bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differential Activation Patterns of fMRI in Sleep‐Deprived Brain: Restoring Effects of Acupuncture
Authors: Gao Lei , Zhang Ming , Gong Honghan , Bai Lijun , Dai Xi-jian , Min Youjiang , Zhou Fuqing
Published: June 2014

Previous studies suggested a remediation role of acupuncture in insomnia, and acupuncture also has been used in insomnia empirically and clinically. In this study, we employed fMRI to test the role of acupuncture in sleep deprivation (SD). Sixteen healthy volunteers (8 males) were recruited and scheduled for three fMRI scanning procedures, one following the individual’s normal sleep and received acupuncture SP6 (NOR group) and the other two after 24 h of total SD with acupuncture on SP6 (SD group) or sham (Sham group). The sessions were counterbalanced approximately two weeks apart. Acupuncture stimuli elicited significantly different activation patterns of three groups. In NOR group, the right superior temporal lobe, left inferior parietal lobule, and left postcentral gyrus were activated; in SD group, the anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral insula, left basal ganglia, and thalamus were significantly activated while, in Sham group, the bilateral thalamus and left cerebellum were activated. Different activation patterns suggest a unique role of acupuncture on SP6 in remediation of SD. SP6 elicits greater and anatomically different activations than those of sham stimuli; that is, the salience network, a unique interoceptive autonomic circuit, may indicate the mechanism underlying acupuncture in restoring sleep deprivation.
Proteomic Analysis of Lung Tissue in a Rat Acute Lung Injury Model: Identification of PRDX1 as a Promoter of Inflammation
Authors: Liu Dongdong , Mao Pu , Huang Yongbo , Liu Yiting , Liu Xiaoqing , Pang Xiaoqing , Li Yimin
Published: June 2014

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains a high morbidity and mortality disease entity in critically ill patients, despite decades of numerous investigations into its pathogenesis. To obtain global protein expression changes in acute lung injury (ALI) lung tissues, we employed a high-throughput proteomics method to identify key components which may be involved in the pathogenesis of ALI. In the present study, we analyzed lung tissue proteomes ofPseudomonas aeruginosa-induced ALI rats and identified eighteen proteins whose expression levels changed more than twofold as compared to normal controls. In particular, we found that PRDX1 expression in culture medium was elevated by a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge in airway epithelial cellsin vitro. Furthermore, overexpression of PRDX1 increased the expression of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), whereas knockdown of PRDX1 led to downregulated expression of cytokines induced by LPS. In conclusion, our findings provide a global alteration in the proteome of lung tissues in the ALI rat model and indicate that PRDX1 may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of ARDS by promoting inflammation and represent a novel strategy for the development of new therapies against ALI.
A Performance/Cost Evaluation for a GPU-Based Drug Discovery Application on Volunteer Computing
Authors: Guerrero Ginés D. , Imbernón Baldomero , Pérez-Sánchez Horacio , Sanz Francisco , García José M. , Cecilia José M.
Published: June 2014

Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary research field that develops tools for the analysis of large biological databases, and, thus, the use of high performance computing (HPC) platforms is mandatory for the generation of useful biological knowledge. The latest generation of graphics processing units (GPUs) has democratized the use of HPC as they push desktop computers to cluster-level performance. Many applications within this field have been developed to leverage these powerful and low-cost architectures. However, these applications still need to scale to larger GPU-based systems to enable remarkable advances in the fields of healthcare, drug discovery, genome research, etc. The inclusion of GPUs in HPC systems exacerbates power and temperature issues, increasing the total cost of ownership (TCO). This paper explores the benefits of volunteer computing to scale bioinformatics applications as an alternative to own large GPU-based local infrastructures. We use as a benchmark a GPU-based drug discovery application called BINDSURF that their computational requirements go beyond a single desktop machine. Volunteer computing is presented as a cheap and valid HPC system for those bioinformatics applications that need to process huge amounts of data and where the response time is not a critical factor.
Investigation of Antiarthritic Potential ofPlumeria albaL. Leaves in Acute and Chronic Models of Arthritis
Authors: Choudhary Manjusha , Kumar Vipin , Gupta Pankaj , Singh Surender
Published: June 2014

Aim. The present investigation was designed to evaluate antiarthritic potential of fractions of hydroalcoholic extract from leaves ofP. alba.Materials and Methods.Plumeria albaL. leaves were extracted with hydroalcohol (30 : 70) to obtain hydroalcoholic extract ofP. alba. This extract was further fractionated with solvents ethyl acetate and n-butanol to obtain EAPA and BPA, respectively. These fractions were tested against formaldehyde and Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA) induced arthritis. Arthritis assessment, paw volume, body weight, motor incoordination, and nociceptive threshold were measured. On day 21, the animals were sacrificed and histopathology was done.Results. The 100 and 200 mg/kg doses of EAPA and BPA caused a significant (P≤0.05–0.01) reduction in paw swelling in both models. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and spleen weight decreased significantly (P<0.01) in arthritic rats treated with extracts. There was significant (P<0.05) improvement in thymus weight in EAPA treated rats whereas significant (P<0.01) improvement was also seen in haemoglobin level (Hb) in diclofenac treated group. Motor incoordination and nociceptive threshold were also significantly (P≤0.05–0.01) improved.Conclusion. The present study suggests thatPlumeria albaL. has protective activity against arthritis and supports the traditional use ofP. albafor rheumatism and other inflammatory diseases.
Chaotic Analysis of the Electroretinographic Signal for Diagnosis
Authors: Nair Surya S. , Joseph K. Paul
Published: June 2014

