bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Replication and Distribution of Toxoplasma gondii in the Small Intestine after Oral Infection with Tissue Cysts
Authors: Gregg Beth , Taylor Betsy C. , John Beena , Tait-Wojno Elia D. , Girgis Natasha M. , Miller Natalie , Wagage Sagie , Roos David S. , Hunter Christopher A.
Published: March 2013

Natural infection byToxoplasma gondiioccurs via oral ingestion of tissue cysts that rupture in the small intestine, releasing zoites that infect locally before disseminating throughout the host. The studies presented here used fluorescent parasites combined with flow cytometry and multiphoton microscopy techniques to understand the events associated with parasite replication in the mucosa. At 3 days postinfection with tissue cysts, parasites were localized in small foci and flow cytometry revealed parasites present in macrophages, neutrophils, and monocytes in the lamina propria. By day 6 postinfection, there were large foci of replicating parasites; however, foci unexpectedly varied in the number of villi involved and were associated with the presence of viable tachyzoites within the intestinal lumen. Consistent with the flow cytometry data, neutrophils and monocytes in the lamina propria were preferentially associated with parasite plaques. In contrast, dendritic cells comprised a small fraction of the infected immune cell population and were localized at the periphery of parasite plaques. Together, these findings reveal the formation of localized sites of parasite replication and inflammation early during infection and suggest that sustained replication ofT. gondiiin the gut may be a function of pathogen luminal spread.
The Formins FMNL1 and mDia1 Regulate Coiling Phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi by Primary Human Macrophages
Authors: Naj Xenia , Hoffmann Ann-Kathrin , Himmel Mirko , Linder Stefan
Published: March 2013

Spirochetes of the
Borrelia burgdorferi
sensu lato
complex are the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, a tick-borne infectious disease primarily affecting the skin, nervous system, and joints. During infection, macrophages and dendritic cells are the first immune cells to encounter invading borreliae. Phagocytosis and intracellular processing of
Borrelia
by these cells is thus decisive for the eventual outcome of infection. Phagocytic uptake of
Borrelia
by macrophages proceeds preferentially through coiling phagocytosis, which is characterized by actin-rich unilateral pseudopods that capture and enwrap spirochetes. Actin-dependent growth of these pseudopods necessitates
de novo
nucleation of actin filaments, which is regulated by actin-nucleating factors such as Arp2/3 complex. Here, we demonstrate that, in addition, also actin-regulatory proteins of the formin family are important for uptake of borreliae by primary human macrophages. Using immunofluorescence, live-cell imaging, and ratiometric analysis, we find specific enrichment of the formins FMNL1 and mDia1 at macrophage pseudopods that are in contact with borreliae. Consistently, small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of FMNL1 or mDia1 leads to decreased formation of
Borrelia
-induced pseudopods and to decreased internalization of borreliae by macrophage
s
. Our results suggest that macrophage coiling phagocytosis is a complex process involving several actin nucleation/regulatory factors. They also point specifically to the formins mDia1 and FMNL1 as novel regulators of spirochete uptake by human immune cells.
Veterinary guidance on the practical use of the BadgerBCG tuberculosis vaccine
Authors: Brown Eleanor , Cooney Rory , Rogers Fiona
Published: March 2013

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most serious animal diseases affecting the cattle industry in the UK. The badger is a well recognised wildlife reservoir of TB and therefore controlling the spread of this disease from badgers to cattle is a key requirement for eradicating the disease in cattle. BadgerBCG, the first TB vaccine for use in badgers, has been shown to reduce the severity of disease in individuals and reduce the shedding of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of TB. Despite limited use, there is much media and public interest in badger vaccination and it is very possible that veterinary surgeons will be asked to provide advice on its use. This article explains the practicalities of the use of BadgerBCG, the role of the veterinary surgeon in prescribing and directing the use of the vaccine, and the role of lay vaccinators and how they can work to vaccinate badgers under the direction of the veterinary surgeon.
Assessing reptile welfare using behavioural criteria
Authors: Warwick Clifford , Arena Phillip , Lindley Samantha , Jessop Mike , Steedman Catrina
Published: March 2013

While clinical reptile medicine as a science is in its ascendancy among veterinary surgeons and other interested groups, familiarity with the often related issue of reptilian behavioural and psychological health appears less common. Behavioural change in reptiles, as in other animals, is often the primary indicator of disturbance, injury or disease. Just as a behavioural sign may be an indicator of stress or a physical problem, a physical sign may be an indicator of a behavioural problem, and abnormal behaviour may result in injury and disease. This article focuses on abnormal behaviour in reptiles, including signs of captivity‐stress, injury and disease and their aetiologies, and takes a fresh look at some old and established biological and husbandry problems. Concise diagnostic guidance on behaviour issues is also included. The article might serve to prompt questions that may be asked of reptile keepers when evaluating animal and husbandry background.
Rodents' rights: patients or pet food?
Authors: Richards Isobel
Published: March 2013

THIS series gives readers the opportunity to consider and contribute to discussion of some of the ethical dilemmas that can arise in veterinary practice. Each month, a case scenario is presented, followed by discussion of some of the issues involved. In addition, a possible way forward is suggested; however, there is rarely a cut‐and‐dried answer in such cases, and readers may wish to suggest an alternative approach. This month's dilemma, ‘Rodents’ rights: patients or provisions?', was submitted by a reader and is discussed by Isobel Richards. Readers with comments to contribute are invited to send them as soon as possible, so that they can be considered for publication in the next issue. Discussion of the dilemma ‘Vaccinations and the Animal Welfare Act’, which was published in the February issue of In Practice, appears on page 159.

