bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Histo-Blood Group Antigen-Like Substances of Human Enteric Bacteria as Specific Adsorbents for Human Noroviruses
Authors: Miura Takayuki , Sano Daisuke , Suenaga Atsushi , Yoshimura Takeshi , Fuzawa Miyu , Nakagomi Toyoko , Nakagomi Osamu , Okabe Satoshi
Published: June 2013

Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) have been suggested to be receptors or coreceptors for human noroviruses (HuNoVs) expressed on the intestinal epithelium. We isolated an enteric bacterium strain (SENG-6), closely related to
Enterobacter cloacae
, bearing HBGA-like substances from a fecal sample of a healthy individual by using a biopanning technique with anti-HBGA antibodies. The binding capacities of four genotypes of norovirus-like particles (NoVLPs) to
Enterobacter
sp. SENG-6 cells were confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that NoVLPs bound mainly to extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of
Enterobacter
sp. SENG-6, where the HBGA-like substances were localized. EPS that contained HBGA-like substances extracted from
Enterobacter
sp. SENG-6 was shown by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to be capable of binding to NoVLPs of a GI.1 wild-type strain (8fIIa) and a GII.6 strain that can recognize A antigen but not to an NoVLP GI.1 mutant strain (W375A) that loses the ability to bind to A antigen. Enzymatic cleavage of terminal
N
-acetyl-galactosamine residues in the bacterial EPS weakened bacterial EPS binding to the GI.1 wild-type strain (8fIIa). These results indicate that A-like substances in the bacterial EPS play a key role in binding to NoVLPs. Since the specific binding of HuNoVs to HBGA-positive enteric bacteria is likely to affect the transmission and infection processes of HuNoVs in their hosts and in the environment, further studies of human enteric bacteria and their binding capacity to HuNoVs will provide a new scientific platform for understanding interactions between two types of microbes that were previously regarded as biologically unrelated.
The Membrane-Proximal “Stem” Region Increases the Stability of the Flavivirus E Protein Postfusion Trimer and Modulates Its Structure
Authors: Stiasny Karin , Kiermayr Stefan , Bernhart Andrea , Heinz Franz X.
Published: June 2013

The flavivirus fusion protein E contains a “stem” region which is hypothesized to be crucial for driving fusion. This sequence element connects the ectodomain to the membrane anchor, and its structure in the trimeric postfusion conformation is still poorly defined. Using E trimers of tick-borne encephalitis virus with stem truncations of different lengths, we show that the N-terminal part of the stem increases trimer stability and also modulates the trimer structure outside the stem interaction site.
Functional characteristics of alpha adrenergic and endothelinergic receptors in pressurized rat mesenteric veins
Authors: Enouri Saad , Monteith Gabrielle , Johnson Ron
Published: June 2013

Increasing transmural pressure can alter the functional role of post-junctional receptor subtypes. Under conditions of changing transmural pressure, we investigated the relative contributions of alpha adrenergic (α-ARs) and endothelinergic receptors to norepinephrine (NE) and endothelin (ET-1) contractile responses, respectively, in third-order rat mesenteric small veins (MSV) and arteries (MSA). NE, phenylephrine (PE), clonidine, and ET-1 concentration–response curves were constructed in the absence and presence of α-adrenergic and ET-1 receptor antagonists, respectively. MSV were more sensitive to NE, PE, and ET-1 compared with MSA. The sensitivity of MSV to NE was higher than that to PE. Phentolamine (α1-AR/α2-AR antagonist) and prazosin (α1-AR antagonist) completely abolished NE responses. Yohimbine (α2-AR antagonist) reduced NE and clonidine contractile responses in MSV. Clonidine contractile responses were reduced by prazosin in MSA. In MSA and MSV, BQ-610 (ETA receptor antagonist) but not BQ-788 (ETB receptor antagonist) reduced ET-1 contractile responses. Combined application of BQ-610 and BQ-788 caused further reduction in ET-1 concentration–response curves obtained in MSV. These results suggest that in addition to α1-ARs and ETA receptors, α2-ARs and ETB receptors also mediate NE and ET-1 contractile responses in MSV, respectively, with no change in the participation of these receptors as transmural pressure is increased.
Co-administration of aqueous ginseng extract with tobramycin stimulates the pro-inflammatory response and promotes the killing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lungs of infected rats
Authors: Alipour Misagh , Omri Abdelwahab , Lui Edmund M.K. , Suntres Zacharias E.
Published: June 2013