Electroretinogram (ERG) is a time-varying potential which arises from different layers of retina. To be specific, all the physiological signals may contain some useful information which is not visible to our naked eye. However this subtle information is difficult to monitor directly. Therefore the ERG signal features which are extracted and analyzed using computers are highly useful for diagnosis. This work discusses the chaotic aspect of the ERG signal for the controls, congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB), and cone-rod dystrophy (CRD) classes. In this work, nonlinear parameters like Hurst exponent (HE), the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE), Higuchi’s fractal dimension (HFD), and approximate entropy (ApEn) are analyzed for the three different classes. It is found that the measures like HE dimension and ApEn are higher for controls as compared to the other two classes. But LLE shows no distinguishable variation for the three cases. We have also analyzed the recurrence plots and phase-space plots which shows a drastic variation among the three groups. The results obtained show that the ERG signal is highly complex for the control groups and less complex for the abnormal classes withPvalue less than 0.05.
Improving Phosphorus Availability in an Acid Soil Using Organic Amendments Produced from Agroindustrial Wastes
Authors: Ch’ng Huck Ywih , Ahmed Osumanu Haruna , Majid Nik Muhamad Ab.
Published: June 2014

In acid soils, soluble inorganic phosphorus is fixed by aluminium and iron. To overcome this problem, acid soils are limed to fix aluminium and iron but this practice is not economical. The practice is also not environmentally friendly. This study was conducted to improve phosphorus availability using organic amendments (biochar and compost produced from chicken litter and pineapple leaves, resp.) to fix aluminium and iron instead of phosphorus. Amending soil with biochar or compost or a mixture of biochar and compost increased total phosphorus, available phosphorus, inorganic phosphorus fractions (soluble inorganic phosphorus, aluminium bound inorganic phosphorus, iron bound inorganic phosphorus, redundant soluble inorganic phosphorus, and calcium bound phosphorus), and organic phosphorus. This was possible because the organic amendments increased soil pH and reduced exchangeable acidity, exchangeable aluminium, and exchangeable iron. The findings suggest that the organic amendments altered soil chemical properties in a way that enhanced the availability of phosphorus in this study. The amendments effectively fixed aluminium and iron instead of phosphorus, thus rendering phosphorus available by keeping the inorganic phosphorus in a bioavailable labile phosphorus pool for a longer period compared with application of Triple Superphosphate without organic amendments.
Antibacterial Activity of Leaf Extracts ofBaeckea frutescensagainst Methicillin-ResistantStaphylococcus aureus
Authors: Razmavar Somayeh , Abdulla Mahmood Ameen , Ismail Salmah Binti , Hassandarvish Pouya
Published: June 2014

This study was based on screening antibacterial activity of the ethanol extract ofBaeckea frutescensL. against MRSA clinical isolates, analyzes the potential antibacterial compound, and assesses the cytotoxicity effect of the extract in tissue culture. Leaves ofBaeckea frutescensL. were shade dried, powdered, and extracted using solvent ethanol. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the crude extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, phenols, and carbohydrates. The presence of these bioactive constituents is related to the antibacterial activity of the plant. Disc diffusion method revealed a high degree of activity against microorganisms. The results confirm thatBaeckea frutescensL. can be used as a source of drugs to fight infections caused by susceptible bacteria.
Phosphate/Zinc Interaction Analysis in Two Lettuce Varieties Reveals Contrasting Effects on Biomass, Photosynthesis, and Dynamics of Pi Transport
Authors: Bouain Nadia , Kisko Mushtak , Rouached Aida , Dauzat Myriam , Lacombe Benoit , Belgaroui Nibras , Ghnaya Tahar , Davidian Jean-Claude , Berthomieu Pierre , Abdelly Chedly , Rouached Hatem
Published: June 2014

Inorganic phosphate (Pi) and Zinc (Zn) are essential nutrients for normal plant growth. Interaction between these elements has been observed in many crop plants. Despite its agronomic importance, the biological significance and genetic basis of this interaction remain largely unknown. Here we examined the Pi/Zn interaction in two lettuce (Lactuca sativa) varieties, namely, “Paris Island Cos” and “Kordaat.” The effects of variation in Pi and Zn supply were assessed on biomass and photosynthesis for each variety. Paris Island Cos displayed better growth and photosynthesis compared to Kordaat under all the conditions tested. Correlation analysis was performed to determine the interconnectivity between Pi and Zn intracellular contents in both varieties. Paris Island Cos showed a strong negative correlation between the accumulation levels of Pi and Zn in shoots and roots. However, no relation was observed for Kordaat. The increase of Zn concentration in the medium causes a decrease in dynamics of Pi transport in Paris Island Cos, but not in Kordaat plants. Taken together, results revealed a contrasting behavior between the two lettuce varieties in terms of the coregulation of Pi and Zn homeostasis and provided evidence in favor of a genetic basis for the interconnection of these two elements.
The FMM-BEM Method for the 3D Particulate Stokes Flow
Authors: Selmi Hassib , Abdelwahed Mohamed , Hamda Hatem , El Asmi Lassaad
Published: June 2014

