bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Statistical Methods for Overdispersion in mRNA-Seq Count Data
Authors: Zhang Hui , Pounds Stanley B. , Tang Li
Published: January 2014

Recent developments in Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies have opened doors for ultra high
throughput sequencing mRNA (mRNA-seq) of the whole transcriptome. mRNA-seq has enabled researchers to
comprehensively search for underlying biological determinants of diseases and ultimately discover novel preventive and
therapeutic solutions. Unfortunately, given the complexity of mRNA-seq data, data generation has outgrown current
analytical capacity, hindering the pace of research in this area. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel statistical
methodology that addresses problems related to mRNA-seq data. This review addresses the common challenge of the
presence of overdispersion in mRNA count data. We review current methods for modeling overdispersion, such as
negative binomial, quasi-likelihood Poisson method, and the two-stage adaptive method; introduce related statistical
theories; and discuss their applications to mRNA-seq count data.
Artificial Neural Network in Drug Delivery and Pharmaceutical Research
Authors: Sutariya Vijaykumar , Groshev Anastasia , Sadana Prabodh , Bhatia Deepak , Pathak Yashwant
Published: January 2014

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) technology models the pattern recognition capabilities of the neural
networks of the brain. Similarly to a single neuron in the brain, artificial neuron unit receives inputs from many external
sources, processes them, and makes decisions. Interestingly, ANN simulates the biological nervous system and draws on
analogues of adaptive biological neurons. ANNs do not require rigidly structured experimental designs and can map
functions using historical or incomplete data, which makes them a powerful tool for simulation of various non-linear
systems.ANNs have many applications in various fields, including engineering, psychology, medicinal chemistry and
pharmaceutical research. Because of their capacity for making predictions, pattern recognition, and modeling, ANNs have
been very useful in many aspects of pharmaceutical research including modeling of the brain neural network, analytical
data analysis, drug modeling, protein structure and function, dosage optimization and manufacturing, pharmacokinetics
and pharmacodynamics modeling, and in vitro in vivo correlations. This review discusses the applications of ANNs in
drug delivery and pharmacological research.
The Emergence of Ambulatory Measurement of Arterial Stiffness and Central Blood Pressure. A Promising Novelty of Clinical Importance or Just Another Marker?
Authors: Lazaridis A. , Gkaliagkousi E. , Doumas M. , Reklou A. , Karagiannis A.
Published: January 2014

Whereas brachial blood pressure (BP) is still considered the gold standard for the estimation of cardiovascular
risk in all clinical trials and guidelines, scientific interest is shifting towards central hemodynamics and the scientific
community is experiencing a whole new revolution with the emergence of novel cardiovascular markers such as the ambulatory
measurement of central BP and arterial stiffness. Central BP has already started to demonstrate its superiority
over peripheral BP as a better and more reliable predictor of end-organ damage in cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore,
ambulatory measurement of central BP and pulse wave velocity are expected to add much more useful information towards
a more integrated assessment of cardiovascular risk and profile. However, more research is required before these
novel markers could be incorporated in the everyday practice of BP measurement.
Thyroid Dysfunction and Arterial Stiffness. Does the Restoration of Thyroid Function Tests Offer any Benefit?
Authors: Anagnostis Panagiotis , Karras Spyridon N. , Gotsis Efthimios , Gouni- Berthold Ioanna
Published: January 2014

A growing body of evidence suggests that hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, either as overt or subclinical
states, are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Except for the increased prevalence of lipid
disorders, coagulation abnormalities, endothelial dysfunction, cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular hypertrophy and hypertension
have been proposed as the most plausible pathways for this association, increased arterial stiffness (AS) may also
play a role. Increased AS has emerged recently as an early indicator of CVD in various studies. On the other hand, thyroid
dysfunction, mainly hypothyroidism (overt and subclinical) seems to be associated with increased AS, although data are
heterogeneous, emerging from different populations, with various methodologies of AS assessment and with variable periods
of observation. Restoration of thyroid function with L-thyroxin replacement seems to reverse AS parameters,
whereas data on the effect of normalization of thyroid function in hyperthyroidism on AS are inconsistent. The present review
provides insights on the association between AS and thyroid dysfunction and discusses the available data about potential
benefits of the restoration of thyroid function on AS.
Stiff Heart and Stiff Arteries. Could We Soften Both?
Authors: Athyros Vasilios G. , Tziomalos Konstantinos , Farganis Michael A. , Geleris Paraschos
Published: January 2014