North American ginseng is known to have immunomodulatory and antipseudomonal properties in vitro. In this study we investigated the effects of aqueous ginseng extract, either alone or in a combination with the antibiotic tobramycin, in an animal model of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection. The lungs of male rats (n = 5) were infected with P. aeruginosa (2 × 108 cfu/mL) in agar-beads by intratracheal instillation. Starting on day 7 post-infection, animals were treated daily for 3 consecutive days with saline, tobramycin (300 μg/kg body mass, intratracheal), and (or) ginseng (100 mg/kg body mass, subcutaneous); animals were sacrificed 24 h after the third drug treatment. Lung bacteria counts, cytokine levels in sera, and lung histopathology were examined. The treatment of infected animals with tobramycin [6.6 × 104 colony forming units (cfu)], ginseng (5.3 × 104 cfu), or tobramycin plus ginseng (2.0 × 103 cfu) lessened the lung infection compared with the control group (saline treated) (6.0 × 106 cfu). The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-12p70, IFN-γ, GM-CSF, TNF-α) in infected animals were significantly increased with co-treatment of ginseng plus tobramycin. These data suggest that co-administration of aqueous ginseng extract and tobramycin stimulated the pro-inflammatory response and promoted the killing of P. aeruginosa.
COLOR IMAGE ENCRYPTION BASED ON TWO-DIMENSIONAL CELLULAR AUTOMATA
Authors: PING PING , XU FENG , WANG ZHI-JIAN
Published: June 2013

Cellular automaton (CA) has a lot of inherent features, such as simple regular structure, local interaction, random-like behavior and massive parallelism, which make it a good candidate to design cryptosystems. Therefore, a number of CA-based image encryption systems have been proposed, though the drawbacks of small key space and weak security in one-dimensional (1D) CA cryptosystems are obvious. In this paper, a novel image encryption scheme is presented using a two-dimensional (2D) CA with nonlinear balanced rules. During the whole process of encryption, the confusion operation is performed by the nonlinear rule of CA, while the diffusion operation is achieved by the local interactions among cells. So confusion and diffusion are well integrated in our proposed scheme. The corresponding simulations and analyses illustrate that the scheme has quite prominent cryptographic properties as well as high security.
A SEQUENTIAL SUBSPACE PROJECTION METHOD FOR LINEAR SYMMETRIC EIGENVALUE PROBLEM
Authors: LIU XIN , HAO CHUNLIN , CHENG MINGHOU
Published: June 2013

In this paper, we introduce a geometric model for linear symmetric eigenvalue problem, which is motivated by the fact that any eigenvalue of a symmetric positive definite matrix A is the reciprocal of the square length of an axis of the ellipsoid xTAx = 1. Hence, to find the largest eigenvalue is equivalent to calculate the shortest axis of the corresponding ellipsoid. Two sequential subspace projection algorithms based on this idea are proposed, and we establish the global convergence and local linear convergence rate of our proposed algorithms. Numerical experiments demonstrate that our algorithm outperforms the MATLAB built-in solver "EIGS" which calls the famous package "ARPACK".
A CONIC AFFINE SCALING DOGLEG METHOD FOR NONLINEAR OPTIMIZATION WITH BOUND CONSTRAINTS
Authors: ZHAO LIJUAN , SUN WENYU
Published: June 2013

The conic model proposed by Davidon (1980) [Davidon, WC (1980). Conic approximations and collinear scalings for optimizers. SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis, 17, 268–281.] is an extension of quadratic model incorporating more information than quadratic model. In this paper, we propose a conic affine scaling dogleg method for bound constrained optimization. Under some mild conditions, the sequence generated by our algorithm converges to a stationary point. Numerical tests on a series of standard testing problems confirm the efficiency of the method.
ELECTROWEAK CORRECTIONS TO THE NEUTRALINO PAIR PRODUCTION AT CERN LHC
Authors: AHMADOV A. I. , DEMIRCI M.
Published: June 2013

We apply the leading and subleading electroweak (EW) corrections to the Drell–Yan process of the neutralino pair production at proton–proton collision, in order to calculate the effects of these corrections on the neutralino pair production at the LHC. We provide an analysis of the dependence of the Born cross-sections for [Formula: see text] and the EW corrections to this process, on the center-of-mass energy [Formula: see text], on the M2–μ mass plane and on the squark mass for the three different scenarios. The numerical results show that the relative correction can be reached to the few tens of percent level as the increment of the center-of-mass energy, and the evaluation of EW corrections is a crucial task for all accurate measurements of the neutralino pair production processes.
CATALYTIC MECHANISM OF ALL-TRANS-RETINOIC ACID 4-HYDROXYLATION MEDIATED BY CYTOCHROME P450 2C8: HOW DOES ARGININE 241 AFFECT THEC–HBOND ACTIVATION?
Authors: LI XIAO-XI , ZHANG JI-LONG , ZHENG QING-CHUAN , CUI YING-LU , NIU RUI-JUAN , ZHANG HONG-XING , SUN CHIA-CHUNG
Published: June 2013

Experiments revealed that cytochrome P450 2C8 enzyme (CYP2C8) has two distinct substrate binding sites to the physiologically important molecules, retinoic acids, and the main difference between these two binding sites is whether there is a salt bridge interaction between the anionic carboxylate tail of retinoic acids and the surrounding protein environment. However, the influence of such salt bridge interaction toward catalysis is still elusive. In the present paper, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed to research the reaction mechanism of all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) 4-hydroxylation mediated by CYP2C8. Our DFT calculations revealed that such salt bridge interaction has obvious effects on the reaction mechanism of atRA 4-hydroxylation. In the binding site containing a salt bridge interaction between the anionic carboxylate tail of atRA and the cationic guanidine group of Arg241, C – H bond activation proceeds via a normal hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) mechanism; in the other site without this salt bridge interaction, however, C – H bond activation is achieved via a stepwise electron transfer and hydrogen atom transfer, thus, a novel ET/HAT mechanism. These findings enrich the mechanism patterns of C – H bond activation catalyzed by metalloenzymes and their biomimetics. Meanwhile, the self-interaction error (SIE) problem encountered during our calculations in vacuum was affected and removed by the inclusion of an external electric field in the calculations.
ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY IN AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS: EXTENDING THE GEM METHODOLOGY
Authors: FRANKLIN REBECCA J. , MORRIS MICHAEL H. , WEBB JUSTIN W.
Published: June 2013

