bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CoNet app: inference of biological association networks using Cytoscape
Authors: Faust Karoline , Raes Jeroen
Published: June 2016

Here we present the Cytoscape app version of our association network inference tool CoNet. Though CoNet was developed with microbial community data from sequencing experiments in mind, it is designed to be generic and can detect associations in any data set where biological entities (such as genes, metabolites or species) have been observed repeatedly. The CoNet app supports Cytoscape 2.x and 3.x and offers a variety of network inference approaches, which can also be combined. Here we briefly describe its main features and illustrate its use on microbial count data obtained by 16S rDNA sequencing of arctic soil samples. The CoNet app is available at: http://apps.cytoscape.org/apps/conet.
LUBRICATION OF TULIP GAS BEARINGS BY LOWVISCOUS CRYOGENIC LIQUIDS
Authors: Сытин Антон , Sytin Anton , Савин Леонид , Savin Leonid , Тюрин Валентин , Tyurin Valentin
Published: June 2016

The efficiency increase at minimum dimensions of movable turbosets is achieved at the expense of maximum admissible values of rotation frequencies (up to hundreds of thousands of rpm). At present as promising bearings with an elastic surface are tulip gas bearings. The advantages of these tulip gas bearings are the following: the capacity to selfadjustment, capacity for work under conditions of thermal deformations and at a certain gas pollution fed for lubrication. The computation of tulip gas bearings supposes a joint solution of the problems of gas dynamics, thermal physics, and theory of elasticity. The function of bending included in the equation of gap is calculated through common equations of elasticity theory for corresponding solids and in the totality with boundary conditions gives a complete description of elastic surfaces in a friction bearing. As lubrication material in gas bearings with elastic elements air is mostly used. In addition, it is possible to use lowviscous cryogenic liquids, for instance, neon. The comparison of thermal physical properties of air and lowviscous cryogenic liquid (neon) witnesses of neon application possibilities, but only at temperature of below 150°K at which its viscosity is equal approximately to the viscosity of air under normal conditions.
OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM OF CONTROL BY SIMULATION MODEL FORMATION IN CORPORATE INFORMATION SYSTEM
Authors: Якимов Евгений , Yakimov Evgeniy , Якимов Анатолий , Yakimov Anatoliy , Аверченков Владимир , Averchenkov Vladimir , Ивкина Наталия , Ivkina Nataliya
Published: June 2016

The use of the wide spectrum of information technologies in corporate information systems allows offering the iteration method for a distributed formation of simulation models. In accordance with this method at each stage of designing the commercial software tools with certain functionality are used. The considered technological process (TP) of simulation model formation (software toll creation) is a controlled system being at one of the states variable at each stage of a technological process as a result of a control action (control). At the same time the efficiency of a control process is characterized by a multidimensional purposeful function (PF) subject to a system state and control used. In the investigation presented the problem of multicriterion control of a technological process of simulation model formation in accordance with Bellman’s principle of optimality. The justification of an optimum solution is shown for the unidimensional or twodimensional characteristics of a flow on arches of an oriented acyclic graph of a technological process. The presented example of the solution of the optimization problem with the use of resources of f – and p- type in a corporate information system shows the necessity of priority criterion definition for the final choice of a route on a graph with technological modes, that is, an optimum variant of resource distribution.
Effective Reminders
Authors: Calzolari Giacomo , Nardotto Mattia
Published: June 2016

We study the effects of reminders on people’s behavior in investment activities characterized by up-front costs and delayed benefits, such as getting an education and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We conduct a field experiment and show that simple weekly reminders induce users of a gym to substantially increase their gym attendance over an extensive period. Users’ response to reminders is immediate (within hours) and recurrent for any subsequent reminder, which can be explained by limited attention. We find some evidence of habit formation, leading to more frequent physical activity also after treatment, although with an effect smaller than during treatment. Simple reminders are thus a cost-effective policy tool.

Data are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2016.2499 .

This paper was accepted by Uri Gneezy, behavioral economics.
Five steps to the confident mindset
Authors: McWilliam Ross
Published: June 2016

Developing students' confidence and self-esteem goes hand-in-hand with developing their positive mindset for learning. Ross McWilliam discusses some approaches that might be taken with younger students
Hábitos alimentares de universitários da Amazônia Brasileira
Authors: Guimaraes Raissa
Published: June 2016

