bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strengthening South Asia Value Chain
Authors: Ahmed Vaqar , Suleri Abid Q. , Javed Asif
Published: December 2015

This article discusses some key constraints in the way of developing South Asian value chains. Using a qualitative approach we have surveyed private sector representatives from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The article, among other challenges, particularly notes, ( a) lack of functional economic corridors in the region; ( b) conflict zones brewing mistrust between neighbours; ( c) slow progress on trade facilitation and free trade agreements in the region; ( d) and non-tariff barriers that prevent skills and technology transfer in the region, as some of the most important issues requiring policy response.

In order to strengthen the region-wide value chains, the article recommends priority implementation of pending agreements related to transport, energy, connectivity and dispute resolution. Second, in order to bring down the cost of doing business, trade facilitation measures across the region may be expedited. Third, government-to-government contact needs to be enhanced and institution-specific connectivity is important to resolve issues such as compliance with product standards, visas for business community and technical staff, harmonization of licenses and permits (for example, at the state level in India), and opening up of bank branches.
Educational Equity Demands Empathy
Authors: Carter Prudence L.
Published: December 2015

An educator finds empathy is key to conntecting students with each other and with their instructors.
It’s High Time
Authors: Nadeem Shehzad
Published: December 2015

Scholars share essays on American states' broad marijuana prohibitions.
Cultivating S-P-E-L-L-E-R-S
Authors: Dhingra Pawan
Published: December 2015

Indian-American spellers are known for dominance on the national stage and even host regional, culturally specific bees. How did the niche emerge?
Oscillometry complements spirometry in evaluation of subjects following toxic inhalation
Authors: Berger Kenneth I. , Turetz Meredith , Liu Mengling , Shao Yongzhao , Kazeros Angeliki , Parsia Sam , Caplan-Shaw Caralee , Friedman Stephen M. , Maslow Carey B. , Marmor Michael , Goldring Roberta M. , Reibman Joan
Published: December 2015

The World Trade Center (WTC) destruction released dust and fumes into the environment. Although many community members developed respiratory symptoms, screening spirometry was usually normal. We hypothesised that forced oscillation testing would identify functional abnormalities undetected by spirometry and that symptom severity would relate to magnitude of abnormalities measured by oscillometry.

A symptomatic cohort (n=848) from the Bellevue Hospital WTC Environmental Health Center was evaluated and compared to an asymptomatic cohort (n=475) from the New York City Department of Health WTC Health Registry. Spirometry and oscillometry were performed. Oscillometry measurements included resistance (R5) and frequency dependence of resistance (R5−20).

Spirometry was normal for the majority of subjects (73.2% symptomaticversus87.6% asymptomatic, p<0.0001). In subjects with normal spirometry,R5andR5−20were higher in symptomaticversusasymptomatic subjects (median (interquartile range)R50.436 (0.206)versus0.314 (0.129) kPa·L−1·s−1, p<0.001;R5−200.075 (0.085)versus0.004 (0.042) kPa·L−1·s−1, p<0.0001). In symptomatic subjects,R5andR5−20increased with increasing severity and frequency of wheeze (p<0.05).

Measurement ofR5–20correlated with the presence and severity of symptoms even when spirometry was within normal limits. These findings are in accord with small airway abnormalities as a potential explanation of the respiratory symptoms.
Draft genome of Gemmata massiliana sp. nov, a water-borne Planctomycetes species exhibiting two variants
Authors: Aghnatios Rita , Cayrou Caroline , Garibal Marc , Robert Catherine , Azza Said , Raoult Didier , Drancourt Michel
Published: December 2015

Gemmata massiliana is a new Planctomycetes bacterium isolated from a hospital water network in France, using a new culture medium. It is an aerobic microorganism with optimal growth at pH 8, at 30 °C and salinity ≤ 1.25 % NaCl. G. massiliana is resistant to β-lactam antibiotics, due to lack of peptidoglycan in its cell wall.G. massiliana shares a 97 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the nearest species, Gemmata obscuriglobus; and 99 % similarity with unnamed soil isolates. Its 9,249,437-bp genome consists in one chromosome and no detectable plasmid and has a 64.07 % G + C content, 32.94 % of genes encoding for hypothetical proteins. The genome contains an incomplete 19.6-kb phage sequence, 26 CRISPRs, 3 CAS and 15 clusters of secondary metabolites. G. massiliana genome increases knowledge of a poorly known world of bacteria.
Randomized Trial of Low-Dose Morphine Versus Weak Opioids in Moderate Cancer Pain
Authors: Bandieri Elena , Romero Marilena , Ripamonti Carla Ida , Artioli Fabrizio , Sichetti Daniela , Fanizza Caterina , Santini Daniele , Cavanna Luigi , Melotti Barbara , Conte Pier Franco , Roila Fausto , Cascinu Stefano , Bruera Eduardo , Tognoni Gianni , Luppi Mario ,   the Early Strong Opioid Treatment Study Investigators
Published: December 2015

Purpose

The WHO guidelines on cancer pain management recommend a sequential three-step analgesic ladder. However, conclusive data are lacking as to whether moderate pain should be treated with either step II weak opioids or low-dose step III strong opioids.

