bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position stand: Benefit and risk for promoting childhood physical activity
Authors: Longmuir Patricia E. , Colley Rachel C. , Wherley Valerie A. , Tremblay Mark S.
Published: August 2014

Current guidelines recommend children accumulate 60 min of daily physical activity; however, highly publicized sudden-death events among young athletes raise questions regarding activity safety. An expert group convened (June 2012) to consider the safety of promoting increased physical activity for children, and recommended the publication of an evidence-based statement of current knowledge regarding the benefits and risks of physical activity for children. Recommendations for encouraging physical activity while maximizing the opportunity to identify children who have been prescribed a physical activity restriction include (1) professionals and (or) researchers that encourage children to change the type of physical activity or to increase the frequency, intensity, or duration of their activity should inquire whether a child has primary healthcare provider-prescribed activity limitations before the child’s activity participation changes; (2) physical activity researchers should prioritize the development of evidence regarding the benefits and risks of childhood physical activity and inactivity, particularly data on the risks of sedentary lifestyles and physical activity-associated injury risks that accounts for the amount of activity performed, and the effectiveness of current risk-management strategies and screening approaches; (3) professionals and researchers should prioritize the dissemination of information regarding the benefits of physical activity and the risks of sedentary behaviour in children; and (4) parents and professionals should encourage all children to accumulate at least 60 min of physical activity daily. The recommendations are established as a minimum acceptable standard that is applicable to all physical activity opportunities organized for children, whether those opportunities occur in a community, school, or research setting.
Bioenergy potential from wood residuals in Alberta: a positive mathematical programming approach
Authors: Niquidet Kurt , Friesen Devon
Published: August 2014

A major risk for many existing and planned wood-based bioenergy facilities is the uncertainty regarding future feedstock supply. Many bioenergy projects use waste generated from primary sectors such as lumber, and, therefore, carry the inherent risk of supply fluctuations if these industries change. To assess the long-term viability of a wood-based bioenergy facility, it is necessary to understand how biomass feedstock fluctuates with other sectors and at what cost supply can be made available. We address these issues by constructing a positive mathematical programming (PMP) model of the Alberta forest sector that focuses on optimizing fibre transfer routes. Through the use of PMP, we derive a marginal cost function for harvesting and hauling fibre to each processing facility. The results indicate that woody residual supply is quite sensitive to market conditions in the primary sector. For the most part, to support bioenergy expansion, feedstock will need to be sourced from the forest, as very few surplus mill residues are available even at high lumber prices. However, we estimate the marginal cost of delivering harvesting residues to be significant, which suggests that policy support will be needed for further bioenergy development.
Origin of ferroelectric phase transition in SbSClxI1-x mixed crystals
Authors: Audzijonis A. , Žigas L. , Sereika R. , Žaltauskas R.
Published: August 2014

The measurements of SbSCl x I 1-x(x = 0.2) temperature dependent capacitance were carried out. The temperature of ferroelectric phase transition TC ≈340 K was measured experimentally. TC of SbSCl x I 1-x was calculated theoretically in anharmonic and harmonic approximations. TC was calculated in anharmonic approximation using temperature dependence of mean potential energy of Sb atoms as a function of the soft B1u symmetry normal coordinate along c(z)-axis. Moreover, TC was calculated in harmonic approximation using temperature dependence of vibrational thermodynamic functions (Helmholc free energy). TC dependence from unit cell parameters a, b and from mixture composition x was carried out.
Ensemble method: Community detection based on game theory
Authors: Zhang Xia , Xia Zhengyou , Xu Shengwu , Wang J. D.
Published: August 2014

Timely and cost-effective analytics over social network has emerged as a key ingredient for success in many businesses and government endeavors. Community detection is an active research area of relevance to analyze online social network. The problem of selecting a particular community detection algorithm is crucial if the aim is to unveil the community structure of a network. The choice of a given methodology could affect the outcome of the experiments because different algorithms have different advantages and depend on tuning specific parameters. In this paper, we propose a community division model based on the notion of game theory, which can combine advantages of previous algorithms effectively to get a better community classification result. By making experiments on some standard dataset, it verifies that our community detection model based on game theory is valid and better.
USING A TRIANGULAR MATCHING APPROACH FOR LATENT FINGERPRINT AND PALMPRINT IDENTIFICATION
Authors: HERNÁNDEZ-PALANCAR JOSÉ , MUÑOZ-BRISEÑO ALFREDO , GAGO-ALONSO ANDRÉS
Published: August 2014

The identification of fingerprints and palmprints is considered a challenging research line in Biometrics. Nowadays, the accuracy of these techniques highly depends on the quality of the involved impressions, specially if the matching is performed in latent cases. In the present work, a new algorithm that reports a high accuracy in both cases is presented. This proposal requires a minimum amount of manually marked information in latent impressions and deals successfully with problems of missing and spurious minutiae. Moreover, we improved a verification algorithm based on a previously introduced feature model. The algorithm uses a strategy for finding adaptable local matches between substructures obtained from images. The experimental results show that our proposal achieves high accuracy for all cases, despite the major differences that exist between a palmprint and a fingerprint. For latent fingerprint identification our approach shows its robustness in retrieving 258 latents from different size scale of the background dataset, achieving a rank-1 identification rate over 57% in all cases. Carrying out a similar experimentation for latent palmprint identification, our approach achieved a rank-1 identification rate over 75%.
On wreath product of n-polygroups
Authors: Mirvakili S. , Farshi M. , Davvaz B.
Published: August 2014

