon, previously shown to be a key mediator of cell death. These investigations highlight the role of the
cidB
gene in the death process and the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Overall, the results of this study are the first to demonstrate a positive role for CidB in cell death and to provide an important paradigm for understanding this process in all bacteria.
Wearable technologies in osteoarthritis: a qualitative study of clinicians’ preferences
Authors: Papi Enrica , Murtagh Ged M , McGregor Alison H
Published: January 2016

Objective

This study investigates clinicians’ views of health-related wearable technologies in the context of supporting osteoarthritis (OA) long-term management. Clinicians’ preferences are critical in identifying realistic implementation strategies for such technologies.

Design

Qualitative study incorporating an inductive thematic analysis applied to identify key themes from clinicians’ responses.

Participants

Clinicians, including 4 general practitioners, 4 physiotherapists and 5 orthopaedic surgeons were interviewed.

Setting

The study was conducted in a University setting.

Results

Participants all agreed wearable technologies could positively complement their role and enhance their relationship with patients. Perceived benefits of wearable technologies included monitoring patients’ progress, treatment evaluation, monitoring compliance and informing clinical decision-making. The device should be designed to provide objective data of patients’ locomotion capability in an easy and timely fashion via a simple interface. Data should be available to both clinicians and patients to provide them with the motivation to achieve clinical goals and allow them to take ownership of their treatment. The use of technology was also seen as a way to more effectively plan treatment and manage patients’ contact time saving time and cost.

Conclusions

Findings support the use of wearable technologies to enhance current OA management and suggest clinical uses. Adoption of technologies could have implications on the effectiveness of treatment provided overcoming current barriers, in particular compliance with treatment.
Ground-based gravitational-wave detectors
Authors: Kuroda Kazuaki
Published: January 2016

Gravitational wave is predicted by Einstein’s general relativity, which conveys the information of source objects in the universe. The detection of the gravitational wave is the direct test of the theory and will be used as new tool to investigate dynamical nature of the universe. However, the effect of the gravitational wave is too tiny to be easily detected. From the first attempt utilizing resonant antenna in the 1960s, efforts of improving antenna sensitivity were continued by applying cryogenic techniques until approaching the quantum limit of sensitivity. However, by the year 2000, resonant antenna had given the way to interferometers. Large projects involving interferometers started in the 1990s, and achieved successful operations by 2010 with an accumulated extensive number of technical inventions and improvements. In this memorial year 2015, we enter the new phase of gravitational-wave detection by the forthcoming operation of the second-generation interferometers. The main focus in this paper is on how advanced techniques have been developed step by step according to scaling the arm length of the interferometer up and the history of fighting against technical noise, thermal noise, and quantum noise is presented along with the current projects, LIGO, Virgo, GEO-HF and KAGRA.
Supervised Anomaly Detection in Uncertain Pseudoperiodic Data Streams
Authors: Ma Jiangang , Sun Le , Wang Hua , Zhang Yanchun , Aickelin Uwe
Published: January 2016

Uncertain data streams have been widely generated in many Web applications. The uncertainty in data streams makes anomaly detection from sensor data streams far more challenging. In this article, we present a novel framework that supports anomaly detection in uncertain data streams. The proposed framework adopts the wavelet soft-thresholding method to remove the noises or errors in data streams. Based on the refined data streams, we develop effective period pattern recognition and feature extraction techniques to improve the computational efficiency. We use classification methods for anomaly detection in the corrected data stream. We also empirically show that the proposed approach shows a high accuracy of anomaly detection on several real datasets.
Negative Factor
Authors: Yang Xiaochun , Qiu Tao , Wang Bin , Zheng Baihua , Wang Yaoshu , Li Chen
Published: January 2016