Patients and Methods

In a multicenter, 28-day, open-label randomized controlled study, adults with moderate cancer pain were assigned to receive either a weak opioid or low-dose morphine. The primary outcome was the number of responder patients, defined as patients with a 20% reduction in pain intensity on the numerical rating scale.

Results

A total of 240 patients with cancer (118 in the low-dose morphine and 122 in the weak-opioid group) were included in the study. The primary outcome occurred in 88.2% of the low-dose morphine and in 57.7% of the weak-opioid group (odds risk, 6.18; 95% CI, 3.12 to 12.24; P < .001). The percentage of responder patients was higher in the low-dose morphine group, as early as at 1 week. Clinically meaningful (≥ 30%) and highly meaningful (≥ 50%) pain reduction from baseline was significantly higher in the low-dose morphine group (P < .001). A change in the assigned treatment occurred more frequently in the weak-opioid group, because of inadequate analgesia. The general condition of patients, which was based on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System overall symptom score, was better in the morphine group. Adverse effects were similar in both groups.

Conclusion

In patients with cancer and moderate pain, low-dose morphine reduced pain intensity significantly compared with weak opioids, with a similarly good tolerability and an earlier effect.
Pediatric-Like Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Therapy in Adults With Lymphoblastic Lymphoma: The GRAALL-LYSA LL03 Study
Authors: Lepretre Stéphane , Touzart Aurore , Vermeulin Thomas , Picquenot Jean-Michel , Tanguy-Schmidt Aline , Salles Gilles , Lamy Thierry , Béné Marie-Christine , Raffoux Emmanuel , Huguet Françoise , Chevallier Patrice , Bologna Serge , Bouabdallah Réda , Benichou Jacques , Brière Josette , Moreau Anne , Tallon-Simon Valérie , Seris Stéphanie , Graux Carlos , Asnafi Vahid , Ifrah Norbert , Macintyre Elizabeth , Dombret Hervé
Published: December 2015

Purpose

This study evaluated the efficacy of pediatric-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy in adults with lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL).

Patients and Methods

This was a prospective phase II study in adults 18 to 59 years old with previously untreated LL. Patients were treated with an adapted pediatric-like ALL protocol, which included a corticosteroid prephase, a five-drug induction reinforced by sequential cyclophosphamide administration, dose-dense consolidation, late intensification, CNS prophylaxis, and a 2-year maintenance phase. Treatment response was assessed by computed tomography and optional positron emission tomography. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant was offered to selected patients in first complete remission (CR) or unconfirmed CR.

Results

The study enrolled 148 patients (131 with T-lineage LL [T-LL] and 17 with B-lineage LL [B-LL]). A total of 119 patients with T-LL (90.8%) and 13 with B-LL (76.5%) reached CR/unconfirmed CR, including 26 with T-LL and two with B-LL who needed a second induction salvage course. Relapse occurred in 34 patients with T-LL and four with B-LL. In patients with T-LL, 3-year event-free survival was 63.3% (95% CI, 54.2% to 71.0%), disease-free survival was 72.4% (95% CI, 63.0% to 79.7%), and overall survival was 69.2% (95% CI, 60.0% to 76.7%). Multivariate analysis identified serum lactate dehydrogenase level and the NOTCH1/FBXW7/RAS/PTEN oncogene (a four-gene oncogenetic classifier) status but not positron emission tomography or hematopoietic stem cell transplant as independent prognostic factors for outcome in T-LL.

Conclusion

In adults with LL, an intensive pediatric-like ALL treatment protocol was associated with a good response rate and outcome. In patients with T-LL, the four-gene oncogenetic classifier and lactate dehydrogenase level were independent prognostic indicators.
Mind the Gap: Why Closing the Doughnut Hole Is Insufficient for Increasing Medicare Beneficiary Access to Oral Chemotherapy
Authors: Dusetzina Stacie B. , Keating Nancy L.
Published: December 2015

Purpose

Orally administered anticancer medications are among the fastest growing components of cancer care. These medications are expensive, and cost-sharing requirements for patients can be a barrier to their use. For Medicare beneficiaries, the Affordable Care Act will close the Part D coverage gap (doughnut hole), which will reduce cost sharing from 100% in 2010 to 25% in 2020 for drug spending above $2,960 until the beneficiary reaches $4,700 in out-of-pocket spending. How much these changes will reduce out-of-pocket costs is unclear.

Methods

We used the Medicare July 2014 Prescription Drug Plan Formulary, Pharmacy Network, and Pricing Information Files from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for 1,114 stand-alone and 2,230 Medicare Advantage prescription drug formularies, which represent all formularies in 2014. We identified orally administered anticancer medications and summarized drug costs, cost-sharing designs used by available plans, and the estimated out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries without low-income subsidies who take a single drug before and after the doughnut hole closes.