In this paper, we shall introduce thin n-subpolygroups of a given n-polygroup and in this regards, the notion of wreath product of n-polygroups will be studied. Also, double cosets of n-polygroups are investigated and the classical isomorphism theorems of groups are generalized to n-polygroups. The main result of the paper is that a finite n-polygroup is singular if and only if it is a wreath product of n-subpolygroups all of which are thin or generated by an involution or by an idempotent element.
On Randers change of a Finsler space with mth-root metric
Authors: Tiwari Bankteshwar , Kumar Manoj
Published: August 2014

In this paper, we find a condition under which a Finsler space with Randers change of mth-root metric is projectively related to a mth-root metric and also we find a condition under which this Randers transformed mth-root Finsler metric is locally dually flat. Moreover, if transformed Finsler metric is conformal to the mth-root Finsler metric, then we prove that both of them reduce to Riemannian metrics.
Some Steiner concepts on lexicographic products of graphs
Authors: Anand Bijo S. , Changat Manoj , Peterin Iztok , Narasimha-Shenoi Prasanth G.
Published: August 2014

Let G be a graph and W a subset of V(G). A subtree with the minimum number of edges that contains all vertices of W is a Steiner tree for W. The number of edges of such a tree is the Steiner distance of W and union of all vertices belonging to Steiner trees for W form a Steiner interval. We describe both of these for the lexicographic product of graphs. We also give a complete answer for the following invariants with respect to the Steiner convexity: the Steiner number, the rank, the hull number, and the Carathéodory number, and a partial answer for the Radon number.
MOTIVES FOR CORPORATE HEDGING: EVIDENCE FROM THE UK
Authors: CLARK EPHRAIM , JUDGE AMRIT
Published: August 2014

In this paper, we use survey data and data from annual reports to identify the determinants of hedging activity of United Kingdom (UK) firms in the context of an overall program of risk management. Comparing the two sets of data makes it possible to identify misclassified firms, that is, firms whose hedging claims are not consistent across the two data sets. Our results on the consistent data show that the likelihood of hedging is related to growth options, foreign currency exposure, liquidity and economies of scale in hedging costs. Contrary to many previous US studies, we also find strong evidence linking the decision to hedge and the expected costs of financial distress. Results for the misclassified firms suggest that they are actually hedgers that hedge less extensively than the correctly classified (CC) hedgers.
THE "FIRM-SPECIFIC RETURN VARIATION": A MEASURE OF PRICE INFORMATIVENESS OR INFORMATION ASYMMETRY?
Authors: BURLACU RADU , FONTAINE PATRICE , JIMENEZ-GARCÈS SONIA
Published: August 2014

This paper investigates the relevancy of the "Firm-Specific Return Variation" (FSRV) as a measure of stock price informativeness. For this purpose, we study the link between FSRV and stock excess returns on the American market over the period 1986–2001. After controlling for size effects, we find a negative and highly significant impact of FSRV on stock returns. The link between FSRV and stock excess returns is robust to asset pricing models and does not capture systematic, size or "book-to-market" (BM) effects. Based on rational expectations equilibrium (REE) models considering asymmetrically informed investors, we suggest that FSRV is a good proxy for price informativeness. Common stocks with higher specific return variation have lower information-risk premium, thus lower expected returns.
EFFECTS OF RETURN PREDICTABILITY ON OPTION PRICES WITH STOCHASTIC VOLATILITY FOR THE MARKET PORTFOLIO
Authors: CAO MELANIE
Published: August 2014

I examine the effects of return predictability on option prices for the market portfolio in the presence of stochastic volatility and/or stochastic interest rates. The analysis is implemented in an equilibrium framework where a consistent option pricing model is derived with the return predictability and stochastic volatility and the precise link between the actual and the risk neutral measures is endogenized. The equilibrium analysis indicates that the return predictability is induced by the mean-reverting and heteroskedastic features of aggregate dividends. It is shown that risk-neutral option pricing model with the stochastic volatility and/or stochastic interest rates can be consistent with return predictability. Numerical results suggest that (i) models with either perfect predictability or no predictability will significantly overprice long-term options across different strike prices when the return of the underlying exhibits modest predictability; (ii) the stochastic volatility does not affect option prices in a significant way when asset return predictability is properly reflected in the actual stock price process; (iii) when return predictability is correctly specified, the effects of stochastic interest rates are not uniform.
THE IMPACT OF EVOLVING MARKET INTEGRATION ON APEC EMERGING STOCK MARKETS' WORLD BETAS
Authors: LI XIAO-MING , ROSE LAWRENCE C
Published: August 2014