This work introduces new functions based on the spherical harmonics and the solid harmonics which have been used to construct a multipole development for the 3D Stokes problem in order to reduce the operations costs in the BEM method. We show that the major properties of those functions are inherited from the solid harmonics. The contribution of this paper is the introduction of new formulas that serve to calculate the multipole moments and the transfer functions that are necessary for the schemes of orderO(NlogN). Moreover, new translation formulas are introduced to obtain anO(N)scheme. The error truncation of the resulting scheme is discussed. In comparison to the BEM that attains a limit storage atO(104), we present here a method based on FMM-BEM that attains a storage at a limit ofO(106). The implementation of the method achieves a high accuracy level at a reasonable cost.
Risk of Leaching in Soils Amended by Compost and Digestate from Municipal Solid Waste
Authors: García-Albacete Marta , Tarquis Ana M. , Cartagena M. Carmen
Published: June 2014

New European directives have proposed the direct application of compost and digestate produced from municipal solid wastes as organic matter sources in agricultural soils. Therefore information about phosphorus leaching from these residues when they are applied to the soil is increasingly important. Leaching experiments were conducted to determine the P mobility in compost and digestate mixtures, supplying equivalent amounts to 100 kg P ha−1to three different types of soils. The tests were performed in accordance with CEN/TS 14405:2004 analyzing the maximum dissolved reactive P and the kinetic rate in the leachate. P biowaste fractionation indicated that digestate has a higher level of available P than compost has. In contrast, P losses in leaching experiments with soil-compost mixtures were higher than in soil-digestate mixtures. For both wastes, there was no correlation between dissolved reactive P lost and the water soluble P. The interaction between soil and biowaste, the long experimentation time, and the volume of leachate obtained caused the waste’s wettability to become an influential parameter in P leaching behavior. The overall conclusion is that kinetic data analysis provides valuable information concerning the sorption mechanism that can be used for predicting the large-scale behavior of soil systems.
Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields Induce Spermatogenic Germ Cell Apoptosis: Possible Mechanism
Authors: Lee Sang-Kon , Park Sungman , Gimm Yoon-Myoung , Kim Yoon-Won
Published: June 2014

The energy generated by an extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) is too weak to directly induce genotoxicity. However, it is reported that an extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) is related to DNA strand breakage and apoptosis. The testes that conduct spermatogenesis through a dynamic cellular process involving meiosis and mitosis seem vulnerable to external stress such as heat, MF exposure, and chemical or physical agents. Nevertheless the results regarding adverse effects of ELF-EMF on human or animal reproductive functions are inconclusive. According to the guideline of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP; 2010) for limiting exposure to time-varying MF (1 Hz to 100 kHz), overall conclusion of epidemiologic studies has not consistently shown an association between human adverse reproductive outcomes and maternal or paternal exposure to low frequency fields. In animal studies there is no compelling evidence of causal relationship between prenatal development and ELF-MF exposure. However there is increasing evidence that EL-EMF exposure is involved with germ cell apoptosis in testes. Biophysical mechanism by which ELF-MF induces germ cell apoptosis has not been established. This review proposes the possible mechanism of germ cell apoptosis in testes induced by ELF-MF.
A New Key Predistribution Scheme for Multiphase Sensor Networks Using a New Deployment Model
Authors: Zhou Boqing , Wang Jianxin , Li Sujun , Wang Weiping
Published: June 2014

During the lifecycle of sensor networks, making use of the existing key predistribution schemes using deployment knowledge for pairwise key establishment and authentication between nodes, a new challenge is elevated. Either the resilience against node capture attacks or the global connectivity will significantly decrease with time. In this paper, a new deployment model is developed for multiphase deployment sensor networks, and then a new key management scheme is further proposed. Compared with the existing schemes using deployment knowledge, our scheme has better performance in global connectivity, resilience against node capture attacks throughout their lifecycle.
A New Iterative Method for the Set of Solutions of Equilibrium Problems and of Operator Equations with Inverse-Strongly Monotone Mappings
Authors: Kim Jong Kyu , Buong Nguyen , Sim Jae Yull
Published: June 2014

The purpose of the paper is to present a new iteration method for finding a common element for the set of solutions of equilibrium problems and of operator equations with a finite family ofλi-inverse-strongly monotone mappings in Hilbert spaces.
Distributed Energy-Efficient Approaches for Connected Dominating Set Construction in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Al-Nabhan Najla , Al-Rodhaan Mznah , Al-Dhelaan Abdullah
Published: June 2014

Energy efficiency is one of the major issues in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and their applications. Distributed techniques with low message and time complexities are expected in WSNs. Connected dominating sets (CDSs) have been widely used for virtual backbone construction in WSNs to control topology, facilitate routing, and extend network lifetime. Most of the existing CDS approaches suffer from a very poor approximation ratio, high time, and message complexities. This paper proposes two novel approaches for CDS distributed construction in WSNs. The proposed approaches are intended to construct a small CDS as well as allowing energy-efficient CDS construction and maintenance in WSNs. Simulation shows that our distributed approaches have an approximation factor of 7.5 to the optimal CDS. This approximation outperforms the existing distributed CDS construction algorithms.
Differential Expression of Cholecystokinin A Receptor in Gallbladder Cancer in the Young and Elderly Suggests Two Subsets of the Same Disease?
Authors: Kazmi Hasan Raza , Chandra Abhijit , Baghel Kavita , Singh Anshuman , Nigam Jaya , Parmar Devendra , Mahdi Abbas Ali , Goel Sudhir K. , Kumar Sandeep
Published: June 2014

