bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and safety of once-monthly paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection in an elderly patient with schizophrenia
Authors: Rama Raj Palaniraj , Lewis Matthew , Macfarlane Stephen
Published: August 2015

We present detailed data on the efficacy and safety profile of paliperidone palmitate once-monthly long acting injectable (PP1M-LAI) in the treatment of schizophrenia in an elderly Caucasian woman. PP1M-LAI was initiated with starting doses of 150 and 100 mg on treatment days 1 and 8, respectively. Subsequent 100 mg doses of PP1M-LAI were then administered at 4-weekly intervals. The primary efficacy variable was the change in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score from baseline. Safety assessment variables included assessment of treatment emergent adverse events, clinical laboratory tests, vital sign measurements, ECG, Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), mini-mental status examination, Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS), Simpson-Angus Scale for the Assessment of Extrapyramidal Side Effects (SAS) and WHO Quality of Life–BREF (WHO-QOL-BREF). The aforementioned variables were all monitored for changes from baseline over a period of 28 weeks. A reduction of PANSS total score was noted over the 28 weeks, demonstrating the efficacy of PP1M-LAI for the treatment of schizophrenia in our patient. Improvements were also noted in the BARS score, SAS score and WHO-QOL-BREF. Negative findings were observed with regard to several pre-established safety variables such as blood glucose levels, prolactin levels, QTC intervals and weight. Overall, the addition of PP1M-LAI to the treatment regime improved the control of psychotic symptoms. However, iatrogenic consequences arising from the use of PP1M-LAI need to be considered and balanced against the primary efficacy of the medication.
Honorary authorship in postgraduate medical training
Authors: Rajasekaran Sathish , Lo Alto , Aly Abdel-Rahman , Ashworth Nigel
Published: August 2015

Objectives

To determine whether postgraduate medical trainees are exposed to honorary authorship, whether they are aware of the topic and if they believe that further support and education concerning this issue is needed.

Methods

Postgraduate medical trainees were contacted by email with a link to our questionnaire on two occasions (2 and 26 February 2014) and then contacted in person (June–November 2014). The questionnaire topics included demographics, authorship practice beliefs and experience, and authorship policy-related questions. We also determined the proportion of perceived, International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)-defined and unperceived honorary authorship in the respondent group.

Results

The response rate was 27.7%. The prevalence of perceived, ICMJE-defined and unperceived honorary authorship was 38.1%, 57.3% and 24.2%, respectively; 90.1% were unaware of the ICMJE authorship criteria, 92.6% were unaware of a support system for authorship disputes, but 91.8% believed such a system should be implemented and 93.3% believed medical trainees and faculty should be instructed on authorship guidelines.

Conclusions

A paradigm shift from the current system is needed, where enforcement of ethical authorship practices is shifted away from journal editors. Instruction on the topic should be provided to medical trainees throughout medical school and continued during further training. A process should also be outlined to resolve authorship disputes. These measures may encourage researchers to have an open discussion on the topic prior to the commencement of a research project, and to resolve authorship conflicts in a constructive manner. We also hope this paper encourages further work on the topic.
Impact of varying physical activity levels on airway sensitivity and bronchodilation in healthy humans
Authors: Smith Joshua R. , Kurti Stephanie P. , Johnson Ariel M. , Kolmer Sarah A. , Harms Craig
Published: August 2015

The purpose of this study was to determine if the amount of physical activity influences airway sensitivity and bronchodilation in healthy subjects across a range of physical activity levels. Thirty healthy subjects (age, 21.9 ± 2.6 years; 13 men/17 women) with normal pulmonary function reported to the laboratory on 2 separate occasions where they were randomized to breathe either hypertonic saline (HS) (nebulized hypertonic saline (25%) for 20 min) or HS followed by 5 deep inspirations (DIs), which has been reported to bronchodilate the airways. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) were performed prior to both conditions and following the HS breathing or 5 DIs. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) level was measured via accelerometer worn for 7 days. Following the HS breathing, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) significantly decreased from baseline by –11.8% ± 8.4% and –9.3% ± 6.7%, respectively. A 2-segment linear model determined significant relationships between MVPA and percent change in FEV1(r = 0.50) and FVC (r = 0.55). MVPA above ∼497 and ∼500 min/week for FEV1and FVC, respectively, resulted in minor additional improvements (p > 0.05) in PFTs following the HS breathing. Following the DIs, FEV1and FVC decreased (p < 0.05) by –7.3% ± 8.6% and –5.7% ± 5.7%, respectively, from baseline, but were not related (p > 0.05) to MVPA. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that higher MVPA levels attenuated airway sensitivity but not bronchodilation in healthy subjects.
Structural and ultrastructural characterization of the floral lip in Gongora bufonia (Orchidaceae): understanding the slip-and-fall pollination mechanism
Authors: Adachi Sérgio Akira , Machado Silvia Rodrigues , Guimarães Elza
Published: August 2015

