bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The hiphop virtual machine
Authors: Adams Keith , Evans Jason , Maher Bertrand , Ottoni Guilherme , Paroski Andrew , Simmers Brett , Smith Edwin , Yamauchi Owen
Published: January 2015

The HipHop Virtual Machine (HHVM) is a JIT compiler and runtime for PHP. While PHP values are dynamically typed, real programs often have
latent
types that are useful for optimization once discovered. Some types can be proven through static analysis, but limitations in the ahead-of-time approach leave some types to be discovered at run time. And even though many values have latent types, PHP programs can also contain polymorphic variables and expressions, which must be handled without catastrophic slowdown.

HHVM discovers latent types by structuring its JIT around the concept of a
tracelet
. A tracelet is approximately a basic block specialized for a particular set of run-time types for its input values. Tracelets allow HHVM to exactly and efficiently learn the types observed by the program, while using a simple compiler. This paper shows that this approach enables HHVM to achieve high levels of performance, without sacrificing compatibility or interactivity.
Adaptive LL(*) parsing
Authors: Parr Terence , Harwell Sam , Fisher Kathleen
Published: January 2015

Despite the advances made by modern parsing strategies such as PEG,
LL
(*), GLR, and GLL, parsing is not a solved problem. Existing approaches suffer from a number of weaknesses, including difficulties supporting side-effecting embedded actions, slow and/or unpredictable performance, and counter-intuitive matching strategies. This paper introduces the
ALL
(*) parsing strategy that combines the simplicity, efficiency, and predictability of conventional top-down
LL(k)
parsers with the power of a GLR-like mechanism to make parsing decisions. The critical innovation is to move grammar analysis to parse-time, which lets ALL(*) handle any non-left-recursive context-free grammar.
ALL
(*) is

O(n
4
)

in theory but consistently performs linearly on grammars used in practice, outperforming general strategies such as GLL and GLR by orders of magnitude. ANTLR 4 generates
ALL
(*) parsers and supports direct left-recursion through grammar rewriting. Widespread ANTLR 4 use (5000 downloads/month in 2013) provides evidence that
ALL
(*) is effective for a wide variety of applications.
Refactoring Java generics by inferring wildcards, in practice
Authors: Altidor John , Smaragdakis Yannis
Published: January 2015

Wildcard annotations can improve the generality of Java generic libraries, but require heavy manual effort. We present an algorithm for refactoring and inferring more general type instantiations of Java generics using wildcards. Compared to past approaches, our work is practical and immediately applicable: we assume no changes to the Java type system, while taking into account all its intricacies. Our system allows users to select declarations (variables, method parameters, return types, etc.) to generalize and considers declarations not declared in available source code. It then performs an inter-procedural flow analysis and a method body analysis, in order to generalize type signatures. We evaluate our technique on six Java generic libraries. We find that 34% of available declarations of variant type signatures can be generalized - i.e., relaxed with more general wildcard types. On average, 146 other declarations need to be updated when a declaration is generalized, showing that this refactoring would be too tedious and error-prone to perform manually.
CheckCell
Authors: Barowy Daniel W. , Gochev Dimitar , Berger Emery D.
Published: January 2015

Testing and static analysis can help root out bugs in programs, but not in data. This paper introduces
data debugging
, an approach that combines program analysis and statistical analysis to
automatically
find potential data errors. Since it is impossible to know a priori whether data are erroneous, data debugging instead locates data that has a disproportionate impact on the computation. Such data is either very important, or wrong. Data debugging is especially useful in the context of data-intensive programming environments that intertwine data with programs in the form of queries or formulas.

We present the first data debugging tool, CheckCell, an add-in for Microsoft Excel. CheckCell identifies cells that have an unusually high impact on the spreadsheet's computations. We show that CheckCell is both analytically and empirically fast and effective. We show that it successfully finds injected typographical errors produced by a generative model trained with data entry from 169,112 Mechanical Turk tasks. CheckCell is more precise and efficient than standard outlier detection techniques. CheckCell also automatically identifies a key flaw in the infamous Reinhart and Rogoff spreadsheet.
Phosphor
Authors: Bell Jonathan , Kaiser Gail
Published: January 2015

Dynamic taint analysis is a well-known information flow analysis problem with many possible applications. Taint tracking allows for analysis of application data flow by assigning labels to data, and then propagating those labels through data flow. Taint tracking systems traditionally compromise among performance, precision, soundness, and portability. Performance can be critical, as these systems are often intended to be deployed to production environments, and hence must have low overhead. To be deployed in security-conscious settings, taint tracking must also be sound and precise. Dynamic taint tracking must be portable in order to be easily deployed and adopted for real world purposes, without requiring recompilation of the operating system or language interpreter, and without requiring access to application source code.