Old age, female gender, hypertension (HTN), cardiac ischaemia, and arterial stiffness (AS) are the main
determinants of a stiff heart, diastolic dysfunction (DD), and finally heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
(HFpEF); however, several cardiac or extra-cardiac pathologies may also be involved. The combined ventricular-arterial
stiffening (abnormal left ventricle-arterial coupling) is the main determinant of the increased prevalence of HFpEF in
elderly persons, particularly women, and in younger subjects with HTN. Hospitalization and mortality rates in patients
with HFpEF are similar to those of patients with heart failure with reduced EF (HFrEF). However, although the prognosis
of HFrEF has improved over time, the optimal treatment of HFpEF remains unclear, because of the differences in the
pathophysiology of the two syndromes. A number of new drugs have shown promise but they will not be commercially
available for several years. For the time being, aggressive treatment of non-cardiac comorbidities is the only option available
for the management of HFpEF. Treatment of anaemia, sleep disorders, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty
liver disease, atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus, and judicious use of diuretics are effective to some degree. Statin
treatment deserves special attention, regardless of the presence of dyslipidaemia, because it has been shown, mainly in
small studies, post hoc analyses, and in a large recent meta-analysis, that it is related to an improved quality of life and a
reduction in HF-related mortality. We urgently need to utilize these recourses to relieve a substantial number of patients
suffering from HFpEF, a disease with an ominous prognosis.
The mean-value at risk static portfolio optimization using genetic algorithm
Authors: Rankovic Vladimir , Drenovak Mikica , Stojanovic Boban , Kalinic Zoran , Arsovski Zora
Published: January 2014

In this paper we solve the problem of static portfolio allocation based on
historical Value at Risk (VaR) by using genetic algorithm (GA). VaR is a
predominantly used measure of risk of extreme quantiles in modern finance.
For estimation of historical static portfolio VaR, calculation of time series
of portfolio returns is required. To avoid daily recalculations of proportion
of capital invested in portfolio assets, we introduce a novel set of weight
parameters based on proportion of shares. Optimal portfolio allocation in the
VaR context is computationally very complex since VaR is not a coherent risk
metric while number of local optima increases exponentially with the number
of securities. We presented two different single-objective and a
multiobjective technique for generating mean-VaR efficient frontiers. Results
document good risk/reward characteristics of solution portfolios while there
is a trade-off between the ability to control diversity of solutions and
computation time.
AMASE: A framework for supporting personalised activity-based learning on the web
Authors: Staikopoulos Athanasios , O'Keeffe Ian , Rafter Rachael , Walsh Eddie , Yousuf Bilal , Conlan Owen , Wade Vincent
Published: January 2014

Personalised web information systems have in recent years been evolving to
provide richer and more tailored experiences for users than ever before. In
order to provide even more interactive experiences as well as to address new
opportunities, the next generation of Personalised web information systems
needs to be capable of dynamically personalising not just web media but web
services as well. In particular, eLearning provides an example of an
application domain where learning activities and personalisation are of
significant importance in order to provide learners with more engaging and
effective learning experiences. This paper presents a novel approach and
technical framework called AMASE to support the dynamic generation and
enactment of Personalised Learning Activities, which uniquely entails the
personalisation of media content and the personalisation of services in a
unified manner. In doing so, AMASE follows a narrative approach to
personalisation that combines state of the art techniques from both adaptive
web and adaptive workflow systems.
JINDY: A java library to support invokedynamic
Authors: Conde Patricia , Ortin Francisco
Published: January 2014

Java 7 has included the new invokedynamic opcode in the Java virtual machine.
This new instruction allows the user to define method linkage at runtime.
Once the link is established, the virtual machine performs its common
optimizations, providing better runtime performance than reflection. However,
this feature has not been offered at the abstraction level of the Java
programming language. Since the functionality of the new opcode is not
provided as a library, the existing languages in the Java platform can only
use it at the assembly level. For this reason, we have developed the JINDY
library that offers invokedynamic to any programming language in the Java
platform. JINDY supports three modes of use, establishing a trade-off between
runtime performance and flexibility. A runtime performance and memory
consumption evaluation is presented. We analyze the efficiency of JINDY
compared to reflection, the MethodHandle class in Java 7 and the Dynalink
library. The memory and performance costs compared to the invokedynamic
opcode are also measured.
Probability-model based network traffic matrix estimation
Authors: Tian Hui , Sang Yingpeng , Shen Hong , Zhou Chunyue
Published: January 2014

Traffic matrix is of great help in many network applications. However, it is
very difficult to estimate the traffic matrix for a large-scale network. This
is because the estimation problem from limited link measurements is highly
underconstrained. We propose a simple probability model for a large-scale
practical network. The probability model is then generalized to a general
model by including random traffic data. Traffic matrix estimation is then
conducted under these two models by two minimization methods. It is shown
that the Normalized Root Mean Square Errors of these estimates under our
model assumption are very small. For a large-scale network, the traffic
matrix estimation methods also perform well. The comparison of two
minimization methods shown in the simulation results complies with the
analysis.
Sentiment analysis based on fuzzy propagation in online social networks: A case study on TweetScope
Authors: Trung Duc , Jung Jason
Published: January 2014

Understanding customers? opinion and subjectivity is regarded as an important
task in various domains (e.g., marketing). Particularly, with many types of
social media (e.g., Twitter and FaceBook), such opinions are propagated to
other users and might make a significant influence on them. In this paper, we
propose a fuzzy propagation modeling for opinion mining by sentiment analysis
of online social networks. Thereby, a practical system, called TweetScope,
has been implemented to efficiently collect and analyze all possible tweets
from customers.
Using XPaths of inbound links to cluster template-generated web pages
Authors: Grigalis Tomas , Cenys Antanas
Published: January 2014