This paper, based on the international capital asset pricing model estimated using the Kalman filter (KF) technique, examines the relationship between market integration and the systematic risk of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) emerging stock markets with respect to the world portfolio. We find strong evidence that local and regional integrations have effects on systematic risk and hence on returns, and certain evidence of the direct effects of market integrations on returns. Our results documented for individual markets show a heterogeneous pattern across the APEC region, implying that a one-rule-fits-all regulation policy would hurt some countries while assisting others.
ARE STOCK PRICES AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY COINTEGRATED? EVIDENCE FROM THE US, 1950–2005
Authors: COOK STEVEN
Published: August 2014

The potential cointegrating relationship between stock prices and economic activity suggested by financial and economic theory is examined. It is found that the commonly employed tests of Engle and Granger (1987) and Johansen (1988) fail to detect cointegration between stock prices and industrial production for a long span of US data. In recognition of factors which may result in a failure to detect a genuine cointegrating relationship, the analysis is extended to consider higher-powered cointegration tests, tests which allow for structural change in the cointegrating relationship and tests of asymmetric cointegration. However, despite considering a range of tests, no evidence of cointegration is detected. The results therefore do not support the predictions of financial and economic theory.
A TIMEWISE SPECIFICATION SENSITIVE LOOK AT MONEY DEMAND: AN ANALYSIS OF US DATA
Authors: GENC ISMAIL
Published: August 2014

This paper analyses the money demand relationship with a clear distinction in the functional forms of short- and long-run. It is shown that there is a long-run relationship between money and income, and that money demand declines after a certain level of income is achieved in the short-run. Demand tends to converge to its long-run levels. Credit has a negative but statistically insignificant impact on money demand.
PRICING DEFAULT RISK WITH PARISIAN OPTIONS: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM HIGH GROWTH COMPANIES
Authors: CLARK EPHRAIM , BACCAR SÉLIMA
Published: August 2014

In the stock market crash of 2000 many internet firms that were ostensibly bankrupt were able to stave off bankruptcy by seeking protection under Chapter 11 or avoid it completely through refinancing or merging with another company. The implication is that these firms had a de facto option to choose when to default and that this option had substantial value. This paper builds on this insight and investigates how the value of a company is affected by the default option and the choice of the relevant bankruptcy procedures. We use a Parisian barrier option framework and extend Schwartz and Moon's (2000) contingent claim model, which implies only a Chapter 7 bankruptcy procedure, to allow for the more general bankruptcy procedure of Chapter 11. We consider bankruptcy procedures that are explicitly based on the time spent in financial distress and include a "grace" period in the model to more realistically capture the effects of default risk on firm value. Finally, we develop an efficient Monte Carlo method to price approximations for the Parisian options. Some numerical results and comparative statics are also performed to demonstrate the characteristics of cumulative and consecutive Parisian options and investigate their effects on the value of high growth firms.
GARCH AND VOLUME EFFECTS IN THE AUSTRALIAN STOCK MARKETS
Authors: XIAO JINGLIANG , BROOKS ROBERT D , WONG WING-KEUNG
Published: August 2014

This paper explores the relationship between volume and volatility in the Australian Stock Market in the context of a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model. In contrast to other studies who only examine the interaction of GARCH and volume effects on a small number of stocks, we examine these effects on the entire available data for the Australian All Ordinaries Index. We also emphasize on the impact of firm size and trading volume. Our results indicate that GARCH model testing and estimation is impacted by firm size and trading volume. Specifically, our analysis produces the following major findings. First, generally, daily trading volume, used as a proxy for information arrival time, is shown to have significant explanatory power regarding the variance of daily returns. Second, the actively traded stocks which may have a larger number of information arrivals per day have a larger impact of volume on the variance of daily returns. Third, we find that low trading volume and small firm lead to a higher persistence of GARCH effects in the estimated models. Fourth, unlike the elimination effect for the top most active stocks, in general, the elimination of both autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) and GARCH effects by introducing the volume variable on all other stocks on average is not as much as that for the top most active stocks. Fifth, the elimination of both ARCH and GARCH effects by introducing the volume variable is higher for stocks in the largest volume and/or the largest market capitalization quartile group. Our findings imply that the earlier findings in the literature were not a statistical fluke and that, unlike most anomalies, the volume effect on volatility is not likely to be eliminated after its discovery. In addition, our findings reject the pure random walk hypothesis for stock returns.
Global Heritage Stone: Estremoz Marbles, Portugal
Authors: Lopes Luís , Martins Ruben
Published: August 2014

Paleozoic calcitic marbles are found in the Estremoz Anticline, Ossa-Morena Zone (Southern Branch of the European Variscides in Portugal). This 40 km NW–SE structure presents outcrop continuity and intense mining activity since the Roman Period. The structure has a Precambrian core and the younger rocks are from the Devonian Period. The marbles occupy an intermediate stratigraphic position in the Cambrian age Volcano Sedimentary Sequence. The Variscan Orogeny had two pulses with different intensities under ductile and brittle tension fields. The Alpine Cycle also caused more fracturing of the marbles. The geological features imprinted in the marbles are beautiful aesthetic patterns highlighted when used as dimension stone.