Drawing on institutional theory and using a methodology adapted from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), early stage entrepreneurial activities are examined within American Indian nations. Examining a context within a larger institutional context, comparisons are made between three American Indian nations and the United States. Patterns are identified regarding total entrepreneurial activity (TEA), nascent entrepreneurship, business discontinuation and new and established business rates. Additional analyses are conducted of individual-level variables within American Indian nations including location, self-efficacy and other variables in relation to nascent entrepreneurship and business ownership. Implications are drawn for tribal entrepreneurship development and further extension of the GEM methodology.
IDENTIFYING HIGH POTENTIAL ENTREPRENEURS IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: A CLUSTER ANALYSIS OF UGANDAN ENTREPRENEURS
Authors: SSERWANGA ARTHUR , ROOKS GERRIT
Published: June 2013

It has often been argued that entrepreneurs in developing countries can be classified as either "survival" or "growth-oriented." However, there is little systematic knowledge about classification of entrepreneurs in developing countries. We propose that what we call high potential entrepreneurs can be distinguished from low potential entrepreneurs, given that high potential entrepreneurs recognize and effectively exploit opportunities. In this paper we classify entrepreneurs using three core entrepreneurial activities; opportunity recognition, planning and innovativeness. A cluster analysis of about 700 Ugandan entrepreneurs yielded two natural, distinct and internally homogeneous groups of high potential and low potential entrepreneurship.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RURAL AMERICA ACROSS TYPOLOGIES, GENDER AND MOTIVATION
Authors: FIGUEROA-ARMIJOS MARIA , JOHNSON THOMAS G.
Published: June 2013

This study examines the effect of rurality on early-stage necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship among women and men in America from three rural typology perspectives. To achieve this objective, we build a dataset that combines GEM U.S. individual data for 2005—2010 and county economic characteristics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. We use three typologies to define rurality and compare the results, the OMB metro-nonmetro classification system (2003), Isserman (2005) and county population density. We further analyze this data in subsamples by gender using cross-section time-series rare events logistic regression with clustered robust errors and year fixed effects. Key findings indicate the three rural typologies show similar results in magnitude, direction and significance, although population density shows sensitivity to the rurality variable and subsamples. Also, compared to women in OMB metro counties in America, women who live in OMB nonmetro counties have a higher probability of engaging in opportunity entrepreneurship. This probability increases with college education and decreases if the woman lives alone or is retired. Among men, living in OMB nonmetro or Isserman rural counties also increases their probability of engaging in opportunity entrepreneurship. College education and being African American also increases this probability. Predictors of necessity entrepreneurship are having an income below 50,000 among women and being employed part time among men.
NONINVASIVE OPTICAL IMAGING OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS INFECTION IN VIVO USING AN ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDE FRAGMENT BASED NEAR-INFRARED FLUORESCENT PROBES
Authors: LIU CUICUI , GU YUEQING
Published: June 2013

The diagnosis of bacterial infections remains a major challenge in medicine. Optical imaging of bacterial infection in living animals is usually conducted with genetic reporters such as light-emitting enzymes or fluorescent proteins. However, there are many circumstances where genetic reporters are not applicable, and there is an urgent need for exogenous synthetic probes that can selectively target bacteria. Optical imaging of bacteria in vivo is much less developed than methods such as radioimaging and MRI. Furthermore near-infrared (NIR) dyes with emission wavelengths in the region of 650–900 nm can propagate through two or more centimeters of tissue and may enable deeper tissue imaging if sensitive detection techniques are employed. Here we constructed an antimicrobial peptide fragment UBI29-41-based near-infrared fluorescent imaging probe. The probe is composed of UBI29-41 conjugated to a near infrared dye ICG-Der-02. UBI29-41 is a cationic antimicrobial peptide that targets the anionic surfaces of bacterial cells. The probe allows detection of Staphylococcus aureus infection (5 × 107 cells) in a mouse local infection model using whole animal near-infrared fluorescence imaging. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the UBI29-41-based imaging probe can selectively accumulate within bacteria. The significantly higher accumulation in bacterial infection suggests that UBI29-41-based imaging probe may be a promising imaging agent to detect bacterial infections.
Intradiverticular Ampulla of Vater: Personal Experience at ERCP
Authors: Geraci Girolamo , Modica Giuseppe , Sciumè Carmelo , Sciuto Antonio
Published: June 2013

