bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What Contributes to the Activeness of Ethnic Minority Patients with Chronic Illnesses Seeking Allied Health Services? A Cross-Sectional Study in Rural Western China
Authors: Tang Shangfeng , Dong Dong , Ji Lu , Fu Hang , Feng Zhanchun , Bishwajit Ghose , He Zhifei , Ming Hui , Fu Qian , Xian Yue
Published: September 2015

Actively seeking health services lies at the core of effective models of chronic disease self-management and contributes to promoting the utilization of allied health services (AHS). However, the use of AHS by ethnic minority Chinese, especially the elderly living in rural areas, has not received much attention. This study, therefore, aims to explore the association between personal characteristics and the activeness of ethnic minority patients with chronic diseases in rural areas of western China seeking AHS. A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data on the socio-demographic and economic characteristics, health knowledge level and health communication channels of the sampled patients. A logistic regression model was used to examine the association of these predictors with the activeness of the surveyed patients in seeking AHS. A total of 1078 ethnic minorities over 45 years old who had chronic conditions were randomly selected from three western provinces in China and were interviewed in 2014. It is found that the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) is the most salient predictor affecting the activeness of Chinese ethnic minorities in seeking AHS. The probability is 8.51 times greater for those insured with NCMS to actively seek AHS than those without (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 4.76–15.21; p < 0.001). Moreover, participants between 60 and 70 years old and those who have five to six household members are more likely to seek AHS compared with other social groups (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.64, 95% CI 1.28–2.97, p = 0.007; OR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.15–2.36, p = 0.002). However, the activeness of patients seeking AHS is lower for those who have better household economic conditions. Besides socio-demographic predictors, the Chinese ethnic minorities’ activeness in seeking AHS is clearly associated with the communication channels used for receiving health information, which include direct communication with doctors (OR = 5.18, 95% CI 3.58–7.50, p < 0.001) and dissemination of elementary public health knowledge posted on bulletin boards (OR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.61–3.27, p < 0.001) and traditional mass media (OR = 1.74, 95% CI 1.22–2.48, p = 0.002). First, the government should further improve the coverage of NCMS to households suffering from chronic diseases and satisfy the requirements of social groups at different income levels and various ages in their health care to improve their activeness in AHS utilization. Second, doctors’ advice, bulletin boards and traditional media are common health communication channels for those seeking AHS and thus should be continuously employed in rural western China. Third, specified healthcare services should be designed to meet the needs of different patient segmentations.
The Impact of a Mindfulness Based Program on Perceived Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Sleep of Incarcerated Women
Authors: Ferszt Ginette , Miller Robin , Hickey Joyce , Maull Fleet , Crisp Kate
Published: September 2015

Incarcerated women enter the prison setting with remarkable histories of trauma, mental health and substance abuse issues. Given the stress of incarceration and separation from their children, families, and significant others, it is not surprising that many women experience increased anxiety, depression, and problems with sleep. Due to these negative outcomes, it is imperative to find efficient non-pharmacological interventions. This pilot study examined the impact of a 12-week mindfulness based program on the stress, anxiety, depression and sleep of women with a total of 33 completing the study. In one group, women’s perceived stress, anxiety and depression were all significantly lower following the intervention compared to prior to the intervention. Challenges with implementing the pilot study are addressed. Despite challenges and limitations, the low-cost non-pharmacological intervention has potential for a reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Genomic Resources of Three Pulsatilla Species Reveal Evolutionary Hotspots, Species-Specific Sites and Variable Plastid Structure in the Family Ranunculaceae
Authors: Szczecińska Monika , Sawicki Jakub
Published: September 2015