We present
Phosphor
, a dynamic taint tracking system for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that simultaneously achieves our goals of performance, soundness, precision, and portability. Moreover, to our knowledge, it is the first portable general purpose taint tracking system for the JVM. We evaluated
Phosphor
's performance on two commonly used JVM languages (Java and Scala), on two successive revisions of two commonly used JVMs (Oracle's HotSpot and OpenJDK's IcedTea) and on Android's Dalvik Virtual Machine, finding its performance to be impressive: as low as 3% (53% on average; 220% at worst) using the DaCapo macro benchmark suite. This paper describes our approach toward achieving portable taint tracking in the JVM.
Checking correctness of TypeScript interfaces for JavaScript libraries
Authors: Feldthaus Asger , Møller Anders
Published: January 2015

The TypeScript programming language adds optional types to JavaScript, with support for interaction with existing JavaScript libraries via interface declarations. Such declarations have been written for hundreds of libraries, but they can be difficult to write and often contain errors, which may affect the type checking and misguide code completion for the application code in IDEs.

We present a pragmatic approach to check correctness of TypeScript declaration files with respect to JavaScript library implementations. The key idea in our algorithm is that many declaration errors can be detected by an analysis of the library initialization state combined with a light-weight static analysis of the library function code.

Our experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach: it has found 142 errors in the declaration files of 10 libraries, with an analysis time of a few minutes per library and with a low number of false positives. Our analysis of how programmers use library interface declarations furthermore reveals some practical limitations of the TypeScript type system.
Flint
Authors: Liu Peng , Tripp Omer , Zhang Xiangyu
Published: January 2015

Writing concurrent software while achieving both correctness and efficiency is a grand challenge. To facilitate this task, concurrent data structures have been introduced into the standard library of popular languages like Java and C#. Unfortunately, while the operations exposed by concurrent data structures are atomic (or linearizable), compositions of these operations are not necessarily atomic. Recent studies have found many erroneous implementations of composed concurrent operations.

We address the problem of fixing nonlinearizable composed operations such that they behave atomically. We introduce Flint, an automated fixing algorithm for composed Map operations. Flint accepts as input a composed operation suffering from atomicity violations. Its output, if fixing succeeds, is a composed operation that behaves equivalently to the original operation in sequential runs and is guaranteed to be atomic. To our knowledge, Flint is the first general algorithm for fixing incorrect concurrent compositions.

We have evaluated Flint on 48 incorrect compositions from 27 popular applications, including Tomcat and MyFaces. The results are highly encouraging: Flint is able to correct 96% of the methods, and the fixed version is often the same as the fix by an expert programmer and as efficient as the original code.
MIX10
Authors: Kumar Vineet , Hendren Laurie
Published: January 2015

MATLAB is a popular dynamic array-based language commonly used by students, scientists and engineers who appreciate the interactive development style, the rich set of array operators, the extensive builtin library, and the fact that they do not have to declare static types. Even though these users like to program in MATLAB, their computations are often very compute-intensive and are better suited for emerging high performance computing systems. This paper reports on MIX10, a source-to-source compiler that automatically translates MATLAB programs to X10, a language designed for "Performance and Productivity at Scale"; thus, helping scientific programmers make better use of high performance computing systems.

There is a large semantic gap between the array-based dynamically-typed nature of MATLAB and the object-oriented, statically-typed, and high-level array abstractions of X10. This paper addresses the major challenges that must be overcome to produce sequential X10 code that is competitive with state-of-the-art static compilers for MATLAB which target more conventional imperative languages such as C and Fortran. Given that efficient basis, the paper then provides a translation for the MATLAB
parfor
construct that leverages the powerful concurrency constructs in X10.

The MIX10 compiler has been implemented using the McLab compiler tools, is open source, and is available both for compiler researchers and end-user MATLAB programmers. We have used the implementation to perform many empirical measurements on a set of 17 MATLAB benchmarks. We show that our best MIX10-generated code is significantly faster than the de facto Mathworks' MATLAB system, and that our results are competitive with state-of-the-art static compilers that target C and Fortran. We also show the importance of finding the correct approach to representing the arrays in the generated X10 code, and the necessity of an
IntegerOkay
' analysis that determines which double variables can be safely represented as integers. Finally, we show that our X10-based handling of the MATLAB
parfor
greatly outperforms the de facto MATLAB implementation.
Translating imperative code to MapReduce
Authors: Radoi Cosmin , Fink Stephen J. , Rabbah Rodric , Sridharan Manu
Published: January 2015

We present an approach for automatic translation of sequential, imperative code into a parallel MapReduce framework. Automating such a translation is challenging: imperative updates must be translated into a functional MapReduce form in a manner that both preserves semantics and enables parallelism. Our approach works by first translating the input code into a functional representation, with loops succinctly represented by
fold
operations. Then, guided by rewrite rules, our system searches a space of equivalent programs for an effective MapReduce implementation. The rules include a novel technique for handling irregular loop-carried dependencies using group-by operations to enable greater parallelism. We have implemented our technique in a tool called Mold. It translates sequential Java code into code targeting the Apache Spark runtime. We evaluated Mold on several real-world kernels and found that in most cases Mold generated the desired MapReduce program, even for codes with complex indirect updates.
Finding minimum type error sources
Authors: Pavlinovic Zvonimir , King Tim , Wies Thomas
Published: January 2015