Objetivo: Descrever e analisar os hábitos alimentares de uma amostra de estudantes de ambos os sexos e diferentes faixas etárias da Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), campus de Belém, Amazônia, Brasil.Introdução: Os hábitos alimentares são construídos durante a infância e adolescência e, com o ingresso na universidade, fatores como ambiente social e conveniência passam a condicionar fortemente estes hábitos. Em geral, estudos no Brasil demonstram inadequação do consumo alimentar de macro e micronutrientes entre universitários, podendo acarretar prejuízos futuros na saúde destes indivíduos. No entanto, não há estudos sobre os hábitos alimentares de estudantes universitários na Amazônia. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo de delineamento transversal, qualitativo, em que 22 estudantes de graduação da UFPA, com idades entre 18 e 27 anos, selecionados aleatoriamente no campus, responderam a um questionário semiestruturado sobre frequência e comportamento alimentar. A amostragem foi encerrada usando a técnica de saturação e a interpretação das informações seguiu a técnica de análise de conteúdo. Resultados: A maioria dos universitários realiza suas refeições em número e intervalo de tempo adequado, correspondendo a parcelas de 54,5% e  59,0% da amostra, respectivamente. No entanto, destaca-se também o elevado consumo de alimentos com alto teor calórico; 81,8% dos jovens  entrevistados ingeriam diariamente alimentos per tencentes ao grupo das gorduras, óleos e açúcares. Os estudantes também apresentaram baixo consumo de nutrientes essenciais ao organismo, representados pelos grupos das hortaliças/verduras e das frutas. Apenas 50,0% e 31,1% dos jovens, respectivamente, incorporavam estes alimentos na sua dieta habitual. Outro achado importante é que a maioria dos estudantes (59,1%) não se preocupa com o valor nutricional dos alimentos na hora defazer as refeições. Conclusão: Um melhor conhecimento sobre o comportamento alimentar dos universitários é necessário para o planejamento de políticas públicas de prevenção das doenças crônicas. O trabalho integrado de nutricionistas e bioantropólogos na área de saúde coletiva pode ser fundamental para a compreensão e a promoção de mudanças nos padrões alimentares entre os jovens universitários.
Kaj študente zdravstvene nege motivira za učenje in kako ocenjujejo simulirano klinično usposabljanje
Authors: Pajnič Manca
Published: June 2016

Uvod: Način in organiziranost študija, dostopnost do gradiv, odnos do študentov in študijska klima lahko vplivajo na zunanjo motivacijo študentov. Namen raziskave je bil ugotoviti motivacijske dejavnike za študij pri študentih zdravstvene nege in kakšen pomen pripisujejo simuliranemu kliničnemu usposabljanju.

Metode: Raziskava je potekala leta 2011 na Zdravstveni fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani. Uporabljena je bila opisna kvantitativna metoda dela, podatki so bili zbrani z anketiranjem študentov drugega in tretjega letnika zdravstvene nege. Pri raziskavi je sodelovalo 159 naključno izbranih študentov, uporabili smo strukturiran vprašalnik in petstopenjsko lestvico. Vprašalnik je bil razdeljen na tri sklope: motivacija, zadovoljstvo in stroški študija. Podatki so bili analizirani z opisno in bivariatno statistiko.

Rezultati: Želja po pridobivanju dodatnega znanja (x = 4,3) in želja po višji izobrazbi (x = 4,26) sta se najvišje uvrstila na petstopenjski lestvici motivacijskih dejavnikov. Nekaterih negovalnih intervencij študentje na kliničnem usposabljanju še niso imeli možnosti izvesti (x = 3,97), menijo pa, da je bilo v simuliranem kliničnem okolju dovolj časa za izvajanje negovalnih intervencij (x = 1,91).

Diskusija in zaključek: Študentje so visoko notranje motivirani za študij zdravstvene nege. Menijo, da je simulirano klinično usposabljanje pomembno za pridobivanje teoretičnih in praktičnih znanj.
Doxa a epistémé zážitkové pedagogiky
Authors: Jirásek Ivo
Published: June 2016

Příspěvek podává formou přehledové studie představu o vývoji oboru na pomezí pedagogiky, andragogiky a kinantropologie, totiž o výchově v přírodě a její proměně v moderní formy výchovy v přírodě, prázdninovou pedagogiku a zážitkovou pedagogiku. Příspěvek nejprve rekapituluje určitá klišé, mínění, a hodnocení, která se s oborem provazují dle autora neprávem (doxa), totiž neodlišování zážitkové pedagogiky v teorii a oboru praktického působení; v jejím pronikání do školního prostředí v neadekvátní podobě; v nedoceňování využití zážitku v pedagogickém diskursu; ve vnímání reflexe jako nezbytné součásti tohoto typu osobnostního rozvoje; ve vazbě na literární zdroje pouze z posledního čtvrtstoletí. Následně text nabízí ideje, které autor považuje za relevantní porozumění (epistémé), totiž že se zkušenost jako existenciální fakt může stát prostředkem osobnostního rozvoje; ta se vyznačuje holistickým rozměrem působení; nabízí rekapitulaci předchozích termínů označujících zkoumanou problematiku, na jejichž pozadí lze hlouběji porozumět historii a terminologickému vývoji oboru; a na závěr konstatuje nemožnost zařazení tohoto specifického pedagogického tématu (či dokonce oboru) do přehledné klasifikace pedagogických věd.
Konkurence mezi školami a výsledky žáků v České republice: pohled zblízka na šetření PISA 2012
Authors: Dvořák Dominik , Straková Jana
Published: June 2016