Background: The European continent is presently colonized by nine species of the genus Pulsatilla, five of which are encountered only in mountainous regions of southwest and south-central Europe. The remaining four species inhabit lowlands in the north-central and eastern parts of the continent. Most plants of the genus Pulsatilla are rare and endangered, which is why most research efforts focused on their biology, ecology and hybridization. The objective of this study was to develop genomic resources, including complete plastid genomes and nuclear rRNA clusters, for three sympatric Pulsatilla species that are most commonly found in Central Europe. The results will supply valuable information about genetic variation, which can be used in the process of designing primers for population studies and conservation genetics research. The complete plastid genomes together with the nuclear rRNA cluster can serve as a useful tool in hybridization studies. Methodology/principal findings: Six complete plastid genomes and nuclear rRNA clusters were sequenced from three species of Pulsatilla using the Illumina sequencing technology. Four junctions between single copy regions and inverted repeats and junctions between the identified locally-collinear blocks (LCB) were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Pulsatilla genomes of 120 unique genes had a total length of approximately 161–162 kb, and 21 were duplicated in the inverted repeats (IR) region. Comparative plastid genomes of newly-sequenced Pulsatilla and the previously-identified plastomes of Aconitum and Ranunculus species belonging to the family Ranunculaceae revealed several variations in the structure of the genome, but the gene content remained constant. The nuclear rRNA cluster (18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-26S) of studied Pulsatilla species is 5795 bp long. Among five analyzed regions of the rRNA cluster, only Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) enabled the molecular delimitation of closely-related Pulsatilla patens and Pulsatilla vernalis. Conclusions/significance: The determination of complete plastid genome and nuclear rRNA cluster sequences in three species of the genus Pulsatilla is an important contribution to our knowledge of the evolution and phylogeography of those endangered taxa. The resulting data can be used to identify regions that are particularly useful for barcoding, phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies. The investigated taxa can be identified at each stage of development based on their species-specific SNPs. The nuclear and plastid genomic resources enable advanced studies on hybridization, including identification of parent species, including their roles in that process. The identified nonsynonymous mutations could play an important role in adaptations to changing environments. The results of the study will also provide valuable information about the evolution of the plastome structure in the family Ranunculaceae.
Allanblackia Oil: Phytochemistry and Use as a Functional Food
Authors: Crockett Sara
Published: September 2015

The consumption and commercial exploitation of Allanblackia (Clusiaceae) seed oils is of current interest. The favorable physicochemical characteristics of Allanblackia oil (solid at room temperature; high stearic acid content) lend food products that contain it (i.e., vegetable-based dairy products, ice cream, spreads) health advantages over others that contain higher levels of lauric, myristic, and/or palmitic acids, which can increase blood cholesterol levels. Such considerations are important for individuals prone to cardiovascular disease or with hypercholesterolemia. Domestication projects of several Allanblackia species in tropical Africa are underway, but wildcrafting of fruits to meet the seed demand still occurs. Proper species authentication is important, since only authenticated oil can be deemed safe for human consumption. The chemical constituency of Allanblackia seed oils, and potential roles of these phytochemicals in preventive strategies (e.g., as part of a healthy diet) and as pharmacological agents used to treat chronic disease were examined in this review. The primary and secondary metabolite constituency of the seed oils of nearly all Allanblackia species is still poorly known. The presence, identity, and quantity of potentially bioactive secondary metabolites in the seed oils, and pharmacological testing of isolated compounds were identified as important directions for future research.
Structure Conservation and Differential Expression of Farnesyl Diphosphate Synthase Genes in Euphorbiaceous Plants
Authors: Guo Dong , Li Hui-Liang , Peng Shi-Qing
Published: September 2015

Farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPS) is a key enzyme of isoprenoids biosynthesis. However, knowledge of the FPSs of euphorbiaceous species is limited. In this study, ten FPSs were identified in four euphorbiaceous plants. These FPSs exhibited similar exon/intron structure. The deduced FPS proteins showed close identities and exhibited the typical structure of plant FPS. The members of the FPS family exhibit tissue expression patterns that vary among several euphorbiaceous plant species under normal growth conditions. The expression profiles reveal spatial and temporal variations in the expression of FPSs of different tissues from Euphorbiaceous plants. Our results revealed wide conservation of FPSs and diverse expression in euphorbiaceous plants during growth and development.
Bioinformatic Interrogation of 5p-arm and 3p-arm Specific miRNA Expression Using TCGA Datasets
Authors: Kuo Wei-Ting , Su Ming-Wei , Lee Yungling , Chen Chien-Hsiun , Wu Chew-Wun , Fang Wen-Liang , Huang Kuo-Hung , Lin Wen-chang
Published: September 2015