Since the Roman period, pieces of art made with Estremoz Marble were exported abroad and can be found in museums and archaeological sites throughout Europe and North Africa countries. Present day, Estremoz Marble objects can be found all over the world.

The very rich marble based heritage is omnipresent in cities, and the countryside is marked by intense mining activity side by side with rural industries; therefore the region has unique characteristics allowing the development of integrated industrial tourism routes, promoting sustainable development of industrial, scientific and technological cultural opportunities.

The historical and widespread application of these marbles in national and international monuments, some of them already part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is a condition to propose them as Global Heritage Stone Resource for their international recognition.
Resveratrol modulates the angiogenic response to exercise training in skeletal muscles of aged men
Authors: Gliemann Lasse , Olesen Jesper , Biensø Rasmus Sjørup , Schmidt Jakob Friis , Akerstrom Thorbjorn , Nyberg Michael , Lindqvist Anna , Bangsbo Jens , Hellsten Ylva
Published: August 2014

In animal studies, the polyphenol resveratrol has been shown to influence several pathways of importance for angiogenesis in skeletal muscle. The aim of the present study was to examine the angiogenic effect of resveratrol supplementation with parallel exercise training in aged men. Forty-three healthy physically inactive aged men (65 ± 1 yr) were divided into 1) a training group that conducted 8 wk of intense exercise training where half of the subjects received a daily intake of either 250 mg trans-resveratrol ( n = 14) and the other half received placebo ( n = 13) and 2) a nontraining group that received either 250 mg trans-resveratrol ( n = 9) or placebo ( n = 7). The group that trained with placebo showed a ∼20% increase in the capillary-to-fiber ratio, an increase in muscle protein expression of VEGF, VEGF receptor-2, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP-1) but unaltered thrombospodin-1 levels. Muscle interstitial VEGF and thrombospodin-1 protein levels were unchanged after the training period. The group that trained with resveratrol supplementation did not show an increase in the capillary-to-fiber ratio or an increase in muscle VEGF protein. Muscle TIMP-1 protein levels were lower in the training and resveratrol group than in the training and placebo group. Both training groups showed an increase in forkhead box O1 protein. In nontraining groups, TIMP-1 protein was lower in the resveratrol-treated group than the placebo-treated group after 8 wk. In conclusion, these data show that exercise training has a strong angiogenic effect, whereas resveratrol supplementation may limit basal and training-induced angiogenesis.
Aldosterone augments Na+-induced reduction of cardiac norepinephrine reuptake
Authors: Kreusser Michael M. , Lehmann Lorenz H. , Riffel Johannes H. , Haass Markus , Maser-Gluth Christiane , Backs Johannes , Katus Hugo A. , Buss Sebastian J.
Published: August 2014

Impairment of the cardiac norepinephrine (NE) reuptake by the neuronal NE transporter contributes to enhanced cardiac NE net release in congestive heart failure. Elevated plasma levels of aldosterone (AL) promote sympathetic overstimulation in failing hearts by unclear mechanisms. Our aim was to evaluate if elevated AL and/or alterations in Na+ intake regulate cardiac NE reuptake. To test the effects of AL and Na+ on cardiac NE reuptake, Wistar rats were fed a normal-salt (NS) diet (0.2% NaCl), a low-salt (LS) diet (0.015% NaCl), or a high-salt (HS) diet (8% NaCl). Another group of animals received AL infusion alone (0.75 μg/h) or AL infusion plus HS diet. Specific cardiac [3H]NE uptake via the NE transporter in a Langendorff preparation and AL plasma levels were measured at different time points between 5 and 42 days of treatment. To compare these findings from healthy animals with a disease model, Dahl salt-sensitive rats were investigated as a model of congestive heart failure with endogenously elevated AL. In summary, neither exogenous nor endogenous elevations of AL alone were sufficient to reduce cardiac NE reuptake. Only the HS diet induced a reduction of NE reuptake by 26%; additional infusion of AL augmented this effect to a further reduction of NE reuptake by 36%. In concordance, Dahl salt-sensitive rats treated with a HS diet displayed elevated AL and a marked reduction of NE reuptake. We conclude that exogenous or endogenous AL elevations alone do not reduce cardiac NE reuptake, but AL serves as an additional factor that negatively regulates cardiac NE reuptake in concert with HS intake.
AMPK activation by glucagon-like peptide-1 prevents NADPH oxidase activation induced by hyperglycemia in adult cardiomyocytes
Authors: Balteau Magali , Van Steenbergen Anne , Timmermans Aurélie D. , Dessy Chantal , Behets-Wydemans Gaetane , Tajeddine Nicolas , Castanares-Zapatero Diego , Gilon Patrick , Vanoverschelde Jean-Louis , Horman Sandrine , Hue Louis , Bertrand Luc , Beauloye Christophe
Published: August 2014