The problem of finding matches of a regular expression (RE) on a string exists in many applications, such as text editing, biosequence search, and shell commands. Existing techniques first identify candidates using substrings in the RE, then verify each of them using an automaton. These techniques become inefficient when there are many candidate occurrences that need to be verified. In this article, we propose a novel technique that prunes false negatives by utilizing
negative factors
, which are substrings that
cannot
appear in an answer. A main advantage of the technique is that it can be integrated with many existing algorithms to improve their efficiency significantly. We present a detailed description of this technique. We develop an efficient algorithm that utilizes negative factors to prune candidates, then improve it by using bit operations to process negative factors in parallel. We show that negative factors, when used with necessary factors (substrings that must appear in each answer), can achieve much better pruning power. We analyze the large number of negative factors, and develop an algorithm for finding a small number of high-quality negative factors. We conducted a thorough experimental study of this technique on real datasets, including DNA sequences, proteins, and text documents, and show significant performance improvement of the state-of-the-art tools by an order of magnitude.
Harnessing Energy Efficiency of Heterogeneous-ISA Platforms
Authors: Bhat Sharath K. , Saya Ajithchandra , Rawat Hemedra K. , Barbalace Antonio , Ravindran Binoy
Published: January 2016

With the emergence of both power and performance as primary design constraints, energy efficiency has become the new design criteria. A platform with heterogeneous-ISA processors can provide multiple power-performance execution points needed for a varied mix of workloads. We argue that a new system software architecture is needed to obtain maximum energy efficiency on such heterogeneous-ISA platforms. We present our system software, a replicated-kernel operating system and a compiler framework, and quantify the advantages of such a system software on ARM-x86 using simulations. Based on our experimental observations, we propose a scheduling approach which considers system and application runtime characteristics along with platform profiles to maximize energy efficiency.
Agenesis of the Gallbladder in Monozygotic Twin Sisters
Authors: Hoshi Koki , Irisawa Atsushi , Shibukawa Goro , Yamabe Akane , Fujisawa Mariko , Igarashi Ryo , Sato Ai , Maki Takumi
Published: January 2016

Agenesis of the gallbladder, a rare anomaly, is generally regarded as an organogenic failure. Several reports suggest that this congenital defect is inherited but that supposition remains controversial. We described agenesis of the gallbladder in identical twins. A 21-year-old female presented with a history of acute pain in the epigastrium and right hypochondrium. Various imaging modalities showed “gallbladder agenesis.” Moreover, her older identical twin sister had also no visualized gallbladder in imaging modalities. This case report strongly suggested that agenesis of the gallbladder would be caused by a genetic abnormality.
A Polyethylenimine-Containing and Transferrin-Conjugated Lipid Nanoparticle System for Antisense Oligonucleotide Delivery to AML
Authors: Yuan Yiming , Zhang Lijing , Cao Hua , Yang Yi , Zheng Yu , Yang Xiao-juan
Published: January 2016

Limited success of antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) in clinical anticancer therapy calls for more effective delivery carriers. The goal of this study was to develop a nanoparticle system for delivery of ASO G3139, which targets mRNA of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. The synthesized nanoparticle Tf-LPN-G3139 contained a small molecular weight polyethylenimine and two cationic lipids as condensing agents, with transferrin on its surface for selective binding and enhanced cellular uptake. The optimized nitrogen to phosphate (N/P) ratio was 4 to achieve small particle size and high G3139 entrapment efficiency. The Tf-LPN-G3139 exhibited excellent colloidal stability during storage for at least 12 weeks and remained intact for 4 hours in nuclease-containing serum. The cellular uptake results showed extensive internalization of fluorescence-labelled G3139 in MV4-11 cells through Tf-LPN. Following transfection, Tf-LPN-G3139 at 1 µM ASO level induced 54% Bcl-2 downregulation and >20-fold apoptosis compared to no treatment. When evaluated in mice bearing human xenograft AML tumors, Tf-LPN-G3139 suppressed tumor growth by ~60% at the end of treatment period, accompanied by remarkable pharmacological effect of Bcl-2 inhibition in tumor. In conclusion, Tf-LPN-G3139 is a promising nanoparticle system for ASO G3139 delivery to AML and warrants further investigations.
ClC-3 Expression and Its Association with Hyperglycemia Induced HT22 Hippocampal Neuronal Cell Apoptosis
Authors: Fan Feiyan , Liu Tao , Wang Xin , Ren Dongni , Liu Hui , Zhang Pengxing , Wang Zhen , Liu Nan , Li Qian , Tu Yanyang , Fu Jianfang
Published: January 2016