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in cellular functions and developmental processes. They are also implicated in oncogenesis mechanisms and could serve as potential cancer biomarkers. Using high-throughput miRNA sequencing information, expression of both the 5p-arm and 3p-arm mature miRNAs were demonstrated and generated from the single miRNA hairpin precursor. However, current miRNA annotations lack comprehensive 5p-arm/3p-arm feature annotations. Among known human mature miRNAs, only half of them are annotated with arm features. This generated ambiguous results in many miRNA-Sequencing (miRNA-Seq) studies. In this report, we have interrogated the TCGA (the Cancer Genome Atlas) miRNA expression datasets with an improved, fully annotated human 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA reference list. By utilizing this comprehensive miRNA arm-feature annotations, enhanced determinations and clear annotations were achieved for the miRNA isoforms (isomiRs) recognized from the sequencing reads. In the gastric cancer (STAD) dataset, as an example, 32 5p-arm/3p-arm OPEN ACCESS J. Clin. Med. 2015, 4 1799 specific miRNAs were found to be down-regulated and 24 5p-arm/3p-arm specific miRNAs were found to be up-regulated. We have further extended miRNA biomarker discoveries to additional TCGA miRNA-Seq datasets and provided extensive expression information on 5p-arm/3p-arm miRNAs across multiple cancer types. Our results identified several miRNAs that could be potential common biomarkers for human cancers.
Candida glabrata, Friend and Foe
Authors: Tam Phyllix , Gee Kirsten , Piechocinski Miryam , Macreadie Ian
Published: September 2015

Candida glabrata is mostly good, but, at times, it is an opportunistic pathogen. Previously known as Torulopsis glabrata, it enjoyed a good reputation and was even present in starter cultures. Its haploid genome and lack of mating made it an attractive challenge for yeast genetics studies. However, more recently it has become better known due to its character as an emerging cause of candidiasis, and for its resistance to multidrugs that are employed for candidiasis treatment. While now classified as Candida glabrata, it is still not a good fit and tends to stand alone as a very unique yeast. In terms of sequence, it is dissimilar to other Candida yeast and most similar to Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Three-Point Bending Fracture Behavior of Single Oriented Crossed-Lamellar Structure in Scapharca broughtonii Shell
Authors: Ji Hong-Mei , Zhang Wen-Qian , Wang Xu , Li Xiao-Wu
Published: September 2015

The three-point bending strength and fracture behavior of single oriented crossed-lamellar structure in Scapharca broughtonii shell were investigated. The samples for bending tests were prepared with two different orientations perpendicular and parallel to the radial ribs of the shell, which corresponds to the tiled and stacked directions of the first-order lamellae, respectively. The bending strength in the tiled direction is approximately 60% higher than that in the stacked direction, primarily because the regularly staggered arrangement of the second-order lamellae in the tiled direction can effectively hinder the crack propagation, whereas the cracks can easily propagate along the interfaces between lamellae in the stacked direction.
Effect of Heat Treatment Process on Microstructure and Fatigue Behavior of a Nickel-Base Superalloy
Authors: Zhang Peng , Zhu Qiang , Chen Gang , Qin Heyong , Wang Chuanjie
Published: September 2015