Exposure of cardiomyocytes to high glucose concentrations (HG) stimulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by NADPH oxidase (NOX2). NOX2 activation is triggered by enhanced glucose transport through a sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT) but not by a stimulation of glucose metabolism. The aim of this work was to identify potential therapeutic approaches to counteract this glucotoxicity. In cultured adult rat cardiomyocytes incubated with 21 mM glucose (HG), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation by A769662 or phenformin nearly suppressed ROS production. Interestingly, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a new antidiabetic drug, concomitantly induced AMPK activation and prevented the HG-mediated ROS production (maximal effect at 100 nM). α2-AMPK, the major isoform expressed in cardiomyocytes (but not α1-AMPK), was activated in response to GLP-1. Anti-ROS properties of AMPK activators were not related to changes in glucose uptake or glycolysis. Using in situ proximity ligation assay, we demonstrated that AMPK activation prevented the HG-induced p47phox translocation to caveolae, whatever the AMPK activators used. NOX2 activation by either α-methyl-d-glucopyranoside, a glucose analog transported through SGLT, or angiotensin II was also counteracted by GLP-1. The crucial role of AMPK in limiting HG-mediated NOX2 activation was demonstrated by overexpressing a constitutively active form of α2-AMPK using adenoviral infection. This overexpression prevented NOX2 activation in response to HG, whereas GLP-1 lost its protective action in α2-AMPK-deficient mouse cardiomyocytes. Under HG, the GLP-1/AMPK pathway inhibited PKC-β2 phosphorylation, a key element mediating p47phox translocation. In conclusion, GLP-1 induces α2-AMPK activation and blocks HG-induced p47phox translocation to the plasma membrane, thereby preventing glucotoxicity.
Type 2 diabetes: increased expression and contribution of IKCa channels to vasodilation in small mesenteric arteries of ZDF rats
Authors: Schach Christian , Resch Markus , Schmid Peter M. , Riegger Guenter A. , Endemann Dierk H.
Published: August 2014

Impaired endothelial function, which is dysregulated in diabetes, also precedes hypertension. We hypothesized that in Type 2 diabetes, the impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation is due to a loss of endothelium-derived hyperpolarization (EDH) that is regulated by impaired ion channel function. Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF), Zucker heterozygote, and homozygote lean control rats were used as the experimental models in our study. Third-order mesenteric arteries were dissected and mounted on a pressure myograph; mRNA was quantified by RT-PCR and channel proteins by Western blotting. Under nitric oxide (NO) synthase and cyclooxygenase inhibition, endothelial stimulation with ACh fully relaxes control but not diabetic arteries. In contrast, when small-conductance calcium-activated potassium (KCa) channels and intermediate- and large-conductance KCa (I/BKCa) are inhibited with apamin and charybdotoxin, NO is able to compensate for ACh-induced relaxation in control but not in diabetic vessels. After replacement of charybdotoxin with 1-[(2-chlorophenyl)diphenylmethyl]-1H-pyrazole (TRAM-34; IKCa inhibitor), ACh-induced relaxation in diabetic animals is attenuated. Specific inhibition with TRAM-34 or charybdotoxin attenuates ACh relaxation in diabetes. Stimulation with 1-ethyl-2-benzimidazolinone (IKCa activator) shows a reduced relaxation in diabetes. Activation of BKCa with 1,3-dihydro-1-[2-hydroxy-5-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-5-(trifluoromethyl)-2H-benzimidazol-2-one NS619 leads to similar relaxations of control and diabetic arteries. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis demonstrate elevated mRNA and protein expression levels of IKCa in diabetes. Our results suggest that the compensatory effect of NO and EDH-associated, endothelium-dependent relaxation is reduced in ZDF rats. Specific blockade of IKCa with TRAM-34 reduces NO and EDH-type relaxation in diabetic rats, indicating an elevated contribution of IKCa in diabetic small mesenteric artery relaxation. This finding correlates with increased IKCa mRNA and protein expression in this vessel.
Aging impairs smooth muscle-mediated regulation of aortic stiffness: a defect in shock absorption function?
Authors: Gao Yuan Z. , Saphirstein Robert J. , Yamin Rina , Suki Bela , Morgan Kathleen G.
Published: August 2014

Increased aortic stiffness is an early and independent biomarker of cardiovascular disease. Here we tested the hypothesis that vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) contribute significantly to aortic stiffness and investigated the mechanisms involved. The relative contributions of VSMCs, focal adhesions (FAs), and matrix to stiffness in mouse aorta preparations at optimal length and with confirmed VSMC viability were separated by the use of small-molecule inhibitors and activators. Using biomechanical methods designed for minimal perturbation of cellular function, we directly quantified changes with aging in aortic material stiffness. An alpha adrenoceptor agonist, in the presence of NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) to remove interference of endothelial nitric oxide, increases stiffness by 90–200% from baseline in both young and old mice. Interestingly, increases are robustly suppressed by the Src kinase inhibitor PP2 in young but not old mice. Phosphotyrosine screening revealed, with aging, a biochemical signature of markedly impaired agonist-induced FA remodeling previously associated with Src signaling. Protein expression measurement confirmed a decrease in Src expression with aging. Thus we report here an additive model for the in vitro biomechanical components of the mouse aortic wall in which 1) VSMCs are a surprisingly large component of aortic stiffness at physiological lengths and 2) regulation of the VSMC component through FA signaling and hence plasticity is impaired with aging, diminishing the aorta's normal shock absorption function in response to stressors.
Cigarette smoke-induced iBALT mediates macrophage activation in a B cell-dependent manner in COPD
Authors: John-Schuster Gerrit , Hager Katrin , Conlon Thomas M. , Irmler Martin , Beckers Johannes , Eickelberg Oliver , Yildirim Ali Önder
Published: August 2014