In this study, we investigated the pollination ecology and floral lip morphology of Gongora bufonia Lindl., an epiphytic orchid from tropical forest, to better understand the peculiarities of its unusual pollination mechanism. Field observations on pollination were performed and floral lip samples were prepared for anatomical, histochemical, and ultrastructural analyses. Male Eufriesea violacea (Blanchard) bees use the second and third pairs of legs to hold on the epichile and collect the fragrance in the hypochile region. During this process, the bee slips and falls on the column and receives the pollinarium, which is attached to the rear edge of the bee’s scutellum. A subsequent visit (usually to another flower) and fall through the flower may result in insertion of a pollinium into the stigmatic slit at the apex of the column. The fragrance production occurs in the hypochile region, specifically in the papillose epidermal cells and in the subepidermal parenchyma layers. The wax production occurs in the epichile region, exclusively in the epidermal cells. The cells of both regions, hypochile and epichile, have ultrastructural features of lipophilic secretion. The slippery quality of the epichile epidermis is due to wax deposits; this is probably essential to the pollination mechanism of G. bufonia.
Generalized Kraus operators and generators of quantum dynamical semigroups
Authors: Alazzawi Sabina , Baumgartner Bernhard
Published: August 2015

Quantum dynamical semigroups play an important role in the description of physical processes such as diffusion, radiative decay or other non-equilibrium events. Taking strongly continuous and trace preserving semigroups into consideration, we show that, under a special criterion, the generator of such a group admits a certain generalized standard form, thereby shedding new light on known approaches in this direction. Furthermore, we illustrate our analysis in concrete examples.
MODELLING FREE-RANGE CATTLE MOVEMENTS IN FORESTS USING MULTISTATE RANDOM WALKS
Authors: SEOANE NICOLAS
Published: August 2015

In this study multi-state random walk models were tested as general approach to analyse movement states in animal relocation data. For this purpose, GPS collars were fit to free-range cattle inhabiting Andean forests in Patagonia, Argentina. The results indicate that animal trajectories have re-visitation patterns in restricted areas of few kilometres and that a large part of behaviors occur at a time scale lower than six hours. Simple multi-state random walk models proved to be practical in modelling characteristics such as step and turning angles distribution in addition to emergent properties of animal trajectories such as temporal autocorrelation. Re-visitation patterns and the emergence of home-range, among other memory processes could be marked as possible limitations of these models. This work is the first description of free-range cattle movement inhabiting the andean-Patagonian forests in semi-feral conditions.
A FREE BOUNDARY MODEL FOR OXYGEN DIFFUSION IN A SPHERICAL MEDIUM
Authors: GONZÁLEZ A. M. , REGINATO J. C. , TARZIA D. A.
Published: August 2015

The goal of this article is to find a correct approximated solution using a polynomial of sixth degree for the free boundary problem corresponding to the diffusion of oxygen in a spherical medium with simultaneous absorption at a constant rate, and to show some mistakes in previously published solutions.
POPULATION GROWTH MODELING WITH BOOM AND BUST PATTERNS: THE IMPULSIVE DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION FORMALISM
Authors: CÓRDOVA-LEPE FERNANDO , ROBLEDO GONZALO , CABRERA-VILLEGAS JAVIER
Published: August 2015

This note gives an overview on basic mathematical models describing the population dynamics of a single species whose vital dynamics has different time scales. We present five cases combining two time–scales with Malthusian growth in at least one scale. The dynamical behavior shows a progressive complexity, from "naive" to chaotic dynamics (in the Li–Yorke's sense). In addition, some open problems and new results are presented.
Generalized Gaussian processes and relations with random matrices and positive definite functions on permutation groups
Authors: Bożejko Marek , Bożejko Wojciech
Published: August 2015

The main purpose of this paper is an explicit construction of generalized Gaussian process with function tb(V) = bH(V), where H(V) = n - h(V), h(V) is the number of singletons in a pair-partition V ∈ 𝒫2(2n).

This gives another proof of Theorem of A. Buchholtz15 that tb is positive definite function on the set of all pair-partitions.

Here there are some new combinatorial formulas presented. Connections with free additive convolutions probability measure on ℝ are also done. There are new positive definite functions on permutations presented. What is more, it is proven that the function H is norm (on the group S(∞) = ⋃S(n)).
Invariant measure for the Vasicek interest rate model in the Heath–Jarrow–Morton–Musiela framework
Authors: Cordoni Francesco , Di Persio Luca
Published: August 2015

In this paper we study a particular class of forward rate problems, related to the Vasicek model, where the driving equation is a linear Gaussian stochastic partial differential equation. We first give an existence and uniqueness results of the related mild solution in infinite dimensional setting, then we study the related Ornstein–Uhlenbeck semigroup with respect to the determination of a unique invariant measure for the associated Heath–Jarrow–Morton–Musiela model.
Weighted Hardy–Littlewood–Sobolev inequalities on the upper half space
Authors: Dou Jingbo
Published: August 2015

In this paper, we establish a weighted Hardy–Littlewood–Sobolev (HLS) inequality on the upper half space using a weighted Hardy type inequality on the upper half space with boundary term, and discuss the existence of extremal functions based on symmetrization argument. As an application, we can show a weighted Sobolev–Hardy trace inequality with [Formula: see text]-biharmonic operator.
A trace formula for vector-valued modular forms
Authors: Bantay P.
Published: August 2015