The series is being coordinated by Siobhan Mullan, of the University of Bristol. It is hoped it will provide a framework that will help practices find solutions when facing similar dilemmas.
Biodegradation of cypermethrin by a novel Catellibacterium sp. strain CC-5 isolated from contaminated soil
Authors: Zhao Haoyu , Geng Yucong , Chen Long , Tao Ke , Hou Taiping
Published: March 2013

The bacterial strain CC-5, isolated from contaminated soil and identified as Catellibacterium sp. based on morphology and partial 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis, utilized cypermethrin as its sole carbon source and degraded 97% of 100 mg·L−1 cypermethrin within 7 days. The optimal degradation conditions were determined to be 30 °C and pH 7.0. Degradation was found to follow a first-order model at initial cypermethrin concentrations below 400 mg·L−1. Strain CC-5 suffered substrate inhibition at high cypermethrin concentrations, and the biodegradation kinetics were successfully described by the Haldane model, with a maximal specific degradation rate of 1.36 day−1, an inhibition constant of 164.61 mg·L−1, and a half-saturation constant of 101.12 mg·L−1. Inoculating cypermethrin-treated soil samples with strain CC-5 resulted in a higher rate of cypermethrin removal than that in noninoculated soil, regardless of whether the soil had previously been sterilized. These results reveal that the bacterial strain may possess potential to be used in bioremediation of pyrethroid-contaminated environment.
FLRW COSMOLOGY FROM YANG–MILLS GRAVITY WITH TRANSLATIONAL GAUGE SYMMETRY
Authors: KATZ DANIEL
Published: March 2013

We extend to basic cosmology the subject of Yang–Mills gravity — a theory of gravity based on local translational gauge invariance in flat space–time. It has been shown that this particular gauge invariance leads to tensor factors in the macroscopic limit of the equations of motion of particles which plays the same role as the metric tensor of general relativity (GR). The assumption that this "effective metric" tensor takes on the standard FLRW form is our starting point. Equations analogous to the Friedmann equations are derived and then solved in closed form for the three special cases of a universe dominated by (1) matter, (2) radiation and (3) dark energy. We find that the solutions for the scale factor are similar to, but distinct from, those found in the corresponding GR based treatment.
DYNAMIC CONIC FINANCE: PRICING AND HEDGING IN MARKET MODELS WITH TRANSACTION COSTS VIA DYNAMIC COHERENT ACCEPTABILITY INDICES
Authors: BIELECKI TOMASZ R. , CIALENCO IGOR , IYIGUNLER ISMAIL , RODRIGUEZ RODRIGO
Published: March 2013

In this paper we present a theoretical framework for determining dynamic ask and bid prices of derivatives using the theory of dynamic coherent acceptability indices in discrete time. We prove a version of the First Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing using the dynamic coherent risk measures. We introduce the dynamic ask and bid prices of a derivative contract in markets with transaction costs. Based on these results, we derive a representation theorem for the dynamic bid and ask prices in terms of dynamically consistent sequence of sets of probability measures and risk-neutral measures. To illustrate our results, we compute the ask and bid prices of some path-dependent options using the dynamic Gain-Loss Ratio.
PRIORITY OPTION: THE VALUE OF BEING A LEADER
Authors: GRASSELLI M. R. , LECLÈRE V. , LUDKOVSKI M.
Published: March 2013

We consider the strategic interaction between two firms competing for the opportunity to invest in a project with uncertain future values. Starting in complete markets, we provide a rigorous characterization of the strategies followed by each firm in continuous time in the context of a timing/coordination game. In particular, the roles of leader and follower emerge from the resulting symmetric, Markov, sub-game perfect equilibrium. Comparing the expected value obtained by each firm in this case with that obtained when the roles of leader and follower are predetermined, we are able to calculate the amount of money that a firm would be willing to spend in advance (either by paying a license or acquiring market power) to have the right to be the leader in a subsequent game — what we call the priority option. We extend these results to incomplete markets by using utility-indifference arguments.
CORRIGENDUM: "AN EFFICIENT RECURSIVE ALGORITHM IN THE COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF THE BOUNDED GROWTH OF BIOLOGICAL FILMS"
Authors: MORALES-HERNÁNDEZ M. D. , MEDINA-RAMÍREZ I. E. , AVELAR-GONZÁLEZ F. J. , MACÍAS-DÍAZ J. E.
Published: March 2013