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by a progressive decline in lung function, caused by exposure to exogenous particles, mainly cigarette smoke (CS). COPD is initiated and perpetuated by an abnormal CS-induced inflammatory response of the lungs, involving both innate and adaptive immunity. Specifically, B cells organized in iBALT structures and macrophages accumulate in the lungs and contribute to CS-induced emphysema, but the mechanisms thereof remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that B cell-deficient mice are significantly protected against CS-induced emphysema. Chronic CS exposure led to an increased size and number of iBALT structures, and increased lung compliance and mean linear chord length in wild-type (WT) but not in B cell-deficient mice. The increased accumulation of lung resident macrophages around iBALT and in emphysematous alveolar areas in CS-exposed WT mice coincided with upregulated MMP12 expression. In vitro coculture experiments using B cells and macrophages demonstrated that B cell-derived IL-10 drives macrophage activation and MMP12 upregulation, which could be inhibited by an anti-IL-10 antibody. In summary, B cell function in iBALT formation seems necessary for macrophage activation and tissue destruction in CS-induced emphysema and possibly provides a new target for therapeutic intervention in COPD.
Merging Agents and Cloud Services in Industrial Applications
Authors: Maturana Francisco P. , Asenjo Juan L. , Philip Neethu S. , Chatrola Shweta
Published: August 2014

A novel idea to combine agent technology and cloud computing for monitoring a plant floor system is presented. Cloud infrastructure has been leveraged as the main mechanism for hosting the data and processing needs of a modern industrial information system. The cloud offers unlimited storage and data processing in a near real-time fashion. This paper presents a software-as-a-service (SaaS) architecture for augmenting industrial plant-floor reporting capabilities. This reporting capability has been architected using networked agents, worker roles, and scripts for building a scalable data pipeline and analytics system.
Defensins and Sepsis
Authors: Xie Guo-Hao , Chen Qi-Xing , Cheng Bao-Li , Fang Xiang-Ming
Published: August 2014

Sepsis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the critical illness. Multiple immune inflammatory processes take part in the pathogenesis of sepsis. Defensins are endogenous antimicrobial peptides with three disulphide bonds created by six cysteine residues. Besides the intrinsic microbicidal properties, defensins are active players which modulate both innate and adaptive immunity against various infections. Defensins can recruit neutrophils, enhance phagocytosis, chemoattract T cells and dendritic cells, promote complement activation, and induce IL-1βproduction and pyrotosis. Previous publications have documented that defensins play important roles in a series of immune inflammatory diseases including sepsis. This review aims to briefly summarize in vitro, in vivo, and genetic studies on defensins’ effects as well as corresponding mechanisms within sepsis and highlights their promising findings which may be potential targets in future therapies of sepsis.
Biomedical Relation Extraction: From Binary to Complex
Authors: Zhou Deyu , Zhong Dayou , He Yulan
Published: August 2014

Biomedical relation extraction aims to uncover high-quality relations from life science literature with high accuracy and efficiency. Early biomedical relation extraction tasks focused on capturing binary relations, such as protein-protein interactions, which are crucial for virtually every process in a living cell. Information about these interactions provides the foundations for new therapeutic approaches. In recent years, more interests have been shifted to the extraction of complex relations such as biomolecular events. While complex relations go beyond binary relations and involve more than two arguments, they might also take another relation as an argument. In the paper, we conduct a thorough survey on the research in biomedical relation extraction. We first present a general framework for biomedical relation extraction and then discuss the approaches proposed for binary and complex relation extraction with focus on the latter since it is a much more difficult task compared to binary relation extraction. Finally, we discuss challenges that we are facing with complex relation extraction and outline possible solutions and future directions.
Calculating Super Efficiency of DMUs for Ranking Units in Data Envelopment Analysis Based on SBM Model
Authors: Zanboori E. , Rostamy-Malkhalifeh M. , Jahanshahloo G. R. , Shoja N.
Published: August 2014

There are a number of methods for ranking decision making units (DMUs), among which calculating super efficiency and then ranking the units based on the obtained amount of super efficiency are both valid and efficient. Since most of the proposed models do not provide the projection of Pareto efficiency, a model is developed and presented through this paper based on which in the projection of Pareto-efficient is obtained, in addition to calculating the amount of super efficiency. Moreover, the model is unit invariant, and is always feasible and makes the amount of inefficiency effective in ranking.
18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/CT Scanning in Diagnosing Vascular Prosthetic Graft Infection
Authors: Saleem Ben R. , Pol Robert A. , Slart Riemer H. J. A. , Reijnen Michel M. P. J. , Zeebregts Clark J.
Published: August 2014