Template-generated Web pages contain most of structured data on the Web.
Clustering these pages according to their template structure is an important
problem in wrapper-based structured data extraction systems. These systems
extract structured data using wrappers that must be matched to only
particular template pages. Selecting single type of template from all crawled
Web pages is a time consuming task. Although there are methods to cluster Web
pages according to their structural similarity, however, in most cases they
are too computationally expensive to be applicable at Web-Scale. We propose a
novel highly scalable approach to structurally cluster Web pages by employing
XPath addresses of inbound inner-site links. We demonstrate the effectiveness
of our method by clustering more than one million Web pages from many real
world Websites in a few minutes and achieving >90% accuracy.
Development of an Anomaly Detection Model for a Bank's Transitory Account System
Authors: Kim Yongbum , Kogan Alexander
Published: January 2014

Fraud detection is one of the key components of an internal control system that is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding reliable financial statements, effective and efficient operations, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and safeguarding of assets (AICPA 2002; Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission 1992). Practically, however, it is challenging to determine what should be investigated among myriads of a company's transactions, most of which are normal and/or free from material error. Limited human resources and cost constraints are major barriers to fraud detection in practice. This study proposes a multi-step fraud detection model that screens transactions at various levels, which leads to a manageable number of transactions that internal auditors can examine. To that end, a broad screening criterion is applied at the highest level, while more detailed criteria are used at the lowest level. This study provides an example of development of a practicable fraud detection model.
Surface roughness of three types of modern plastic bracket slot floors and frictional resistance
Authors: Choi Sung-Hwan , Kang Da-Young , Hwang Chung–Ju
Published: January 2014

Objective:

To quantitatively analyze the surface roughness of the slot floors of three types of modern plastic brackets and to measure static frictional force during sliding mechanics in vitro.

Materials and Methods:

Control groups comprised stainless steel brackets and monocrystalline ceramic brackets. Test groups comprised three types of 0.022-in slot, Roth prescription, plastic, maxillary right central incisor brackets. Test groups included glass fiber-reinforced polycarbonate, filler-reinforced polycarbonate, and hybrid polymer with inserted metal slot brackets. The static frictional resistance caused by sliding movements with an archwire (stainless steel) in vitro was quantitatively analyzed. Both scanning electron microscope and three-dimensional optical surface profiling were used.

Results:

Scanning electron microscope and three-dimensional optical surface profiler revealed that all as-received brackets had irregular slot floor surfaces, and both irregularity and roughness increased after the archwire sliding test. The ceramic brackets in the control group showed significantly lower surface roughness values and higher frictional values during the archwire sliding test compared with the other brackets. The glass or filler-reinforced plastic brackets exhibited significantly higher static frictional values than the metallic slot type brackets (P < .001). The hybrid polymer with inserted metal slot brackets showed relatively lower surface roughness and frictional values compared with the stainless steel control bracket.

Conclusion:

Glass or filler-reinforced plastic brackets showed higher frictional resistance than metallic slot–type brackets. A plastic bracket with inserted metal slot may be the best choice among plastic brackets for low frictional resistance and to avoid damage from sliding movements of the archwire.
Late Glacial and Holocene plant cover in Węgliny, Lubsza Plain, south-west Poland, based on pollen analysis
Authors: Jurochnik Aleksandra , Nalepka Dorota
Published: January 2014

Late Glacial (since Oldest Dryas) and Holocene (to Subatlantic) changes of vegetation at the Węgliny site (south-west Poland) are reconstructed based mainly on pollen analysis of five cores from the palaeobasin (anaerobic sediments). The chronology of the described events is based on palynological comparison with the Lubsza Plain environs, based on LPAZs from several published pollen diagrams on 14C data, and multiple cryptotephra levels determined in the Węgliny profiles. The Węgliny record integrates well into the north European Holocene and Late Glacial biostratigraphic framework. The Węgliny site is the next (fourth) locality in Poland where the Laacher See Tephra (LST) horizon within the Allerød chronozone was identified.
Detection of Gearbox lubrication Using PSO-Based WKNN
Authors: Lee Chun-Yao , Kuo Cheng-Chien , Liu Ryan , Tseng I-Hsiang , Chang Lu-Chen
Published: January 2014

This paper proposes an optimization classification model, which combines particle swarm optimization (PSO) with weighted knearest neighbors (WKNN), namely PWKNN. The model optimizes the weight and k parameter of WKNN to improve the detection accuracy of gearbox lubrication levels. In the experiment, the current signals of the generator are measured, and the relative frequency spectrum of the measured signals is illustrated by using fast Fourier transform (FFT). The features from the spectrum are extracted, and then the optimal weight and k parameter of WKNN are obtained by using PSO. The average detection accuracy of gearbox lubrication levels is 96% by using PWKNN, which the result shows that the proposed PWKNN can efficiently detect the lubrication level of gearboxes. The experiment also shows that the performance of the proposed PWKNN by using the current signals of the generator is superior to that by using typical vibration signals of a gearbox. In addition, the accuracy can reach 95.4% even in environments with 20 dB noise interference.
CAN Network Based Longitudinal Velocity Measurement Using Accelerometer and GPS Receiver for Automobiles
Authors: Venkatesh K. Arun , Mathivanan N.
Published: January 2014