We present a formula for vector-valued modular forms, expressing the value of the Hilbert-polynomial of the module of holomorphic forms evaluated at specific arguments in terms of traces of representation matrices, restricting the weight distribution of the free generators.
On the geometry of trapped and marginally trapped submanifolds in Lorentzian space forms
Authors: de Lima Henrique F. , dos Santos Fábio R. , Velásquez Marco Antonio L.
Published: August 2015

In this paper, our aim is to study the geometry of [Formula: see text]-dimensional trapped and marginally trapped submanifolds immersed in a Lorentzian space form [Formula: see text] of constant sectional curvature [Formula: see text]. In this setting, we establish sufficient conditions to guarantee that a complete trapped submanifold with parallel mean curvature vector in [Formula: see text] must be pseudo-umbilical. Afterwards, we obtain a nonexistence result concerning complete trapped submanifolds in the Lorentz–Minkowski space. Furthermore, under suitable constraints on the Ricci curvature and the second fundamental form, we show that an [Formula: see text]-dimensional complete pseudo-umbilical marginally trapped submanifold of [Formula: see text] with parallel mean curvature vector is, in fact, totally umbilical.
The algorithm for adjacent vertex distinguishing proper edge coloring of graphs
Authors: Li Jingwen , Hu Tengyun , Wen Fei
Published: August 2015

An adjacent vertex distinguishing proper edge coloring of a graph [Formula: see text] is a proper edge coloring of [Formula: see text] such that no pair of adjacent vertices meet the same set of colors. The minimum number of colors is called adjacent vertex distinguishing proper edge chromatic number of [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we present a new heuristic intelligent algorithm to calculate the adjacent vertex distinguishing proper edge chromatic number of graphs. To be exact, the algorithm establishes two objective subfunctions and a main objective function to find its optimal solutions by the conditions of adjacent vertex distinguishing proper edge coloring. Moreover, we test and analyze its feasibility, and the test results show that this algorithm can rapidly and efficiently calculate the adjacent vertex distinguishing proper edge chromatic number of graphs with fixed order, and its time complexity is less than [Formula: see text].
Bitcoin
Authors: Zohar Aviv
Published: August 2015

The myths, the hype, and the true worth of bitcoins.
The Ethical Implications of HCI's Turn to the Cultural
Authors: Benford Steve , Greenhalgh Chris , Anderson Bob , Jacobs Rachel , Golembewski Mike , Jirotka Marina , Stahl Bernd Carsten , Timmermans Job , Giannachi Gabriella , Adams Matt , Farr Ju Row , Tandavanitj Nick , Jennings Kirsty
Published: August 2015

We explore the ethical implications of HCI's turn to the ‘cultural’. This is motivated by an awareness of how cultural applications, in our case interactive performances, raise ethical issues that may challenge established research ethics processes. We review research ethics, HCI's engagement with ethics and the ethics of theatrical performance. Following an approach grounded in Responsible Research Innovation, we present the findings from a workshop in which artists, curators, commissioners, and researchers explored ethical challenges revealed by four case studies. We identify six ethical challenges for HCI's engagement with cultural applications: transgression, boundaries, consent, withdrawal, data, and integrity. We discuss two broader implications of these: managing tensions between multiple overlapping ethical frames; and the importance of managing ethical challenges during and after an experience as well as beforehand. Finally, we discuss how our findings extend previous discussions of Value Sensitive Design in HCI.
KNET
Authors: Cui Qing , Gao Bin , Bian Jiang , Qiu Siyu , Dai Hanjun , Liu Tie-Yan
Published: August 2015

Neural network techniques are widely applied to obtain high-quality distributed representations of words (i.e., word embeddings) to address text mining, information retrieval, and natural language processing tasks. Most recent efforts have proposed several efficient methods to learn word embeddings from context such that they can encode both semantic and syntactic relationships between words. However, it is quite challenging to handle unseen or rare words with insufficient context. Inspired by the study on the word recognition process in cognitive psychology, in this article, we propose to take advantage of seemingly less obvious but essentially important morphological knowledge to address these challenges. In particular, we introduce a novel neural network architecture called KNET that leverages both words’ contextual information and morphological knowledge to learn word embeddings. Meanwhile, this new learning architecture is also able to benefit from noisy knowledge and balance between contextual information and morphological knowledge. Experiments on an analogical reasoning task and a word similarity task both demonstrate that the proposed KNET framework can greatly enhance the effectiveness of word embeddings.
Split second
Authors: Savage Neil
Published: August 2015

The issue of whether to add a "leap second" to square the clock with the Earth's orbit pits time specialists against IT.
Combining Acoustic and Multilevel Visual Features for Music Genre Classification
Authors: Wu Ming-Ju , Jang Jyh-Shing R.
Published: August 2015

Most music genre classification approaches extract acoustic features from frames to capture timbre information, leading to the common framework of bag-of-frames analysis. However, time-frequency analysis is also vital for modeling music genres. This article proposes multilevel visual features for extracting spectrogram textures and their temporal variations. A confidence-based late fusion is proposed for combining the acoustic and visual features. The experimental results indicated that the proposed method achieved an accuracy improvement of approximately 14% and 2% in the world's largest benchmark dataset (MASD) and Unique dataset, respectively. In particular, the proposed approach won the Music Information Retrieval Evaluation eXchange (MIREX) music genre classification contests from 2011 to 2013, demonstrating the feasibility and necessity of combining acoustic and visual features for classifying music genres.
Proactively Breaking Large Pages to Improve Memory Overcommitment Performance in VMware ESXi
Authors: Guo Fei , Kim Seongbeom , Baskakov Yury , Banerjee Ishan
Published: August 2015