The study of fatigue behaviors for nickel-base superalloys is very significant because fatigue damage results in serious consequences. In this paper, two kinds of heat treatment procedures (Pro.I and Pro.II) were taken to investigate the effect of heat treatment on microstructures and fatigue behaviors of a nickel-base superalloy. Fatigue behaviors were studied through total strain controlled mode at 650 °C. Manson-Coffin relationship and three-parameter power function were used to predict fatigue life. A good link between the cyclic/fatigue behavior and microscopic studies was established. The cyclic deformation mechanism and fatigue mechanism were discussed. The results show that the fatigue resistance significantly drops with the increase of total strain amplitudes. Manson-Coffin relationship can well predict the fatigue life for total strain amplitude from 0.5% to 0.8%. The fatigue resistance is related with heat treatment procedures. The fatigue resistance performance of Pro.I is better than that of Pro.II. The cyclic stress response behaviors are closely related to the changes of the strain amplitudes. The peak stress of the alloy gradually increases with the increase of total strain amplitudes. The main fracture mechanism is inhomogeneous deformation and the different interactions between dislocations and γ′ precipitates.
Synthesis and Antiplasmodial Evaluation of Analogues Based on the Tricyclic Core of Thiaplakortones A–D
Authors: Schwartz Brett , Coster Mark , Skinner-Adams Tina , Andrews Katherine , White Jonathan , Davis Rohan
Published: September 2015

Six regioisomers associated with the tricyclic core of thiaplakortones A–D have been synthesized. Reaction of 1H-indole-4,7-dione and 1-tosyl-1H-indole-4,7-dione with 2-aminoethanesulfinic acid afforded a regioisomeric series, which was subsequently deprotected and oxidized to yield the tricyclic core scaffolds present in the thiaplakortones. All compounds were fully characterized using NMR and MS data. A single crystal X-ray structure was obtained on one of the N-tosyl derivatives. All compounds were screened for in vitro antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) and multidrug-resistant (Dd2) Plasmodium falciparum parasite lines. Several analogues displayed potent inhibition of P. falciparum growth (IC50 < 500 nM) but only moderate selectivity for P. falciparum versus human neonatal foreskin fibroblast cells.
A Pimarane Diterpene and Cytotoxic Angucyclines from a Marine-Derived Micromonospora sp. in Vietnam’s East Sea
Authors: Mullowney Michael , Ó hAinmhire Eoghainín , Tanouye Urszula , Burdette Joanna , Pham Van , Murphy Brian
Published: September 2015

A screening of our actinomycete fraction library against the NCI-60 SKOV3 human tumor cell line led to the isolation of isopimara-2-one-3-ol-8,15-diene (1), lagumycin B (2), dehydrorabelomycin (3), phenanthroviridone (4), and WS-5995 A (5). These secondary metabolites were produced by a Micromonospora sp. isolated from sediment collected off the Cát Bà peninsula in the East Sea of Vietnam. Compound 1 is a novel Δ8,9-pimarane diterpene, representing one of approximately 20 actinomycete-produced diterpenes reported to date, while compound 2 is an angucycline antibiotic that has yet to receive formal characterization. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated by combined NMR and MS analysis and the absolute configuration of 1 was assigned by analysis of NOESY NMR and CD spectroscopic data. Compounds 2–5 exhibited varying degrees of cytotoxicity against a panel of cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines. Overall, this study highlights our collaborative efforts to discover novel biologically active molecules from the large, underexplored, and biodiversity-rich waters of Vietnam’s East Sea.
Photosynthetic Pigments in Diatoms
Authors: Kuczynska Paulina , Jemiola-Rzeminska Malgorzata , Strzalka Kazimierz
Published: September 2015

Photosynthetic pigments are bioactive compounds of great importance for the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. They are not only responsible for capturing solar energy to carry out photosynthesis, but also play a role in photoprotective processes and display antioxidant activity, all of which contribute to effective biomass and oxygen production. Diatoms are organisms of a distinct pigment composition, substantially different from that present in plants. Apart from light-harvesting pigments such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c, and fucoxanthin, there is a group of photoprotective carotenoids which includes β-carotene and the xanthophylls, diatoxanthin, diadinoxanthin, violaxanthin, antheraxanthin, and zeaxanthin, which are engaged in the xanthophyll cycle. Additionally, some intermediate products of biosynthetic pathways have been identified in diatoms as well as unusual pigments, e.g., marennine. Marine algae have become widely recognized as a source of unique bioactive compounds for potential industrial, pharmaceutical, and medical applications. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on diatom photosynthetic pigments complemented by some new insights regarding their physico-chemical properties, biological role, and biosynthetic pathways, as well as the regulation of pigment level in the cell, methods of purification, and significance in industries.
Metabolomic Screening of Tumor Tissue and Serum in Glioma Patients Reveals Diagnostic and Prognostic Information
Authors: Mörén Lina , Bergenheim A. , Ghasimi Soma , Brännström Thomas , Johansson Mikael , Antti Henrik
Published: September 2015