Introduction. Conflicting results have been reported about the true impact of intradiverticula ampulla (IA) on the technical success and complication rate of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Patients. A total of 500 patients who underwent ERCP were divided into two groups according to the presence (group A, 81 patients) or absence (group B, 419 patients) of IA. Success rate, difficulty at cannulation, findings at ERCP, and procedure-related complications were retrospectively reviewed. Results. Successful cannulation was achieved in 100% of group A patients compared to 98% of group B patients (P = ns). There was a significant difference in the type of cannulation that was routinary in group B (), while requiring guidewire in group A (). Cholangitis (), microstones (), dilated common bile duct without stones (), stone recurrence (), and transient postprocedure hyperamylasemia () were more frequently observed in group A. There was no significant difference in complication rate between both groups. Conclusions. The finding of an IA at ERCP should not be considered a predictor for failed cannulation. IA is associated with post-ERCP transient hyperamylasemia and is a risk factor for biliary stone disease and its recurrence.
Specific Oral Tolerance Induction Using IFN-Gamma in 2 Cases of Food-Dependent Exercise-Induced Anaphylaxis
Authors: Noh Geunwoong , Lee Jae Ho
Published: June 2013

Anaphylaxis induced by exercise after the intake of certain foods is referred to as food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (FDEIA). Only the preventive medication such as oral sodium cromoglycate and oral combined cetirizine-montelukast was tried in FDEIA. Specific oral tolerance induction (SOTI) using IFN-gamma was tried in 2 cases of FDEIA for wheat. Merely, exercise accompanied every treatment just after the intake of allergenic foods during treatment. Patients acquired tolerance for wheat in both cases successfully. After treatment, two patients take wheat in their food living freely. Conclusively, SOTI using IFN-gamma was effective as the causative treatment for allergenic foods in FDEIA.
Acupuncture for Depression: Patterns of Diagnosis and Treatment within a Randomised Controlled Trial
Authors: MacPherson H. , Elliot B. , Hopton A. , Lansdown H. , Richmond S.
Published: June 2013

Background. In a large randomised controlled trial of acupuncture, counselling, or usual care for depression, we document the acupuncture intervention and explore the relationship between traditional acupuncture diagnosis and outcome.Methods. Patients who were continuing to experience depression were recruited from primary care to the ACUDep trial (n=755). Practitioners documented for each patient the traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis, the points needled, and additional components of the treatment, such as lifestyle advice, as recommended by the STRICTA guidelines.Results. Over an 18-month period, 23 acupuncturists delivered 2741 treatments to 266 patients, an average of 10 sessions per patient. The primary and secondary zang fu syndromes were identified for 99% of patients. When combining primary and secondary diagnoses, there was a predominant Liver Qi Stagnation cluster (66% of patients) and a Spleen Deficiency cluster (34%). Practitioners sought de qi responses 96% of the time. Lifestyle advice was given to 66% of patients, most commonly dietary. When comparing patient outcomes, no significant differences were found between the two main syndrome clusters.Conclusion. In this large-scale trial, our documentation of diagnosis and treatment provides a useful snapshot of common patterns that patients present with when continuing to experience depression after consulting in primary care.
Inhibitory Effect of Herbal Remedy PERVIVO and Anti-Inflammatory Drug Sulindac on L-1 Sarcoma Tumor Growth and Tumor Angiogenesis in Balb/c Mice
Authors: Skopiński P. , Bałan B. J. , Kocik J. , Zdanowski R. , Lewicki S. , Niemcewicz M. , Gawrychowski K. , Skopińska-Różewska E. , Stankiewicz W.
Published: June 2013

Anticancer activity of many herbs was observed for hundreds of years. They act as modifiers of biologic response, and their effectiveness may be increased by combining multiple herbal extracts . PERVIVO, traditional digestive herbal remedy, contains some of them, and we previously described its antiangiogenic activity. Numerous studies documented anticancer effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. We were the first to show that sulindac and its metabolites inhibit angiogenesis. In the present paper the combinedin vivoeffect of multicomponent herbal remedy PERVIVO and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug sulindac on tumor growth, tumor angiogenesis, and tumor volume in Balb/c mice was studied. These effects were checked after grafting cells collected from syngeneic sarcoma L-1 tumors into mice skin. The strongest inhibitory effect was observed in experimental groups treated with PERVIVO and sulindac together. The results of our investigation showed that combined effect of examined drugs may be the best way to get the strongest antiangiogenic and antitumor effect.
Partnership Selection Involving Mixed Types of Uncertain Preferences
Authors: Ma Li-Ching
Published: June 2013

Partnership selection is an important issue in management science. This study proposes a general model based on mixed integer programming and goal-programming analytic hierarchy process (GP-AHP) to solve partnership selection problems involving mixed types of uncertain or inconsistent preferences. The proposed approach is designed to deal with crisp, interval, step, fuzzy, or mixed comparison preferences, derive crisp priorities, and improve multiple solution problems. The degree of fulfillment of a decision maker’s preferences is also taken into account. The results show that the proposed approach keeps more solution ratios within the given preferred intervals and yields less deviation. In addition, the proposed approach can treat incomplete preference matrices with flexibility in reducing the number of pairwise comparisons required and can also be conveniently developed into a decision support system.
Polymeric Micelles, a Promising Drug Delivery System to Enhance Bioavailability of Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs
Authors: Xu Wei , Ling Peixue , Zhang Tianmin
Published: June 2013