Results

Little variation existed in formulary design across plans and products. The average price per month for included products was $10,060 (range, $5,123 to $16,093). In 2010, median beneficiary annual out-of-pocket costs for a typical treatment duration ranged from $6,456 (interquartile range, $6,433 to $6,482) for dabrafenib to $12,160 (interquartile range, $12,102 to $12,262) for sunitinib. With the assumption that prices remain stable, after the doughnut hole closes, beneficiaries will spend approximately $2,550 less.

Conclusion

Out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries taking orally administered anticancer medications are high and will remain so after the doughnut hole closes. Efforts are needed to improve affordability of high-cost cancer drugs for beneficiaries who need them.
Randomized Double-Blind Trial of Pregabalin Versus Placebo in Conjunction With Palliative Radiotherapy for Cancer-Induced Bone Pain
Authors: Fallon Marie , Hoskin Peter J. , Colvin Lesley A. , Fleetwood-Walker Susan M. , Adamson Douglas , Byrne Anthony , Murray Gordon D. , Laird Barry J.A.
Published: December 2015

Purpose

Cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP) affects one third of patients with cancer. Radiotherapy remains the gold-standard treatment; however, laboratory and clinical work suggest that pregabalin may be useful in treating CIBP. The aim of this study was to examine pregabalin in patients with CIBP receiving radiotherapy.

Patients and Methods

A multicenter, double-blind randomized trial of pregabalin versus placebo was conducted. Eligible patients were age ≥ 18 years, had radiologically proven bone metastases, were scheduled to receive radiotherapy, and had pain scores ≥ 4 of 10 (on 0-to-10 numeric rating scale). Before radiotherapy, baseline assessments were completed, followed by random assignment. Doses of pregabalin and placebo were increased over 4 weeks. The primary end point was treatment response, defined as a reduction of ≥ 2 points in worst pain by week 4, accompanied by a stable or reduced opioid dose, compared with baseline. Secondary end points assessed average pain, interference of pain with activity, breakthrough pain, mood, quality of life, and adverse events.

Results

A total of 233 patients were randomly assigned: 117 to placebo and 116 to pregabalin. The most common cancers were prostate (n = 88; 38%), breast (n = 77; 33%), and lung (n = 42; 18%). In the pregabalin arm, 45 patients (38.8%) achieved the primary end point, compared with 47 (40.2%) in the placebo arm (adjusted odds ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.63 to 1.81; P = .816). There were no statistically significant differences in average pain, pain interference, or quality of life between arms. There were differences in mood (P = .031) and breakthrough pain duration (P = .037) between arms. Outcomes were compared at 4 weeks.

Conclusion

Our findings do not support the role of pregabalin in patients with CIBP receiving radiotherapy. The role of pregabalin in CIBP with a clinical neuropathic pain component is unknown.
American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline
Authors: Runowicz Carolyn D. , Leach Corinne R. , Henry N. Lynn , Henry Karen S. , Mackey Heather T. , Cowens-Alvarado Rebecca L. , Cannady Rachel S. , Pratt-Chapman Mandi L. , Edge Stephen B. , Jacobs Linda A. , Hurria Arti , Marks Lawrence B. , LaMonte Samuel J. , Warner Ellen , Lyman Gary H. , Ganz Patricia A.
Published: December 2015

The purpose of the American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline is to provide recommendations to assist primary care and other clinicians in the care of female adult survivors of breast cancer. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed through April 2015. A multidisciplinary expert workgroup with expertise in primary care, gynecology, surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and nursing was formed and tasked with drafting the Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline. A total of 1,073 articles met inclusion criteria; and, after full text review, 237 were included as the evidence base. Patients should undergo regular surveillance for breast cancer recurrence, including evaluation with a cancer-related history and physical examination, and should be screened for new primary breast cancer. Data do not support performing routine laboratory tests or imaging tests in asymptomatic patients to evaluate for breast cancer recurrence. Primary care clinicians should counsel patients about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, monitor for post-treatment symptoms that can adversely affect quality of life, and monitor for adherence to endocrine therapy. Recommendations provided in this guideline are based on current evidence in the literature and expert consensus opinion. Most of the evidence is not sufficient to warrant a strong evidence-based recommendation. Recommendations on surveillance for breast cancer recurrence, screening for second primary cancers, assessment and management of physical and psychosocial long-term and late effects of breast cancer and its treatment, health promotion, and care coordination/practice implications are made.