Automatic type inference is a popular feature of functional programming languages. If a program cannot be typed, the compiler typically reports a single program location in its error message. This location is the point where the type inference failed, but not necessarily the actual source of the error. Other potential error sources are not even considered. Hence, the compiler often misses the true error source, which increases debugging time for the programmer. In this paper, we present a general framework for automatic localization of type errors. Our algorithm finds all minimum error sources, where the exact definition of minimum is given in terms of a compiler-specific ranking criterion. Compilers can use minimum error sources to produce more meaningful error reports, and for automatic error correction. Our approach works by reducing the search for minimum error sources to an optimization problem that we formulate in terms of weighted maximum satisfiability modulo theories (MaxSMT). The reduction to weighted MaxSMT allows us to build on SMT solvers to support rich type systems and at the same time abstract from the concrete criterion that is used for ranking the error sources. We have implemented an instance of our framework targeted at Hindley-Milner type systems and evaluated it on existing OCaml benchmarks for type error localization. Our evaluation shows that our approach has the potential to significantly improve the quality of type error reports produced by state of the art compilers.
Statistical debugging for real-world performance problems
Authors: Song Linhai , Lu Shan
Published: January 2015

Design and implementation defects that lead to inefficient computation widely exist in software. These defects are difficult to avoid and discover. They lead to severe performance degradation and energy waste during production runs, and are becoming increasingly critical with the meager increase of single-core hardware performance and the increasing concerns about energy constraints. Effective tools that diagnose performance problems and point out the inefficiency root cause are sorely needed.

The state of the art of performance diagnosis is preliminary. Profiling can identify the functions that consume the most computation resources, but can neither identify the ones that waste the most resources nor explain why. Performance-bug detectors can identify specific type of inefficient computation, but are not suited for diagnosing general performance problems. Effective failure diagnosis techniques, such as statistical debugging, have been proposed for functional bugs. However, whether they work for performance problems is still an open question.

In this paper, we first conduct an empirical study to understand how performance problems are observed and reported by real-world users. Our study shows that statistical debugging is a natural fit for diagnosing performance problems, which are often observed through comparison-based approaches and reported together with both good and bad inputs. We then thoroughly investigate different design points in statistical debugging, including three different predicates and two different types of statistical models, to understand which design point works the best for performance diagnosis. Finally, we study how some unique nature of performance bugs allows sampling techniques to lower the overhead of run-time performance diagnosis without extending the diagnosis latency.
StreamJIT
Authors: Bosboom Jeffrey , Rajadurai Sumanaruban , Wong Weng-Fai , Amarasinghe Saman
Published: January 2015

There are many domain libraries, but despite the performance benefits of compilation, domain-specific languages are comparatively rare due to the high cost of implementing an optimizing compiler. We propose
commensal compilation
, a new strategy for compiling embedded domain-specific languages by reusing the massive investment in modern language virtual machine platforms. Commensal compilers use the host language's front-end, use host platform APIs that enable back-end optimizations by the host platform JIT, and use an autotuner for optimization selection. The cost of implementing a commensal compiler is only the cost of implementing the domain-specific optimizations. We demonstrate the concept by implementing a commensal compiler for the stream programming language StreamJIT atop the Java platform. Our compiler achieves performance 2.8 times better than the StreamIt native code (via GCC) compiler with considerably less implementation effort.
Automated migration of build scripts using dynamic analysis and search-based refactoring
Authors: Gligoric Milos , Schulte Wolfram , Prasad Chandra , van Velzen Danny , Narasamdya Iman , Livshits Benjamin
Published: January 2015

The efficiency of a build system is an important factor for developer productivity. As a result, developer teams have been increasingly adopting new build systems that allow higher build parallelization. However, migrating the existing legacy build scripts to new build systems is a tedious and error-prone process. Unfortunately, there is insufficient support for automated migration of build scripts, making the migration more problematic.

We propose the first
dynamic
approach for automated migration of build scripts to new build systems. Our approach works in two phases. First, from a set of execution traces, we
synthesize
build scripts that accurately capture the intent of the original build. The synthesized build scripts are typically long and hard to maintain. Second, we apply
refactorings
that raise the abstraction level of the synthesized scripts (e.g., introduce functions for similar fragments). As different refactoring sequences may lead to different build scripts, we use a search-based approach that
explores
various sequences to identify the best (e.g., shortest) build script. We optimize search-based refactoring with
partial-order reduction
to faster explore refactoring sequences. We implemented the proposed two phase migration approach in a tool called METAMORPHOSIS that has been recently used at Microsoft.
i3QL
Authors: Mitschke Ralf , Erdweg Sebastian , Köhler Mirko , Mezini Mira , Salvaneschi Guido
Published: January 2015

An incremental computation updates its result based on a change to its input, which is often an order of magnitude faster than a recomputation from scratch. In particular, incrementalization can make expensive computations feasible for settings that require short feedback cycles, such as interactive systems, IDEs, or (soft) real-time systems.