Vascular prosthetic graft infection (VPGI) is a severe complication after vascular surgery. CT-scan is considered the diagnostic tool of choice in advanced VPGI. The incidence of a false-negative result using CT is relatively high, especially in the presence of low-grade infections.18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) scanning has been suggested as an alternative for the diagnosis and assessment of infectious processes. Hybrid18F-FDG PET/CT has established the role of18F-FDG PET for the assessment of suspected VPGI, providing accurate anatomic localization of the site of infection. However, there are no clear guidelines for the interpretation of the uptake patterns of18F-FDG as clinical tool for VPGI. Based on the available literature it is suggested that a linear, diffuse, and homogeneous uptake should not be regarded as an infection whereas focal or heterogeneous uptake with a projection over the vessel on CT is highly suggestive of infection. Nevertheless,18F-FDG PET and18F-FDG PET/CT can play an important role in the detection of VPGI and monitoring response to treatment. However an accurate uptake and pattern recognition is warranted and cut-off uptake values and patterns need to be standardized before considering the technique to be the new standard.
Relationship between Body Mass Index, Blood Pressure, and Visual Acuity in Residents of Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria
Authors: Ernest-Nwoke I. O. , Ozor M. O. , Akpamu U. , Oyakhire M. O.
Published: August 2014

Aim. To study the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) on visual acuity among apparently healthy residents of Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Methodology. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study among 225 subjects (ages of 18–35 years) from whom BP, body weight, and height were collected. Visual acuity was measured using the Snellen chart following standard procedures of number of letters seen at 6-metre distance. The data were then analyzed using SPSS version 17. Results. The sampled population consists of 112 male and 113 female (mean age 31.72±14.2 years). Majority (180) of the respondents had normal visual acuity. However, compared with the respondents with normal BMI (R19.61±1.5; L19.67±1.70), visual acuity of underweight (R18.53±2.30; L18.53±2.70) and obese (R15.68±4.79; L17.73±1.70) were more deviated. Similarly, compared with respondent with normal BP (120–125/80–85 mmHg; R18.00±2.53; L18.07±3.11), hypotensive (R15.5±7.35; L15.00±10.20), and hypertensive (R15.01±21.25; L15.00±11.91) respondents had deviated visual acuity. Conclusion. Abnormal body weight (underweight and obese) and BP (hypotension and hypertension) have potential negative impacts on visual acuity. Based on the observed relationship between weights, BP, and visual acuity, eye examinations can be included as regular screening exercise for abnormal BMI and BP conditions.
QSPR Models for Octane Number Prediction
Authors: Al-Fahemi Jabir H. , Albis Nahla A. , Gad Elshafie A. M.
Published: August 2014

Quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) is performed as a means to predict octane number of hydrocarbons via correlating properties to parameters calculated from molecular structure; such parameters are molecular mass M, hydration energy EH, boiling point BP, octanol/water distribution coefficient logP, molar refractivity MR, critical pressure CP, critical volume CV, and critical temperature CT. Principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression technique (MLR) were performed to examine the relationship between multiple variables of the above parameters and the octane number of hydrocarbons. The results of PCA explain the interrelationships between octane number and different variables. Correlation coefficients were calculated using M.S. Excel to examine the relationship between multiple variables of the above parameters and the octane number of hydrocarbons. The data set was split into training of 40 hydrocarbons and validation set of 25 hydrocarbons. The linear relationship between the selected descriptors and the octane number has coefficient of determination (R2=0.932), statistical significance (F=53.21), and standard errors (s =7.7). The obtained QSPR model was applied on the validation set of octane number for hydrocarbons giving RCV2=0.942 and s=6.328.
Vanadyl Sulfate Treatment Stimulates Proliferation and Regeneration of Beta Cells in Pancreatic Islets
Authors: Missaoui Samira , Ben Rhouma Khémais , Yacoubi Mohamed-Tahar , Sakly Mohsen , Tebourbi Olfa
Published: August 2014

We examined the effects of vanadium sulfate (VOSO4) treatment at 5 and 10 mg/kg for 30 days on endocrine pancreas activity and histology in nondiabetic and STZ-induced diabetic rats. In diabetic group, blood glucose levels significantly increased while insulinemia level markedly decreased. At the end of treatment, VOSO4at a dose of 10 mg/Kg normalized blood glucose level in diabetic group, restored insulinemia, and significantly improved insulin sensitivity. VOSO4also increased in a dose-dependent manner the number of insulin immunopositive beta cells in pancreatic islets of nondiabetic rats. Furthermore, in the STZ-diabetic group, the decrease in the number of insulin immunopositive beta cells was corrected to reach the control level mainly with the higher dose of vanadium. Therefore, VOSO4treatment normalized plasma glucose and insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity in STZ-experimental diabetes and induced beta cells proliferation and/or regeneration in normal or diabetic rats.
Primary Circulating Prostate Cells Are Not Detected in Men with Low Grade Small Volume Prostate Cancer
Authors: Murray Nigel P. , Reyes Eduardo , Fuentealba Cynthia , Orellana Nelson , Jacob Omar
Published: August 2014