This communication reports on some incorrect simulations obtained via an implementation of the method introduced in [Int. J. Comput. Meth.9 (2012) 1250050]. In the present note, we show the correct numerical results of Example 6.1 in that work. A new computer experiment is added in order to observe the process of merging colonies in biological films. The authors apologize for any possible inconvenience derived from these inaccuracies.
A RESOURCE-BASED VIEW OF NEW FIRM SURVIVAL: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE ROLE OF INDUSTRY AND EXIT ROUTE
Authors: COLEMAN SUSAN , COTEI CARMEN , FARHAT JOSEPH
Published: March 2013

This article explores factors affecting the survival and exit routes of new firms created in 2004 using data from the Kauffman Firm Survey. We draw upon the Resource-Based View to test several hypotheses regarding the impact of both tangible and intangible resources on new firm survival in both service and non-service firms. We also distinguish between two types of exit: closures (permanently stopped operations) and mergers or acquisitions. Our results reveal that, although service and non-service firms may differ in terms of industry structure, the fundamental resources that contribute to their survival are the same: education, work and life experience and adequate levels of startup financial capital. In spite of these similarities, our results did reveal industry differences in terms of exit. We found serial entrepreneurs in the service sector were more likely to exit through merger or acquisition. Conversely, intellectual property decreased the likelihood of exit through merger or acquisition for non-service firms. Thus, our findings revealed a link between human capital, industry and exit route for this sample of new firms.
WORKING WITH OR AGAINST THE SYSTEM: ETHICAL DILEMMAS FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN GHANA
Authors: SACKEY JOCELYN , FÄLTHOLM YLVA , YLINENPÄÄ HÅKAN
Published: March 2013

The aim of this paper is to address entrepreneurship and ethics from the perspective of the Ghanaian entrepreneur in small and medium-size enterprises to extend our understanding of issues influencing entrepreneurial behavior in developing economies such as Ghana. Our study specifically addresses three typical situations in which business ethics are challenged: (1) When applying for business information and permits, (2) When competing for business contracts and financing and (3) When dealing with tax authorities. Relying on in-depth case-study data from 22 entrepreneurs, the paper conceptualizes entrepreneurial behavior related to business ethics and identifies several important challenges to overcome to enable economies to build a more effective market economy.
Forecasting large explosions at Bezymianny Volcano using thermal satellite data
Authors: van Manen S. M. , Blake S. , Dehn J. , Valcic L.
Published: March 2013

Large volcanic explosions pose a severe risk to life and cargo by injecting ash into local and international air traffic routes. Prior to exploding, Bezymianny (Kamchatka) commonly shows an increase in lava extrusion rate, which can be detected by satellites as an increase in thermal radiance. Here we present the first method of forecasting explosive eruptions based solely on satellite data. A pattern recognition algorithm using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data has been developed based on known precursory trends of increasing radiance prior to 19 explosions at Bezymianny Volcano in 1993–2008. The algorithm retrospectively forecasts 89% of the explosions (100% of the explosions that show precursory increases in thermal radiance), with 71% of alerts issued in the 30 days beforehand. The method also provides the probability of an explosion occurring within a given number of days after an alert is triggered by the algorithm. When applied to independent data, the algorithm correctly provided alerts before the 16 December 2009, 31 May 2010 and 13 April 2011 explosions.
Perceptual characterization of motion evoked by sounds for synthesis control purposes
Authors: Merer Adrien , Aramaki Mitsuko , Ystad Sølvi , Kronland-Martinet Richard
Published: March 2013

This article addresses the question of synthesis and control of sound attributes from a perceptual point of view. We focused on an attribute related to the general concept of motion evoked by sounds. To investigate this concept, we tested 40 monophonic abstract sounds on listeners via a questionnaire and drawings, using a parametrized custom interface. This original procedure, which was defined with synthesis and control perspectives in mind, provides an alternative means of determining intuitive control parameters for synthesizing sounds evoking motion. Results showed that three main shape categories (linear, with regular oscillations, and with circular oscillations) and three types of direction (rising, descending, and horizontal) were distinguished by the listeners. In addition, the subjects were able to perceive the low-frequency oscillations (below 8 Hz) quite accurately. Three size categories (small, medium, and large) and three levels of randomness (none, low amplitude irregularities, and high amplitude irregularities) and speed (constant speed and speeds showing medium and large variations) were also observed in our analyses of the participants' drawings. We further performed a perceptual test to confirm the relevance of the contribution of some variables with synthesized sounds combined with visual trajectories. Based on these results, a general typology of evoked motion was drawn up and an intuitive control strategy was designed, based on a symbolic representation of continuous trajectories (provided by devices such as motion capture systems, pen tablets, etc.). These generic tools could be used in a wide range of applications such as sound design, virtual reality, sonification, and music.
Perceptual importance of lighting phenomena in rendering of animated water
Authors: Bojrab Micah , Abdul-Massih Michel , Benes Bedrich
Published: March 2013

Recent years have seen increasing research in perceptually-driven reductions in the costs of realistically rendered imagery. Water is complex and recognizable, and continues to be in the forefront of research. However, the contribution of individual lighting phenomena to the perceived realism of virtual water has not been addressed. All these phenomena have costs associated with their rendering, but does the visual benefit outweigh these costs? This study investigates the human perception of various illumination components found in water-rich virtual environments. The investigation uses a traditional psychophysical analysis to examine viewer perception of these lighting phenomena as they relate to the rendering cost, and ultimately reveals common trends in perceptual value. Five different scenes with a wide range of water and lighting dynamics were tested for perceptual value by one hundred participants. Our results provide an importance comparison for lighting phenomena in the rendering of water, and cost reductions can be made with little or no effect on the perceived quality of the imagery if viewed in a scenario similar to our testing.
Physical activity recognition using multiple sensors embedded in a wearable device
Authors: Nam Yunyoung , Rho Seungmin , Lee Chulung
Published: March 2013