This guideline was developed through a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology and has been published jointly by invitation and consent in both CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and Journal of Clinical Oncology. Copyright © 2015 American Cancer Society and American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission by the American Cancer Society or the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Capturing relevant extracellular matrices for investigating cell migration
Authors: Keely Patricia , Nain Amrinder
Published: December 2015

Much progress in understanding cell migration has been determined by using classic two-dimensional (2D) tissue culture platforms. However, increasingly, it is appreciated that certain properties of cell migration in vivo are not represented by strictly 2D assays. There is much interest in creating relevant three-dimensional (3D) culture environments and engineered platforms to better represent features of the extracellular matrix and stromal microenvironment that are not captured in 2D platforms. Important to this goal is a solid understanding of the features of the extracellular matrix—composition, stiffness, topography, and alignment—in different tissues and disease states and the development of means to capture these features
Crambled: A Shiny application to enable intuitive resolution of conflicting cellularity estimates
Authors: Lynch Andy G.
Published: December 2015

It is now commonplace to investigate tumour samples using whole-genome sequencing, and some commonly performed tasks are the estimation of cellularity (or sample purity), the genome-wide profiling of copy numbers, and the assessment of sub-clonal behaviours. Several tools are available to undertake these tasks, but often give conflicting results – not least because there is often genuine uncertainty due to a lack of model identifiability. 

Presented here is a tool, "Crambled", that allows for an intuitive visual comparison of the conflicting solutions. Crambled is implemented as a Shiny application within R, and is accompanied by example images from two use cases (one tumour sample with matched normal sequencing, and one standalone cell line example) as well as functions to generate the necessary images from any sequencing data set. 

Through the use of Crambled, a user may gain insight into why each tool has offered its given solution and combined with a knowledge of the disease being studied can choose between the competing solutions in an informed manner.
The Study of the Specific Family Interactions in Families with Low Social Status and Recommendations for Adaptation in the Workplace
Authors: Сухова  , Sukhova E.
Published: December 2015

Specialist in personnel management in the modern socio-economic conditions should be able to prevent conflicts and to assist adaptation in the workplace
for new employees. To do this you must navigate to the personal qualities and characteristics of emotional response. Personal characteristics and specific
features of family education and interaction in families with low social status reflected in the literature are insufficient, which may cause difficulties for specialist
staff. With the help of the «Family Environmental Scale» was studied the specificity of family interaction in 30 families with low social status. Recommendations
on interaction and adaptation in the workplace are presented based on the analysis of the results. We need sincere, friendly attitude, behavior monitoring,
timely conflict management, account of the slave’s behavior and obedience to authority. The increased desire for independence it is possible to use as motivation.
Intellectual Capital Management: Learning Organizations’s Targets
Authors: Иванова  , Ivanova I.
Published: December 2015

Intellectual capital management organization is one of the leading factors of its procuring, progressive development, increase competitiveness and economic growth. Formation of the intellectual capital actualize the realization of successive events in the management of knowledge and competence of staff, and immaterial assets, created as a result of individual and collective work. Learning organizations whish for create open to development and innovation activities in interior creative environment, conducive to the effective use of staff’s potential. The complex and multifaceted work on forming external and internal communications designed to the accumulation and use of knowledge in the organization, covers a large range of activities in personnel management, both strategic and tactical format. Improvement of the activation system of the staff’s potential and its ceaseless education as a component of the management structure of the human and intellectual capital of learning organizations, will demand development of motivational models and selection of educational technologies, that satisfy its requirements in aspiration of keeping the stable financial position in a competitive market, and creating conditions for forming long-time development prospects.
Single Commodity Stochastic Network Design Under Probabilistic Constraint with Discrete Random Variables
Authors: Prékopa András , Unuvar Merve
Published: December 2015

Single commodity networks are considered, where demands at the nodes are random. The problem is to find minimum cost optimal built in capacities at the nodes and arcs subject to the constraint that all demands should be met on a prescribed probability level (reliability constraint) and some deterministic constraints should be satisfied. The reliability constraint is formulated in terms of the Gale–Hoffman feasibility inequalities, but their number is reduced by elimination technique. The concept of a p-efficient point is used in a smart way to convert and then relax the problem into an LP. The p-efficient points are simultaneously generated with the solution of the LP. The joint distribution of the demands is used to obtain the p-efficient points for all stochastic inequalities that were not eliminated and the solution of a multiple choice knapsack problem is used to generate p-efficient points. The model can be applied to planning in interconnected power systems, flood control networks, design of shelter and road capacities in evacuation, parking lot capacities, financial networks, cloud computing system design, etc. Numerical examples are presented.
Reductions of Approximate Linear Programs for Network Revenue Management
Authors: Vossen Thomas W. M. , Zhang Dan
Published: December 2015

The linear programming approach to approximate dynamic programming has received considerable attention in the recent network revenue management literature. A major challenge of the approach lies in solving the resulting approximate linear programs (ALPs), which often have a huge number of constraints and/or variables. We show that the ALPs can be dramatically reduced in size for both affine and separable piecewise linear approximations to network revenue management problems, under both independent and discrete choice models of demand. Our key result is the equivalence between each ALP and a corresponding reduced program, which is more compact in size and admits an intuitive probabilistic interpretation. For the affine approximation to network revenue management under an independent demand model, we recover an equivalence result known in the literature, but provide an alternative proof. Our other equivalence results are new. We test the numerical performance of solving the reduced programs directly using off-the-shelf commercial solvers on a set of test instances taken from the literature.
A Novel Hyperspectral Feature-Extraction Algorithm Based on Waveform Resolution for Raisin Classification
Authors: Zhao Yun , Xu Xing , He Yong
Published: December 2015

Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging technology was adopted in this study to discriminate among varieties of raisins produced in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Eight varieties of raisins were used in the research, and the wavelengths of the hyperspectral images were from 900 to 1700 nm. A novel waveform resolution method is proposed to reduce the hyperspectral data and extract the features. The waveform-resolution method compresses the original hyperspectral data for one pixel into five amplitudes, five frequencies, and five phases for 15 feature values in all. A neural network was established with three layers—eight neurons for the first layer, three neurons for the hidden layer, and one neuron for the output layer—based on the 15 features used to determine the varieties of raisins. The accuracies of the model, which are presented as sensitivity, precision, and specificity, for the testing data set, are 93.38, 81.92, and 99.06%. This is higher than the accuracies of the model using a conventional principal component analysis feature-extracting method combined with a neural network, which has a sensitivity of 82.13%, precision of 82.22%, and specificity of 97.45%. The results indicate that the proposed waveform-resolution feature-extracting method combined with hyperspectral imaging technology is an efficient method for determining varieties of raisins.
Identifying Raman and Infrared Vibrational Motions of Erythritol Tetranitrate
Authors: Oleske Jeffrey B. , Smith Barry T. , Barber Jeffrey , Weatherall James C.
Published: December 2015

The vibrational bands of erythritol tetranitrate (ETN) were measured experimentally with both Raman spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy. Seventy-two (3N-6) vibrational modes were predicted for ETN using density functional theory calculations performed using the B3LYP/ 6-31G* density functional basis set and geometry optimization. Raman spectroscopy and ATR FT-IR were used to measure observable Raman and IR signatures between 140 and 3100 wavenumbers (cm−1). Within this spectral range, 32 Raman bands and 21 IR bands were measured and identified by their predicted vibrational motion. The spectroscopic and theoretical analysis of ETN performed will advance the detection and identification capabilities of field measuring instruments for this explosive.
Red Blood Cell Count Automation Using Microscopic Hyperspectral Imaging Technology
Authors: Li Qingli , Zhou Mei , Liu Hongying , Wang Yiting , Guo Fangmin
Published: December 2015

Red blood cell counts have been proven to be one of the most frequently performed blood tests and are valuable for early diagnosis of some diseases. This paper describes an automated red blood cell counting method based on microscopic hyperspectral imaging technology. Unlike the light microscopy-based red blood count methods, a combined spatial and spectral algorithm is proposed to identify red blood cells by integrating active contour models and automated two-dimensional k-means with spectral angle mapper algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has better performance than spatial based algorithm because the new algorithm can jointly use the spatial and spectral information of blood cells.
Concentration Determination of Copper in Aqueous Solution Using Deposition-Assisted Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)
Authors: Lu Yuan , Li Ying , Qi Fujun , Zheng Ronger
Published: December 2015

In this paper, by means of Cu2+ converting to Cu, the sub-ppb detection of copper in aqueous solution was successfully achieved using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), and the sensitivity was found depending on the voltage applied for the deposition. With increasing voltage, the minimum detectable concentration was significantly lowered, while the signal intensity instability was increased. In order to reduce the impact from the intensity fluctuation, an estimation method was developed to determine the copper concentration via comparing minimum detectable concentrations. The obtained results suggest this method is a potential way toward quantitative analysis.
Baseline Correction of Diffuse Reflection Near-Infrared Spectra Using Searching Region Standard Normal Variate (SRSNV)
Authors: Genkawa Takuma , Shinzawa Hideyuki , Kato Hideaki , Ishikawa Daitaro , Murayama Kodai , Komiyama Makoto , Ozaki Yukihiro
Published: December 2015