Objective. To determine if primary circulating prostate cells (CPCs) are found in all men with prostate cancer.Methods and Patients. A prospective study, to analyze all men with an elevated PSA between 4.0 and 10.0 ng/mL undergoing initial biopsy. Primary CPCs were obtained by differential gel centrifugation and detected using standard immunocytochemistry using anti-PSA; positive samples underwent a second process with anti-P504S. A malignant primary CPC was defined as PSA (+) P504S (+) and a test positive if 1 cell/4 mL was detected. Biopsy results were registered as cancer/no-cancer, number of cores positive, and percent infiltration of the cores.Results. 328/1123 (29.2%) of the study population had prostate cancer diagnosed on initial biopsy, and 42/328 (12.8%) were negative for primary CPCs. CPC negative men were significantly older, and had lower PSA levels, lower Gleason scores, and fewer positive cores and with infiltration by the cancer. 38/42 (91%) of CPC negative men complied with the criteria for active surveillance in comparison with 34/286 (12%) of CPC positive men.Conclusions. Using primary CPC detection as a sequential test to select men with an elevated PSA for biopsy, the risk of missing clinically significant prostate cancer is minimal when the patient is primary CPC negative; less than 0.5% of all primary CPC negative men had a clinically significant prostate cancer.
Genetic Dissection of the Physiological Role of Skeletal Muscle in Metabolic Syndrome
Authors: Hagiwara Nobuko
Published: August 2014

The primary deficiency underlying metabolic syndrome is insulin resistance, in which insulin-responsive peripheral tissues fail to maintain glucose homeostasis. Because skeletal muscle is the major site for insulin-induced glucose uptake, impairments in skeletal muscle’s insulin responsiveness play a major role in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. For example, skeletal muscle of type 2 diabetes patients and their offspring exhibit reduced ratios of slow oxidative muscle. These observations suggest the possibility of applying muscle remodeling to recover insulin sensitivity in metabolic syndrome. Skeletal muscle is highly adaptive to external stimulations such as exercise; however, in practice it is often not practical or possible to enforce the necessary intensity to obtain measurable benefits to the metabolic syndrome patient population. Therefore, identifying molecular targets for inducing muscle remodeling would provide new approaches to treat metabolic syndrome. In this review, the physiological properties of skeletal muscle, genetic analysis of metabolic syndrome in human populations and model organisms, and genetically engineered mouse models will be discussed in regard to the prospect of applying skeletal muscle remodeling as possible therapy for metabolic syndrome.
Ubi‐RKE: A Rhythm Key Based Encryption Scheme for Ubiquitous Devices
Authors: Lee Jae Dong , Im Hyung Jin , Kang Won Min , Park Jong Hyuk
Published: August 2014

As intelligent ubiquitous devices become more popular, security threats targeting them are increasing; security is seen as one of the major challenges of the ubiquitous computing. Now a days, applying ubiquitous computing in number of fields for human safety and convenience was immensely increased in recent years. The popularity of the technology is rising day by day, and hence the security is becoming the main focused point with the advent and rising popularity of the applications. In particular, the number of wireless networks based on ubiquitous devices has increased rapidly; these devices support transmission for many types of data traffic. The convenient portability of ubiquitous devices makes them vulnerable to security threats, such as loss, theft, data modification, and wiretapping. Developers and users should seriously consider employing data encryption to protect data from such vulnerabilities. In this paper, we propose a Rhythm Key based Encryption scheme for ubiquitous devices (Ubi‐RKE). The concept of Rhythm Key based Encryption has been applied to numerous real world applications in different domains. It provides key memorability and secure encryption through user touching rhythm on ubiquitous devices. Our proposed scheme is more efficient for users than existing schemes, by providing a strong cipher.
Proliferation in the Alzheimer Hippocampus Is due to Microglia, Not Astroglia, and Occurs at Sites of Amyloid Deposition
Authors: Marlatt Michael W. , Bauer Jan , Aronica Eleonora , van Haastert Elise S. , Hoozemans Jeroen J. M. , Joels Marian , Lucassen Paul J.
Published: August 2014

Microglia and astrocytes contribute to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) etiology and may mediate early neuroinflammatory responses. Despite their possible role in disease progression and despite the fact that they can respond to amyloid deposition in model systems, little is known about whether astro- or microglia can undergo proliferation in AD and whether this is related to the clinical symptoms or to local neuropathological changes. Previously, proliferation was found to be increased in glia-rich regions of the presenile hippocampus. Since their phenotype was unknown, we here used two novel triple-immunohistochemical protocols to study proliferation in astro- or microglia in relation to amyloid pathology. We selected different age-matched cohorts to study whether proliferative changes relate to clinical severity or to neuropathological changes. Proliferating cells were found across the hippocampus but never in mature neurons or astrocytes. Almost all proliferating cells were colabeled with Iba1+, indicating that particularly microglia contribute to proliferation in AD. Proliferating Iba1+ cells was specifically seen within the borders of amyloid plaques, indicative of an active involvement in, or response to, plaque accumulation. Thus, consistent with animal studies, proliferation in the AD hippocampus is due to microglia, occurs in close proximity of plaque pathology, and may contribute to the neuroinflammation common in AD.