In this article, we present a wearable intelligence device for activity monitoring applications. We developed and evaluated algorithms to recognize physical activities from data acquired using a 3-axis accelerometer with a single camera worn on a body. The recognition process is performed in two steps: at first the features for defining a human activity are measured by the 3-axis accelerometer sensor and the image sensor embedded in a wearable device. Then, the physical activity corresponding to the measured features is determined by applying the SVM classifier. The 3-axis accelerometer sensor computes the correlation between axes and the magnitude of the FFT for other features of an activity. Acceleration data is classified into nine activity labels. Through the image sensor, multiple optical flow vectors computed on each grid image patch are extracted as features for defining an activity. In the experiments, we showed that an overall accuracy rate of activity recognition based our method was 92.78%.
Toward a Professional Platform for Chinese Character Conversion
Authors: Hao Tianyong , Zhu Chunshen
Published: March 2013

Increasing communication among Chinese-speaking regions using respectively traditional and simplified Chinese character systems has highlighted the subtle-yet-extensive differences between the two systems, which can lead to unexpected hindrance in converting characters from one to the other. This article proposes a new priority-based multi-data resources management model, with a new algorithm called Fused Conversion algorithm from Multi-Data resources (FCMD), to ensure more context-sensitive, human controllable, and thus more reliable conversions, by drawing on reverse maximum matching,
n
-gram-based statistical model and pattern-based learning and matching. After parameter training on the Tagged Chinese Gigaword corpus, its conversion precision reaches 91.5% in context-sensitive cases, the most difficult part in the conversion, with an overall precision rate at 99.8%, a significant improvement over the state-of-the-art models. The conversion platform based on the model has extra features such as data resource selection and
n
-grams self-learning ability, providing a more sophisticated tool good especially for high-end professional uses.
Attention-Feedback Based Robust Segmentation of Online Handwritten Isolated Tamil Words
Authors: Sundaram Suresh , Ramakrishnan A. G.
Published: March 2013

In this article, we propose a lexicon-free, script-dependent approach to segment online handwritten isolated Tamil words into its constituent symbols. Our proposed segmentation strategy comprises two modules, namely the (1) Dominant Overlap Criterion Segmentation (DOCS) module and (2) Attention Feedback Segmentation (AFS) module. Based on a bounding box overlap criterion in the DOCS module, the input word is first segmented into stroke groups. A stroke group may at times correspond to a part of a valid symbol (over-segmentation) or a merger of valid symbols (under-segmentation). Attention on specific features in the AFS module serve in detecting possibly over-segmented or under-segmented stroke groups. Thereafter, feedbacks from the SVM classifier likelihoods and stroke-group based features are considered in modifying the suspected stroke groups to form valid symbols.

The proposed scheme is tested on a set of 10000 isolated handwritten words (containing 53,246 Tamil symbols). The results show that the DOCS module achieves a symbol-level segmentation accuracy of 98.1%, which improves to as high as 99.7% after the AFS strategy. This in turn entails a symbol recognition rate of 83.9% (at the DOCS module) and 88.4% (after the AFS module). The resulting word recognition rates at the DOCS and AFS modules are found to be, 50.9% and 64.9% respectively, without any postprocessing.
Views
Authors: Demsky Brian , Lam Patrick
Published: March 2013

Fine-grained locking is often necessary to increase concurrency. Correctly implementing fine-grained locking with today's concurrency primitives can be challenging—race conditions often plague programs with sophisticated locking schemes.

We present views, a new approach to concurrency control. Views ease the task of implementing sophisticated locking schemes and provide static checks to automatically detect many data races. A view of an object declares a partial interface, consisting of fields and methods, to the object that the view protects. A view also contains an incompatibility declaration, which lists views that may not be simultaneously held by other threads. A set of view annotations specify which code regions hold a view of an object. Our view compiler performs simple static checks that identify many data races. We pair the basic approach with an inference algorithm that can infer view incompatibility specifications for many applications.