An alternative baseline correction method for diffuse reflection near-infrared (NIR) spectra, searching region standard normal variate (SRSNV), was proposed. Standard normal variate (SNV) is an effective pretreatment method for baseline correction of diffuse reflection NIR spectra of powder and granular samples; however, its baseline correction performance depends on the NIR region used for SNV calculation. To search for an optimal NIR region for baseline correction using SNV, SRSNV employs moving window partial least squares regression (MWPLSR), and an optimal NIR region is identified based on the root mean square error (RMSE) of cross-validation of the partial least squares regression (PLSR) models with the first latent variable (LV). The performance of SRSNV was evaluated using diffuse reflection NIR spectra of mixture samples consisting of wheat flour and granular glucose (0–100% glucose at 5% intervals). From the obtained NIR spectra of the mixture in the 10 000–4000 cm−1 region at 4 cm intervals (1501 spectral channels), a series of spectral windows consisting of 80 spectral channels was constructed, and then SNV spectra were calculated for each spectral window. Using these SNV spectra, a series of PLSR models with the first LV for glucose concentration was built. A plot of RMSE versus the spectral window position obtained using the PLSR models revealed that the 8680–8364 cm−1 region was optimal for baseline correction using SNV. In the SNV spectra calculated using the 8680–8364 cm−1 region (SRSNV spectra), a remarkable relative intensity change between a band due to wheat flour at 8500 cm−1 and that due to glucose at 8364 cm−1 was observed owing to successful baseline correction using SNV. A PLSR model with the first LV based on the SRSNV spectra yielded a determination coefficient (R2) of 0.999 and an RMSE of 0.70%, while a PLSR model with three LVs based on SNV spectra calculated in the full spectral region gave an R2 of 0.995 and an RMSE of 2.29%. Additional evaluation of SRSNV was carried out using diffuse reflection NIR spectra of marzipan and corn samples, and PLSR models based on SRSNV spectra showed good prediction results. These evaluation results indicate that SRSNV is effective in baseline correction of diffuse reflection NIR spectra and provides regression models with good prediction accuracy.
Enhancing Textile Fiber Identification with Detergent Fluorescence
Authors: Mujumdar Nirvani , Heider Emily C. , Campiglia Andres D.
Published: December 2015

Discovering common origins of trace evidential textile fibers can be a challenging task when fiber structure or dye composition does not provide exclusive identifying information. Introduction of new chemical species after mass production and distribution of a textile may be exploited to trace its history and identify the origin of its fibers. In this article, fluorescence microscopy is used to examine the alteration in the fluorescence spectral fingerprint of single fibers resulting from exposure to commonly used detergents that contain fluorescent whitening agents. Dyed acrylic, cotton, and nylon fibers were laundered and the spectral contribution of the detergent on single fibers was quantified and shown to reach a maximum after five sequential washes; some detergents showed statistically meaningful differences to fiber spectra after only a single wash. Principal component cluster analysis was used to determine that the spectra of laundered fibers are distinct from the spectra of dyed, unwashed cotton or nylon, but not acrylic, fibers.
All hell breaks loose: Supernatural, gothic neoliberalism and the American self
Authors: Blake Linnie
Published: December 2015

Chronicling the power-struggles of angels and demons drawn broadly from the Judaeo-Christian tradition and deploying a cast of vampires, ghosts, demons, shapeshifters, tricksters, mad scientists, zombies and monsters from urban legends, the TV gothic serial Supernatural is both a quintessentially American narrative and a sustained critique of the internal contradictions of neo-liberalism. Revelling in the mass cultural products of the United States, it incorporates the generic characteristics of the western, the road movie and the mystery-thriller whilst evoking the formats of the serial novel, the game show, the police procedural, reality television and gothic film and television. Thus addressing the epistemological incertitude engendered by the ‘grave economic distress’ (4:17) of the present, Supernatural charts the disjunction between public fantasies of free market freedoms and the trauma wrought to social and psychological integrity by industrial decline and community breakdown. What emerges is a terrifying picture of a country that has been plunged into existential chaos by neo-liberal economics. In the world of Supernatural, as in our own, exceptionalist models of national identity have been dismantled, compromised or exposed as ideologically expedient fantasies, whilst their neo-liberal substitutes have made both the self and the socius unstable, fragmented and mutable. Freedom, the protagonist Dean Winchester argues, is simply the rope God gives people to hang themselves (6.20), in the certainty that hang themselves they will. Meantime the brothers inhabit a world in which, it is frequently reiterated, both justice and liberty are nothing more than abstract concepts, the rule of law has become irrelevant and the power of the powerful knows no bounds whatsoever. Across ten seasons, therefore, the Winchester brothers cross and re-cross not only the American landmass but a series of temporal, ethical, epistemological and ontological frontiers. In so doing, they undertake a highly gothic interrogation of what it means, in the age of neoliberal corporatism, to be both ‘an American’ and a man.
The economy of fear: H. P. Lovecraft on eugenics, economics and the Great Depression
Authors: Reinert Sophus A.
Published: December 2015

The early twentieth-century weird writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft is today best remembered for his genre defining style of academic noir pulp fiction. Yet in focusing on certain tropes of his work, such as the many memorable monsters he created to populate his stories, from the infinite effervescence named Yog-Sothoth to the dreaded cephalopod Cthulhu, scholars have overlooked a deeper terror structuring practically all of his writings, the chillingly resonant fear that, amidst the chaos of globalization, miscegenation, and economic decline, ‘Anglo-Saxon’ civilization would surrender to lesser races. Fundamental to this fear was his understanding of atavism – of evolutionary throwbacks, survivals and regressions – in modern industrial society, and his extraordinary stories were only one expression of a contemporary culture involving eugenicists, political economists, and prominent authors of the Gothic and ‘weird’ traditions between the 1890s and the 1930s. Lovecraft himself in effect penned a number of economic manuscripts on the crisis of the Great Depression, and this article contextualizes his ideas in relation to his wider writings as well as to contemporary traditions of economics and eugenics, drawing a new picture of one of the greatest horror writers of all time.
State borders in ETRS89 coordinates – reality or fiction ?
Authors: Poláček Jiří
Published: December 2015