Although apoptosis plays an important role in the development of Diabetic Encephalopathy (DE), the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. With respect to this, the present work aims to study the variation in chloride/proton exchanger ClC-3 expression and its association with HT22 hippocampal neuronal apoptosis under hyperglycemic conditionin vitro. The cells were stimulated with added 0, 5, or 25 mM glucose or mannitol for up to 72 hours before assessing the rate of ClC-3 expression, cell viability, and apoptosis. In a consecutive experiment, cells received chloride channel blocker in addition to glucose. The rate of cellular death/apoptosis and viability was measured using Flow Cytometry and MTT assay, respectively. Changes in ClC-3 expression were assessed using immunofluorescence staining and western blot analysis. The results revealed a significant increase in cellular apoptosis and reduction in viability, associated with increased ClC-3 expression in high glucose group. Osmolarity had no role to play. Addition of chloride channel blocker completely abolished this effect. Thus we conclude that, with its increased expression, ClC-3 plays a major role in hyperglycemia induced hippocampal neuronal apoptosis. To strengthen our understanding of this aforesaid association, we conducted an extensive literature search which is presented in this paper.
Consumption Frequency of Foods Away from Home Linked with Higher Body Mass Index and Lower Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Seguin Rebecca A. , Aggarwal Anju , Vermeylen Francoise , Drewnowski Adam
Published: January 2016

Introduction. Consumption of foods prepared away from home (FAFH) has grown steadily since the 1970s. We examined the relationship between FAFH and body mass index (BMI) and fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption.Methods. Frequency of FAFH, daily FV intake, height and weight, and sociodemographic data were collected using a telephone survey in 2008-2009. Participants included a representative sample of 2,001 adult men and women (mean age54±15years) residing in King County, WA, with an analytical sample of 1,570. Frequency of FAFH was categorized as 0-1, 2–4, or 5+ times per week. BMI was calculated from self-reported height and weight. We examined the relationship between FAFH with FV consumption and BMI using multivariate models.Results. Higher frequency of FAFH was associated with higher BMI, after adjusting for age, income, education, race, smoking, marital status, and physical activity (women:p=0.001; men:p=0.003). There was a negative association between frequency of FAFH and FV consumption. FAFH frequency was significantly (p<0.001) higher among males than females (43.1% versus 54.0% eating out 0-1 meal per week, resp.). Females reported eating significantly (p<0.001) more FV than males.Conclusion. Among adults, higher frequency of FAFH was related to higher BMI and less FV consumption.
Iterative Image Reconstruction for Limited-Angle CT Using Optimized Initial Image
Authors: Guo Jingyu , Qi Hongliang , Xu Yuan , Chen Zijia , Li Shulong , Zhou Linghong
Published: January 2016

Limited-angle computed tomography (CT) has great impact in some clinical applications. Existing iterative reconstruction algorithms could not reconstruct high-quality images, leading to severe artifacts nearby edges. Optimal selection of initial image would influence the iterative reconstruction performance but has not been studied deeply yet. In this work, we proposed to generate optimized initial image followed by total variation (TV) based iterative reconstruction considering the feature of image symmetry. The simulated data and real data reconstruction results indicate that the proposed method effectively removes the artifacts nearby edges.
Chemical-Vapor-Deposited Graphene as Charge Storage Layer in Flash Memory Device
Authors: Liu W. J. , Chen L. , Zhou P. , Sun Q. Q. , Lu H. L. , Ding S. J. , Zhang David W.
Published: January 2016

We demonstrated a flash memory device with chemical-vapor-deposited graphene as a charge trapping layer. It was found that the average RMS roughness of block oxide on graphene storage layer can be significantly reduced from 5.9 nm to 0.5 nm by inserting a seed metal layer, which was verified by AFM measurements. The memory window is 5.6 V for a dual sweep of ±12 V at room temperature. Moreover, a reduced hysteresis at the low temperature was observed, indicative of water molecules or −OH groups between graphene and dielectric playing an important role in memory windows.
Aero Engine Fault Diagnosis Using an Optimized Extreme Learning Machine
Authors: Yang Xinyi , Pang Shan , Shen Wei , Lin Xuesen , Jiang Keyi , Wang Yonghua
Published: January 2016

A new extreme learning machine optimized by quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO) is developed in this paper. It uses QPSO to select optimal network parameters including the number of hidden layer neurons according to both the root mean square error on validation data set and the norm of output weights. The proposed Q-ELM was applied to real-world classification applications and a gas turbine fan engine diagnostic problem and was compared with two other optimized ELM methods and original ELM, SVM, and BP method. Results show that the proposed Q-ELM is a more reliable and suitable method than conventional neural network and other ELM methods for the defect diagnosis of the gas turbine engine.
Foreign Accent Syndrome, a Rare Presentation of Schizophrenia in a 34-Year-Old African American Female: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Asogwa Kenneth , Nisenoff Carolina , Okudo Jerome
Published: January 2016

Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) is a rare phenomenon where speech is characterized by a new accent to the patient’s native language. More than 100 cases with the syndrome have been published, the majority of which were associated with observed insults of the speech center. Some other cases have been described without identifiable organic brain injury, especially in patients with psychiatric illness. This paper presents a patient with schizophrenia and FAS, without any evidence of organic brain injury. FAS recurred during psychotic exacerbation and did not reverse before transfer to a long-term psychiatric facility. The case is discussed in the context of a brief review of the syndrome.
Group-Interest-Based Verifiable CCN
Authors: Kim DaeYoub
Published: January 2016

To solve various problems of the Internet, content centric networking (CCN), one of information centric networking architectures (ICN), provides both an in-network content caching scheme and a built-in content verification scheme. However, a user is still asked to generate many request messages when retrieving fragmented content through CCN. This model can seriously increase the amount of network traffic. Furthermore, when receiving content, a user is asked to verify the received content before using it. This verification process can cause a serious service delay. To improve such inefficiencies, this paper proposes a transmission process to handle request messages at one time. Also, it suggests an efficient content verification method using both hash chains and Merkel-hash tree.
Modic Changes and Disc Degeneration Caused by Inoculation ofPropionibacterium acnesinside Intervertebral Discs of Rabbits: A Pilot Study
Authors: Chen Zhe , Zheng Yuehuan , Yuan Ye , Jiao Yucheng , Xiao Jiaqi , Zhou Zezhu , Cao Peng
Published: January 2016

Purpose. To investigate whetherP. acnescould induce disc degeneration and Modic changes when inoculated into the discs of rabbits.Method. A wild-type strain ofP. acnesisolated from a patient associated with Modic change and disc degeneration was inoculated into the intervertebral discs of rabbits. Meanwhile,S. aureuswas injected into the discs to establish a model of discitis as the comparison and a standard strain ofP. acneswas inoculated as the control. MRI and histological change were observed.Results. Both theP. acnes-inoculated andS. aureus-inoculated rabbits showed hyperintense signals at endplates and hypointense signals at nucleus pulposus on T2WI. However,P. acnesonly resulted in moderate disc degeneration and endplates rupture in histological examination, which was different from the pathological change of discitis caused byS. aureus. In addition, higher death rates (2/3versus0/5) were observed inS. aureus-inoculated rabbits.Conclusion. Compared toS. aureus, the pathological change caused byP. acneswould be considered as Modic-I change and disc degeneration rather than a discitis.
A Fetal Electrocardiogram Signal Extraction Algorithm Based on the Temporal Structure and the Non-Gaussianity
Authors: Li Yibing , Nie Wei , Ye Fang , Li Ao
Published: January 2016

Fetal electrocardiogram (FECG) extraction is an important issue in biomedical signal processing. In this paper, we develop an objective function for extraction of FECG. The objective function is based on the non-Gaussianity and the temporal structure of source signals. Maximizing the objective function, we can extract the desired FECG. Combining with the solution vector obtained by maximizing the objective function, we further improve the accuracy of the extracted FECG. In addition, the feasibility of the innovative methods is analyzed by mathematical derivation theoretically and the efficiency of the proposed approaches is illustrated with the computer simulations experimentally.
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Enhance the Therapeutic Potential of Reovirus in Multiple Myeloma
Authors: Stiff Andrew , Caserta Enrico , Sborov Douglas W. , Nuovo Gerard J. , Mo Xiaokui , Schlotter Sarah Y. , Canella Alessandro , Smith Emily , Badway Joseph , Old Matthew , Jaime-Ramirez Alena Cristina , Yan Pearlly , Benson Don M. , Byrd John C. , Baiocchi Robert , Kaur Balveen , Hofmeister Craig C. , Pichiorri Flavia
Published: January 2016