Abstrakt: Reformy založené na zavádění tržních principů do vzdělávání zatím spíše zklamaly očekávání, že povedou k celkovému zlepšení vzdělávacích výsledků žáků. Mezinárodní šetření PISA 2012 tento poznatek rovněž potvrdilo. Avšak v případě České republiky byly publikovány výsledky uvádějící, že i po zohlednění socioekonomických a demografických rozdílů mezi žáky a dalších relevantních faktorů na úrovni škol dosahují lepších výsledků v matematice žáci v těch školách, které jsou vystaveny větší lokální konkurenci. Náš článek představuje kritickou revizi těchto výsledků. Vyšli jsme ze stejných datových souborů z šetření PISA a použili jsme dvouúrovňové modely, kde první úroveň byla žákovská a druhá školní. Pokud model (na rozdíl od postupu uplatněného autory šetření PISA) zohledňovat skutečnost, že ve vzorku jsou zastoupeny základní školy, víceletá gymnázia a střední školy, pak zdánlivý účinek konkurence mezi školami vymizel. Konkurence mezi školami jednoho typu tedy ani v České republice nevede k lepším znalostem a dovednostem žáků v matematice. Klíčová slova: volba školy, konkurence mezi školami, výsledky žáků, matematika, Česká republika, PISA.Klíčová slova: volba školy, soutěž mezi školami, výsledky žáků, matematika, Česká republika, PISAAbstract: Several studies have shown that market-based reforms of education, on average, do not improve the pupil performance across or within national school systems. The PISA 2012 survey found, however, that in the Czech Republic the schools that compete with other neibourghing schools for pupils tend to perform better in mathematics even after accounting for the socio-economic and demographic background of pupils and for relevant school characteristics (OECD, 2013). In our study, we re-evaluate this result. The impact of school variables on student achievement was studied using the PISA datasets and two-level models with pupils at the first level and schools at the second level. After accounting for different types of secondary schools in the Czech school sample, the apparent positive effect of school competition disappeared.Keywords: school choice, school competition, achivement, mathematics, Czech Republic, PISA
Input Prices and Product Differentiation
Authors: Lestage Romain
Published: June 2016

In this paper, we study how input prices affect product differentiation in network industries. In particular, we study whether the principle of vertical differentiation (Choi and Shin 1992, “A Comment on a Model of Vertical Product Differentiation.” The Journal of Industrial Economics 40 (2):229–31; Wauthy 1996, “Quality Choice in Models of Vertical Differentiation.” The Journal of Industrial Economics 44 (3):345–53) remains valid when an entrant purchases an essential input from an incumbent at a regulated price. We find that the higher quality firm always chooses the best available quality, whereas the lower quality firm chooses an intermediate quality, which increases with the input price. If the higher quality firm is the incumbent, a cost-oriented input price maximizes welfare, but comes at the cost of a lower average quality, a higher degree of product differentiation, and therefore stronger downstream market power.
Concepts of moral education in Poland
Authors: Konstańczak Stefan
Published: June 2016

In this article the author presents the contemporary understanding of the subject of moral education. Furthermore, he presents the historical development of the concept of moral education in Poland. He concludes that the current model of moral education in Poland was developed as early as the 18th century.
A comparative study of environmental awareness among students pursuing Bachelor’s studies in selected academic fields at the University of Warsaw, Poland
Authors: Kalinowska Anna , Szkop Zbigniew , Wiśniewski Rafał
Published: June 2016

The present investigation has been conducted to compare the level of environmental awareness among the University of Warsaw Bachelor students of selected fields of study, which are: economics, geography and environmental protection. Diagnostic survey method was used to collect data from 180 students. The research interviewees included 60 economics students (equivalent to 33.3% of all respondents), 56 geography students (31.1% of respondents) and 64 environmental science students (35.6% of respondents). The gender division was as follows: 119 females (66.1% of all respondents) and 61 males (33.9%) took part in the research. The survey consisted of two parts. The main part - “The study of environmental awareness” - referred to the dependent variable. Respondents were asked to provide answers to 21 questions. Twenty of them were closed-ended questions, while one was open-ended. The second part was demographics, which referred to independent variable – selected socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. The data were subjected to descriptive and chi-square analyses. Statistical analysis software STATA for Windows was used for statistical analysis. The significance level was set at 5%. The study showed that the field of study significantly affects the answers declared by students in 6 of 21 questions (number: 6, 8, 11, 12, 16 and 20). Gender significantly affects the answers declared by students in 2 questions (number: 2 and 10). It can therefore be assumed that field of study had much stronger influence on student’s level of environmental awareness than their gender.
Machine-learning methods in the classification of water bodies
Authors: Sołtysiak Marek , Blachnik Marcin , Dąbrowska Dominika
Published: June 2016

Amphibian species have been considered as useful ecological indicators. They are used as indicators of environmental contamination, ecosystem health and habitat quality., Amphibian species are sensitive to changes in the aquatic environment and therefore, may form the basis for the classification of water bodies. Water bodies in which there are a large number of amphibian species are especially valuable even if they are located in urban areas. The automation of the classification process allows for a faster evaluation of the presence of amphibian species in the water bodies. Three machine-learning methods (artificial neural networks, decision trees and the k-nearest neighbours algorithm) have been used to classify water bodies in Chorzów – one of 19 cities in the Upper Silesia Agglomeration. In this case, classification is a supervised data mining method consisting of several stages such as building the model, the testing phase and the prediction. Seven natural and anthropogenic features of water bodies (e.g. the type of water body, aquatic plants, the purpose of the water body (destination), position of the water body in relation to any possible buildings, condition of the water body, the degree of littering, the shore type and fishing activities) have been taken into account in the classification. The data set used in this study involved information about 71 different water bodies and 9 amphibian species living in them. The results showed that the best average classification accuracy was obtained with the multilayer perceptron neural network.
Design and Analysis of Miniaturized Microstrip Patch Antenna with Metamaterials Based on Modified Split-Ring Resonator for UWB Applications
Authors: Khedrouche D. , Bougoutaia T. , Hocini A.
Published: June 2016