Oral administration is the most commonly used and readily accepted form of drug delivery; however, it is find that many drugs are difficult to attain enough bioavailability when administered via this route. Polymeric micelles (PMs) can overcome some limitations of the oral delivery acting as carriers able to enhance drug absorption, by providing (1) protection of the loaded drug from the harsh environment of the GI tract, (2) release of the drug in a controlled manner at target sites, (3) prolongation of the residence time in the gut by mucoadhesion, and (4) inhibition of efflux pumps to improve the drug accumulation. To explain the mechanisms for enhancement of oral bioavailability, we discussed the special stability of PMs, the controlled release properties of pH-sensitive PMs, the prolongation of residence time with mucoadhesive PMs, and the P-gp inhibitors commonly used in PMs, respectively. The primary purpose of this paper is to illustrate the potential of PMs for delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs with bioavailability being well maintained.
Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Adolescents: A Systematic Review
Authors: Bibiloni Maria del Mar , Pons Antoni , Tur Josep A.
Published: June 2013

Objective. To review the extant literature on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescents (10–19 years old) of both sexes.Design. The search was carried out using Medline and Scopus considering articles published from the establishment of the databanks until June 7, 2012. Data on the prevalence of children being overweight and obese from the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) website was also reviewed. Only original articles and one National Health Report were considered. Forty studies met the inclusion criteria.Results. Twenty-five of these studies were nationally representative, and ten countries were represented only by regional data.Conclusions. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents worldwide is high, and obesity is higher among boys. The IOTF criterion is the most frequently used method to classify adolescents as overweighed or obese in public health research.
Successful Therapy of Ventricular Rupture by Percutaneous Intrapericardial Instillation of Fibrin Glue: A Case Report
Authors: Willecke Florian , Bode Christoph , Zirlik Andreas
Published: June 2013

Rupture of the ventricular myocardium is an often lethal complication after myocardial infarction. Due to the dramatic hemodynamics and the short time frame between ventricular rupture and surgical closure of the defect, additional therapeutic strategies are needed. Here we report the successful therapy of ventricular rupture by percutaneous intrapericardial instillation of fibrin glue in a 72-year-old male patient with postinfarct angina secondary to anterior myocardial infarction.
Changes in the Cochlear Vasculature and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Its Receptors in the Aging C57 Mouse Cochlea
Authors: Clinkard David , Amoodi Hosam , Kandasamy Thileep , Grewal Amandeep S. , Chen Stephen , Qian Wei , Chen Joseph M. , Harrison Robert V. , Lin Vincent Y. W.
Published: June 2013

Introduction. Previous work has shown a strong association between alterations in cochlear vasculature, aging, and the development of presbycusis. The important role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors Flt-1 and Flk-1 in angiogenesis suggests a potential role for involvement in this process. The aim of this study was to characterize vascular structure and VEGF and its' receptors in young and old C57 Mice. Methods. Young (4 weeks, n = 14) and aged (32–36 weeks, n = 14) C57BL/6 mice were used. Hearing was evaluated using auditory brainstem response. Cochleas were characterized with qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and gross histological quantification. Results. Old C57 mice demonstrated significantly decreased strial area, blood vessel number, luminal size, and luminal area normalized to strial area (vascularity). qRT-PCR showed a significant upregulation of Flt-1, a VEGF receptor, in older animals. No differences were found in VEGF-A or Flk-1. Immunohistochemistry did not show any differences in staining intensity or area with age or cochlear turn location. Conclusion. The marked deafness of aged C57 mice could be in part meditated by loss of vascular development and alterations in VEGF signaling.
Transverse Spin Structure Function
Authors: Bagherpour H. , Saeedhosseini M.
Published: June 2013

The transverse spin-dependent nucleon structure function at large is computed within the Wandzura-Wilczek relation, using NLO fit. Also we investigate the twist-3 contribution of via calculating . It turns out that although the twist-3 part of can be negligible for DIS processes, it has a significant value in resonance region.
On Partial Complete Controllability of Semilinear Systems
Authors: Bashirov Agamirza E. , Jneid Maher
Published: June 2013

Many control systems can be written as a first-order differential equation if the state space enlarged. Therefore, general conditions on controllability, stated for the first-order differential equations, are too strong for these systems. For such systems partial controllability concepts, which assume the original state space, are more suitable. In this paper, a sufficient condition for the partial complete controllability of semilinear control system is proved. The result is demonstrated through examples.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma More Than 3 cm in Diameter: A Systematic Review of Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization Plus Percutaneous Ethanol Injection versus Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization Alone
Authors: Wang Shiying , Zhuang Liping , Meng Zhiqiang
Published: June 2013