This paper presents i3QL, a general-purpose programming language for specifying incremental computations. i3QL provides a declarative SQL-like syntax and is based on incremental versions of operators from relational algebra, enriched with support for general recursion. We integrated i3QL into Scala as a library, which enables programmers to use regular Scala code for non-incremental subcomputations of an i3QL query and to easily integrate incremental computations into larger software projects. To improve performance, i3QL optimizes user-defined queries by applying algebraic laws and partial evaluation. We describe the design and implementation of i3QL and its optimizations, demonstrate its applicability, and evaluate its performance.
Denitrification, Anammox, and N2 Production in Marine Sediments
Authors: Devol Allan H.
Published: January 2015

Fixed nitrogen limits primary productivity in many parts of the global ocean, and it consequently plays a role in controlling the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. The concentration of fixed nitrogen is determined by the balance between two processes: the fixation of nitrogen gas into organic forms by diazotrophs, and the reconversion of fixed nitrogen to nitrogen gas by denitrifying organisms. However, current sedimentary denitrification rates are poorly constrained, especially in permeable sediments, which cover the majority of the continental margin. Also, anammox has recently been shown to be an additional pathway for the loss of fixed nitrogen in sediments. This article briefly reviews sedimentary fixed nitrogen loss by sedimentary denitrification and anammox, including in sediments in contact with oxygen-deficient zones. A simple extrapolation of existing rate measurements to the global sedimentary denitrification rate yields a value smaller than many existing measurement-based estimates but still larger than the rate of water column denitrification.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Understanding Brain Development in Early Life
Authors: Qiu Anqi , Mori Susumu , Miller Michael I.
Published: January 2015

The human brain rapidly develops during the final weeks of gestation and in the first two years following birth. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a unique in vivo imaging technique that allows three-dimensional visualization of the white matter anatomy in the brain. It has been considered to be a valuable tool for studying brain development in early life. In this review, we first introduce the DTI technique. We then review DTI findings on white matter development at the fetal stage and in infancy as well as DTI applications for understanding neurocognitive development and brain abnormalities in preterm infants. Finally, we discuss limitations of DTI and potential valuable imaging techniques for studying white matter myelination.
In Vivo Fluorescence Microscopy: Lessons From Observing Cell Behavior in Their Native Environment
Authors: Choi Myunghwan , Kwok Sheldon J. J. , Yun Seok Hyun
Published: January 2015

Microscopic imaging techniques to visualize cellular behaviors in their natural environment play a pivotal role in biomedical research. Here, we review how recent technical advances in intravital microscopy have enabled unprecedented access to cellular physiology in various organs of mice in normal and diseased states.
Sex-Based Differences in Skeletal Muscle Kinetics and Fiber-Type Composition
Authors: Haizlip K. M. , Harrison B. C. , Leinwand L. A.
Published: January 2015

Previous studies have identified over 3,000 genes that are differentially expressed in male and female skeletal muscle. Here, we review the sex-based differences in skeletal muscle fiber composition, myosin heavy chain expression, contractile function, and the regulation of these physiological differences by thyroid hormone, estrogen, and testosterone. The findings presented lay the basis for the continued work needed to fully understand the skeletal muscle differences between males and females.
Programming and Inheritance of Parental DNA Methylomes in Vertebrates
Authors: Ci Weimin , Liu Jiang
Published: January 2015

5-Methylcytosine (5mC) is a major epigenetic modification in animals. The programming and inheritance of parental DNA methylomes ensures the compatibility for totipotency and embryonic development. In vertebrates, the DNA methylomes of sperm and oocyte are significantly different. During early embryogenesis, the paternal and maternal methylomes will reset to the same state. Herein, we focus on recent advances in how offspring obtain the DNA methylation information from parents in vertebrates.
Distribution of Energy Density and Optimization on the Surface of the Receiver for Parabolic Trough Solar Concentrator
Authors: Chen Fei , Li Ming , Zhang Peng
Published: January 2015

The geometrical optics model about the offset effect of solar rays by the thickness of concentrating mirror and the diametric solar model were established. The radiant flux density on the surface of the receiver for parabolic trough solar concentrator was obtained by numerical calculation with the established models. Charge-coupled device (CCD) was used for testing gray image on the surface of the receiver for parabolic trough solar concentrator. The image was analyzed by Matlab and the radiant flux density on the surface of the receiver for parabolic trough solar concentrator was achieved. It was found that the result of the theory is consistent with that of the experiment, and the relative deviation on the focal length width was 8.7%. The geometrical structure of receiver based on parabolic trough solar concentrator was optimized, a new parabolic receiver has been proposed, and it has been shown that the optimized geometrical structure of receiver was beneficial to improve the working performance of the entire system.
Use of Pharmacotherapies in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders and Opioid Dependence in Primary Care
Authors: Lee Jinhee , Kresina Thomas F. , Campopiano Melinda , Lubran Robert , Clark H. Westley
Published: January 2015