A design of Controller Area Network (CAN) based longitudinal velocity measurement system using MEMS accelerometer and GPS receiver is presented. CAN is a serial communication protocol which efficiently supports distributed control system with high level of security. The system consists of a master node and a slave node built around LPC1768 and LPC2129 microcontrollers respectively. The master and slave nodes are linked with CAN bus. The slave node gets velocity data from GPS receiver and transfers to the master node. The master node samples the accelerometer output, and saves the sampled data and the velocity data received from the slave node on a microSD card. A LabVIEW program has been developed to study the measured parameters in offline by applying a Kalman filter and computing the estimate of longitudinal velocity. Typical measurements with the present system in a standard driving maneuvers and computation of estimate of longitudinal velocity using the LabVIEW program are presented. The measurement system produces comparable results with the conventional meter.
CGCI-SIFT: A More Efficient and Compact Representation of Local Descriptor
Authors: Su Dongliang , Wu Jian , Cui Zhiming , Sheng Victor S. , Gong Shengrong
Published: January 2014

This paper proposes a novel invariant local descriptor, a combination of gradient histograms with contrast intensity (CGCI), for image matching and object recognition. Considering the different contributions of sub-regions inside a local interest region to an interest point, we divide the local interest region around the interest point into two main sub-regions: an inner region and a peripheral region. Then we describe the divided regions with gradient histogram information for the inner region and contrast intensity information for the peripheral region respectively. The contrast intensity information is defined as intensity difference between an interest point and other pixels in the local region. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed descriptor performs better than SIFT and its variants PCA-SIFT and SURF with various optical and geometric transformations. It also has better matching efficiency than SIFT and its variants PCA-SIFT and SURF, and has the potential to be used in a variety of realtime applications.
Foliicolous lichenized fungi of lowland Amazon forests in Pando, Bolivia
Authors: Flakus Adam
Published: January 2014

Foliicolous lichens are an important component of lowland tropical forests and are useful bioindicators of vegetation continuity or forest health. This study of these fungi in lowland Bolivian Amazon forests of Pando Department revealed the presence of 180 species, 101 of which are reported as new for Bolivia. The following 15 species are mentioned for the first time from South America: Anisomeridium guttuliferum Lücking, Byssolecania pluriseptata Breuss, Caprettia confusa Lücking & Sipman, Chroodiscus submuralis Lücking, Coenogonium barbatum Lücking, Aptroot & L. Umaña-Tenorio, Echinoplaca tetrapla (Zahlbr.) Lücking, Gyalectidium laciniatum Lücking, G. pallidum Herrera-Campos & Lücking, Mazosia conica Sérus., Phylloblastia excavata P. M. McCarthy, Porina conica R. Sant., Porina subnucula Lücking & Vězda, Porina aff. subpallescens Vězda, Strigula minuta Lücking and Trichothelium intermedium Lücking. The up-to-date list of foliicolous lichens of Bolivia now numbers 218 species, 52% more than known previously. The foliicolous lichen biota of Pando, a substantial part of the Bolivian Amazon, has clear affinities to neighboring countries due to the significant proportion of species typical for lowland and submontane humid forests in the Neotropics. Analyses of the lichen diversity in the area suggest that its species composition is positively correlated with the presence of specific forest types.
Four new species of Cranichis (Orchidaceae, Spiranthoideae, Cranichidinae) from Colombia
Authors: Szlachetko Dariusz L. , Kolanowska Marta
Published: January 2014

Four new species of the Neotropical genus Cranichis Sw. are described and illustrated based on Colombian material. The new entities are placed within a key for identification of Colombian members of the genus. Information about their ecology and distribution is provided.
A new species of Cleistes (Orchidaceae, Vanilloideae) from Colombia
Authors: Kolanowska Marta , Szlachetko Dariusz L.
Published: January 2014

Cleistes cuatrecasasii Kolan. & Szlach. sp. nov. from the Pacific slope of the Colombian Andes is described and illustrated. Information about its habitat and distribution is provided, and the taxonomic affinity of the new species is briefly discussed.
Cardinal invariants of paratopological groups
Authors: Sánchez Iván
Published: January 2014

We show that a regular totally ω-narrow paratopological group
G has countable index of regularity, i.e., for every neighborhood
U of the identity e of G, we can find a neighborhood V of e and a countable family of neighborhoods of e in G such that ∩W∈γ VW−1⊆ U. We prove that every regular (Hausdorff) totally !-narrow paratopological group is completely regular (functionally Hausdorff). We show that the index
of regularity of a regular paratopological group is less than or equal to the weak Lindelöf number. We also prove that every Hausdorff paratopological group with countable π-
character has a regular Gσ-diagonal.
The Great Harvest of Hope—Brazil 2010: Creating International Dialogue with Emerging Artists
Authors: Séguin Angèle , Graham Catherine
Published: January 2014