We have ported four benchmark applications to use views: portions of Vuze, a BitTorrent client; Mailpuccino, a graphical email client; jphonelite, a VoIP softphone implementation; and TupleSoup, a database. Our experience indicates that views are easy to use, make implementing sophisticated locking schemes simple, and can help eliminate concurrency bugs. We have evaluated the performance of a view implementation of a red-black tree and found that views can significantly improve performance over that of the lock-based implementation.
Achieving scalable model-based testing through test case diversity
Authors: Hemmati Hadi , Arcuri Andrea , Briand Lionel
Published: March 2013

The increase in size and complexity of modern software systems requires scalable, systematic, and automated testing approaches. Model-based testing (MBT), as a systematic and automated test case generation technique, is being successfully applied to verify industrial-scale systems and is supported by commercial tools. However, scalability is still an open issue for large systems, as in practice there are limits to the amount of testing that can be performed in industrial contexts. Even with standard coverage criteria, the resulting test suites generated by MBT techniques can be very large and expensive to execute, especially for system level testing on real deployment platforms and network facilities. Therefore, a scalable MBT technique should be flexible regarding the size of the generated test suites and should be easily accommodated to fit resource and time constraints. Our approach is to select a subset of the generated test suite in such a way that it can be realistically executed and analyzed within the time and resource constraints, while preserving the fault revealing power of the original test suite to a maximum extent. In this article, to address this problem, we introduce a family of similarity-based test case selection techniques for test suites generated from state machines. We evaluate 320 different similarity-based selection techniques and then compare the effectiveness of the best similarity-based selection technique with other common selection techniques in the literature. The results based on two industrial case studies, in the domain of embedded systems, show significant benefits and a large improvement in performance when using a similarity-based approach. We complement these analyses with further studies on the scalability of the technique and the effects of failure rate on its effectiveness. We also propose a method to identify optimal tradeoffs between the number of test cases to run and fault detection.
Scaling predictive analysis of concurrent programs by removing trace redundancy
Authors: Huang Jeff , Zhou Jinguo , Zhang Charles
Published: March 2013

Predictive trace analysis (PTA) of concurrent programs is powerful in finding concurrency bugs unseen in past program executions. Unfortunately, existing PTA solutions face considerable challenges in scaling to large traces. In this article, we identify that a large percentage of events in the trace are redundant for presenting useful analysis results to the end user. Removing them from the trace can significantly improve the scalability of PTA without affecting the quality of the results. We present a trace redundancy theorem that specifies a redundancy criterion and the soundness guarantee that the PTA results are preserved after removing the redundancy. Based on this criterion, we design and implement TraceFilter, an efficient algorithm that automatically removes redundant events from a trace for the PTA of general concurrency access anomalies. We evaluated TraceFilter on a set of popular concurrent benchmarks as well as real world large server programs. Our experimental results show that TraceFilter is able to significantly improve the scalability of PTA by orders of magnitude, without impairing the analysis result.
Localizing accessibility of text alternatives for visual content in multilingual websites
Authors: Vázquez Silvia Rodríguez
Published: March 2013

Best practices in accessibility are usually implemented, both on a technical and linguistic level, during the preliminary phases of the web development cycle. However, when a web site needs to be made multilingual, the transfer of textual accessibility becomes an imperative task during the localization (i.e. translation and adaptation) process. This research focuses on how localizers can obtain a degree of linguistic accessibility in the target-language web site comparable to that achieved in the source one, especially regarding text alternatives for visual content. Our ultimate goal is to develop a methodology through which expert and automated evaluation practices are merged by means of a controlled-language checker for Spanish and English web content.
Pancreatic angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 improves glycemia in angiotensin II-infused mice
Authors: Chhabra Kavaljit H. , Xia Huijing , Pedersen Kim Brint , Speth Robert C. , Lazartigues Eric
Published: March 2013

An overactive renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is known to contribute to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although ACE2 overexpression has been shown to be protective against the overactive RAS, a role for pancreatic ACE2, particularly in the islets of Langerhans, in regulating glycemia in response to elevated angiotensin II (Ang II) levels remains to be elucidated. This study examined the role of endogenous pancreatic ACE2 and the impact of elevated Ang II levels on the enzyme's ability to alleviate hyperglycemia in an Ang II infusion mouse model. Male C57bl/6J mice were infused with Ang II or saline for a period of 14 days. On the 7th day of infusion, either an adenovirus encoding human ACE2 (Ad-hACE2) or a control adenovirus (Ad-eGFP) was injected into the mouse pancreas. After an additional 7–8 days, glycemia and plasma insulin levels as well as RAS components expression and oxidative stress were assessed. Ang II-infused mice exhibited hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic islets compared with control mice. This phenotype was associated with decreased ACE2 expression and activity, increased Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R) expression, and increased oxidative stress in the mouse pancreas. Ad-hACE2 treatment restored pancreatic ACE2 expression and compensatory activity against Ang II-mediated impaired glycemia, thus improving β-cell function. Our data suggest that decreased pancreatic ACE2 is a link between overactive RAS and impaired glycemia in T2DM. Moreover, maintenance of a normal endogenous ACE2 compensatory activity in the pancreas appears critical to avoid β-cell dysfunction, supporting a therapeutic potential for ACE2 in controlling diabetes resulting from an overactive RAS.
Characteristics and Outcomes of Cocaine-Related Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhages
Authors: Bajwa Abubakr A. , Silliman Scott , Cury James D. , Seeram Vandana , Shujaat Adil , Usman Faisal , Samuel Vinny
Published: March 2013