Substance-related and addictive disorders are chronic relapsing conditions that substantially impact public health. Effective treatments for these disorders require addressing substance use/dependence comprehensively as well as other associated comorbidities. Comprehensive addressing of substance use in a medical setting involves screening for substance use, addressing substance use directly with the patient, and formulating an appropriate intervention. For alcohol dependence and opioid dependence, pharmacotherapies are available that are safe and effective when utilized in a comprehensive treatment paradigm, such as medication assisted treatment. In primary care, substance use disorders involving alcohol, illicit opioids, and prescription opioid abuse are common among patients who seek primary care services. Primary care providers report low levels of preparedness and confidence in identifying substance-related and addictive disorders and providing appropriate care and treatment. However, new models of service delivery in primary care for individuals with substance-related and addictive disorders are being developed to promote screening, care and treatment, and relapse prevention. The education and training of primary care providers utilizing approved medications for the treatment of alcohol use disorders and opioid dependence in a primary care setting would have important public health impact and reduce the burden of alcohol abuse and opioid dependence.
Silicon Improves Maize Photosynthesis in Saline‐Alkaline Soils
Authors: Xie Zhiming , Song Ri , Shao Hongbo , Song Fengbin , Xu Hongwen , Lu Yan
Published: January 2015

The research aimed to determine the effects of Si application on photosynthetic characteristics of maize on saline‐alkaline soil, including photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration rate (E), and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) of maize in the field with five levels (0, 45, 90, 150, and 225 kg·ha−1) of Si supplying. Experimental results showed that the values of Pn, gs, and Ci of maize were significantly enhanced while the values of E of maize were dramatically decreased by certain doses of silicon fertilizers, which meant that Si application with proper doses significantly increased photosynthetic efficiency of maize in different growth stages under stressing environment of saline‐alkaline soil. The optimal dose of Si application in this experiment was 150 kg·ha−1 Si. It indicated that increase in maize photosynthesis under saline‐alkaline stress took place by Si application with proper doses, which is helpful to improve growth and yield of maize.
The Alpaca Melanocortin 1 Receptor: Gene Mutations, Transcripts, and Relative Levels of Expression in Ventral Skin Biopsies
Authors: Chandramohan Bathrachalam , Renieri Carlo , La Manna Vincenzo , La Terza Antonietta
Published: January 2015

The objectives of the present study were to characterize the MC1R gene, its transcripts and the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with coat color in alpaca. Full length cDNA amplification revealed the presence of two transcripts, named as F1 and F2, differing only in the length of their 5′‐terminal untranslated region (UTR) sequences and presenting a color specific expression. Whereas the F1 transcript was common to white and colored (black and brown) alpaca phenotypes, the shorter F2 transcript was specific to white alpaca. Further sequencing of the MC1R gene in white and colored alpaca identified a total of twelve SNPs; among those nine (four silent mutations (c.126C>A, c.354T>C, c.618G>A, and c.933G>A); five missense mutations (c.82A>G, c.92C>T, c.259A>G, c.376A>G, and c.901C>T)) were observed in coding region and three in the 3′UTR. A 4 bp deletion (c.224 227del) was also identified in the coding region. Molecular segregation analysis uncovered that the combinatory mutations in the MC1R locus could cause eumelanin and pheomelanin synthesis in alpaca. Overall, our data refine what is known about the MC1R gene and provides additional information on its role in alpaca pigmentation.
GenepleioSoftware for Effective Estimation of Gene Pleiotropy from Protein Sequences
Authors: Chen Wenhai , Chen Dandan , Zhao Ming , Zou Yangyun , Zeng Yanwu , Gu Xun
Published: January 2015

Though pleiotropy, which refers to the phenomenon of a gene affecting multiple traits, has long played a central role in genetics, development, and evolution, estimation of the number of pleiotropy components remains a hard mission to accomplish. In this paper, we report a newly developed software package,Genepleio,to estimate the effective gene pleiotropy from phylogenetic analysis of protein sequences. Since this estimate can be interpreted as the minimum pleiotropy of a gene, it is used to play a role of reference for many empirical pleiotropy measures. This work would facilitate our understanding of how gene pleiotropy affects the pattern of genotype-phenotype map and the consequence of organismal evolution.
Altered Brain Activation in Early Drug-Naive Parkinson’s Disease during Heat Pain Stimuli: An fMRI Study
Authors: Tan Ying , Tan Juan , Luo Cheng , Cui Wenjuan , He Hui , Bin Yi , Deng Jiayan , Tan Rui , Tan Wenrong , Liu Tao , Zeng Nanlin , Xiao Ruhui , Yao Dezhong , Wang Xiaoming
Published: January 2015