In this paper, a miniaturized microstrip patch antenna using a negative index metamaterial with modified split-ring resonator (SRR) unit cells is proposed for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications. The new design of metamaterial based microstrip patch antenna has been optimized to provide an improved bandwidth and multiple frequency operations. All the antenna performance parameters are presented in response-graphs. Also it is mentioned that the physical dimensions of the metamaterial based patch antenna are very small, which is convenient to modern communication. A 130 % bandwidth, covering the frequency band of 2.9–13.5 GHz, (for return loss less than or equal –10 dB) is achieved, which allow the antenna to operate in the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) band. In addition, the antenna has a good radiation pattern in the ultra-wide band spectrum, and it is nearly omnidirectional.
Vitamin C promotes pluripotency of human induced pluripotent stem cells via the histone demethylase JARID1A
Authors: Eid Wassim , Abdel-Rehim Wafaa
Published: June 2016

Somatic cells can be reprogramed into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells by defined factors, which provide a powerful basis for personalized stem-cell based therapies. However, cellular reprograming is an inefficient and metabolically demanding process commonly associated with obstacles that hamper further use of this technology. Spontaneous differentiation of iPS cells cultures represents a significant hurdle that hinder obtaining high quality iPS cells for further downstream experimentation. In this study, we found that a natural compound, vitamin C, augmented pluripotency in iPS cells and reduced unwanted spontaneous differentiation during iPS cells maintenance. Gene expression analysis showed that vitamin C increased the expression of the histone demethylase JARID1A. Furthermore, through gain- and loss-of-function approaches, we show that JARID1A is a key effector in promoting pluripotency and reducing differentiation downstream of vitamin C. Our results therefore highlight a straightforward method for improving the pluripotency and quality of iPS cells; it also shows a possible role for H3K4me2/3 in cell fate determination and establishes a link between vitamin C and epigenetic regulation.
Making the Case for Simulation-Based Assessments to Overcome the Challenges in Evaluating Clinical Competency
Authors: Leigh Gwen , Stueben Frances , Harrington Deedra , Hetherman Stephen
Published: June 2016

The use of simulation in nursing has increased substantially in the last few decades. Most schools of nursing have incorporated simulation into their curriculum but few are using simulation to evaluate clinical competency at the end of a semester or prior to graduation. Using simulation for such high stakes evaluation is somewhat novel to nursing. Educators are now being challenged to move simulation to the next level and use it as a tool for evaluating clinical competency. Can the use of simulation for high-stakes evaluation add to or improve our current evaluation methods? Using patient simulation for evaluation in contrast to a teaching modality has important differences that must be considered. This article discusses the difficulties of evaluating clinical competency, and makes the case for using simulation based assessment as a method of high stakes evaluation. Using simulation for high-stakes evaluation has the potential for significantly impacting nursing education.
Real-time stream processing for Big Data
Authors: Wingerath Wolfram , Gessert Felix , Friedrich Steffen , Ritter Norbert
Published: June 2016

With the rise of the web 2.0 and the Internet of things, it has become feasible to track all kinds of information over
time, in particular fine-grained user activities and sensor data on their environment and even their biometrics. However,
while efficiency remains mandatory for any application trying to cope with huge amounts of data, only part of the
potential of today's Big Data repositories can be exploited using traditional batch-oriented approaches as the value of
data often decays quickly and high latency becomes unacceptable in some applications. In the last couple of years, several
distributed data processing systems have emerged that deviate from the batch-oriented approach and tackle data items as
they arrive, thus acknowledging the growing importance of timeliness and velocity in Big Data analytics.

In this article, we give an overview over the state of the art of stream processors for low-latency Big Data analytics and
conduct a qualitative comparison of the most popular contenders, namely Storm and its abstraction layer Trident, Samza and
Spark Streaming. We describe their respective underlying rationales, the guarantees they provide and discuss the
trade-offs that come with selecting one of them for a particular task.
Evaluation of Eu Cohesion Policy Impact on Regional Convergence: Do Culture Differences Matter?
Authors: Butkus Mindaugas , Matuzevičiūtė Kristina
Published: June 2016