Multiple myeloma remains incurable and the majority of patients die within 5 years of diagnosis. Reolysin, the infusible form of human reovirus (RV), is a novel viral oncolytic therapy associated with antitumor activity likely resulting from direct oncolysis and a virus-mediated antitumor immune response. Results from our phase I clinical trial investigating single agent Reolysin in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma confirmed tolerability, but no objective responses were evident, likely because the virus selectively entered the multiple myeloma cells but did not actively replicate. To date, the precise mechanisms underlying the RV infectious life cycle and its ability to induce oncolysis in patients with multiple myeloma remain unknown. Here, we report that junctional adhesion molecule 1 (JAM-1), the cellular receptor for RV, is epigenetically regulated in multiple myeloma cells. Treatment of multiple myeloma cells with clinically relevant histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) results in increased JAM-1 expression as well as increased histone acetylation and RNA polymerase II recruitment to its promoter. Furthermore, our data indicate that the combination of Reolysin with HDACi, potentiates RV killing activity of multiple myeloma cells in vitro and in vivo. This study provides the molecular basis to use these agents as therapeutic tools to increase the efficacy of RV therapy in multiple myeloma. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(5); 830–41. ©2016 AACR.
Analysis of Immune Cells from Human Mammary Ductal Epithelial Organoids Reveals Vδ2+ T Cells That Efficiently Target Breast Carcinoma Cells in the Presence of Bisphosphonate
Authors: Zumwalde Nicholas A. , Haag Jill D. , Sharma Deepak , Mirrielees Jennifer A. , Wilke Lee G. , Gould Michael N. , Gumperz Jenny E.
Published: January 2016

Developing strategies to enhance cancer prevention is a paramount goal, particularly given recent concerns about surgical treatment of preinvasive states such as ductal carcinoma in situ. Promoting effective immunosurveillance by leukocytes that scan for nascent neoplastic transformations represents a potential means to achieve this goal. Because most breast cancers arise within the ductal epithelium, enhancing protective immunosurveillance will likely necessitate targeting one or more of the distinctive lymphocyte types found in these sites under normal conditions. Here, we have characterized the intraepithelial lymphocyte compartment of non-cancerous human breast tissue and identified a subset of T lymphocytes that can be pharmacologically targeted to enhance their responses to breast cancer cells. Specifically, Vδ2+ γδ T cells were consistently present in preparations of mammary ductal epithelial organoids and they proliferated in response to zoledronic acid, an aminobisphosphonate drug. Vδ2+ T cells from breast ductal organoids produced the antitumor cytokine IFNγ and efficiently killed bisphosphonate-pulsed breast carcinoma cells. These findings demonstrate the potential for exploiting the ability of Vδ2+ γδ T cells to respond to FDA-approved bisphosphonate drugs as a novel immunotherapeutic approach to inhibit the outgrowth of breast cancers. Cancer Prev Res; 9(4); 305–16. ©2016 AACR.
Observational Study of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Wake-Up Stroke: The SLEEP TIGHT Study
Authors: Koo Brian B. , Bravata Daawn M. , Tobias Lauren A. , Mackey Jason S. , Miech Edward J. , Matthias Marianne S. , Stahl Stephanie M. , Sico Jason J. , Vaz Fragoso Carlos A. , Williams Linda S. , Lampert Rachel , Qin Li , Yaggi Henry Klar
Published: January 2016