Angèle Séguin, Artistic Director of the Théâtre des Petites Lanternes, describes the process by which the Great Harvest of Hope was created for the IDEA World Congress in 2010. Using a unique methodology developed by the Theatre des Petites Lanternes in Sherbrooke Québec, an organizing group led by Séguin and César Escuza Norero, the Artistic Director of Vichama Teatro in Peru, created a performance with performers from 14 different countries on the basis of 3000 pages of writing from 500 volunteers in 22 countries.
Beyond Monumentalization: Activating Empathy for the “Lost Subjects of History” through Embodied Memorial Performance
Authors: Vosters Helene
Published: January 2014

What is the range of our empathy in a globalized world where neoliberal policies and the myriad of violences they produce hurl the debris of history’s catastrophic wreckage into our present, our future? Who do we remember and who do we mourn in a world in which grief is hierarchically constituted, and lives differentially valued along hemispheric, geopolitical, racial, and gendered faultlines? “Beyond Monumentalization: Activating Empathy for the ‘lost subjects of history’ through Embodied Memorial Performance” explores these questions by juxtaposing readings of two embodied and publicly situated memorial performances — Haunting (2013), and Vigil (2002) — with an examination of Stanford University’s institutionalization of dominant memory in and through architectural (and pedagogical) design.
A Study in Dissonance: Performing Alternative Food Systems
Authors: Doonan Natalie
Published: January 2014

In December 2012, the Montreal performance art platform the SensoriuM presented Botanical Animal, featuring multimedia artist Amanda Marya White, whose work explores the relationships between people, cities and ecology. In Botanical Animal, White introduced a closed-loop system for growing tomatoes. The stage for this performance was a university staff kitchen, in which White displayed photographs, botanical drawings, and plants. The performance was participatory, as the artist instructed and invited those in attendance to make canned tomatoes and salsa together. In this paper, I analyze Botanical Animal to demonstrate the ability of performance art to extend affective capacities by reconsidering relationships between human, animal, organic and inorganic forms. Botanical Animal incited gut reactions in participants, thus increasing affective capacities and encouraging its publics to reimagine their places within globalized cycles of food distribution.
Treatment of moyamoya disease in the adult population with pial synangiosis
Authors: Lin Ning , Aronson Joshua P. , Manjila Sunil , Smith Edward R. , Scott R. Michael
Published: January 2014

Object

Surgical treatment of moyamoya disease in the adult population commonly uses direct revascularization, the superficial temporal artery (STA) to middle cerebral artery (MCA) bypass (STA-MCA). Pial synangiosis, a method of indirect revascularization, has been used in adult patients with moyamoya when STA-MCA bypass was not technically feasible. Although the effectiveness of pial synangiosis has been well described in children, only limited reports have examined its role in adult patients with moyamoya disease. In this study the authors report on their experience with pial synangiosis revascularization for this population.

Methods

The authors reviewed the clinical and radiographic records of all adult patients (≥ 18 years of age) with moyamoya disease who underwent cerebral revascularization surgery using pial synangiosis at a single institution.

Results

From 1985 to 2010, 66 procedures (6 unilateral, 30 bilateral) were performed on 36 adult patients with moyamoya disease. The mean age at surgery was 28.3 years, and 30 patients were female. Twenty-eight patients (77.8%) presented with transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), 24 (66.7%) with stroke, and 3 (8.3%) with hemorrhage. Preoperative Suzuki stage was III or higher in 50 hemispheres (75.8%) and 3 patients had undergone prior treatments to the affected hemisphere before pial synangiosis surgery. Clinical follow-up was available for an average of 5.8 years (range 0.6–14.1 years), with 26 patients (72.2%) followed for longer than 2 years. Postoperative angiography was available for 24 patients and 46 revascularized hemispheres, and 39 (84.8%) of the 46 hemispheres demonstrated good collateral formation (Matsushima Grade A or B). Postoperative complications included 3 strokes, 5 TIAs, and 2 seizures, and there was no hemorrhage during the follow-up period. One patient required additional revascularization surgery 8 months after pial synangiosis.

Conclusions

Pial synangiosis is a safe and durable method of cerebral revascularization in adult patients with moyamoya and can be considered as a potential treatment option for moyamoya disease in adults.
Association of Kallikrein gene polymorphisms with sporadic intracranial aneurysms in the Chinese population
Authors: Suo Miaomiao , Lin Yahui , Yu Hui , Song Weihua , Sun Kai , Song Yan , Zhang Yinhui , Zhang Channa , Zhu Yufang , Pang Qi , Hui Rutai , Chen Jingzhou
Published: January 2014

Object

Variants of Kallikreins have been shown to be risk factors for intracranial aneurysm (IA) in a Finnish population. In the present study, the authors investigated the correlation between polymorphisms in the Kallikrein gene cluster and IAs in the Chinese population.

Methods

The association of Kallikrein variants (rs1722561 and rs1701946) with sporadic IAs was tested in 308 cases and 443 controls. The differences in allelic frequencies between patients and the control group were evaluated with the chi-square test.