Background. Cholecystokinin type A receptor (CCKAR) is known to be overexpressed in variety of human malignancies but information regarding its expression in gallbladder cancer (GBC) is limited. Attempts were now made to investigate expression pattern of CCKAR mRNA and protein in controls and GBC patients and correlate it with various clinicopathological parameters following surgical resection.Materials and Methods. Gallbladder tissue samples from 64 subjects (GBC: 39; control: 25) were studied. Expression of CCKAR mRNA was evaluated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and confirmed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Protein expression was studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results. Significantly higher expression of CCKAR mRNA(P<0.0001)and protein(P<0.0001)was observed in GBC tissues. Overexpression was also observed for stage III and in moderately and poorly differentiated tumors. When the clinicopathological parameters were compared, we found age dependent decrease in CCKAR expression. Relatively higher expression of CCKAR was observed in younger patients (age < 45 years) having more aggressive disease when compared with elderly ones (age ≥ 45 years).Conclusions. Age related differential expression of CCKAR in GBC may suggest two possible variants of the disease in this endemic belt.
Efficacy and Pharmacologic Data of Second-Generation Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Nilotinib in BCR-ABL-Positive Leukemia Patients with Central Nervous System Relapse after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Reinwald Mark , Schleyer Eberhard , Kiewe Philipp , Blau Igor Wolfgang , Burmeister Thomas , Pursche Stefan , Neumann Martin , Notter Michael , Thiel Eckhard , Hofmann Wolf-Karsten , Kolb Hans-Jochem , Burdach Stefan , Bender Hans-Ulrich
Published: June 2014

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is a severe complication of BCR-ABL-positive leukemia after allogenic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) associated with fatal outcome. Although second-generation tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKI) such as nilotinib have shown activity in systemic BCR-ABL+disease, little data exists on their penetration and efficacy within the CNS. Four patients (3 male, 1 female; age 15–49) with meningeal relapse after alloSCT and subsequent treatment with nilotinib were identified. A total of 17 cerebrospinal fluid (csf) and serum samples were assessed for nilotinib concentration and patient outcome was recorded. Nilotinib concentrations showed a low median csf/plasma ratio of 0.53% (range 0.23–1.5%), yet pronounced clinical efficacy was observed with long-lasting responses (>1 year) in three patients. Comparison with historical data showed a trend towards superior efficacy of nilotinib versus imatinib. Despite poor csf penetration, nilotinib showed significant clinical activity in CNS relapse of BCR-ABL+leukemias. As nilotinib has a high protein-binding affinity, the low-protein concentration in csf could translate into a relatively higher amount of free and therefore active nilotinib in csf as compared to blood, possibly explaining the observed efficacy. Thus, treatment with a 2nd generation TKI warrants further investigation and should be considered in cases of CNS relapse of BCR-ABL-positive leukemia after alloSCT.
Effects of Nonuniform Incident Illumination on the Thermal Performance of a Concentrating Triple Junction Solar Cell
Authors: Al-Amri Fahad , Mallick Tapas Kumar
Published: June 2014

A numerical heat transfer model was developed to investigate the temperature of a triple junction solar cell and the thermal characteristics of the airflow in a channel behind the solar cell assembly using nonuniform incident illumination. The effects of nonuniformity parameters, emissivity of the two channel walls, and Reynolds number were studied. The maximum solar cell temperature sharply increased in the presence of nonuniform light profiles, causing a drastic reduction in overall efficiency. This resulted in two possible solutions for solar cells to operate in optimum efficiency level: (i) adding new receiver plate with higher surface area or (ii) using forced cooling techniques to reduce the solar cell temperature. Thus, surface radiation exchanges inside the duct and Re significantly reduced the maximum solar cell temperature, but a conventional plain channel cooling system was inefficient for cooling the solar cell at medium concentrations when the system was subjected to a nonuniform light distribution. Nonuniformity of the incident light and surface radiation in the duct had negligible effects on the collected thermal energy.
Isolation of Insecticidal Constituents from the Essential Oil ofAgeratum houstonianumMill. againstLiposcelis bostrychophilaBadonnel
Authors: Lu Xiao Nan , Liu Xin Chao , Liu Qi Zhi , Liu Zhi Long
Published: June 2014