Objective. To identify the efficiency and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with percutaneous ethanol (PEI) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) more than 3 cm in diameter in comparison with those of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization monotherapy. Methods. All databases were searched up to February 22, 2013. The literature retrieval was conducted through Pubmed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. We also searched Chinese databases, including Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biology Medicine (CBM), Wanfang database, and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals without language limitations. Results. Based on the criteria, we found 12 RCTs including 825 patients. Our results showed that TACE combined with PEI therapy compared with TACE monotherapy improved overall survival and tumor response. Conclusion. The combination of TACE and PEI compared with TACE monotherapy improved overall survival rates and tumor response of patients with large HCC. Besides, larger and more methodologically rigorous clinical trials are needed to confirm this outcome.
Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound of a Gallbladder Lesion in a Patient with a History of Renal Cell and Rectal Cancer
Authors: Reiser Markus , Oehmen Frank , Walter Hajo , Büsing Martin
Published: June 2013

The gallbladder is an uncommon site of metastatic cancer. Although ultrasound can be regarded as a first line investigation for the detection of gallbladder lesions, differentiation between benign and malignant tumors usually requires resection. Real-time contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a well-established technique for the classification of liver, pancreatic, and renal diseases (Weskott, 2008). The application of CEUS in the diagnosis of gallbladder tumors has rarely been described. We report the application of contrast enhanced ultrasound for the characterization of a gallbladder lesion in a 63-year-old patient with a history of renal cell and rectal cancer.
A PEM Fuel Cell Diagnostic System Using the Extension Theory
Authors: Hsieh Chin-Tsung , Wang Meng-Hui , Kuo Ying-Piao
Published: June 2013

Composed of a single proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a sensor module, and a ZigBee wireless communication module, a fault diagnostic system is proposed in this work to monitor the operation of a fuel cell system. Accordingly, such quantities as cell's output voltage, current, operating temperature, and pressures of gases supplied are monitored. Subsequently, an extension matter-element model is built according to malfunctions of the fuel cell system, which are further categorized into 7 types, each with 12 sorts of characteristics. An extension evaluation method is then directly applied to diagnose such fuel cell system. A human machine interface built under LabVIEW 2009 is incorporated in such a way that a fault(s) can be detected and fixed in a timely manner such that the life cycle of such fuel cell system can be extended.
Geometrothermodynamics of Myers-Perry Black Holes
Authors: Bravetti Alessandro , Momeni Davood , Myrzakulov Ratbay , Altaibayeva Aziza
Published: June 2013

We consider the thermodynamics and geometrothermodynamics of the Myers-Perry black holes in five dimensions for three different cases, depending on the values of the angular momenta. We follow Davies approach to study the thermodynamics of black holes and find a nontrivial thermodynamic structure in all cases, which is fully reproduced by the analysis performed with the techniques of Geometrothermodynamics. Moreover, we observe that in the cases when only one angular momentum is present or the two angular momenta are fixed to be equal, that is, when the thermodynamic system is two dimensional, there is a complete agreement between the divergences of the generalized susceptibilities and the singularities of the equilibrium manifold, whereas when the two angular momenta are fully independent, that is, when the thermodynamic system is three dimensional, additional singularities in the curvature appear. However, we prove that such singularities are due to the changing from a stable phase to an unstable one.
Synthesis of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Effects of Active Metals, Catalyst Supports, and Metal Loading Percentage
Authors: Liu Wei-Wen , Aziz Azizan , Chai Siang-Piao , Mohamed Abdul Rahman , Hashim U.
Published: June 2013

The effects of active metals, catalyst supports, and metal loading percentage on the formation of single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were studied. In particular, iron, cobalt, and nickel were investigated for SWNTs synthesis. Iron was found to grow better‐quality SWNTs compared to cobalt and nickel. To study the effect of catalyst supports, magnesium oxide, silicon oxide, and aluminium oxide were chosen for iron. Among the studied supports, MgO was identified to be a suitable support for iron as it produced SWNTs with better graphitisation determined by Raman analysis. Increasing the iron loading decreased the quality of SWNTs due to extensive agglomeration of the iron particles. Thus, lower metal loading percentage is preferred to grow better‐quality SWNTs with uniform diameters.
Optimization of Balking and Reneging Queue with Vacation Interruption underN-Policy
Authors: Vijaya Laxmi P. , Goswami V. , Jyothsna K.
Published: June 2013

This paper analyzes a finite buffer multiple working vacations queue with balking, reneging, and vacation interruption underN-policy. In the working vacation, a customer is served at a lower rate and at the instants of a service completion; if there are at leastNcustomers in the queue, the vacation is interrupted and the server switches to regular busy period otherwise continues the vacation. Using Markov process and recursive technique, we derive the stationary system length distributions at arbitrary epoch. Various performance measures and some special models of the system are presented. Cost analysis is carried out using particle swarm optimization and quadratic fit search method. Finally, some numerical results showing the effect of model parameters on key performance measures of the system are presented.
Green Synthesis of Nanocrystalline Cu2ZnSnS4 Powder Using Hydrothermal Route
Authors: Verma Shri kant , Agrawal Vikash , Jain Kiran , Pasricha Renu , Chand Suresh
Published: June 2013