Attention to the harmonised economic growth by promoting regional economic convergence was paid in the 1960s, at the commencement of European economic integration. It served as a basis for initiation of programs intended to reduce disparities among regions. For the current programming period (2014-2020) over 350 billion euro was allocated to promote cohesion (more than 340 billion for 2007-2013 and about 213 billion for 2000-2006) and a considerable part of that funding went specially to promote regional convergence; therefore, the analysis of regional convergence in the EU countries is essential due to both economic and financial reasons. Regional policy can be considered successful if regional disparities are found to be decreasing; however, research on convergence/divergence issue has not provided any unambiguous conclusions. We aim to enrich this field of analysis by incorporating cultural dimension while analysing the factors influencing regional convergence. In order to identify a causal link between culture and economic outcomes, we define culture as the customary beliefs and values that ethnic, religious and social groups transmit almost unchanged from generation to generation. Our research hypothesis is that regional policy impact on regional convergence differs between groups of countries characterised by historically diverse cultural experience. Using panel data approach like FD and covering the two last programming periods along with a set of variables to control country-specific economic environment, we investigate whether the success of Cohesion policy has depended on cultural differences in the north, south, west and central-east groups of European countries.
Theoretical Aspects And Development Of The Mechanism For Risk Management In Small- And Medium-Sized Business
Authors: Lezgovko Aleksandra
Published: June 2016

Modern scientific research in the field of risk management is mainly devoted to general questions of the market theory of risk management, including qualitative risk analysis, protection of the rights of property owners and the study of the problems of selection of the best strategies for profitable market investments. The development of risk management mechanisms for small- and medium-sized businesses in Lithuania compared to other European markets is happening too slowly. The situation is aggravated by unstable situation of the field itself, corrupted officials and the lack of advanced control strategies for internal and external risk management in organisations. All these factors confirm the need to develop new management tools in the field of risk management at such enterprises. The aim of this article is to develop the mechanism of risk management of small and medium-sized businesses and justify it scientifically. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of objectivity using methods of comparative, logical, mathematical statistics and system-structural analysis.
Impact of XPM Crosstalk on SCM-Based RoF Systems
Authors: Nain Abhimanyu , Kumar Suresh , Singla Shelly
Published: June 2016

Crosstalk effects in wavelength multiplexed subcarrier multiplexing radio-over-fiber (RoF) transmission system due to cross phase modulation (XPM) are investigated in the present paper. The crosstalk has been evaluated including the effects of dispersion along with its higher order terms (HOD) and walk-off parameter for different modulation frequencies and transmission distances. Results show that the crosstalk level can be as high as –43 dB after transmission over a 25 km of fiber with two wavelengths and 15 dBm per wavelength of transmitted power. An increment of 7 dB is observed with increase in walk-off parameter and 5 dB with increase in dispersion parameter. The crosstalk also depends upon spacing between optical wavelengths. Simulative investigation shows that increase in separation between wavelengths degrade the overall system performance, which limits the number of optical wavelengths that can be used in transmission system.
The diagnostic value of serum CEA, NSE and MMP-9 for on-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Xu Liu , Lina Wang , Xuejun Yin
Published: June 2016

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. But no one type of serum biomarker was found to be highly sensitive and specific for detection of lung cancer at present. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate a diagnostic value of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), neuron specific enolase (NSE) and matrix metallo-proteinase (MMP-9) for non-small cell lung cancer. Thirty-six cases with pathology confirmed non-small cell lung cancer and thirty-two of subjects with benign lung disease were reviewed in our hospital and included in this retrospective study. The serum level of CEA, NSE and MMP-9 were tested and compared between the non-small cell lung cancer patients and benign lung disease. The diagnosis sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for serum CEA, NSE and MMP-9 were calculated with STATA10.0 software. The serum CEA, NSE and MMP-9 were 32.0±16.7 ng/mL, 51.6±68.3 ng/mL, 30.6 ±15.7 μg/L for the NSCLC patients and 15.1±10.9 ng/mL, 4.9±3.1 ng/mL, 9.3±5.9 μg/L for the benign lung disease patients with statistical difference (Pall<0.05); The diagnosis sensitivity, specificity and AUC were 80.0%, 72.2%, 0.84 for the serum CEA; 71.0%, 83.3% and 0.80 for NSE and 87.1%, 80.56%, 0.89 for MMP-9, respectively. The serum CEA, NSE and MMP-9 were generally elevated in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and could be used as potential bio-markers for non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis.
Expression analysis of the TGF-β/SMAD target genes in adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction
Authors: Peng Defeng , Fu Lin , Sun Guoping
Published: June 2016

The TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway is found to play pivotal roles in cell growth, differentiation and tumorigenesis. Its target genes are closely related to the biological behaviors of some malignancies. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of the target genes of this pathway, including growth-related c-myc, p21, p15, and metastasis-related Snail, ZEB1 and Twist1 in the adenocarcinomas of esophagogastric junction (AEJ) tissues. Clinical esophagogastric junction tissues from 25 cases of AEJ patients and 10 cases of non-tumorous tissues from the same site were collected. Quantitative real-time poly chain reactions were carried out to analyze the expression of the above referred target genes of TGF-β/SMAD pathway. A notable up-regulation in the mRNA expression of p15, Snail, ZEB1, down-regulation of c-myc, was found whereas there were no significant change of p21 and Twist1. The findings suggests that the TGF-β/SMAD pathway might be abnormally activated in AEJ since most of the target genes of this pathway exhibited altered expression at mRNA level.
Pathogenesis-oriented approaches for the management of corticosteroid-resistant or relapsedprimary immune thrombocytopenia
Authors: Liu Xin-guang , Hou Ming
Published: June 2016

Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a complex autoimmune disorder in which the patient’s immune system reacts with platelet autoantigens resulting in immune-mediated platelet destruction and/or suppression of platelet production. Corticosteroids can induce sustained remission rates in 50% to 75% of patients with active ITP. For these patients who are unresponsive to glucocorticoids, or relapsed after an initial response, multiple second-line treatment modalities can be chosen. However, how to make an optimal therapeutic strategy for a specific patient still remains a major challenge. As the pathogenetic heterogeneity of the ITP is increasingly identified, pathogenesis-oriented approach might offer an opportunity to improve the outcome of corticosteroid-resistant or relapsed ITP.
GSTP1 A>G polymorphism and chemosensitivity of osteosarcoma: A meta-analysis
Authors: Fengfeng Wu , Ruqing Ye , Juntao Xu
Published: June 2016

The association between GSTP1 A>G polymorphism and chemosensitivity of osteosarcoma is controversial according to previously published studies. We conducted this meta-analysis to further investigate the role of GSTP1 A>G genetic variation in response to chemotherapy resistance in patients with osteosarcoma. Using the electronic databases of Pubmed, Wanfang and CNIK were searched to find the studies related to the GSTP1 A>G polymorphism and chemosensitivity of osteosarcoma. The genotype of AA, AG and GG were extracted from the chemotherapy sensitivity and chemotherapy resistance group. The association between GSTP1 A>G polymorphism and chemosensitivity was calculated by STATA11.0 software. The correlation between GSTP1 A>G polymorphism and chemotherapy response was assessed by odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Four studies with 681 cases were finally included in this meta-analysis. The pooled data indicated that there was no significant association between GSTP1 A>G polymorphism and chemosensitivity in patients with osteosarcoma [Homozygous genetic model (GG vs AA): OR=0.53, 95%CI: 0.25-1.12, P=0.10; recessive genetic model (GG vs GA+AA): OR=0.61, 95%CI:0.34-1.11,P=0.11; and dominant genetic model (GG+AG vs AA): OR=0.67, 95%CI:0.42-1.07,P=0.10]. No correlation between GSTP1 A>G polymorphism and chemosensitivity was found according to this present meta-analysis. However, the small number of cases in each included study and significant statistical heterogeneity among the trials means the conclusion should be regarded as conservative.
A meta-analysis of adiponectin gene rs22411766 T>G polymorphism and ischemic stroke susceptibility
Authors: Xiuju Chen , Zhen Wang , Yanchao Shi
Published: June 2016

Several studies have investigated the correlation between adiponectin gene rs22411766 T>G polymorphism and ischemic stroke risk. However, the results were not conclusive with each other. Therefore, to overcome this obstacle, we performed this meta-analysis to further explicate the adiponectin gene rs22411766 T>G polymorphism and ischemic stroke susceptibility. Case-control or cohort studies focused on adiponectin gene rs22411766 T>G polymorphism and ischemic stroke risk were electronic searched in the databases of Medline, Pubmed, Cochrane library, Excerpta Medica database(EMBASE) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). All the potentially relevant studies were included in this meta-analysis. The association between adiponectin gene rs22411766 T>G polymorphism and ischemic stroke was expressed by odds ratio with its confidence interval. Publication bias has been assessed by begg’s funnel plot. All the analyses have been performed by Revman 5.1 statistical software. Finally, a total of six studies with 1,345 cases and 1,421 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Our results demonstrated that there was a significant association between adiponectin gene rs22411766 T>G polymorphism and ischemic stroke risk (p<0.05). People with G single nucleotide of adiponectin gene have the increased risk of developing ischemic stroke compared to T single nucleotide.
A case report of hereditary spherocytosis with concomitant chronic myelocytic leukemia
Authors: Xiaoqiu Wang , Bingmu Fang , Jinhong Jiang , Zhigang Qu , Guangli Ma , Yonghua Liu , Xiaoli Wang
Published: June 2016

Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) and Chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) are both life threatening hemotologic diseases. They are rarely seen to occur simultaneously in one individual patient. Here we demonstrate a case of HS associated with CML in this study. The patient is a young female, diagnosed with HS in 2005, and was given partial embolization of the splenic artery. She got significant remission after the procedure. In 2008, she was found abnormal in blood routine test, after bone marrow routine, chromosome and fusion gene tests, she was diagnosed with CML (chronic phase). She did not receive regular treatment until 3 months prior, and is currently being treated with Dasatimib. She achieved hematological remission, but had no significant improvement in chromosome and fusion gene figures. Due to her severe condition of hemolysis, a splenectomy or an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is considered.
A case of giant saphenous vein graft aneurysm followed serially after coronary artery bypass surgery
Authors: Takayama Tadateru , Akutsu Naotaka , Hiro Takafumi , Oya Toshiyuki , Fukamachi Daisuke , Haruta Hironori , Iida Korehito , Kougo Takaaki , Mineki Takashi , Nishida Toshihiko , Murata Nobuhiro , Oshima Toru , Hata Hiroaki , Shiono Motomi , Hirayama Atsushi
Published: June 2016