The aim of this research was to determine chemical composition and insecticidal activities of the essential oil ofAgeratum houstonianumMill. aerial parts against booklice,Liposcelis bostrychophilaBadonnel, and to isolate any insecticidal constituents from the oil. Essential oil ofA. houstonianumwas obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. A total of 35 components in the essential oil were identified. The major compounds were precocene II (62.68%), precocene I (13.21%), andβ-caryophyllene (7.92%). Based on bioactivity-guided fractionation, precocene II and precocene I were isolated and identified as the active constituents. The essential oil exhibited contact toxicity againstL. bostrychophilawith an LC50value of 50.8 μg/cm2. Precocene II (LC50= 30.4 μg/cm2) exhibited stronger acute toxicity than precocene I (LC50= 64.0 μg/cm2) against the booklice. The essential oil and the two isolated constituents also possessed strong repellent activity againstL. bostrychophila. The results indicated that the essential oil and its constituent compounds have potential for development into natural insecticides or repellents for control of insects in stored grains.
Apparent Life-Threatening Event following Maternal Use of Temazepam during Labour
Authors: Damen L. , Visser D. H. , Sie S. D. , van Weissenbruch M. M.
Published: June 2014

Benzodiazepines are one of the most frequently prescribed psychotropic drugs during pregnancy. Despite the fact that these drugs have been in use for a long time, there is still debate about the safety for the developing fetus and neonate. We present a case of a newborn with an apparent life-threatening event shortly after birth following maternal temazepam use during labour and advise to be reserved in prescribing any dose of any kind of benzodiazepine during labour.
Insulin Blocks Glutamate-Induced Neurotoxicity in Differentiated SH-SY5Y Neuronal Cells
Authors: Nampoothiri Madhavan , Reddy Neetinkumar D. , John Jessy , Kumar Nitesh , Kutty Nampurath Gopalan , Rao Chamallamudi Mallikarjuna
Published: June 2014

Insulin is a cytokine which promotes cell growth. Recently, a few published reports on insulin in different cell lines support the antiapoptotic effect of insulin. But the reports fail to explain the role of insulin in modulating glutamate-mediated neuronal cell death through excitotoxicity. Thus, we examined the neuroprotective effect of insulin on glutamate-induced toxicity on differentiated SH-SY5Y neuronal cells. Changes in cell viability were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) based assay, while apoptotic damage was detected by acridine orange/ethidium bromide and Hoechst staining. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and morphological alterations were also measured. Treatment with glutamate induced apoptosis, elevated ROS levels and caused damage to neurons. Insulin was able to attenuate the glutamate-induced excitotoxic damage to neuronal cells.
LPS-Challenged TNFαProduction, Prostaglandin Secretion, and TNFα/TNFRs Expression in the Endometrium of Domestic Cats in Estrus or Diestrus, and in Cats with Pyometra or Receiving Medroxyprogesterone Acetate
Authors: Jursza Ewelina , Szóstek Anna Z. , Kowalewski Mariusz P. , Boos Alois , Okuda Kiyoshi , Siemieniuch Marta J.
Published: June 2014

Progesterone (P4) derivatives which are commonly used to block the cyclicity of domestic cats disturb the endocrine balance in the endometrium. The aims of this study were (i) to examine whether lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is responsible for enhancement of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNFα) secretion by the feline endometrial epithelial and stromal cellsin vitro, (ii) to know whether immunolocalization of TNFα/TNFR1 and TNFR2 differs in cats at estrus or diestrus, receiving medroxyprogesterone acetate and suffering from pyometra, and (iii) to determine if TNFα-challenged prostaglandin secretion is stopped by prostaglandin synthases inhibitors. A total of 37 domestic adult cats in estrus or diestrus, receiving octane medroxyprogesterone or having clinical symptoms of pyometra, were enrolled in this study. The results obtained showed a distinct increase in LPS-challenged TNFαsecretion in endometrial epithelial, but not stromal cells. TNFαaugmented PG secretion was blocked by phospholipase A2(PLA2) and cyclooxygeanase-2 (COX-2), but not by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor. TNFα/TNFR1 and 2 protein expressions were limited mostly to the surface and glandular epithelium. TNFα/TNFRs protein was upregulated in the inflammatory uterus and hence may be involved in development of pathologic changes in the endometrial glands in cats receiving exogenous P4as a hormonal contraceptive.
Morphological Study of the Newly Designed Cementless Femoral Stem
Authors: Baharuddin Mohd Yusof , Salleh Sh-Hussain , Zulkifly Ahmad Hafiz , Lee Muhammad Hisyam , Mohd Noor Alias
Published: June 2014

A morphology study was essential to the development of the cementless femoral stem because accurate dimensions for both the periosteal and endosteal canal ensure primary fixation stability for the stem, bone interface, and prevent stress shielding at the calcar region. This paper focused on a three-dimensional femoral model for Asian patients that applied preoperative planning and femoral stem design. We measured various femoral parameters such as the femoral head offset, collodiaphyseal angle, bowing angle, anteversion, and medullary canal diameters from the osteotomy level to 150 mm below the osteotomy level to determine the position of the isthmus. Other indices and ratios for the endosteal canal, metaphyseal, and flares were computed and examined. The results showed that Asian femurs are smaller than Western femurs, except in the metaphyseal region. The canal flare index (CFI) was poorly correlated (r<0.50) to the metaphyseal canal flare index (MCFI), but correlated well (r=0.66) with the corticomedullary index (CMI). The diversity of the femoral size, particularly in the metaphyseal region, allows for proper femoral stem design for Asian patients, improves osseointegration, and prolongs the life of the implant.
Petrov-Galerkin Method for the Coupled Schrödinger-KdV Equation
Authors: Ismail M. S. , Mosally Farida M. , Alamoudi Khadeejah M.
Published: June 2014