Nanocrystalline Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) powder was synthesized by a hydrothermal process, using thiourea as sulfur precursor. The powder was qualitatively analyzed using X-ray to identify the phase, and the size of the particles was determined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Raman peak at 337.5 cm−1 confirms the formation of pure CZTS particles. The powder was also synthesized solvothermally using ethylenediamine as solvent. The hydrothermally synthesized powder indicated the presence of the kesterite phase Cu2ZnSnS4 and particle size of about 4-5 nm. This environmentally green synthesis by hydrothermal route can produce gram scale synthesis of material with a chemical yield in excess of ~ 90%. UV Vis absorption spectra measurements indicated the band gap of as-synthesized CZTS nanoparticles to be 1.7 eV, which is near the optimum value for photovoltaic solar cell, showing its possible use in photovoltaics.
Image Restoration Combining the Second-Order and Fourth-Order PDEs
Authors: Liu Tianhua , Xiang Zhaoyin
Published: June 2013

A noise removal technique using partial differential equations (PDEs) is proposed. It combines a second-order filter with a fourth-order filter. The combined method takes the advantage of both filters since it can preserve edges and at the same time avoid the blocky effects in smooth regions. The experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the model in image restoration.
Large Bowel Obstruction in a Young Woman Simulating a Malignant Neoplasm: A Case Report ofActinomycesInfection
Authors: Nissi R. , Blanco Sequeiros R. B. , Lappi-Blanco E. , Karjula H. , Talvensaari-Mattila A.
Published: June 2013

Pelvic and intra-abdominal Actinomycosis can be difficult to diagnose preoperatively and it may also mimic many other diseases, including malignancies. We present a patient with pelvic Actinomycosis probably caused by a long-standing intrauterine device (IUD). We emphasize the challenges in diagnostic process and stress that though a rare disease, intra-abdominal Actinomycosis should be suspected in cases with intra-abdominal mass of uncertain etiology. The early recognition may spare the patient from extensive surgical operation.
Implementation of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Early Colorectal Neoplasms in Sweden
Authors: Thorlacius Henrik , Uedo Noryia , Toth Ervin
Published: June 2013

Objectives. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is an effective method for en bloc removal of large colorectal tumors in Japan, but this technique is not yet widely established in western countries. The purpose here was to report the experience of implementing colorectal ESD in Sweden.Methods. Twenty-nine patients with primarily nonmalignant and early colorectal neoplasms considered to be too difficult to remove en bloc with EMR underwent ESD. Five cases of invasive cancer underwent ESD due to high comorbidity excluding surgical intervention or as an unexpected finding.Results. The median age of the patients was 74 years. The median tumor size was 26 mm (range 11–89 mm). The median procedure time was 142 min (range 57–291 min). En bloc resection rate was 72% and the R0 resection rate was 69%. Two perforations occurred amounting to a perforation rate of 6.9%. Both patients with perforation could be managed conservatively. One bleeding occurred during ESD but no postoperative bleeding was observed.Conclusion. Our data confirms that ESD is an effective method for en bloc resection of large colorectal adenomas and early cancers. This study demonstrates that implementation of colorectal ESD is feasible in Sweden after proper training, careful patient selection, and standardization of the ESD procedure.
The Köthe Dual of an Abstract Banach Lattice
Authors: Jiménez Fernández E. , Juan M. A. , Sánchez-Pérez E. A.
Published: June 2013

We analyze a suitable definition of Köthe dual for spaces of integrable functions with respect to vector measures defined onδ-rings. This family represents a broad class of Banach lattices, and nowadays it seems to be the biggest class of spaces supported by integral structures, that is, the largest class in which an integral representation of some elements of the dual makes sense. In order to check the appropriateness of our definition, we analyze how far the coincidence of the Köthe dual with the topological dual is preserved.
Remarks on the Conditional Quadratic and the Conditional D’Alembert Functional Equations on Particular Normed Spaces
Authors: Fochi Margherita , Viola Gabriella
Published: June 2013

Let be a real normed space with dimension greater than 2 and let be a real functional defined on . Applying some ideas from the studies made on the conditional Cauchy functional equation on the restricted domain of the vectors of equal norm and the isosceles orthogonal vectors, the conditional quadratic equation and the D’Alembert one, namely, and , have been studied in this paper, in order to describe their solutions. Particular normed spaces are introduced for this aim.
Existence and Approximation of Attractive Points of the Widely More Generalized Hybrid Mappings in Hilbert Spaces
Authors: Guu Sy-Ming , Takahashi Wataru
Published: June 2013

We study the widely more generalized hybrid mappings which have been proposed to unify several well-known nonlinear mappings including the nonexpansive mappings, nonspreading mappings, hybrid mappings, and generalized hybrid mappings. Without the convexity assumption, we will establish the existence theorem and mean convergence theorem for attractive point of the widely more generalized hybrid mappings in a Hilbert space. Moreover, we prove a weak convergence theorem of Mann’s type and a strong convergence theorem of Shimizu and Takahashi’s type for such a wide class of nonlinear mappings in a Hilbert space. Our results can be viewed as a generalization of Kocourek, Takahashi and Yao, and Hojo and Takahashi where they studied the generalized hybrid mappings.
Cellular and Molecular Mediators of Neuroinflammation in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: More Sandeep Vasant , Kumar Hemant , Kim In Su , Song Soo-Yeol , Choi Dong-Kug
Published: June 2013