Results

The C allele of rs1722561 showed a significant reduction in the risk of sporadic IA (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.53–0.95; p = 0.023). However, no association of the variant rs1701946 with sporadic IA was found (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.57–1.06; p = 0.115).

Conclusions

The variant rs1722561 of Kallikreins might reduce the risk of sporadic IAs among individuals of Chinese Han ethnicity. This study confirms the association between Kallikreins and IAs.
Archaeological Investigations at a Wisconsin Petroglyph Site
Authors: Steinbring Jack
Published: January 2014

Preliminary test excavations at the Hensler Petroglyph Site in East Central Wisconsin, U.S.A. have disclosed the remains of aboriginal engravings below Aeolian sediments dated to ca. 15,000 years B.P. The stratified deposits lying adjacent to an engraved panel, containing 35 pecked images, have yielded animal-like cobbles, some covered with red ochre, apparently picked for some esoteric use. The site itself has unusual natural shapes in the rock formation, along with acoustical properties, lightning strikes, a magnetic anomaly, and geographic prominence. Collectively these factors are thought to have attracted the ancient rock artists to the site.
Seasonal Changes in Microbial Community Structure in Freshwater Stream Sediment in a North Carolina River Basin
Authors: Bucci John , Szempruch Anthony , Caldwell Jane , Ellis Joseph , Levine Jay
Published: January 2014

This study examined seasonal differences in microbial community structure in the sediment of three streams in North Carolina’s Neuse River Basin. Microbes that reside in sediment are at the base of the food chain and have a profound influence on the health of freshwater stream environments. Terminal-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP), molecular fingerprint analysis of 16S rRNA genes was used to examine the diversity of bacterial species in stream sediment. Sediment was sampled in both wet and dry seasons from an agricultural (Bear), mixed urban (Crabtree) and forested (Marks) Creek, and the microbiota examined. Gamma, Alpha and Beta proteobacteria were prevalent species of microbial taxa represented among all sites. Actinobacteria was the next most prevalent species observed, with greater occurrence in dry compared to the wet season. Discernable clustering was observed of Marks and Bear Creek samples collected during the wetter period (September–April), which corresponded with a period of higher precipitation and cooler surface water temperatures. Although not statistically significant, microbial community structure appeared different between season (ANOSIM, R = 0.60; p < 0.10). Principal components analysis confirmed this pattern and showed that the bacterial groups were separated by wet and dry seasonal periods. These results suggest seasonal differences among the microbial community structure in sediment of freshwater streams and that these communities may respond to changes in precipitation during wetter periods.
Compressed Air Energy Storage System Control and Performance Assessment Using Energy Harvested Index
Authors: SedighNejad Hanif , Iqbal Tariq , Quaicoe John
Published: January 2014

In this paper a new concept for control and performance assessment of compressed air energy storage (CAES) systems in a hybrid energy system is introduced. The proposed criterion, based on the concept of energy harvest index (HEI), measures the capability of a storage system to capture renewable energy. The overall efficiency of the CAES system and optimum control and design from the technical and economic point of view is presented. A possible application of this idea is an isolated community with significant wind energy resource. A case study reveals the usefulness of the proposed criterion in design, control and implementation of a small CAES system in a hybrid power system (HPM) for an isolated community. Energy harvested index and its effectiveness in increasing the wind penetration rate in the total energy production is discussed.
Two-Body Orbit Expansion Due to Time-Dependent Relative Acceleration Rate of the Cosmological Scale Factor
Authors: Iorio Lorenzo
Published: January 2014

By phenomenologically assuming a slow temporal variation of the percent acceleration rate S̈S -1 of the cosmic scale factor S(t), it is shown that the orbit of a local binary undergoes a secular expansion. To first order in the power expansion of S̈S -1 around the present epoch t0, a non-vanishing shift per orbit (Δr) of the two-body relative distance r occurs for eccentric trajectories. A general relativistic expression, which turns out to be cubic in the Hubble parameter H0 at the present epoch, is explicitly calculated for it in the case of matter-dominated epochs with Dark Energy. For a highly eccentric Oort comet orbit with period Pb ≈ 31 Myr, the general relativistic distance shift per orbit turns out to be of the order of (Δr) ≈ 70 km. For the Large Magellanic Cloud, assumed on a bound elliptic orbit around the Milky Way, the shift per orbit is of the order of (Δr) ≈ 2–4 pc. Our result has a general validity since it holds in any cosmological model admitting the Hubble law and a slowly varying S̈S-1(t). More generally, it is valid for an arbitrary Hooke-like extra-acceleration whose “elastic” parameter κ is slowly time-dependent, irrespectively of the physical mechanism which may lead to it. The coefficient κ1 of the first-order term of the power expansion of κ(t) can be preliminarily constrained in a model-independent way down to a κ1 ≲ 2 x 10-13 year-3 level from latest Solar System’s planetary observations. The radial velocities of the double lined spectroscopic binary ALPHA Cen AB yield κ1 ≲ 10-8 year-3.
Analysis of the Toll-Like Receptor 2-2 (TLR2-2) and TLR4 mRNA Expression in the Intestinal Mucosal Immunity of Broilers Fed on Diets Supplemented with Nickel Chloride
Authors: Wu Bangyuan , Cui Hengmin , Peng Xi , Fang Jing , Zuo Zhicai , Deng Junliang , Huang Jianying
Published: January 2014