VMware ESXi leverages hardware support for MMU virtualization available in modern Intel/AMD CPUs. To optimize address translation performance when running on such CPUs, ESXi preferably uses host large pages (2MB in x86-64 systems) to back VM's guest memory. While using host large pages provides best performance when host has sufficient free memory, it increases host memory pressure and effectively defeats page sharing. Hence, the host is more likely to hit the point where ESXi has to reclaim VM memory through much more expensive techniques such as ballooning or host swapping. As a result, using host large pages may significantly hurt consolidation ratio.

To deal with this problem, we propose a new host large page management policy that allows to: a) identify 'cold' large pages and break them even when host has plenty of free memory; b) break all large pages proactively when host free memory becomes scarce, but before the host starts ballooning or swapping; c) reclaim the small pages within the broken large pages through page sharing. With the new policy, the shareable small pages can be shared much earlier and the amount of memory that needs to be ballooned or swapped can be largely reduced when host memory pressure is high. We also propose an algorithm to dynamically adjust the page sharing rate when proactively breaking large pages using a VM large page shareability estimator for higher efficiency.

Experimental results show that the proposed large page management policy can improve the performance of various workloads up to 2.1x by significantly reducing the amount of ballooned or swapped memory when host memory pressure is high. Applications still fully benefit from host large pages when memory pressure is low.
Towards VM Consolidation Using a Hierarchy of Idle States
Authors: Singh Rayman Preet , Brecht Tim , Keshav S.
Published: August 2015

Typical VM consolidation approaches re-pack VMs into fewer physical machines, resulting in energy and cost savings [13, 19, 23, 40]. Recent work has explored a just-in time approach to VM consolidation by transitioning VMsto an inactive state when idle and activating them on the arrival of client requests[17, 21]. This leads to increased VM density at the cost of an increase in client request latency (called
miss penalty
). The VM density so obtained, although greater, is still limited by the number of VMs that can be hosted in the one inactive state. If idle VMs were hosted in multiple inactive states, VM density can be increased further while ensuring small miss penalties. However, VMs in different inactive states have different capacities, activation times, and resource requirements.

Therefore, a key question is: How should VMs be transitioned between different states to minimize the expected miss penalty? This paper explores the hosting of idle VMs in a hierarchy of multiple such inactive states, and studies the effect of different idle VMmanagement policies on VMdensity and miss penalties. We formulate a mathematical model for the problem, and provide a theoretical lower bound on the miss penalty. Using an off-the-shelf virtualization solution (LXC [2]), we demonstrate how the required model parameters can be obtained. We evaluate a variety of policies and quantify their miss penalties for different VM densities. We observe that some policies consolidate up to 550 VMs per machine with average miss penalties smaller than 1 ms.
Exploring VM Introspection
Authors: Suneja Sahil , Isci Canturk , de Lara Eyal , Bala Vasanth
Published: August 2015

While there are a variety of existing virtual machine introspection (VMI) techniques, their latency, overhead, complexity and consistency trade-offs are not clear. In this work, we address this gap by first organizing the various existing VMI techniques into a taxonomy based upon their operational principles, so that they can be put into context. Next we perform a thorough exploration of their trade-offs both qualitatively and quantitatively. We present a comprehensive set of observations and best practices for efficient, accurate and consistent VMI operation based on our experiences with these techniques. Our results show the stunning range of variations in performance, complexity and overhead with different VMI techniques.We further present a deep dive on VMI consistency aspects to understand the sources of inconsistency in observed VM state and show that, contrary to common expectation, pause-and-introspect based VMI techniques achieve very little to improve consistency despite their substantial performance impact.
A-DRM
Authors: Wang Hui , Isci Canturk , Subramanian Lavanya , Choi Jongmoo , Qian Depei , Mutlu Onur
Published: August 2015

Virtualization technologies has been widely adopted by large-scale cloud computing platforms. These virtualized systems employ distributed resource management (DRM) to achieve high resource utilization and energy savings by dynamically migrating and consolidating virtual machines. DRM schemes usually use operating-system-level metrics, such as CPU utilization, memory capacity demand and I/O utilization, to detect and balance resource contention. However, they are oblivious to microarchitecture-level resource interference (e.g., memory bandwidth contention between different VMs running on a host), which is currently not exposed to the operating system.

We observe that the lack of visibility into microarchitecture-level resource interference significantly impacts the performance of virtualized systems. Motivated by this observation, we propose a novel architecture-aware DRM scheme (ADRM), that takes into account microarchitecture-level resource interference when making migration decisions in a virtualized cluster. ADRM makes use of three core techniques: 1) a profiler to monitor the microarchitecture-level resource usage behavior online for each physical host, 2) a memory bandwidth interference model to assess the interference degree among virtual machines on a host, and 3) a cost-benefit analysis to determine a candidate virtual machine and a host for migration.