Neuroinflammation is a host-defense mechanism associated with restoration of normal structure and function of the brain and neutralization of an insult. Increasing neuropathological and biochemical evidence from the brains of individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) provides strong evidence for activation of neuroinflammatory pathways. Microglia, the resident innate immune cells, may play a major role in the inflammatory process of the diseased brain of patients with PD. Although microglia forms the first line of defense for the neural parenchyma, uncontrolled activation of microglia may directly affect neurons by releasing various molecular mediators such as inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin [IL]-6, and IL-1β), nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2, and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Moreover, recent studies have reported that activated microglia phagocytose not only damaged cell debris but also intact neighboring cells. This phenomenon further supports their active participation in self-enduring neuronal damage cycles. As the relationship between PD and neuroinflammation is being studied, there is a realization that both cellular and molecular mediators are most likely assisting pathological processes leading to disease progression. Here, we discuss mediators of neuroinflammation, which are known activators released from damaged parenchyma of the brain and result in neuronal degeneration in patients with PD.
Sensitization of Pancreatic Cancer to Chemoradiation by the Chk1 Inhibitor MK8776
Authors: Engelke Carl G. , Parsels Leslie A. , Qian Yushen , Zhang Qiang , Karnak David , Robertson Jordan R. , Tanska Daria M. , Wei Dongping , Davis Mary A. , Parsels Joshua D. , Zhao Lili , Greenson Joel K. , Lawrence Theodore S. , Maybaum Jonathan , Morgan Meredith A.
Published: June 2013

Purpose: The combination of radiation with chemotherapy is the most effective therapy for unresectable pancreatic cancer. To improve upon this regimen, we combined the selective Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) inhibitor MK8776 with gemcitabine-based chemoradiation in preclinical pancreatic cancer models.

Experimental Design: We tested the ability of MK8776 to sensitize to gemcitabine-radiation in homologous recombination repair (HRR)–proficient and –deficient pancreatic cancer cells and assessed Rad51 focus formation. In vivo, we investigated the efficacy, tumor cell selectivity, and pharmacodynamic biomarkers of sensitization by MK8776.

Results: We found that MK8776 significantly sensitized HRR-proficient (AsPC-1, MiaPaCa-2, BxPC-3) but not -deficient (Capan-1) pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine-radiation and inhibited Rad51 focus formation in HRR-proficient cells. In vivo, MiaPaCa-2 xenografts were significantly sensitized to gemcitabine-radiation by MK8776 without significant weight loss or observable toxicity in the small intestine, the dose-limiting organ for chemoradiation therapy in pancreatic cancer. We also assessed pChk1 (S345), a pharmacodynamic biomarker of DNA damage in response to Chk1 inhibition in both tumor and small intestine and found that MK8776 combined with gemcitabine or gemcitabine-radiation produced a significantly greater increase in pChk1 (S345) in tumor relative to small intestine, suggesting greater DNA damage in tumor than in normal tissue. Furthermore, we demonstrated the utility of an ex vivo platform for assessment of pharmacodynamic biomarkers of Chk1 inhibition in pancreatic cancer.

Conclusions: Together, our results suggest that MK8776 selectively sensitizes HRR-proficient pancreatic cancer cells and xenografts to gemcitabine-radiation and support the clinical investigation of MK8776 in combination with gemcitabine-radiation in locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 19(16); 4412–21. ©2013 AACR.
Circulating microparticles of glial origin and tissue factor bearing in high-grade glioma: a potential prothrombotic role
Authors: Puppa Alessandro , Ballin Andrea , Campello Elena , Radu Claudia , Saggiorato Graziella , d’Avella Domenico , Scienza Renato , Cella Giuseppe , Simioni Paolo , Sartori Maria
Published: June 2013

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) may complicate the clinical course of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Circulating microparticles (MPs) have been associated with cancer-related VTE. Sixty-one consecutive patients with GBM undergoing gross-total (41) or subtotal (20) surgical resection followed by radio-chemotherapy were prospectively evaluated. MPs numbers according to cellular origin and the procoagulant activity of annexin V positive (AV+) MPs (MP-activity) were measured before surgery and then 1 week and 1, 4, and 7 months after surgery. Glial (GFAP+) and endothelial (CD62E+) derived MPs, AV+ and tissue factor-bearing (TF+) MPs were measured using flow cytometry. Baseline levels of GFAP+/TF-, TF+/GFAP-, and GFAP+/TF+ MPs were significantly higher in GBM patients than in healthy controls, and significantly increased at each time point after surgery; at 7 months, a further significant increase over the level found a week after surgery was only seen in the subtotally resected patients. The number AV+/CD62E- MPs increased in GBM patients and correlated with MP activity. TF+/GFAP- MPs numbers were significantly higher in 11 GBM patients who developed VTE than in those who did not (p 0.04). TF+/GFAP- MPs levels above the 90th percentile (calculated in GBM patients without VTE) were associated with a higher risk of VTE (RR 4.17, 95% CI 1.57–11.03). In conclusion, the numbers of glial-derived and/or TF-bearing MPs were high in GBM patients both before and even more after the neoplasm was treated, especially in patients with subtotal resection likely according to disease progression. A contribution of TF+/GFAP- MPs to the risk of VTE is suggested.