Glioma grading and classification, today based on histological features, is not always easy to interpret and diagnosis partly relies on the personal experience of the neuropathologists. The most important feature of the classification is the aimed correlation between tumor grade and prognosis. However, in the clinical reality, large variations exist in the survival of patients concerning both glioblastomas and low-grade gliomas. Thus, there is a need for biomarkers for a more reliable classification of glioma tumors as well as for prognosis. We analyzed relative metabolite concentrations in serum samples from 96 fasting glioma patients and 81 corresponding tumor samples with different diagnosis (glioblastoma, oligodendroglioma) and grade (World Health Organization (WHO) grade II, III and IV) using gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS). The acquired data was analyzed and evaluated by pattern recognition based on chemometric bioinformatics tools. We detected feature patterns in the metabolomics data in both tumor and serum that distinguished glioblastomas from oligodendrogliomas (ptumor = 2.46 × 10−8, pserum = 1.3 × 10−5) and oligodendroglioma grade II from oligodendroglioma grade III (ptumor = 0.01, pserum = 0.0008). Interestingly, we also found patterns in both tumor and serum with individual metabolite features that were both elevated and decreased in patients that lived long after being diagnosed with glioblastoma compared to those who died shortly after diagnosis (ptumor = 0.006, pserum = 0.004; AUROCCtumor = 0.846 (0.647–1.000), AUROCCserum = 0.958 (0.870–1.000)). Metabolic patterns could also distinguish long and short survival in patients diagnosed with oligodendroglioma (ptumor = 0.01, pserum = 0.001; AUROCCtumor = 1 (1.000–1.000), AUROCCserum = 1 (1.000–1.000)). In summary, we found different metabolic feature patterns in tumor tissue and serum for glioma diagnosis, grade and survival, which indicates that, following further verification, metabolomic profiling of glioma tissue as well as serum may be a valuable tool in the search for latent biomarkers for future characterization of malignant glioma.
Mediterranean Diet and Cardiovascular Disease: A Critical Evaluation of A Priori Dietary Indexes
Authors: D'Alessandro Annunziata , De Pergola Giovanni
Published: September 2015

The aim of this paper is to analyze the a priori dietary indexes used in the studies that have evaluated the role of the Mediterranean Diet in influencing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. All the studies show that this dietary pattern protects against cardiovascular disease, but studies show quite different effects on specific conditions such as coronary heart disease or cerebrovascular disease. A priori dietary indexes used to measure dietary exposure imply quantitative and/or qualitative divergences from the traditional Mediterranean Diet of the early 1960s, and, therefore, it is very difficult to compare the results of different studies. Based on real cultural heritage and traditions, we believe that the a priori indexes used to evaluate adherence to the Mediterranean Diet should consider classifying whole grains and refined grains, olive oil and monounsaturated fats, and wine and alcohol differently.
Consumer Acceptance of Population-Level Intervention Strategies for Healthy Food Choices: The Role of Perceived Effectiveness and Perceived Fairness
Authors: Bos Colin , Lans Ivo , Van Rijnsoever Frank , Van Trijp Hans
Published: September 2015