Real system experiments on thirty randomly selected combinations of applications from the CPU2006, PARSEC, STREAM, NAS Parallel Benchmark suites in a four-host virtualized cluster show that ADRM can improve performance by up to 26.55%, with an average of 9.67%, compared to traditional DRM schemes that lack visibility into microarchitecture-level resource utilization and contention.
Self-selected conscious strategies do not modulate motor cortical output during action observation
Authors: Naish Katherine R. , Obhi Sukhvinder S.
Published: August 2015

The human motor system is active not only when actions are performed but also when they are observed. Experimenters often manipulate aspects of the action or context to examine factors that influence this “mirror” response. However, little is known about the role of the observer's own top-down intentions and motivation. In this exploratory study, we investigated whether observers are able to exert conscious control over their mirror response, when they are explicitly instructed to either increase or decrease mirroring. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to elicit motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in a thumb abductor muscle as participants ( n = 13) watched a video of a hand squeezing a rubber ball. The size of these MEPs, relative to the size of MEPs elicited during fixation cross observation, was taken as an index of mirroring. In an initial block of trials, participants were instructed to merely observe the actions presented. After the first block, the concept of mirroring was explained to the participants, and in the second and third blocks participants were instructed to either increase or decrease their mirror response. We did not instruct them about how to achieve this increase or decrease. Our results showed no difference in either facilitation or absolute motor excitability (i.e., nonnormalized MEP size) between the three blocks, indicating that individuals do not seem to be able to exert control over motor excitability during action observation, at least in the absence of a specific and maintained strategy.
Morphology and function of three VIP-expressing amacrine cell types in the mouse retina
Authors: Akrouh Alejandro , Kerschensteiner Daniel
Published: August 2015

Amacrine cells (ACs) are the most diverse class of neurons in the retina. The variety of signals provided by ACs allows the retina to encode a wide range of visual features. Of the 30–50 AC types in mammalian species, few have been studied in detail. Here, we combine genetic and viral strategies to identify and to characterize morphologically three vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-expressing GABAergic AC types (VIP1-, VIP2-, and VIP3-ACs) in mice. Somata of VIP1- and VIP2-ACs reside in the inner nuclear layer and somata of VIP3-ACs in the ganglion cell layer, and they show asymmetric distributions along the dorsoventral axis of the retina. Neurite arbors of VIP-ACs differ in size (VIP1-ACs ≈ VIP3-ACs > VIP2-ACs) and stratify in distinct sublaminae of the inner plexiform layer. To analyze light responses and underlying synaptic inputs, we target VIP-ACs under 2-photon guidance for patch-clamp recordings. VIP1-ACs depolarize strongly to light increments (ON) over a wide range of stimulus sizes but show size-selective responses to light decrements (OFF), depolarizing to small and hyperpolarizing to large stimuli. The switch in polarity of OFF responses is caused by pre- and postsynaptic surround inhibition. VIP2- and VIP3-ACs both show small depolarizations to ON stimuli and large hyperpolarizations to OFF stimuli but differ in their spatial response profiles. Depolarizations are caused by ON excitation outweighing ON inhibition, whereas hyperpolarizations result from pre- and postsynaptic OFF-ON crossover inhibition. VIP1-, VIP2-, and VIP3-ACs thus differ in response polarity and spatial tuning and contribute to the diversity of inhibitory and neuromodulatory signals in the retina.
Adenosine-mediated modulation of ventral horn interneurons and spinal motoneurons in neonatal mice
Authors: Witts Emily C. , Nascimento Filipe , Miles Gareth B.
Published: August 2015

Neuromodulation allows neural networks to adapt to varying environmental and biomechanical demands. Purinergic signaling is known to be an important modulatory system in many parts of the CNS, including motor control circuitry. We have recently shown that adenosine modulates the output of mammalian spinal locomotor control circuitry (Witts EC, Panetta KM, Miles GB. J Neurophysiol 107: 1925–1934, 2012). Here we investigated the cellular mechanisms underlying this adenosine-mediated modulation. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were performed on ventral horn interneurons and motoneurons within in vitro mouse spinal cord slice preparations. We found that adenosine hyperpolarized interneurons and reduced the frequency and amplitude of synaptic inputs to interneurons. Both effects were blocked by the A1-type adenosine receptor antagonist DPCPX. Analysis of miniature postsynaptic currents recorded from interneurons revealed that adenosine reduced their frequency but not amplitude, suggesting that adenosine acts on presynaptic receptors to modulate synaptic transmission. In contrast to interneurons, recordings from motoneurons revealed an adenosine-mediated depolarization. The frequency and amplitude of synaptic inputs to motoneurons were again reduced by adenosine, but we saw no effect on miniature postsynaptic currents. Again these effects on motoneurons were blocked by DPCPX. Taken together, these results demonstrate differential effects of adenosine, acting via A1 receptors, in the mouse spinal cord. Adenosine has a general inhibitory action on ventral horn interneurons while potentially maintaining motoneuron excitability. This may allow for adaptation of the locomotor pattern generated by interneuronal networks while helping to ensure the maintenance of overall motor output.
Multiple Sparse Measurement Gradient Reconstruction Algorithm for DOA Estimation in Compressed Sensing
Authors: Si Weijian , Qu Xinggen , Jiang Yilin , Chen Tao
Published: August 2015