Toll-like receptor (TLRs) are important innate immune receptors, and TLR2 and TLR4 play an important role in intestinal mucosal innate immunity. It has been found that nickel (Ni) can affect the immune system in broilers. The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in TLR2-2 and TLR4 mRNA expression levels in the intestinal mucosal immunity system of broilers induced by dietary nickel chloride (NiCl2) using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays. Two hundred and forty one-day-old avian broilers were divided into four groups and fed on a corn-soybean basal diet as control diet or the same basal diet supplemented with 300, 600 and 900 mg/kg of NiCl2 for 42 days. Results showed that the TLR2-2 and TLR4 mRNA expression levels in the intestinal mucosa and the cecal tonsil were lower (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01) in the 300, 600 and 900 mg/kg groups than those in the control group. It was concluded that dietary NiCl2 in excess of 300 mg/kg could reduce TLR2-2 and TLR4 mRNA expression levels in the intestinal mucosa and cecal tonsil in broilers, implying that the innate immunity in intestinal mucosal immune system could be impaired by pathways involving injured surface epithelium cells or/and the inhibition of the TLR signal transduction.
Molecular Cloning, Bioinformatics Analysis and Expression of Insulin-Like Growth Factor 2 from Tianzhu White Yak, Bos grunniens
Authors: Zhang Quanwei , Gong Jishang , Wang Xueying , Wu Xiaohu , Li Yalan , Ma Youji , Zhang Yong , Zhao Xingxu
Published: January 2014

The IGF family is essential for normal embryonic and postnatal development and plays important roles in the immune system, myogenesis, bone metabolism and other physiological functions, which makes the study of its structure and biological characteristics important. Tianzhu white yak (Bos grunniens) domesticated under alpine hypoxia environments, is well adapted to survive and grow against severe hypoxia and cold temperatures for extended periods. In this study, a full coding sequence of the IGF2 gene of Tianzhu white yak was amplified by reverse transcription PCR and rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) for the first time. The cDNA sequence revealed an open reading frame of 450 nucleotides, encoding a protein with 179 amino acids. Its expression in different tissues was also studied by Real time PCR. Phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that yak IGF2 was similar to Bos taurus, and 3D structure showed high similarity with the human IGF2. The putative full CDS of yak IGF2 was amplified by PCR in five tissues, and cDNA sequence analysis showed high homology to bovine IGF2. Moreover the super secondary structure prediction showed a similar 3D structure with human IGF2. Its conservation in sequence and structure has facilitated research on IGF2 and its physiological function in yak.
Fabrication of CIS Absorber Layers with Different Thicknesses Using A Non-Vacuum Spray Coating Method
Authors: Diao Chien-Chen , Kuo Hsin-Hui , Tzou Wen-Cheng , Chen Yen-Lin , Yang Cheng-Fu
Published: January 2014

In this study, a new thin-film deposition process, spray coating method (SPM), was investigated to deposit the high-densified CuInSe2 absorber layers. The spray coating method developed in this study was a non-vacuum process, based on dispersed nano-scale CuInSe2 precursor and could offer a simple, inexpensive, and alternative formation technology for CuInSe2 absorber layers. After spraying on Mo/glass substrates, the CuInSe2 thin films were annealed at 550 °C by changing the annealing time from 5 min to 30 min in a selenization furnace, using N2 as atmosphere. When the CuInSe2 thin films were annealed, without extra Se or H2Se gas used as the compensation source during the annealing process. The aim of this project was to investigate the influence of annealing time on the densification and crystallization of the CuInSe2 absorber layers to optimize the quality for cost effective solar cell production. The thickness of the CuInSe2 absorber layers could be controlled as the volume of used dispersed CuInSe2-isopropyl alcohol solution was controlled. In this work, X-ray diffraction patterns, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and Hall parameter measurements were performed in order to verify the quality of the CuInSe2 absorber layers obtained by the Spray Coating Method.
Saccharide Substituted Zinc Phthalocyanines: Optical Properties, Interaction with Bovine Serum Albumin and Near Infrared Fluorescence Imaging for Sentinel Lymph Nodes
Authors: Lu Li , Lv Feng , Cao Bo , He Xujun , Liu Tianjun
Published: January 2014

Saccharide-substituted zinc phthalocyanines, [2,9(10),16(17),23(24)-tetrakis((1-(β-D-glucose-2-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)phthalocyaninato]zinc(II) and [2,9(10), 16(17),23(24)-tetrakis((1-(β-D-lactose-2-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)phthalocyaninato] zinc(II), were evaluated as novel near infrared fluorescence agents. Their interaction with bovine serum albumin was investigated by fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry. Near infrared imaging for sentinel lymph nodes in vivo was performed using nude mice as models. Results show that saccharide- substituted zinc phthalocyanines have favourable water solubility, good optical stability and high emission ability in the near infrared region. The interaction of lactose-substituted phthalocyanine with bovine serum albumin displays obvious differences to that of glucose- substituted phthalocyanine. Moreover, lactose-substituted phthalocyanine possesses obvious imaging effects for sentinel lymph nodes in vivo.
Model-Based Optimization of Scaffold Geometry and Operating Conditions of Radial Flow Packed-Bed Bioreactors for Therapeutic Applications
Authors: Donato Danilo , Napoli Ilaria , Catapano Gerardo
Published: January 2014