The present study investigates acceptance of intervention strategies for low-calorie snack choices that vary regarding the effect they have on consumers’ freedom of choice (providing information, guiding choice through (dis)incentives, and restricting choice). We examine the mediating effects of perceived effectiveness and perceived fairness, and the moderating effects of barriers to choose low-calorie snacks and perceived responsibility for food choice. Data was collected through an online survey, involving three waves that were completed over a seven week timespan. Information was collected on barriers and perceived responsibility, and evaluations of a total of 128 intervention strategies with varying levels of intrusiveness that were further systematically varied in terms of source, location, approach/avoidance, type, and severity. A total of 1173 respondents completed all three waves. We found that the effect of intervention intrusiveness on acceptance was mediated by the perceived personal- and societal effectiveness, and the perceived fairness of interventions. For barriers and perceived responsibility, only main effects on intervention-specific beliefs were found. Government interventions were accepted less than interventions by food manufacturers. In conclusion, the present study shows that acceptance of interventions depends on perceptions of personal- and societal effectiveness and fairness, thereby providing novel starting points for increasing acceptance of both existing and new food choice interventions.
Phosphorylation Affects DNA-Binding of the Senescence-Regulating bZIP Transcription Factor GBF1
Authors: Smykowski Anja , Fischer Stefan , Zentgraf Ulrike
Published: September 2015

Massive changes in the transcriptome of Arabidopsis thaliana during onset and progression of leaf senescence imply a central role for transcription factors. While many transcription factors are themselves up- or down-regulated during senescence, the bZIP transcription factor G-box-binding factor 1 (GBF1/bZIP41) is constitutively expressed in Arabidopsis leaf tissue but at the same time triggers the onset of leaf senescence, suggesting posttranscriptional mechanisms for senescence-specific GBF1 activation. Here we show that GBF1 is phosphorylated by the threonine/serine CASEIN KINASE II (CKII) in vitro and that CKII phosphorylation had a negative effect on GBF1 DNA-binding to G-boxes of two direct target genes, CATALASE2 and RBSCS1a. Phosphorylation mimicry at three serine positions in the basic region of GBF1 also had a negative effect on DNA-binding. Kinase assays revealed that CKII phosphorylates at least one serine in the basic domain but has additional phosphorylation sites outside this domain. Two different ckII α subunit1 and one α subunit2 T-DNA insertion lines showed no visible senescence phenotype, but in all lines the expression of the senescence marker gene SAG12 was remarkably diminished. A model is presented suggesting that senescence-specific GBF1 activation might be achieved by lowering the phosphorylation of GBF1 by CKII.
Study on the Microstructure of Polyester Polyurethane Irradiated in Air and Water
Authors: Tian Qiang , Takács Erzsébet , Krakovský Ivan , Horváth Zsolt , Rosta László , Almásy László
Published: September 2015

The gamma irradiation induced aging of thermoplastic polymer Estane 5703 in air and water environments was studied by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The degree of phase mixing was increased after irradiation, accompanied by the increase of domain distance and decrease of domain size. The hard domain distance increased from 9.8 to 11.2 nm and 14.4 nm for the samples irradiated in air and water with a dose up to 500 kGy, respectively. The GPC results indicated progressive formation of larger linked structures with very high molar mass with increasing absorbed doses. The samples irradiated in water exhibited a stronger aging effect than those irradiated in air. The FTIR results suggested that the cross-linking occurred among the secondary alkyl radicals, and the interactions in hard domains weakened because of the loss of inter-urethane H-bonds. The volume fraction of well-ordered soft segments in Estane increased upon irradiation.
Preparation and Characterization of Novel PVC/Silica–Lignin Composites
Authors: Klapiszewski Łukasz , Pawlak Franciszek , Tomaszewska Jolanta , Jesionowski Teofil
Published: September 2015