Saphenous vein graft aneurysm (SVGA) is one of the chronic complications after coronary aorta bypass grafting (CABG) and may be caused by atherosclerosis-like phenomena of the vein graft, weakness around the vein valve, rupturing of the suture of the graft anastomosis, or perioperative graft injury. We describe a case of a large, growing saphenous vein graft aneurysm that was followed serially by chest radiography and computed tomography. Eighteen years after CABG, an SVGA (23 × 24 mm) was incidentally detected. The patient was asymptomatic and was followed conservatively. Four years later, coronary computed tomographic angiography showed that the giant aneurysm had grown to 52.1 by 63.8 mm and revealed a second, smaller aneurysm. Finally, the SVG was ultimately resected without bypass via off-pump surgery. Therefore, this case suggested that aggressive treatment that includes surgical intervention should be considered before the aneurysm becomes larger, even if it is asymptomatic.
Meningioma recurrence
Authors: Hortobágyi Tibor , Bencze János , Varkoly Gréta , Kouhsari Mahan C , Klekner Álmos
Published: June 2016

Meningioma accounts for more than 30% of all intracranial tumours. It affects mainly the elderly above the age of 60, at a female:male ratio of 3:2. The prognosis is variable: it is usually favourable with no progression in tumour grade and no recurrence in WHO grade 1 tumours. However, a minority of tumours represent atypical (grade 2) or anaplastic (grade 3) meningiomas; this heterogeneity is also reflected in histopathological appearances. Irrespective of the grade, the size of the tumour and the localisation may have severe, sometimes lethal consequences. Following neurosurgical interventions to remove the tumour, recurrence and progression in WHO grade may occur. Our knowledge on predisposing histomorphological and molecular factors of recurrence is rather limited. These can be classified as I) demographic II) environmental, III) genetic and epigenetic IV) imaging, V) neuropathological, and VI) neurosurgical. In view of the complex background of tumour recurrence, the recognition of often subtle signs of increased risk of recurrence requires close collaboration of experts from several medical specialties. This multidisciplinary approach results in better therapy and fewer complications related to tumour recurrence.
Delayed recurrent nerve paralysis following post-traumatic aortic pseudoaneurysm
Authors: Mesolella Massimo , Ricciardiello Filippo , Tafuri Domenico , Varriale Roberto , Testa Domenico
Published: June 2016

Blunt trauma to the neck or to the chest are increasingly observed in the emergency clinical practice. They usually follow motor vehicle accidents or may be work or sports related. A wide pattern of clinical presentation can be potentially encountered. We report the uncommon case of a patient who was referred to our observation presenting with hoarseness and disphagia. Twenty days before he had sustained a car accident with trauma to the chest, neck and the mandible. Laryngoscopy showed a left recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy. Further otolaryngo-logical examination showed no other abnormality. At CT and MR imaging a post-traumatic aortic pseudoaneurysm was revealed. The aortic pseudoaneurysm was consequently repaired by implantation of an endovascular stent graft under local anesthesia. The patient was discharged 10 days later. At 30-days follow-up laryngoscopy the left vocal cord palsy was completely resolved.

Hoarseness associated with a dilated left atrium in a patient with mitral valve stenosis was initially described by Ortner more than a century ago. Since then several non malignant, cardiovascular, intrathoracic disease that results in embarrassment from recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy usually by stretching, pulling or compression; thus, the correlations of these pathologies was termed as cardiovocal syndrome or Ortner’s syndrome. The reported case illustrates that life-threatening cardiovascular comorbidities can cause hoarseness and that an impaired recurrent laryngeal nerve might be correctable.
Correlation analysis of VHL and Jade-1 gene expression in human renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Xiao-fen Wu , Ting Chen , Jie Li , Deng-yang Ma , Qing-feng Zhu , Xin Lian
Published: June 2016

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation of von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor (VHL) mRNA expression and jade family PHD finger 1 (Jade-1) gene expression in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Another aim of this study was to analyze the relationship of these two genes with clinicalpathological features of the RCC patients. Methods: A total of 75 RCC patients who received surgically therapy in our hospital were included. All patients had complete pathological data. The expression of VHL/Jade-1 was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: VHL and Jade-1 were both obviously downregulated in RCC tissues than that of the matched normal tissues, and both negatively correlated with tumor size as well as tumor grade. And we found a fine association of VHL gene expression with Jade-1. Conclusion: VHL/Jade-1 exhibited significantly decreased expression in RCC tissues and was closely related to the clinical prognosis of patients. The finding of VHL expression positively correlated with Jade-1 expression shed light and provided crucial evidence on the connection of VHL protein with Wnt/b-catenin pathway.
Baltic Sea datums and their unification as a basis for coastal and seabed studies
Authors: Wolski Tomasz , Wiśniewski Bernard , Musielak Stanisław
Published: June 2016