A novel direction of arrival (DOA) estimation method in compressed sensing (CS) is proposed, in which the DOA estimation problem is cast as the joint sparse reconstruction from multiple measurement vectors (MMV). The proposed method is derived through transforming quadratically constrained linear programming (QCLP) into unconstrained convex optimization which overcomes the drawback thatl1-norm is nondifferentiable when sparse sources are reconstructed by minimizingl1-norm. The convergence rate and estimation performance of the proposed method can be significantly improved, since the steepest descent step and Barzilai-Borwein step are alternately used as the search step in the unconstrained convex optimization. The proposed method can obtain satisfactory performance especially in these scenarios with low signal to noise ratio (SNR), small number of snapshots, or coherent sources. Simulation results show the superior performance of the proposed method as compared with existing methods.
Relationship of Baseline Hemoglobin Level with Serum Ferritin, Postphlebotomy Hemoglobin Changes, and Phlebotomy Requirements amongHFEC282Y Homozygotes
Authors: Mousavi Seyed Ali , Mahmood Faiza , Aandahl Astrid , Knutsen Teresa Risopatron , Llohn Abid Hussain
Published: August 2015

Objectives. We aimed to examine whether baseline hemoglobin levels in C282Y-homozygous patients are related to the degree of serum ferritin (SF) elevation and whether patients with different baseline hemoglobin have different phlebotomy requirements.Methods. A total of 196 patients (124 males and 72 females) who had undergone therapeutic phlebotomy and had SF and both pre- and posttreatment hemoglobin values were included in the study.Results. Bivariate correlation analysis suggested that baseline SF explains approximately 6 to 7% of the variation in baseline hemoglobin. The results also showed that males who had higher (≥150 g/L) baseline hemoglobin levels had a significantly greater reduction in their posttreatment hemoglobin despite requiring fewer phlebotomies to achieve iron depletion than those who had lower (<150 g/L) baseline hemoglobin, regardless of whether baseline SF was below or above 1000 µg/L. There were no significant differences between hemoglobin subgroups regarding baseline and treatment characteristics, except for transferrin saturation between male subgroups with SF above 1000 µg/L. Similar differences were observed when females with higher (≥138 g/L) baseline hemoglobin were compared with those with lower (<138 g/L) baseline hemoglobin.Conclusion. Dividing C282Y-homozygous patients into just two subgroups according to the degree of baseline SF elevation may obscure important subgroup variations.
Transcriptional Regulatory Network for the Development of Innate Lymphoid Cells
Authors: Zhong Chao , Zhu Jinfang
Published: August 2015

Recent studies on innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have expanded our knowledge about the innate arm of the immune system. Helper‐like ILCs share both the “innate” feature of conventional natural killer (cNK) cells and the “helper” feature of CD4+ T helper (Th) cells. With this combination, helper‐like ILCs are capable of initiating early immune responses similar to cNK cells, but via secretion of a set of effector cytokines similar to those produced by Th cells. Although many studies have revealed the functional similarity between helper‐like ILCs and Th cells, some aspects of ILCs including the development of this lineage remain elusive. It is intriguing that the majority of transcription factors involved in multiple stages of T cell development, differentiation, and function also play critical roles during ILC development. Regulators such as Id2, GATA‐3, Nfil3, TOX, and TCF‐1 are expressed and function at various stages of ILC development. In this review, we will summarize the expression and functions of these transcription factors shared by ILCs and Th cells. We will also propose a complex transcriptional regulatory network for the lineage commitment of ILCs.
Atraumatic Occult Odontoid Fracture in Patients with Osteoporosis-Associated Thoracic Kyphotic Deformity: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature
Authors: Mori Kanji , Nishizawa Kazuya , Nakamura Akira , Imai Shinji
Published: August 2015

Anderson type II odontoid fractures are reported to be the most common injury of the odontoid process in patients over the age of 65. However, atraumatic occult Anderson type III odontoid fractures have been rarely described and remain a diagnostic challenge. In the present report, we illustrate a 78-year-old female with osteoporosis-associated marked thoracic kyphotic deformity who developed atraumatic Anderson type III occult odontoid fracture and raise awareness of this condition. Anteroposterior and lateral standard radiographs of cervical spine failed to disclose odontoid fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated intensity changes of the axis. Subsequent computed tomography clearly demonstrated Anderson type III odontoid fracture. Conservative treatment achieved complete bone union without neurological deteriorations. At 3-year follow-up, the patient was doing well without neurological and radiological deteriorations. Even if the patients have no traumatic event, we have to keep odontoid fractures in our mind as one of the differential diagnoses when we encounter elderly patients with neck pain, especially in patients with osteoporosis-associated marked thoracic kyphotic deformity.
Spatiotemporal Variability and Change of the South China Spring Precipitation during 1961–2012
Authors: Liu Hong-Lan , Zhang Qiang , Guo Jun-Qin , Zhang Jun-Guo , Wang Sheng
Published: August 2015