An advanced SiO2–lignin hybrid material was obtained and tested as a novel poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) filler. The processing of compounds of poly(vinyl chloride) in the form of a dry blend with silica–lignin hybrid material and, separately, with the two components from which that material was prepared, was performed in a Brabender mixing chamber. An analysis was made of processing (mass melt flow rate, MFR), thermal (thermogravimetric analysis, Congo red and Vicat softening temperature test) and tensile properties of the final PVC composites with fillers in a range of concentrations between 2.5 wt % and 10 wt %. Additionally, the effects of filler content on the fusion characteristics of PVC composites were investigated. The homogeneity of dispersion of the silica–lignin hybrid material in the PVC matrix was determined by optical microscopy and SEM. Finally, it should be noted that it is possible to obtain a PVC composite containing up to 10 wt % of silica–lignin filler using a melt processing method. The introduction of hybrid filler into the PVC matrix results in a homogeneous structure of the composites and positive processing and functional properties, especially thermal stability and Vicat softening temperature.
Concurrent Label-Free Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Dystrophin Isoform Dp427 and the Myofibrosis Marker Collagen in Crude Extracts from mdx-4cv Skeletal Muscles
Authors: Murphy Sandra , Zweyer Margit , Mundegar Rustam , Henry Michael , Meleady Paula , Swandulla Dieter , Ohlendieck Kay
Published: September 2015

The full-length dystrophin protein isoform of 427 kDa (Dp427), the absence of which represents the principal abnormality in X-linked muscular dystrophy, is difficult to identify and characterize by routine proteomic screening approaches of crude tissue extracts. This is probably related to its large molecular size, its close association with the sarcolemmal membrane, and its existence within a heterogeneous glycoprotein complex. Here, we used a careful extraction procedure to isolate the total protein repertoire from normal versus dystrophic mdx-4cv skeletal muscles, in conjunction with label-free mass spectrometry, and successfully identified Dp427 by proteomic means. In contrast to a considerable number of previous comparative studies of the total skeletal muscle proteome, using whole tissue proteomics we show here for the first time that the reduced expression of this membrane cytoskeletal protein is the most significant alteration in dystrophinopathy. This agrees with the pathobiochemical concept that the almost complete absence of dystrophin is the main defect in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and that the mdx-4cv mouse model of dystrophinopathy exhibits only very few revertant fibers. Significant increases in collagens and associated fibrotic marker proteins, such as fibronectin, biglycan, asporin, decorin, prolargin, mimecan, and lumican were identified in dystrophin-deficient muscles. The up-regulation of collagen in mdx-4cv muscles was confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy and immunoblotting. Thus, this is the first mass spectrometric study of crude tissue extracts that puts the proteomic identification of dystrophin in its proper pathophysiological context.
Capability of Spaceborne Hyperspectral EnMAP Mission for Mapping Fractional Cover for Soil Erosion Modeling
Authors: Malec Sarah , Rogge Derek , Heiden Uta , Sanchez-Azofeifa Arturo , Bachmann Martin , Wegmann Martin
Published: September 2015

Soil erosion can be linked to relative fractional cover of photosynthetic-active vegetation (PV), non-photosynthetic-active vegetation (NPV) and bare soil (BS), which can be integrated into erosion models as the cover-management C-factor. This study investigates the capability of EnMAP imagery to map fractional cover in a region near San Jose, Costa Rica, characterized by spatially extensive coffee plantations and grazing in a mountainous terrain. Simulated EnMAP imagery is based on airborne hyperspectral HyMap data. Fractional cover estimates are derived in an automated fashion by extracting image endmembers to be used with a Multiple End-member Spectral Mixture Analysis approach. The C-factor is calculated based on the fractional cover estimates determined independently for EnMAP and HyMap. Results demonstrate that with EnMAP imagery it is possible to extract quality endmember classes with important spectral features related to PV, NPV and soil, and be able to estimate relative cover fractions. This spectral information is critical to separate BS and NPV which greatly can impact the C-factor derivation. From a regional perspective, we can use EnMAP to provide good fractional cover estimates that can be integrated into soil erosion modeling.
Data-Gap Filling to Understand the Dynamic Feedback Pattern of Soil
Authors: Guo Shanxin , Meng Lingkui , Zhu A-Xing , Burt James , Du Fei , Liu Jing , Zhang Guiming
Published: September 2015