Radial flow perfusion of cell-seeded hollow cylindrical porous scaffolds may overcome the transport limitations of pure diffusion and direct axial perfusion in the realization of bioengineered substitutes of failing or missing tissues. Little has been reported on the optimization criteria of such bioreactors. A steady-state model was developed, combining convective and dispersive transport of dissolved oxygen with Michaelis-Menten cellular consumption kinetics. Dimensional analysis was used to combine more effectively geometric and operational variables in the dimensionless groups determining bioreactor performance. The effectiveness of cell oxygenation was expressed in terms of non-hypoxic fractional construct volume. The model permits the optimization of the geometry of hollow cylindrical constructs, and direction and magnitude of perfusion flow, to ensure cell oxygenation and culture at controlled oxygen concentration profiles. This may help engineer tissues suitable for therapeutic and drug screening purposes.
Modeling Fire Danger in Galicia and Asturias (Spain) from MODIS Images
Authors: Bisquert Mar , Sánchez Juan , Caselles Vicente
Published: January 2014

Forest fires are one of the most dangerous natural hazards, especially when they are recurrent. In areas such as Galicia (Spain), forest fires are frequent and devastating. The development of fire risk models becomes a very important prevention task for these regions. Vegetation and moisture indices can be used to monitor vegetation status; however, the different indices may perform differently depending on the vegetation species. Eight different spectral indices were selected to determine the most appropriate index in Galicia. This study was extended to the adjacent region of Asturias. Six years of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images, together with ground fire data in a 10 × 10 km grid basis were used. The percentage of fire events met the variations suffered by some of the spectral indices, following a linear regression in both Galicia and Asturias. The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) was the index leading to the best results. Based on these results, a simple fire danger model was established, using logistic regression, by combining the EVI variation with other variables, such as fire history in each cell and period of the year. A seventy percent overall concordance was obtained between estimated and observed fire frequency.
Micro-Vibration-Based Slip Detection in Tactile Force Sensors
Authors: Fernandez Raul , Payo Ismael , Vazquez Andres , Becedas Jonathan
Published: January 2014

Tactile sensing provides critical information, such as force, texture, shape or temperature, in manipulation tasks. In particular, tactile sensors traditionally used in robotics are emphasized in contact force determination for grasping control and object recognition. Nevertheless, slip detection is also crucial to successfully manipulate an object. Several approaches have appeared to detect slipping, the majority being a combination of complex sensors with complex algorithms. In this paper, we deal with simplicity, analyzing how a novel, but simple, algorithm, based on micro-vibration detection, can be used in a simple, but low-cost and durable, force sensor. We also analyze the results of using the same principle to detect slipping in other force sensors based on flexible parts. In particular, we show and compare the slip detection with: (i) a flexible finger, designed by the authors, acting as a force sensor; (ii) the finger torque sensor of a commercial robotic hand; (iii) a commercial six-axis force sensor mounted on the wrist of a robot; and (iv) a fingertip piezoresistive matrix sensor.
Improving Inertial Pedestrian Dead-Reckoning by Detecting Unmodified Switched-on Lamps in Buildings
Authors: Jiménez Antonio , Zampella Francisco , Seco Fernando
Published: January 2014

This paper explores how inertial Pedestrian Dead-Reckoning (PDR) location systems can be improved with the use of a light sensor to measure the illumination gradients created when a person walks under ceiling-mounted unmodified indoor lights. The process of updating the inertial PDR estimates with the information provided by light detections is a new concept that we have named Light-matching (LM). The displacement and orientation change of a person obtained by inertial PDR is used by the LM method to accurately propagate the location hypothesis, and vice versa; the LM approach benefits the PDR approach by obtaining an absolute localization and reducing the PDR-alone drift. Even from an initially unknown location and orientation, whenever the person passes below a switched-on light spot, the location likelihood is iteratively updated until it potentially converges to a unimodal probability density function. The time to converge to a unimodal position hypothesis depends on the number of lights detected and the asymmetries/irregularities of the spatial distribution of lights. The proposed LM method does not require any intensity illumination calibration, just the pre-storage of the position and size of all lights in a building, irrespective of their current on/off state. This paper presents a detailed description of the light-matching concept, the implementation details of the LM-assisted PDR fusion scheme using a particle filter, and several simulated and experimental tests, using a light sensor-equipped Galaxy S3 smartphone and an external foot-mounted inertial sensor. The evaluation includes the LM-assisted PDR approach as well as the fusion with other signals of opportunity (WiFi, RFID, Magnetometers or Map-matching) in order to compare their contribution in obtaining high accuracy indoor localization. The integrated solution achieves a localization error lower than 1 m in most of the cases.