To date there is only one single-center study that has exclusively reported characteristics, location, and outcomes of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhages (ICH) among cocaine users. We aimed to describe the radiological location and characteristics along with clinical outcomes of spontaneous ICH in a similar population. We conducted a retrospective chart review of consecutive patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital, with a spontaneous ICH, who had a urine drug screen performed within 48 hours of admission. Exposure to cocaine was defined by a positive urine drug screen within 48 hours of hospital admission. Demographics, radiographic features of ICH, and short-term clinical outcomes of patients with a positive urine drug screen were analyzed and compared with the cocaine negative group. Among the 102 patients analyzed, 20 (19.6%) had documented exposure to cocaine. There was a predominance of males in both groups with significantly more Blacks in the cocaine positive group (). A statistically significant number of patients with cocaine use had ICH in a subcortical location () when compared to cocaine negative patients. There was no difference in GCS, ICH volume, intraventricular extension, ICU days, hospital days, hospital cost, mortality, and ICH score. ICH in cocaine use is more frequently seen in the subcortical location.
Free-Radical Polymer Science Structural Cancer Model: A Review
Authors: Petersen Richard C.
Published: March 2013

Polymer free-radical lipid alkene chain-growth biological models particularly for hypoxic cellular mitochondrial metabolic waste can be used to better understand abnormal cancer cell morphology and invasive metastasis. Without oxygen as the final electron acceptor for mitochondrial energy synthesis, protons cannot combine to form water and instead mitochondria produce free radicals and acid during hypoxia. Nonuniform bond-length shrinkage of membranes related to erratic free-radical covalent crosslinking can explain cancer-cell pleomorphism with epithelial-mesenchymal transition for irregular membrane borders that “ruffle” and warp over stiff underlying actin fibers. Further, mitochondrial hypoxic conditions produce acid that can cause molecular degradation. Subsequent low pH-activated enzymes then provide paths for invasive cell movement through tissue and eventually blood-born metastasis. Although free-radical crosslinking creates irregularly shaped membranes with structural actin-polymerized fiber extensions as filopodia and lamellipodia, due to rapid cell division the overall cell modulus (approximately stiffness) is lower than normal cells. When combined with low pH-activated enzymes and lower modulus cells, smaller cancer stem cells subsequently have a large advantage to follow molecular destructive pathways and leave the central tumor. In addition, forward structural spike-like lamellipodia protrusions can leverage to force lower-modulus cancer cells through narrow openings. By squeezing and deforming even smaller to allow for easier movement through difficult passageways, cancer cells can travel into adjacent tissues or possibly metastasize through the blood to new tissue.
Synthesis and In Vitro Evaluation of Novel Acyclic and Cyclic Nucleoside Analogs with a Thiadiazole Ring
Authors: Zhao Yuxiang , J. McCarthy Peter , Párkányi Cyril
Published: March 2013

The synthesis of six thiadiazole nucleoside analogs is reported: 5-diacetylamino-1,2,4-thiadiazol-3-one (1), 5-amino-2-
(tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-1,2,4-thiadiazol-3-one (2), 5-amino-3-[(2′-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-one (3), 5-amino-3-(4′-hydroxy-2′-hydroxymethyl-butyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thione (4), (R)-5-amino-3-(2′,3′-dihydroxypropyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thione (5), and (S)-5-amino-3-(2′,3′-dihydroxypropyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thione (6). The synthesis, characterization, and properties of these new synthesized thiadiazole derivatives are discussed. A dimerization of 5-amino-3H-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thione (14) by sodium nitrite resulting in di-(5-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl) disulfide (19) is also reported. The preliminary in vitro evaluation of these newly synthesized compounds is discussed.
Key Success Factors and Future Perspective of Silicon-Based Solar Cells
Authors: Binetti S. , Acciarri M. , Le Donne A. , Morgano M. , Jestin Y.
Published: March 2013

Today, after more than 70 years of continued progress on silicon technology, about 85% of cumulative installed photovolatic (PV) modules are based on crystalline silicon (c-Si). PV devices based on silicon are the most common solar cells currently being produced, and it is mainly due to silicon technology that the PV has grown by 40% per year over the last decade. An additional step in the silicon solar cell development is ongoing, and it is related to a further efficiency improvement through defect control, device optimization, surface modification, and nanotechnology approaches. This paper attempts to briefly review the most important advances and current technologies used to produce crystalline silicon solar devices and in the meantime the most challenging and promising strategies acting to increase the efficiency to cost/ratio of silicon solar cells. Eventually, the impact and the potentiality of using a nanotechnology approach in a silicon-based solar cell are also described.
A Study of Nonlinear Fractional Differential Equations of Arbitrary Order with Riemann-Liouville Type Multistrip Boundary Conditions
Authors: Ahmad Bashir , Ntouyas Sotiris K. , Alsaedi Ahmed
Published: March 2013

We develop the existence theory for nonlinear fractional differential equations of arbitrary order with Riemann-Liouville type boundary conditions involving nonintersecting finite many strips of arbitrary length. Our results are based on some standard tools of fixed point theory. For the illustration of the results, some examples are also discussed.
Odontogenic Fibromyxoma of Maxilla: A Rare Case Report
Authors: Reddy G. Siva Prasad , Kumar B. Surya , Muppa Radhika , Regonda Shravan Kumar , TVS Harish Kumar
Published: March 2013