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor and nonmotor signs and symptoms. To date, many studies of PD have focused on its cardinal motor symptoms. To study the nonmotor signs of early PD, we investigated the reactions solicited by heat pain stimuli in early untreated PD patients without pain using fMRI. The activation patterns of contact heat stimuli (51°C) were assessed in 14 patients and 17 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Patients with PD showed significant decreases in activation of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and insula compared with controls. In addition, a significant relationship between activation of the insula and STG and the pain scores was observed in healthy controls but not in PD. This study provided further support that the insula and STG are important parts of the somatosensory circuitry recruited during the period of pain. The hypoactivity of the STG and insula in PD implied that functions including affective, cognitive, and sensory-discriminative processes, which are associated with the insula and STG, were disturbed. This finding supports the view that leaving early PD untreated could be tied directly to central nervous system dysfunction.
Occurrence ofpfatpase6Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated with Artemisinin Resistance among Field Isolates ofPlasmodium falciparumin North-Eastern Tanzania
Authors: Chilongola Jaffu , Ndaro Arnold , Tarimo Hipolite , Shedrack Tamara , Barthazary Sakurani , Kaaya Robert , Masokoto Alutu , Kajeguka Debora , Kavishe Reginald A. , Lusingu John
Published: January 2015

We aimed to determine the current prevalence of fourP. falciparumcandidate artemisinin resistance biomarkers L263E, E431K, A623E, and S769N in thepfatpase6gene in a high transmission area in Tanzania in a retrospective cross sectional study using 154 archived samples collected from three previous malaria studies in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Mutations inpfatpase6gene were detected in parasite DNA isolated from Dried Blood Spots by using PCR-RFLP. We observed overall allelic frequencies for L263E, E431K, A623E, and S769N to be 5.8% (9/154), 16.2% (25/154), 0.0% (0/154), and 3.9% (6/154). The L263E mutation was not detected in 2010 but occurred at 3.9% and 2.6% in 2011 and 2013 respectively. The L263E mutation showed a significant change of frequency between 2010 and 2011, but not between 2011 and 2013P<0.05. Frequency of E431K was highest of all without any clear trend whereas S769N increased from 2.2% in 2010 to 3.6% in 2011 and 5.1% in 2013. A623E mutation was not detected. The worrisome detection and the increase in the frequency of S769N and other mutations calls for urgent assessment of temporal changes of known artemisinin biomarkers in association within vivoACT efficacy.
Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Incidentally Detected Lung Cancers
Authors: Quadrelli S. , Lyons G. , Colt H. , Chimondeguy D. , Buero A.
Published: January 2015

Objective. To evaluate clinical characteristics and outcomes in incidentally detected lung cancer and in symptomatic lung cancer.Material and Methods. We designed a retrospective study including all patients undergoing pulmonary resection with a curative intention for NSCLC. They were classified into two groups according to the presence or absence of cancer-related symptoms at diagnosis in asymptomatic (ASX)—incidental diagnosis—or symptomatic.Results. Of the 593 patients, 320 (53.9%) were ASX. In 71.8% of these, diagnosis was made by chest X-ray. Patients in the ASX group were older (P=0.007), had a higher prevalence of previous malignancy (P=0.002), presented as a solitary nodule more frequently (P<0.001), and were more likely to have earlier-stage disease and smaller cancers (P=0.0001). A higher prevalence of incidental detection was observed in the last ten years (P=0.008). Overall 5-year survival was higher for ASX (P=0.001). Median survival times in pathological stages IIIB-IV were not significantly different.Conclusion. Incidental finding of NSCLC is not uncommon even among nonsmokers. It occurred frequently in smokers and in those with history of previous malignancy. Mortality of incidental diagnosis group was lower, but the better survival was related to the greater number of patients with earlier-stage disease.
Sirolimus-Based Immunosuppression as GvHD Prophylaxis after Bone Marrow Transplantation for Severe Aplastic Anaemia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Perruccio Katia , Mastrodicasa Elena , Arcioni Francesco , Capolsini Ilaria , Cerri Carla , Gurdo Grazia , Caniglia Maurizio
Published: January 2015

Congenital or acquired severe aplastic anaemia (SAA) is cured by bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from a histocompatible leukocyte antigen- (HLA-) identical sibling. The best conditioning regimen is cyclophosphamide (CTX) with or without antithymocyte globulin (ATG), followed by short-term methotrexate (MTX) and cyclosporine A (CsA) to prevent graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). In our pediatric oncology-hematology unit, a 5-year-old girl with SAA was treated with two BMT from the same HLA-identical sibling donor. Severe CsA-induced adverse events (severe hypertension and PRES) after the first BMT led necessarily to CSA withdrawal. Alternative immunosuppressive treatment for GvHD prevention as tacrolimus and mycophenolate were not tolerated by our patient because toxicity > grade II. For this reason we decided to administrate sirolimus alone as GvHD prophylaxis and to prevent disease relapse after the rescue BMT. Here we report the successful use of sirolimus alone for GvHD prophylaxis after the second transplant in a pediatric BMT setting for SAA.
Herbal Substance, Acteoside, Alleviates Intestinal Mucositis in Mice
Authors: Reinke Daniel , Kritas Stamatiki , Polychronopoulos Panagiotis , Skaltsounis Alexios L. , Aligiannis Nektarios , Tran Cuong D.
Published: January 2015