Common unique ETRS89 coordinates of the state boundaries are crucial for cross-border data harmonization for international projects. In the frame of European Location Framework (ELF) project Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre (ČÚZK) cooperates with Poland on egde-matching on the state border. During the preliminary phase of the project was some difficulty identified. If the state boundary is measured and administered in the national coordinate system, the accuracy of the transformation into the ETRS89 is influenced by discrepancies of the local trigonometric network, which results in two slightly different state boundaries. Final solution for Europe – international treaties on the state borders based on the ETRS89 coordinates – is necessary, but it will take years.
Hypophosphatasia: the clinical description of 3 cases of the disease with the molecular-genetic verification of the diagnosis
Authors: Kulikova K S , Kalinchenko N Yu , Sibileva E N , Vasil’eva E V , Petrov V M , Tul’pakov A N
Published: December 2015

Hypophosphatasia is a rare hereditary rickets-like disease resulting from the impaired activity of tissue-specific alkaline phosphatase encoded by the ALPL gene. A few forms of this pathology are distinguished depending on the severity of its clinical picture and the age at which its symptoms begin to manifest themselves. The main clinical signs of the disease are skeletal deformations, muscular hypotonia, and respiratory insufficiency in the early childhood as well as the retardation of the physical and motor development and early loss of the teeth In the mature age, such patients suffer from stress fractures, muscle pain, calcification of the ligaments and joints. The biochemical markers of hypophosphatasia are the low blood alkaline phosphatase level and the high urinary phosphoethanolamine level. Also, the severe forms of the disease are associated with hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, and the low parathormone level. The authors describe the patients presenting with Hypophosphatasia of different severity in whom the molecular-genetic verification of the diagnosis was undertaken for the first time in this country.
The new immunological methods for diagnostics of type 1 autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome
Authors: Sozaeva L S
Published: December 2015

Type 1 autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (type 1APS) is a rare genetic disease resulting from mutations in the AIRE gene. Diagnostics of this pathology is based not only on the results of genetic studies but also on the measurement of the level of antibodies against type 1 interferons, such as interferon-ω and interferon-α2. The present review of the literature is focused on type 1 interferons, anti-interferon antibodies, and pathophysiological characteristics of the processes induced by these antibodies.
Pseudo-hypothyroidism
Authors: Makazan N V , Orlova E M , Kareva M A
Published: December 2015

Pseudo-hypothyroidism (PHP) is a rare genetic disorder that manifests itself in the form of disturbances of phosphorus and calcium metabolism due to parathyroid hormone (PTH) resistance. The clinical variant of PHP depends not only on PTH resistance: there is a phenotype attributable to multi-hormonal resistance. PTH resistance is associated with the disturbance of activity of the alpha-subunit in G-protein due to a defect in the GNAS gene and epigenetic variations. The mechanism underlying the development of this rare (orphan) condition is highly complicated and remains to be elucidated. The present review reflects the modern views of etiology, pathogenesis, and clinical variability of pseudohypothyroidism.
The state of the Sertoli cells in the children and adolescents presenting with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency
Authors: Chugunov I S , Il’in A V , Bogolyubov S V , Kuznetsova E S , Orlova E M , Kareva M A
Published: December 2015

Introduction. Compromised fertility is one of the main health-related problems encountered by men suffering from 21-hydroxylase deficient congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). This condition can be attributed either to the disease itself or to the presence of the testicular adrenal rest tissue (TART). The dysfunction of the reproductive system can be diagnosed as early as the childhood and adolescence based on the reduced levels of anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) and inhibin B, i.e. the specific markers of Sertoli cell activity. Materials and methods. We have examined 53 patients at the age varying from 1 to 19 years presenting with the confirmed diagnosis of 21-hydroxylase deficient congenital adrenal hyperplasia and 21 children aged from 6 to 17 years free from endocrine pathology (the control group). Special attention was given to the elucidation of the relationship between the inhibin B and AMH levels, the clinical form of the disease, and the presence of TART. Results. The level of inhibin B in the patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia at the onset of puberty turned out to be lower compared with that in the control group, regardless of the form of the disease. The presence of TART was documented in 9 patients (30%) with salt-wasting CAH (SW CAH) and in 1 patient (4.3%) having the simple virilizing form of CAH (SV CAH). The patients with TART had a lower level of inhibin B but not AMH. Conclusion. The excessive production of androgens does not exert a negative influence on the activity of the Sertoli cells in the boys suffering from congenital adrenal hyperplasia prior to puberty. The lowered level of inhibin B during the pubertal period, in the absence of reduction of the AMH level, suggests dysfunction of the Sertoli cells. The dysfunction during puberty is especially well apparent in the presence of TART.
Evaluating of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor type 5 effectiveness in treatment of neurogenic erectile dysfunction in patients with DM type 1
Authors: Kurbatov D G , Galstyan G R , Shvarts Yu G , Rozhivanov R V , Dubskiy S A , Lepetukhin A E
Published: December 2015