Fibromyxoma is a rare odontogenic tumour which is benign, but locally aggressive. The etiology of these tumours is unknown, but because of its limitation to the teeth bearing areas and occasional presence of odontogenic epithelial fragments within the tumour which suggest that it is of odontogenic origin. It is a slow growing painless tumour that frequently occurs in second and third decades of life. Females are more commonly affected than males. The tumour can cause gradual expansion of the cortical plates and cause loosening and displacement of teeth, although root resorption may be rare. The surgical treatment of these tumours consists of complete enucleation or radical excision. The aim of this paper is to present the rarity of a fibromyxoma of the maxilla.
Implementation of High Resolution Whole Genome Array CGH in the Prenatal Clinical Setting: Advantages, Challenges, and Review of the Literature
Authors: Evangelidou Paola , Alexandrou Angelos , Moutafi Maria , Ioannides Marios , Antoniou Pavlos , Koumbaris George , Kallikas Ioannis , Velissariou Voula , Sismani Carolina , Patsalis Philippos C.
Published: March 2013

Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization analysis is replacing postnatal chromosomal analysis in cases of intellectual disabilities, and it has been postulated that it might also become the first-tier test in prenatal diagnosis. In this study, array CGH was applied in 64 prenatal samples with whole genome oligonucleotide arrays (BlueGnome, Ltd.) on DNA extracted from chorionic villi, amniotic fluid, foetal blood, and skin samples. Results were confirmed with Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization or Real-Time PCR. Fifty-three cases had normal karyotype and abnormal ultrasound findings, and seven samples had balanced rearrangements, five of which also had ultrasound findings. The value of array CGH in the characterization of previously known aberrations in five samples is also presented. Seventeen out of 64 samples carried copy number alterations giving a detection rate of 26.5%. Ten of these represent benign or variables of unknown significance, giving a diagnostic capacity of the method to be 10.9%. If karyotype is performed the additional diagnostic capacity of the method is 5.1% (3/59). This study indicates the ability of array CGH to identify chromosomal abnormalities which cannot be detected during routine prenatal cytogenetic analysis, therefore increasing the overall detection rate. In addition a thorough review of the literature is presented.
In VivoComparison of 23- and 25-Gauge Sutureless Vitrectomy Incision Architecture Using Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography
Authors: Teixeira Anderson , Rezende Flavio A. , Salaroli Camila , Souza Nonato , Sousa Benedito Antonio , Allemann Norma
Published: March 2013

Purpose. To investigate thein vivoincision architecture using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in 23-gauge and 25-gauge transconjunctival suturelesspars planavitrectomy (TSPPV).Methods. A prospective observational study of 22 eyes of 22 patients that underwent three-port 25-gauge (10 eyes) or 23-gauge (12 eyes) TSPPV was performed. The three sclerotomies sites in each eye were analyzed by Corneal Adapter Model (CAM) RTVue SD-OCT (Optovue Inc., Fremont, CA, USA) with wound cross-section images (longitudinal and transversal) on days 1, 7, and 30 postoperatively. Transversal and longitudinal length, location, angle between the conjunctival surface tangent and the incision plane, and architecture deformations were evaluated.Results. All patients (22 eyes) completed the study and surgeries lasted less than 60 minutes. All wounds were obliquely performed, 23-gauge mean angle was 23 ± 5°, and 25-gauge angule was 21 ± 4°. Twenty-three-gauge sclerotomy transversal mean length was 1122 ± 242 μm and 25-gauge transversal sclerotomy mean length was 977 ± 174 μm; 23-gauge longitudinal mean length was 363 ± 42 μm and 25-gauge longitudinal sclerotomy mean length was 234 ±19 μm; 23-gauge open wound thickness mean was 61 ± 28 μm and 25-gauge open wound thickness mean was 22 ± 6 μm. All results were statistically significant (P<0.05). No vitreous incarceration or silicone oil residue was observed in incision sites with both gauges.Conclusions. The 23-gauge and 25-gauge architectural wound constructions were well visualized using CAM SD-OCT. Statistical differences between the two gauges were observed throughout the study period.
Monoclonal Antibody Targeting Neutralizing Epitope on H5N1 Influenza Virus of Clade 1 and 0 for Specific H5 Quantification
Authors: He Fang , Kwang Jimmy
Published: March 2013

H5N1 influenza viruses cause high mortality in avian and mammalian species, including humans. Antigenic drift in H5 sequence poses challenges in the development of vaccine and therapeutic antibody. In this study, a monoclonal antibody 11G12 was produced from inactivated H5N1 immunized mice. Results from IFA, ELISA, HI, and virus neutralization indicated that Mab 11G12 can specifically recognize and neutralize H5 type hemagglutinin from clade 1 and 0 without any cross-reaction to any other clades of H5N1 viruses. Mab 11G12 was used to differentiate and quantify the expression of H5N1 strain A/VietNam/1203/04 from a trivalent vaccine mix in ELISA. Sequencing of escape mutants identified that Mab 11G12 targets a major neutralizing epitope of influenza H5 hemagglutinin. The study indicated that some major neutralizing epitopes in H5s of early strains were mutated due to antigenic drift.
Chitin, Chitosan, and Glycated Chitosan Regulate Immune Responses: The Novel Adjuvants for Cancer Vaccine
Authors: Li Xiaosong , Min Min , Du Nan , Gu Ying , Hode Tomas , Naylor Mark , Chen Dianjun , Nordquist Robert E. , Chen Wei R.
Published: March 2013