We analyze precipitation data from 47 meteorological stations spanning between 1961 and 2012 and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis to understand spatiotemporal variability and change of spring precipitation of South China and their relations to atmospheric circulations. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis and rotated EOF (REOF) are used to reveal dominant spatial structures of precipitation anomaly and Mann-Kendall testing method to determine the temporal locations of abrupt changes during the analyzed time span. We find that the first spatial mode of the spring precipitation of the South China has a domain uniform structure; the second is dominated by a spatial dipole; and the third contains six variability centers. 1980s was the decade of the largest amount of precipitation while 1960s the decade of the smallest amount of precipitation. The spring precipitation also appeared to have a decreasing trend since 2000. We also find that spring precipitation of the South China has experienced a few abrupt changes: sudden increment at 1964, sudden decrement at 2002, and sudden increment at 1995. In addition to these abrupt changes, the precipitation could also be characterized by variability of multiple temporal scales, with dominant periodicities of 4 years, 8 years, and 14 years. The South China spring precipitation is also closely tied to the atmospheric circulations: when Aleutian Low strengthens, westerly weakens, and the center of the Western Pacific subtropical high shifts southeastward in the early spring; and the South China precipitation tends to be abundant (positive anomaly). In contrast, when Ural ridge strengthens, the southern branch of the East Asian trough weakens and the Western Pacific subtropical high shifts northwestward in the early spring, the South China precipitation tends to be reduced (negative anomaly).
Local and Systemic IKKεand NF-κB Signaling Associated with Sjögren’s Syndrome Immunopathogenesis
Authors: Chen Weiqian , Lin Jin , Cao Heng , Xu Danyi , Xu Bei , Xu Liqin , Yue Lihuan , Sun Chuanyin , Wu Guolin , Qian Wenbin
Published: August 2015

The activated NF-κB signaling pathway plays an important role in pathogenesis of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS). The inhibitor ofκB (IκB) kinase (IKK) family such as IKKα, IKKβ, IKKγ, and IKKε, is required for this signaling. Our aim was to investigate the role of IKKα/β/γ/εin patients with untreated pSS. In minor salivary glands from pSS patients, phosphorylated IKKε(pIKKε), pIκBα, and pNF-κB p65 (p-p65) were highly expressed in ductal epithelium and infiltrating mononuclear cells by immunohistochemistry, compared to healthy individuals. pIKKα/βand pIKKγwere both negative. And pIKKεpositively related to expression of p-p65. Furthermore, pIKKεand p-p65 expression significantly correlated with biopsy focus score and overall disease activity. Meanwhile, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from pSS patients, pIKKε, total IKKε, pIKKα/β, and p-p65 were significantly increased by western blot, compared to healthy controls. However, there was no difference in IKKγand IκBαbetween pSS patients and healthy individuals. These results demonstrated an abnormality of IKKε, IκBα, and NF-κB in pSS, suggesting a potential target of treatment for pSS based on the downregulation of IKKεexpression and deregulation of NF-κB pathway.
Development and Application of the Stereo Vision Tracking System with Virtual Reality
Authors: Wang Chia-Sui , Chen Ko-Chun , Lee Tsung Han , Hsu Kuei-Shu
Published: August 2015

A virtual reality (VR) driver tracking verification system is created, of which the application to stereo image tracking and positioning accuracy is researched in depth. In the research, the feature that the stereo vision system has image depth is utilized to improve the error rate of image tracking and image measurement. In a VR scenario, the function collecting behavioral data of driver was tested. By means of VR, racing operation is simulated and environmental (special weathers such as raining and snowing) and artificial (such as sudden crossing road by pedestrians, appearing of vehicles from dead angles, roadblock) variables are added as the base for system implementation. In addition, the implementation is performed with human factors engineered according to sudden conditions that may happen easily in driving. From experimental results, it proves that the stereo vision system created by the research has an image depth recognition error rate within 0.011%. The image tracking error rate may be smaller than 2.5%. In the research, the image recognition function of stereo vision is utilized to accomplish the data collection of driver tracking detection. In addition, the environmental conditions of different simulated real scenarios may also be created through VR.
Spontaneous Expulsion of Intramural Fibroid Six Weeks after Emergency Caesarean Section
Authors: Sagoo Balvinder , Ng Ka Ying Bonnie , Ghaleb G. , Brown Heather
Published: August 2015

We present a thirty-six-year-old woman with a high risk pregnancy, complicated by multiple congenital anomalies, severe hyperemesis, a pulmonary embolus, and a large intramural fibroid. This fibroid grew in size during the pregnancy. At 34 + 5 weeks, there were reduced fetal movements and a pathological CTG. A live infant was delivered by an emergency cesarean section. Five weeks postpartum, she presented with abdominal pain, offensive vaginal discharge, and fevers. She was given antibiotics and ferrous sulphate. An abdominal ultrasound showed an 11 × 12 × 9 cm fibroid with a coarse degenerative appearance. Clinically, she showed signs of sepsis; a CT scan and laparotomy performed under general anesthetic did not find any collections as a source of sepsis. When stable, she was discharged. She re-presented two days later with a large mass (necrotic fibroid) in her vagina. This is the first case of spontaneous expulsion of fibroid six weeks after caesarean section. Presentation of pain and fever after the delivery may be due to red degeneration of the fibroid, caused by diminished blood supply, ischaemia, and necrosis. This case highlights the importance of considering fibroids as a cause for abdominal pain during and after pregnancy, even up to 6 weeks after delivery.
B Cell Lymphoma, Unclassifiable, Transformed from Follicular Lymphoma: A Rare Presentation with Review of the Literature
Authors: Kanna Anila , Agrawal Swati , Jayant Kumar , Kumar Pala Varun , Altujjar Mohammad , Hadid Tarik , Khurram Muhammad
Published: August 2015

B cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features of diffuse large B cell lymphoma and classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma (BCLu-DLBCL/CHL) is more commonly known as gray zone lymphoma. These cases more often present with mediastinal disease. In this report, we present a very rare case of BCLu-DLBCL/CHL without mediastinal involvement, transformed from follicular lymphoma (FL) to BCLu-DLBCL/CHL. This patient initially presented with a mass in the right neck; biopsy of the lymph node showed predominantly nodular, follicular pattern. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of tumor cells expressed positivity for mature B cell markers CD20, CD19, CD10, CD23, CD45, and CD38 but negative for CD5,11c. Hence, diagnosed with FL, he was given rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (RCVP) regimen, followed by maintenance rituximab. He showed good response. After 2 years, he presented again with a mass in the right side of the neck. Although the needle core biopsy of this mass was suggestive of B cell lymphoma, excisional biopsy showed morphological features of DLBCL as well as foci of histological pattern of CHL. IHC staining expressed positivity for CD20, CD79a, PAX5, and CD15 and CD30 consistent with DLBCL and CHL. He was diagnosed with BCLu-DLBCL/CHL. The patient received “ACVBP” (doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vindesine, bleomycin, and prednisone) followed by radiation. BCLu-DLBCL/CHL is clinically an aggressive tumor with poorer outcomes, but our case showed complete response to ACVBP regimen with tumor regression.
Direct Synthesis of Porous Multilayer Graphene Materials Using Thermal Plasma at Low Pressure
Authors: Amirov Ravil , Shavelkina Marina , Alihanov Nariman , Shkolnikov Evgeny , Tyuftyaev Alexander , Vorob’eva Natalya
Published: August 2015

Porous multilayer graphenes have been synthesized by decomposition of hydrocarbons in a thermal plasma jet. Products of synthesis were characterized by electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, Raman spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction. Possibility of producing a wide range of graphene materials with different morphology and structure has been shown. Influence of the experimental conditions on mesopores structure of the synthesis products has been investigated using the method of “limited evaporation.”
Pleuroparenchymal Fibroelastosis: A New Entity within the Spectrum of Rare Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias
Authors: Portillo Karina , Guasch Ignasi , Becker Caroline , Andreo Felipe , Fernández-Figueras Maria Teresa , Ramirez Ruz José , Martinez-Barenys Carlos , García-Reina Samuel , Lopez de Castro Pedro , Sansano Irene , Villar Ana , Ruiz-Manzano Juan
Published: August 2015

Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is a rare entity that has been recently included in the official American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) statement in 2013 as a group of rare idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs). PPFE is characterized by pleural and subpleural parenchymal thickening due to elastic fiber proliferation, mainly in the upper lobes. The etiology of the disease is unclear, although some cases have been associated as a complication after bone marrow transplantation, lung transplantation (LT), chemotherapy, and recurrent respiratory infections. The patients usually report progressive dyspnea and dry cough and are predisposed to develop spontaneous or iatrogenic pneumothoraces after surgical lung biopsy (SLB) for its diagnosis. That is why better awareness with the clinical and radiologic features can help optimal management by the multidisciplinary team. Novel invasive techniques such as cryobiopsy may become useful tools in these patients as it could spare SLB. We present the first reported cases in Spain.
The Prognostic Role of Red Blood Cell Distribution Width in Coronary Artery Disease: A Review of the Pathophysiology
Authors: Bujak Kamil , Wasilewski Jarosław , Osadnik Tadeusz , Jonczyk Sandra , Kołodziejska Aleksandra , Gierlotka Marek , Gąsior Mariusz
Published: August 2015

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a measure of red blood cell volume variations (anisocytosis) and is reported as part of a standard complete blood count. In recent years, numerous studies have noted the importance of RDW as a predictor of poor clinical outcomes in the settings of various diseases, including coronary artery disease (CAD). In this paper, we discuss the prognostic value of RDW in CAD and describe the pathophysiological connection between RDW and acute coronary syndrome. In our opinion, the negative prognostic effects of elevated RDW levels may be attributed to the adverse effects of independent risk factors such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and vitamin D3and iron deficiency on bone marrow function (erythropoiesis). Elevated RDW values may reflect the intensity of these phenomena and their unfavorable impacts on bone marrow erythropoiesis. Furthermore, decreased red blood cell deformability among patients with higher RDW values impairs blood flow through the microcirculation, resulting in the diminution of oxygen supply at the tissue level, particularly among patients suffering from myocardial infarction treated with urgent revascularization.