Petrov-Galerkin method is used to derive a numerical scheme for the coupled Schrödinger-KdV (SKdV) equations, where we have used the cubic B-splines as a test functions and a linear B-splines as a trial functions. Product approximation technique is used to deal with the nonlinear terms. An implicit midpoint rule and the Runge-Kutta method of fourth-order (RK4) are used to discretize in time. A block nonlinear pentadiagonal system is obtained. We solve this system by the fixed point method. The resulting scheme has a fourth-order accuracy in space direction and second-order in time direction in case of the implicit midpoint rule and it is unconditionally stable by von Neumann method. Using the RK4 method the scheme will be linear and fourth-order in time and space directions, and it is also conditionally stable. The exact soliton solution and the conserved quantities are used to assess the accuracy and to show the robustness and the efficiency of the proposed schemes.
Dynamics Performance and Abrasive Wear of the Automotive Drive Shaft
Authors: Mao Jian , Luo Yuanxin , Liu Jun
Published: June 2014

An automotive drive shaft is used in a front drive transmission vehicle for transmitting rotary movement from the gearbox output shaft to the wheels with a constant velocity. This paper presents the kinematic model of ball joint and tripod joint with consideration of clearance and proposes a simplified dynamics model of the drive shaft. The simulation of the dynamics model is given by the measured data. Also, the abrasive wear of the ball type joint is tested on the experimental setup with consideration of full loading. The results show that the dynamics of the motion will be affected by the clearance when the loading changes its direction. The motion will be stable due to the damping. It can be found that the abrasive wear of ball joint largely depends on the relative sliding velocity from the experiments. This will probably affectthe dynamics performance and the impact force, which will also cause the other type of failures.
Quasireversible Process of Dopamine on Copper-Nickel Hydroxide Composite/Nitrogen Doped Graphene/Nafion Modified GCE and Its Electrochemical Application
Authors: Liu Chuan-yin , Liu Zhong-yong , Peng Rong , Zhong Zhi-cheng
Published: June 2014

Cu-Ni(OH)2/N-GR/Nafion/GCE has been prepared by electrodeposition and activation with NaOH. The proposed modified GCE was studied by electrochemical methods. It is found that dopamine shows favorable redox cyclic voltammetric response on the proposed modified GCE with peak separation of 25 mV and large current compared with on single-component modified GCE. The kinetic of electrode process has also been investigated with rate constant of 6.618 × 10−3 cm/s, which can be deduced to be a quasireversible or near-reversible process. The proposed method has been used for DA detection with linear range of 1.0 × 10−7 mol/L to 4.6 × 10−5 mol/L, and the detection limit is 3.3 × 10−8 mol/L. The proposed method has favorable stability and reproducibility and has also been used to determine DA in simulated samples and DA injections with favorable recoveries of 98.4% to 102.6%.
The Need for Specific Penalties for Hacking in Criminal Law
Authors: Oh Sangkyo , Lee Kyungho
Published: June 2014

In spite of the fact that hacking is a widely used term, it is still not legally established. Moreover, the definition of the concept of hacking has been deployed in a wide variety of ways in national literature. This ambiguity has led to various side effects. Recently in the United States, reforms collectively known as Aaron's Law were proposed as intended amendments to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Most experts expect that this change will put the brakes on the CFAA as a severe punishment policy, and result in a drop in controversial court decisions. In this study, we analyze the definitions and the penalties for hacking for each country and compare them with the national law and then make suggestions through more specific legislation. We expect it will reduce legal controversy and prevent excessive punishment.
Estimation of Hypertension Risk from Lifestyle Factors and Health Profile: A Case Study
Authors: Zheng Zhuoyuan , Li Ye , Cai Yunpeng
Published: June 2014

Hypertension is a highly prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and it can also lead to other diseases which seriously harm the human health. Screening the risks and finding a clinical model for estimating the risk of onset, maintenance, or the prognosis of hypertension are of great importance to the prevention or treatment of the disease, especially if the indicator can be derived from simple health profile. In this study, we investigate a chronic disease questionnaire data set of 6563 rural citizens in East China and find out a clinical signature that can assess the risk of hypertension easily and accurately. The signature achieves an accuracy of about 83% on the external test dataset, with an AUC of 0.91. Our study demonstrates that a combination of simple lifestyle features can sufficiently reflect the risk of hypertension onset. This finding provides potential guidance for disease prevention and control as well as development of home care and home-care technologies.
Structural Monitoring of Metro Infrastructure during Shield Tunneling Construction
Authors: Ran L. , Ye X. W. , Ming G. , Dong X. B.
Published: June 2014

Shield tunneling construction of metro infrastructure will continuously disturb the soils. The ground surface will be subjected to uplift or subsidence due to the deep excavation and the extrusion and consolidation of the soils. Implementation of the simultaneous monitoring with the shield tunnel construction will provide an effective reference in controlling the shield driving, while how to design and implement a safe, economic, and effective structural monitoring system for metro infrastructure is of great importance and necessity. This paper presents the general architecture of the shield construction of metro tunnels as well as the procedure of the artificial ground freezing construction of the metro-tunnel cross-passages. The design principles for metro infrastructure monitoring of the shield tunnel intervals in the Hangzhou Metro Line 1 are introduced. The detailed monitoring items and the specified alarming indices for construction monitoring of the shield tunneling are addressed, and the measured settlement variations at different monitoring locations are also presented.
Solution of Time Periodic Electroosmosis Flow with Slip Boundary
Authors: Sun Qian , Wu Yonghong , Liu Lishan , Wiwatanapataphee B.
Published: June 2014