This study investigated the role of acteoside in the amelioration of mucositis. C57BL/6 mice were gavaged daily with acteoside 600 μg for 5 d prior to induction of mucositis and throughout the experimental period. Mucositis was induced by methotrexate (MTX; 12.5 mg/kg; s.c.). Mice were culled on d 5 and d 11 after MTX. The duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were collected for myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, metallothionein (MT) levels, and histology. Acteoside reduced histological severity scores by 75, 78, and 88% in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, respectively, compared to MTX-controls on d 5. Acteoside reduced crypt depth by 49, 51, and 33% and increased villus height by 19, 38, and 10% in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, respectively, compared to MTX-controls on d 5. Acteoside decreased MT by 50% compared to MTX-control mice on d 5. Acteoside decreased MPO by 60% and 30% in the duodenum and jejunum, respectively, compared to MTX-controls on d 5. Acteoside alleviated MTX-induced small intestinal mucositis possibly by preventing inflammation.
The Antidiabetic Effect of Low Doses ofMoringa oleiferaLam. Seeds on Streptozotocin Induced Diabetes and Diabetic Nephropathy in Male Rats
Authors: Al-Malki Abdulrahman L. , El Rabey Haddad A.
Published: January 2015

The antidiabetic activity of two low doses ofMoringaseed powder (50 and 100 mg/kg body weight, in the diet) on streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes male rats was investigated. Forty rats were divided into four groups. The diabetic positive control (STZ treated) group showed increased lipid peroxide, increased IL-6, and decreased antioxidant enzyme in the serum and kidney tissue homogenate compared with that of the negative control group. Immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG), fasting blood sugar, and glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c)were also increased as a result of diabetes in G2 rats. Moreover albumin was decreased, and liver enzymes andα-amylase were not affected. In addition, the renal functions and potassium and sodium levels in G2 were increased as a sign of diabetic nephropathy. Urine analysis showed also glucosuria and increased potassium, sodium, creatinine, uric acid, and albumin levels. Kidney and pancreas tissues showed also pathological alteration compared to the negative control group. Treating the diabetic rats with 50 or 100 mgMoringaseeds powder/kg body weight in G3 and G4, respectively, ameliorated the levels of all these parameters approaching the negative control values and restored the normal histology of both kidney and pancreas compared with that of the diabetic positive control group.
Outcome of Varicocelectomy with Different Degrees of Clinical Varicocele in Infertile Male
Authors: Krishna Reddy S. V. , Basha Shaik Ahammad , Sailaja S. , Venkataramanaiah M.
Published: January 2015

Aim. To evaluate the prevalence and effect of varicocele repair on sperm motility, sperm concentration, testicular volume, and pregnancy rate in different degrees of clinical varicocele.Material and Methods. The case records were retrospectively evaluated for 482 infertile patients with varicocele who underwent varicocelectomy from December 2008 to December 2013. Semen analysis of patient at preoperative and 3-, 6-, and 12-month postoperative period was done. Varicocele was graded as per the World Health Organization grading (WHO 1993) system and included in the study. Testicular volume was noted by ultrasonography in pre- and postoperative period in one-year follow-up. Pregnancy rate was calculated at 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up.Results. Significant differences were seen in sperm motility and concentration of patients with Grade 3 varicocele as compared with Grade 1 and Grade 2 varicocele. Significant increase in testicular volume was present after one year in Grade 3 varicocele in the postoperative period. There was significant correlation between the testicular volume and the sperm concentration. Percentage of spontaneous pregnancy in 1 year after varicocele treatment was 32 to 41% of cases.Conclusion. Varicocelectomy significantly improved sperm motility, concentration, and testicular volume. There were 32 to 41% of infertile patients who achieved pregnancy spontaneously.
Trends in Downward Solar Radiation at the Surface over North America from Climate Model Projections and Implications for Solar Energy
Authors: Saenz Gerardo Andres , Huang Huei-Ping
Published: January 2015

The projected changes in the downward solar radiation at the surface over North America for late 21st century are deduced from global climate model simulations with greenhouse-gas (GHG) forcing. A robust trend is found in winter over the United States, which exhibits a simple pattern of a decrease of sunlight over Northern USA. and an increase of sunlight over Southern USA. This structure was identified in both the seasonal mean and the mean climatology at different times of the day. It is broadly consistent with the known poleward shift of storm tracks in winter in climate model simulations with GHG forcing. The centennial trend of the downward shortwave radiation at the surface in Northern USA. is on the order of 10% of the climatological value for the January monthly mean, and slightly over 10% at the time when it is midday in the United States. This indicates a nonnegligible influence of the GHG forcing on solar energy in the long term. Nevertheless, when dividing the 10% by a century, in the near term, the impact of the GHG forcing is relatively minor such that the estimate of solar power potential using present-day climatology will remain useful in the coming decades.
Product Cordial and Total Product Cordial Labelings of Pn+1m
Authors: Gao Zhen-Bin , Sun Guang-Yi , Zhang Yuan-Ning , Meng Yu , Lau Gee-Choon
Published: January 2015