With the development of cancer immunotherapy, cancer vaccine has become a novel modality for cancer treatment, and the important role of adjuvant has been realized recently. Chitin, chitosan, and their derivatives have shown their advantages as adjuvants for cancer vaccine. In this paper, the adjuvant properties of chitin and chitosan were discussed, and some detailed information about glycated chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles was also presented to illustrate the trend for future development.
Towards Patient-Specific Modeling of Coronary Hemodynamics in Healthy and Diseased State
Authors: van der Horst Arjen , Boogaard Frits L. , van't Veer Marcel , Rutten Marcel C. M. , Pijls Nico H. J. , van de Vosse Frans N.
Published: March 2013

A model describing the primary relations between the cardiac muscle and coronary circulation might be useful for interpreting coronary hemodynamics in case multiple types of coronary circulatory disease are present. The main contribution of the present study is the coupling of a microstructure-based heart contraction model with a 1D wave propagation model. The 1D representation of the vessels enables patient-specific modeling of the arteries and/or can serve as boundary conditions for detailed 3D models, while the heart model enables the simulation of cardiac disease, with physiology-based parameter changes. Here, the different components of the model are explained and the ability of the model to describe coronary hemodynamics in health and disease is evaluated. Two disease types are modeled: coronary epicardial stenoses and left ventricular hypertrophy with an aortic valve stenosis. In all simulations (healthy and diseased), the dynamics of pressure and flow qualitatively agreed with observations described in literature. We conclude that the model adequately can predict coronary hemodynamics in both normal and diseased state based on patient-specific clinical data.
Bandwidth Management in Wireless Home Networks for IPTV Solutions
Authors: Jursonovics Tamás , Imre Sándor
Published: March 2013

The optimal allocation of the retransmission bandwidth is essential for IPTV service providers to ensure maximal service quality. This paper highlights the relevance of the wireless transport in today’s IPTV solution and discusses how this new media affects the existing broadcast technologies. A new Markovian channel model is developed to address the optimization issues of the retransmission throughput, and a new method is presented which is evaluated by empirical measurements followed by mathematical analysis.
Corrosion Inhibition and Adsorption Properties of Ethanolic Extract of Calotropis for Corrosion of Aluminium in Acidic Media
Authors: Kumar Sudesh , Mathur Suraj Prakash
Published: March 2013

The corrosion inhibition of aluminium in sulfuric acid solution in the presence of different plant parts, namely, leaves, latex, and fruit was studied using weight loss method and thermometric method. The ethanolic extracts of Calotropis procera and Calotropis gigantea act as an inhibitor in the acid environment. The inhibition efficiency increases with increase in inhibitor concentration. The plant parts inhibit aluminium, and inhibition is attributed, due to the adsorption of the plant part on the surface of aluminium.
Lung Metastasis from Perineal Leiomyosarcoma: A Case Report and a Review of the Japanese Literature
Authors: Itoga Masamichi , Ito Wataru , Ueki Shigeharu , Takeda Masahide , Moritoki Yuki , Kobayashi Yoshiki , Chihara Mami , Suzuki Naoshi , Sasaki Hideto , Chihara Junichi
Published: March 2013

Pulmonary metastasis from leiomyosarcoma is rare and its clinical management is challenging. A single lung metastasis from a perineal leiomyosarcoma occurred in a 79-year-old woman. Five months after resection of the lung metastasis, a new metastatic tumor developed in the contralateral lung. Since the patient did not desire to receive hospitalized treatment, TS-1 (an oral agent consisting of a combination of tegafur, gimeracil, and oteracil potassium) therapy was started on an outpatient basis. The lung metastasis has been successfully controlled for at least 17 months with excellent tolerability. The clinical features and the treatment of this case are discussed.
Crystal Structure of PAV1-137: A Protein from the Virus PAV1 That InfectsPyrococcus abyssi
Authors: Leulliot N. , Quevillon-Cheruel S. , Graille M. , Geslin C. , Flament D. , Le Romancer M. , van Tilbeurgh H.
Published: March 2013

Pyrococcus abyssivirus 1 (PAV1) was the first virus particle infecting a hyperthermophilic Euryarchaeota (Pyrococcus abyssistrain GE23) that has been isolated and characterized. It is lemon shaped and is decorated with a short fibered tail. PAV1 morphologically resembles the fusiform members of the family Fuselloviridae or the genusSalterprovirus. The 18 kb dsDNA genome of PAV1 contains 25 predicted genes, most of them of unknown function. To help assigning functions to these proteins, we have initiated structural studies of the PAV1 proteome. We determined the crystal structure of a putative protein of 137 residues (PAV1-137) at a resolution of 2.2 Å. The protein forms dimers both in solution and in the crystal. The fold of PAV1-137 is a four-α-helical bundle analogous to those found in some eukaryotic adhesion proteins such as focal adhesion kinase, suggesting that PAV1-137 is involved in protein-protein interactions.