Recent research confirms that slip of a fluid on the solid surface occurs at micrometer scale. Slip on solid surface may cause the change of interior material deformation which consequently leads to the change of velocity profile and stress field. This paper concerns the time periodic electroosmotic flow in a channel with slip boundary driven by an alternating electric field, which arises from the study of particle manipulation and separation such as flow pumping and mixing enhancement. Although exact solutions to various flow problems of electroosmotic flows under the no-slip condition have been obtained, exact solutions for problems under slip boundary conditions have seldom been addressed. In this paper, an exact solution is derived for the time periodic electroosmotic flow in two-dimensional straight channels under slip boundary conditions.
Development of Budesonide Loaded Biopolymer Based Dry Powder Inhaler: Optimization, In Vitro Deposition, and Cytotoxicity Study
Authors: Mali Ashwin J. , Pawar Atmaram P. , Purohit Ravindra N.
Published: June 2014

The progress in the development of DPI technology has boosted the use of sensitive drug molecules for lung diseases. However, delivery of these molecules from conventional DPI to the active site still poses a challenge with respect to deposition efficiency in the lung. At same time, serious systemic side effects of drugs have become a cause for concern. The developed budesonide loaded biopolymer based controlled release DPI had shown maximum in vitro lung deposition with least toxicity. The subject of present study, lactose-free budesonide loaded biopolymer based DPI, further corroborates the great potential of antiasthmatic drugs. This technology is expected to revolutionize the approaches towards enhanced therapeutic delivery of prospective drugs.
New Families of Third-Order Iterative Methods for Finding Multiple Roots
Authors: Lin R. F. , Ren H. M. , Šmarda Z. , Wu Q. B. , Khan Y. , Hu J. L.
Published: June 2014

Two families of third-order iterative methods for finding multiple roots of nonlinear equations are developed in this paper. Mild conditions are given to assure the cubic convergence of two iteration schemes (I) and (II). The presented families include many third-order methods for finding multiple roots, such as the known Dong's methods and Neta's method. Some new concrete iterative methods are provided. Each member of the two families requires two evaluations of the function and one of its first derivative per iteration. All these methods require the knowledge of the multiplicity. The obtained methods are also compared in their performance with various other iteration methods via numerical examples, and it is observed that these have better performance than the modified Newton method, and demonstrate at least equal performance to iterative methods of the same order.
JNK3 Is Required for the Cytoprotective Effect of Exendin 4
Authors: Ezanno Hélène , Pawlowski Valérie , Abdelli Saida , Boutry Raphael , Gmyr Valery , Kerr-Conte Julie , Bonny Christophe , Pattou François , Abderrahmani Amar
Published: June 2014

Preservation of beta cell against apoptosis is one of the therapeutic benefits of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP1) antidiabetic mimetics for preserving the functional beta cell mass exposed to diabetogenic condition including proinflammatory cytokines. The mitogen activated protein kinase 10 also called c-jun amino-terminal kinase 3 (JNK3) plays a protective role in insulin-secreting cells against death caused by cytokines. In this study, we investigated whether the JNK3 expression is associated with the protective effect elicited by the GLP1 mimetic exendin 4. We found an increase in the abundance of JNK3 in isolated human islets and INS-1E cells cultured with exendin 4. Induction of JNK3 by exendin 4 was associated with an increased survival of INS-1E cells. Silencing of JNK3 prevented the cytoprotective effect of exendin 4 against apoptosis elicited by culture condition and cytokines. These results emphasize the requirement of JNK3 in the antiapoptotic effects of exendin 4.
An Improved PSO-Based MPPT Control Strategy for Photovoltaic Systems
Authors: Abdulkadir M. , Yatim A. H. M. , Yusuf S. T.
Published: June 2014

This paper presents a control strategy proposed for power maximizing which is a critical mechanism to ensure power track is maximized. Many tracking algorithms have been proposed for this purpose. One of the more commonly used techniques is the incremental conductance method. In this paper, an improved particle swarm optimization- (IPSO-) based MPPT technique for photovoltaic system operating under varying environmental conditions is proposed. The approach of linearly decreasing scheme for weighting factor and cognitive and social parameter is modified. The proposed control scheme can overcome deficiency and accelerate convergence of the IPSO-based MPPT algorithm. The approach is not only capable of tracking the maximum power point under uniform insolation state, but also able to find the maximum power point under fast changing nonuniform insolation conditions. The photovoltaic systematic process with control schemes is created using MATLAB Simulink to verify the effectiveness with several simulations being carried out and then compared with the conventional incremental conductance technique. Lastly, the effectiveness of the intended techniques is proven using real data obtained form previous literature. With the change in insolation and temperature portrait, it produces exceptional MPPT maximization. This shows that optimum performance is achieved using the intended method compared to the typical method.
Unrecorded Accidents Detection on Highways Based on Temporal Data Mining
Authors: An Shi , Zhang Tao , Zhang Xinming , Wang Jian
Published: June 2014