Background: Wake-up stroke (WUS) accounts for a quarter of all ischemic strokes. Its conspicuous occurrence during sleep suggests that WUS may be associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We investigated the potential association among WUS, OSA, and measures of sympathetic hyperactivity. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Sleep Apnea in Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke (SLEEP TIGHT) study. Ischemic stroke patients were divided into WUS and non-WUS groups. Participants underwent polysomnography and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Collected data included demographic, medical, stroke characteristics (including severity by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale), cholesterol, serum catecholamines, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, B-type natriuretic peptide, blood pressure, and polysomnographic (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI); measures of hypoxia). Because both stroke and OSA affect men and women to varying degrees, the cohort was considered as a whole and by gender stratification. Results: Among 164 participants, 30.3% had WUS. The mean age was 62.0 ± 11.3 and the mean body mass index was 30.2 ± 7.9 kg/m2. One-hundred-and-five participants (63.6%) were males and 92 participants (56.8%) were Caucasian. Neither AHI nor OSA (AHI ≥5) frequency differed between WUS and non-WUS groups. Men tended to be more likely than women to have WUS (74.0 vs. 59.6%; p = 0.08), but this was not statistically significant. In gender-stratified analyses, men with WUS compared to men with non-WUS had significantly higher rates of severe OSA (AHI >30: 45.0 vs. 17.6%; p = 0.03) and tended toward more 3% oxygen desaturation events (57.0 ± 63.9 vs. 31.8 ± 22.9; p = 0.06). These differences were not seen in women. WUS patients tended to be of the male gender (74.0 vs. 59.6%; p = 0.08). History of stroke, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, or atrial fibrillation, serum catecholamines, and inflammatory biomarkers was no different between the groups. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was significantly higher in WUS (114.5 ± 36.3 vs. 101.4 ± 37.6; p = 0.04). Baseline diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was significantly greater in the WUS group. There was no difference in systolic or ambulatory blood pressure (including nighttime blood pressure) between WUS and non-WUS groups. Conclusions: WUS may be associated with severe OSA with more oxygen desaturation in men but not in women. WUS may be associated with high DBP and increased LDL cholesterol.
Effect of Antiepileptic Therapy on Serum 25(OH)D3 and 24,25(OH)2D3 Levels in Epileptic Children
Authors: He Xin , Jiang Pei , Zhu Wenye , Xue Ying , Li Huande , Dang Ruili , Cai Hualin , Tang Mimi , Zhang Lihong , Wu Yanqin
Published: January 2016

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is not only associated with the adverse effects of chronic treatment with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), but also with epilepsy. Although emerging evidence suggests that AEDs can accelerate the vitamin D catabolism, resulting in suboptimal vitamin D status, there are a limited number of studies examining the vitamin D status in epileptic patients, especially in first-episode or AEDs-naïve children. Methods: Determined with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, circulating 25(OH)D3 and 24,25(OH)2D3 levels, and 24,25(OH)2D3:25(OH)D3 ratio were compared between AEDs-treated epileptic (n = 363) and control (n = 159) children. To further figure out whether the patients were in a vitamin D deficient prone state even before treatment, epileptic children before their initiation of treatment (n = 51) were enrolled into a follow-up study. Results: A significant decrease of 25(OH)D3 and 24,25(OH)2D3 levels, but a significant increase of 24,25(OH)2D3:25(OH)D3 ratio was observed in epileptic children, compared with controls. Baseline 25(OH)D3, 24,25(OH)2D3 and 24,25(OH)2D3:25(OH)D3 ratio in the follow-up group were similar to those in controls, but significantly changed with 2 months of AED therapy. Conclusions: Disturbed vitamin D levels were possibly the consequence of AED therapy, rather than the contributing factor of epilepsy. Collectively, circulating vitamin D levels should be monitored and corrected in AEDs-treated epileptic children.
EUTROFIZAÇÃO NO RESERVATÓRIO DA UHE FOZ DO RIO CLARO (GO)
Authors: Nogueira Pollyanna Faria , Pereira Cabral João Batista , Oliveira Susy Ferreira , Rocha Isabel Rodrigues da
Published: January 2016

O crescimento populacional tem ocasionado um aumento na demanda pelo uso dos recursos hídricos, e caracteriza-se como um dos principais responsáveis pela poluição dos corpos d’água. Outro fator é o aproveitamento dos cursos d’água para a geração de energia hidroelétrica entre as cidades de Jataí e São Simão, mudando as características físicas, químicas e biológicas dos recursos hídricos devido à transformação de um ambiente lótico para lêntico. O presente artigo teve por objetivo avaliar o nível de estado trófico das águas do reservatório Foz do Rio Claro (GO), a partir da análise do Índice do Estado Trófico (IET). Foram coletadas amostras de água em 23 pontos do reservatório, em quatro períodos distintos entre janeiro de 2013 e agosto de 2014. Os parâmetros avaliados foram: fósforo total (PT), transparência de Secchi (SEC) e clorofila “a” (CHL). De modo geral considerara-se que as águas do reservatório estão passando de uma produção de nutrientes baixa para intermediária, classificando o reservatório para o IET em 25/01/2013 como mesoeutrófico, em 26/01/2014 como eutrófico e oligomesotrófico; 03/07/2013 mesoeutrófico e 03/08/2014, ultraoligotrófico, oligotrófico e mesotrófico.