We proved that Pn+1m is total product cordial. We also give sufficient conditions for the graph to admit (or not admit) a product cordial labeling.
Spontaneous Perforation of Pyometra Presenting as Acute Abdomen and Pneumoperitoneum Mimicking Those of Gastrointestinal Origin
Authors: Yamada Takahiro , Ando Nanako , Shibata Naoshi , Suitou Motomu , Takagi Hiroshi , Matsunami Kazutoshi , Ichigo Satoshi , Imai Atsushi
Published: January 2015

Gastrointestinal (GI) perforation accounts for over 90% of acute abdomen and pneumoperitoneum. The presence of pneumoperitoneum secondary to spontaneously perforated pyometra is an interesting yet confusing finding given the absence of gastrointestinal (GI) perforation, because pyometra is more common in postmenopausal women. We report an instructive case of diffuse peritonitis caused by spontaneous perforation of pyometra. A 70-year-old postmenopausal female was admitted to surgical emergency with signs of diffuse peritonitis. After resuscitation, an emergency laparotomy was performed because of suspicion of GI perforation. At laparotomy, about 2,000 mL of purulent fluid was found to be present in peritoneal cavity, while GI tract was intact. A rent with a diameter of 5 mm was found on anterior fundus of uterus. A total abdominal hysterectomy with a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed. Despite intensive care and a course of antibiotics, the patient died of multiple organ failure resulting from sepsis on postoperative day 16. Our case illustrates the importance of clinical knowledge of acute gynecological diseases, which are not uncommonly encountered by the general surgeon. Moreover, good appreciation of pelvic anatomy and close collaboration with gynecology and GI surgery colleagues is essential as operative intervention is often required.
Ranking All DEA-Efficient DMUs Based on Cross Efficiency and Analytic Hierarchy Process Methods
Authors: Akbarian Dariush
Published: January 2015

The aim of this paper is to present an original approach for ranking of DEA-efficient DMUs based on the cross efficiency and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methods. The approach includes two basic stages. In the first stage using DEA models the cross efficiency value of each DEA-efficiency DMU is specified. In the second stage, the pairwise comparison matrix generated in the first stage is utilized to rank scale of the units via the one-step process of AHP. The advantage of this proposed method is its capability of ranking extreme and nonextreme DEA-efficient DMUs. The numerical examples are presented in this paper and we compare our approach with some other approaches.
Synthesis, Characterisation, and Biological Evaluation of Zn(II) Complex with Tridentate (NNO Donor) Schiff Base Ligand
Authors: Ahmed Nayaz , Riaz Mohd , Ahmed Altaf , Bhagat Madhulika
Published: January 2015

The present paper deals with the synthesis and characterization of metal complex of tridentate Schiff base ligand derived from the inserted condensation of 2-aminobenzimidazole (1H-benzimidazol-2-amine) with salicylaldehyde (2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) in a 1 : 1 molar ratio. Using this tridentate ligand, complex of Zn(II) with general formula ML has been synthesized. The synthesized complex was characterized by several techniques using molar conductance, elemental analysis, FT-IR, and mass and 1HNMR spectroscopy. The elemental analysis data suggest the stoichiometry to be 1 : 1 [M : L]. The complex is nonelectrolytic in nature as suggested by molar conductance measurements. Infrared spectral data indicate the coordination between the ligand and the central metal ion through deprotonated phenolic oxygen, imidazole nitrogen of benzimidazole ring, and azomethine nitrogen atom. Spectral studies suggest tetrahedral geometry for the complex. The pure compound, synthesized ligand, and metal complex were screened for their antimicrobial activity.
Rare Earths in Geological Formations of Central Region of the Dniester River Basin, Republic of Moldova
Authors: Popuiac Aurelia
Published: January 2015

In the different varieties of crystalline basement of Archean and Proterozoic age and in Vendian (Ediacaran) basal layers of platform coverture in the Central Basin of the Dniester River were found relatively high concentrations of Lanthanum, Cerium, Yttrium, Ytterbium, and Scandium. Because the petrographic formations, which are genetic associated with RE elements in Dniester region are absent, the origin of these elements is unclear. At the same time, in the geological mapping, it was detect that geochemical aureoles of REE, found in the northern region of Republic of Moldova, are generated by accessory minerals monazite and zircon present in the rock of basement platform and fragments of crystalline rock in the composition of terrigenous formations from basal levels of sedimentary coverture. Probably mentioned minerals are brought from Ukrainian Crystalline Shield regions, in which are spread varieties of granitic rocks and alkaline pegmatite. It is not excluded that in these basal layers in the sedimentogenes processes and differentiation of detrital material to be formed the mechanic aureoles rich in monazite and zircon, which in turn can form significant concentrations of rare earths. To solve the perspective problem of detection of industrial mineral accumulations of RE in the central region of the Dniester River basin, it is necessary to conduct within this area detailed geological and geochemical research.