This paper presents examples of application of a common reference datum, such as NAP, within the elevation EVRS reference system for the Baltic Sea. A common reference datum allowed for setting the geographical pattern of occurrence of extreme sea levels in the Baltic Sea. The eastern Baltic coasts exposed to western air masses are vulnerable to extreme hydrological events (the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Bothnia). On the contrary, the Swedish coasts of the central and northern Baltic are the least threatened by extreme sea levels. The south-western coasts of the Baltic Sea (the Bay of Mecklenburg and the Bay of Kiel) cover the basins with the most frequent and the most severe storm falls and extremely low sea levels. Demonstration of the Baltic surface deformation magnitude during a storm event is another example of NAP application. The instantaneous height difference between the north-eastern and southwestern coasts was 356 cm, which resulted from the negative impact of pressure (water cushion) induced by a dynamic and deep low-pressure system moving through the Baltic Sea. The common reference datum allowed for visualization of the so-called “theoretical water” distribution which has a wide application in the hydraulic engineering within the coastal zone. In addition, the study provides examples of differences that may be observed during storm events between the real sea-level data and the hydrodynamic model forecast. This is of great practical significance in terms of forecasting storm surges in the Baltic Sea.
Scleractinian diversity in the Dardanelles and Marmara Sea (Turkey): morphology, ecology and distributional patterns
Authors: Özalp H. Bariş , Alparslan Mustafa
Published: June 2016

Although marine research on anthozoans began at the end of the 1800s with some reports on the occurrence in Turkey, comprehensive knowledge about their biotic features remains limited. This study is the first detailed diversity assessment of scleractinian corals inhabiting the Turkish waters. The surveys conducted on rocky habitats between 2011 and 2014 around the Dardanelles and Marmara Sea provided the distributional data of nine corals, five of which (Caryophyllia inornata, Paracyathus pulchellus, Polycyathus muellerae, Phyllangia mouchezii, Leptopsammia pruvoti) were recorded for the first time from the above-mentioned regions. During the surveys carried out at 200 stations down to 50 m depth, a total of 1072 scuba dives were made and the ecological features of habitats, physical characteristics of coral species and an updated list of corals as a contribution to the scleractinian fauna of Turkey were provided. The abundance rate of Polycyathus muellerae and Cladocora caespitosa in Eceabat and Dardanos regions was higher than at the other stations.
Russia’s backyard – unresolved conflicts in the Caucasus
Authors: Sonnleitner Dominik
Published: June 2016

The Caucasus played a prominent role in the Russian foreign policy for a long time, which has not changed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Beginning with four general hypothesis about Russia’s interests in its “near abroad” the essays gives an insights in the current status and developments in the relations between Russia and its southern neighbors Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. A special focus is on the frozen conflicts in South Ossetia and Naghorno-Karabakh and Russia’s role in these conflicts.
The Construction of Crisis: The ‘internal‑identitarian’ nexus in Russian‑European relations and its significance beyond the Ukraine crisis
Authors: Pieper Moritz
Published: June 2016

Since 2012 and with Putin’s return to the presidency, Russian politics underwent a process of securitization of domestic politics. This laid the groundwork for the crisis in European-Russian relations that culminated in the ‘Ukraine crisis’ from late 2013. This article will trace the domestic determinants of Russian foreign policy choices and narratives since 2012 that help explain the political deadlock between ‘the West’ and Russia over the European Union’s ‘Eastern Partnership’. It will thereby also analyze the effects for the Russian perception of agency between the US and the EU as well as path dependencies that European Union sanctions have created. Not only Russia’s relationship with the West is at stake in this stand-off. The ‘Ukraine crisis’ has developed into a fundamental systemic crisis of the Putinite regime. Only if Putin’s ‘social contract’, which had guaranteed economic well-being in exchange for political inactivity, was to be eroded by sanctions imposed on Russia, the ‘civilizational’ narrative of Russian exclusivity would be endangered. A new social contract will be a generational task and will have to take stock of the nexus between internal determinants and identitarian foreign policy choices. It will also be the first step in recalibrating European-Russia relations.
Lead Polluted Hotspot: Environmental Implication of Unplanned Industrial Development
Authors: Rikta Sharmin Yousuf , Rahaman Md. Shiblur , Rahman Md. Mostafizur , Tareq Shafi Mohammad
Published: June 2016

In Rayer Bazaar, different industries like tannery, plastic, textile, battery recycling industry etc. are increasing rapidly without considering the environmental issues and deterioration. Since chromium (Cr) pollution of this area has been widely investigated due to the presence of tannery industries, this study was focused on examining other environmental factors. Field visits and analytical results of semi-quantitative and quantitative analysis as well as three dimensional excitation emission matrix spectroscopy (3DEEM) of water, soil and vegetative tissues indicated that, the area is highly polluted in term of different environmental parameters and metal content. The extremely high lead (Pb) content of the soil (1171.7 mg/kg in summer, 2157.1 mg/kg in winter) and blackish materials of vegetative tissues (6585.6 mg/kg in summer, 1974.1 mg/kg in winter) indicates excessive lead deposition of this area that makes it a lead polluted hotspot. One of the possible sources of the extremely high lead concentration is adjacent battery recycling industry and/or other industries surrounding this area. So it is urgent to take necessary steps to find out immediate options for possible mitigation.