Urogenital form of autonomous diabetic polyneuropathy is a specific lesion of the autonomic nervous system in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and is the main pathogenetic cause of sexual dysfunction in these patients. The most common form of the sexual dysfunction in patients with DM is an erectile dysfunction, the risk of which is at 3 times higher for patients with DM compared to the population without it. Considering that patients with DM are a special group because of the presence of specific complications, preferences in therapy is given to inhibitors of PDE-5 type inhibitors. Aim - optimization of diagnosis and treatment of neurogenic erectile dysfunction caused by urogenital autonomic diabetic neuropathy in patients with type 1 diabetes. Material and methods. The study included 40 patients with DM type 1 at the age of 25.7±6.1 years. The duration of the DM type 1 18±9.7 years. The average level of glycated hemoglobin at the time of inclusion of patients in the study 7.1±1.3%. All patients in addition to general clinical examination performed neuromyography of peroneal nerve and pudendal nerve (at baseline and after a course of therapy with sildenafil) and the analysis of endothelial function on the EndoPat ™ (baseline and after a course of therapy with sildenafil). Results. At baseline, all 40 men s complained on the quality of erection of varying severity. In 30 (75.0%) of men according to a survey on the unit EndoPat ™ determined endothelial dysfunction (RHI 1.45±0.16). In the range of the gray zone (RHI 1.79±0.13) IRG was detected in 7 (16.6%) men. RHI values, indicating normal functioning of the endothelium, were obtained in 3 (8.4%) cases. After 6 weeks, analisys of endothelial function after the course of treatment with sildenafil was repeated: endothelial dysfunction was found in 6 (16.6%) patients, in the range of the gray zone RHI was registered in 14 (33.4%). Evidence about normalized endothelial function were obtained from 20 (50.0%) patients. The results of neuromyomyographic test of n. peroneus and n. pudendus confirmed the presence of distal diabetic neuropathy and urogenital form of autonomic diabetic neuropathy baseline in all patients. Retest after treatment showed a significant positive trend in our patients. Conclusion. Our study showed the advisability of using inhibitiors PDE-5, in particular sildenafil, not only to improve erectile function in patients with DM type 1, but also to improve endothelial function and condition of the peripheral nerves. We are convinced that the examination of such patients should include both of these methods, because diabetic neuropathy in patients with DM directly linked with endothelial dysfunction
The diagnostical importance of steroid profiles of biological fluids of patients with Cushing’s syndrome
Authors: Shafigullina Z R , Velikanova L I , Vorohobina N V , Lisicyn A A , Kuhianidze E A , Strelnikova E G , Povarov V G , Talor N F
Published: December 2015

Steroid profiles of 49 patients having Cushing’s syndrome were investigated. Differential diagnostic criteria of Cushing’s syndrome with adrenocortical adenoma and adrenocarcinoma and features of steroid hormones metabolism were established by combination of classical tests and steroid profiles investigation using HPLC and gas chromatography - mass-spectrometry. The adrenocarcinoma was diagnosed for 22,4% of patients having Cushing’s syndrome and the main biochemical criteria were the increasing of 11-deoxycortisol in blood (>20 ng/ml), the excretion of 18-OH-corticosterone and metabolites of glucocorticoids and pregnenes, 8,2% of patients having Cushing’s syndrome had additionally increased androgens metabolites excretion.
Continuous glucose monitoring technologies: state of the art and future perspectives in view of artificial pancreas
Authors: Tarasov Yury Vladimirovich , Philippov Yury Ivanovich , Borisova Ekaterina Andreevna , Fedorova Elena Anatolievna , Mayorov Alexander Yurievich , Shestakova Marina Vladimirovna
Published: December 2015

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) - a relatively new and rapidly developing technology of optimization glycemic control in patients with diabetes. The efficiency of the use of CGM for improving glycemic level in many clinical situations (asymptomatic hypoglycemia, high blood glucose variability, etc.). In the long term, CGM treated as a mandatory component of the «artificial pancreas» - an insulin pump with a closed-loop control infusion of insulin depending on the concentration of glucose in the blood. However, the modern technology such as CGM could not be used, as a data source to control closed-loop insulin pump (artificial pancreas), because of the significant limitations and lack of precision. In further development of technologies CGM, obviously, will address three main objectives: increased service life of sensors for the detection of glucose, improving the accuracy of measurement results and ease of use for patients. This article describes the main technological solutions of modern devices for CGM and promising directions for further developments in this field, their potential advantages and disadvantages, including in the light of the prospects for further integrating them into an «artificial pancreas».