Automatic traffic accident detection, especially not recorded by traffic police, is crucial to accident black spots identification and traffic safety. A new method of detecting traffic accidents is proposed based on temporal data mining, which can identify the unknown and unrecorded accidents by traffic police. Time series model was constructed using ternary numbers to reflect the state of traffic flow based on cell transmission model. In order to deal with the aftereffects of linear drift between time series and to reduce the computational cost, discrete Fourier transform was implemented to turn time series from time domain to frequency domain. The pattern of the time series when an accident happened could be recognized using the historical crash data. Then taking Euclidean distance as the similarity evaluation function, similarity data mining of the transformed time series was carried out. If the result was less than the given threshold, the two time series were similar and an accident happened probably. A numerical example was carried out and the results verified the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Optimal Operation Method for Microgrid with Wind/PV/Diesel Generator/Battery and Desalination
Authors: Tang Qingfeng , Liu Nian , Zhang Jianhua
Published: June 2014

The power supply mode of island microgrid with a variety of complementary energy resources is one of the most effective ways to solve the problem of future island power supply. Based on the characteristics of seawater desalination system and water demand of island residents, a power allocation strategy for seawater desalination load, storage batteries, and diesel generators is proposed with the overall consideration of the economic and environmental benefits of system operation. Furthermore, a multiobjective optimal operation model for the island microgrid with wind/photovoltaic/diesel/storage and seawater desalination load is also proposed. It first establishes the objective functions which include the life loss of storage batteries and the fuel cost of diesel generators. Finally, the model is solved by the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). The island microgrid in a certain district is taken as an example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed optimal method. The results provide the theoretical and technical basis for the optimal operation of island microgrid.
Dynamic Regulatory Network Reconstruction for Alzheimer’s Disease Based on Matrix Decomposition Techniques
Authors: Kong Wei , Mou Xiaoyang , Zhi Xing , Zhang Xin , Yang Yang
Published: June 2014

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and leads to irreversible neurodegenerative damage of the brain. Finding the dynamic responses of genes, signaling proteins, transcription factor (TF) activities, and regulatory networks of the progressively deteriorative progress of AD would represent a significant advance in discovering the pathogenesis of AD. However, the high throughput technologies of measuring TF activities are not yet available on a genome-wide scale. In this study, based on DNA microarray gene expression data and a priori information of TFs, network component analysis (NCA) algorithm is applied to determining the TF activities and regulatory influences on TGs of incipient, moderate, and severe AD. Based on that, the dynamical gene regulatory networks of the deteriorative courses of AD were reconstructed. To select significant genes which are differentially expressed in different courses of AD, independent component analysis (ICA), which is better than the traditional clustering methods and can successfully group one gene in different meaningful biological processes, was used. The molecular biological analysis showed that the changes of TF activities and interactions of signaling proteins in mitosis, cell cycle, immune response, and inflammation play an important role in the deterioration of AD.
Pediatric Index of Mortality and PIM2 Scores Have Good Calibration in a Large Cohort of Children from a Developing Country
Authors: Sankar Jhuma , Singh Archana , Sankar M. Jeeva , Joghee Sunil , Dewangan Shashikant , Dubey Nandkishore
Published: June 2014

Objective. Our objective was to validate the Pediatric Index of Mortality (PIM) and PIM2 scores in a large cohort of children from a developing country.Design. Prospective observational study.Setting. Pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital.Patients. All children aged <18 years admitted between June 2011 and July 2013.Measurements and Main Results. We evaluated the discriminative ability and calibration as measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit (GOF), and standardized mortality ratio (SMR), respectively. Of the 819 children enrolled, 232 (28%) died. The median (IQR) age of the study subjects was 4 years (0.8, 10). The major reasons for ICU admission as well as mortality were sepsis/severe sepsis. The area under ROC curves for PIM and PIM2 was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.67–0.75) and 0.74 (95% CI: 0.70–0.78), respectively. The goodness-of-fit test showed a good calibration across deciles of risk for the two scores withPvalues being >0.05. The SMR (95% CI) was 0.99 (0.85–1.15) and 1 (0.85–1.16) for PIM and PIM2, respectively. The calibration across different age and diagnostic subgroups was also good.Conclusion. PIM and PIM2 scores had good calibration in our setup.
Homotopy Perturbation Method to Obtain Positive Solutions of Nonlinear Boundary Value Problems of Fractional Order
Authors: Jafari Hossein , Bagherian Khadijeh , Moshokoa Seithuti P.
Published: June 2014

We use the homotopy perturbation method for solving the fractional nonlinear two-point boundary value problem. The obtained results by the homotopy perturbation method are then compared with the Adomian decomposition method. We solve the fractional Bratu-type problem as an illustrative example.
A Class of Generalized Differential Operators with Infinitely Many Discontinuous Points
Authors: Li Yurong , Sun Jiong , Yao Siqin
Published: June 2014

We define a class of differential operatorsTwhich have infinitely many discontinuous points, and investigate the kernel ofTin terms of operator theory. It is shown that the solutions ofThave exponential behavior, and the dimension of the kernel is given.