Detailed and accurate information on the spatial variation of soil over low-relief areas is a critical component of environmental studies and agricultural management. Early studies show that the pattern of soil dynamics provides comprehensive information about soil and can be used as a new environmental covariate to indicate spatial variation in soil in low relief areas. In practice, however, data gaps caused by cloud cover can lead to incomplete patterns over a large area. Missing data reduce the accuracy of soil information and make it hard to compare two patterns from different locations. In this study, we introduced a new method to fill data gaps based on historical data. A strong correlation between MODIS band 7 and cumulated reference evapotranspiration has been confirmed by theoretical derivation and by the real data. Based on this correlation, data gaps in MODIS band 7 can be predicted by daily evaporation data. Furthermore, correlations among bands are used to predict soil reflectance in MODIS bands 1–6 from MODIS band 7. A location in northeastern Illinois with a large area of low relief farmland was selected to examine this idea. The results show a good exponential relationship between MODIS band 7 and CET00.5 in most locations of the study area (with average R2 = 0.55, p < 0.001, and average NRMSE 10.40%). A five-fold cross validation shows that the approach proposed in this study captures the regular pattern of soil surface reflectance change in bands 6 and 7 during the soil drying process, with a Normalized Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE) of prediction of 13.04% and 10.40%, respectively. Average NRMSE of bands 1–5 is less than 20%. This suggests that the proposed approach is effective for filling the data gaps from cloud cover and that the method reduces the data collection requirement for understanding the dynamic feedback pattern of soil, making it easier to apply to larger areas for soil mapping.
Variability and climate change trend in vegetation phenology of recent decades in the Greater Khingan Mountain area, Northeastern China
Authors: Tang Huan , Li Zhenwang , Zhu Zhiliang , Chen Baorui , Zhang Baohui , Xin Xiaoping
Published: September 2015

Vegetation phenology has been used in studies as an indicator of an ecosystem’s responses to climate change. Satellite remote sensing techniques can capture changes in vegetation greenness, which can be used to estimate vegetation phenology. In this study, a long-term vegetation phenology study of the Greater Khingan Mountain area in Northeastern China was performed by using the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) normalized difference vegetation index version 3 (NDVI3g) dataset from the years 1982–2012. After reconstructing the NDVI time series, the start date of the growing season (SOS), the end date of the growing season (EOS) and the length of the growing season (LOS) were extracted using a dynamic threshold method. The response of the variation in phenology with climatic factors was also analyzed. The results showed that the phenology in the study area changed significantly in the three decades between 1982 and 2012, including a 12.1-day increase in the entire region’s average LOS, a 3.3-day advance in the SOS and an 8.8-day delay in the EOS. However, differences existed between the steppe, forest and agricultural regions, with the LOSs of the steppe region, forest region and agricultural region increasing by 4.40 days, 10.42 days and 1.71 days, respectively, and a later EOS seemed to more strongly affect the extension of the growing season. Additionally, temperature and precipitation were closely correlated with the phenology variations. This study provides a useful understanding of the recent change in phenology and its variability in this high-latitude study area, and this study also details the responses of several ecosystems to climate change.
Butterfly Encryption Scheme for Resource-Constrained Wireless Networks
Authors: Sampangi Raghav , Sampalli Srinivas
Published: September 2015

Resource-constrained wireless networks are emerging networks such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) that might have restrictions on the available resources and the computations that can be performed. These emerging technologies are increasing in popularity, particularly in defence, anti-counterfeiting, logistics and medical applications, and in consumer applications with growing popularity of the Internet of Things. With communication over wireless channels, it is essential to focus attention on securing data. In this paper, we present an encryption scheme called Butterfly encryption scheme. We first discuss a seed update mechanism for pseudorandom number generators (PRNG), and employ this technique to generate keys and authentication parameters for resource-constrained wireless networks. Our scheme is lightweight, as in it requires less resource when implemented and offers high security through increased unpredictability, owing to continuously changing parameters. Our work focuses on accomplishing high security through simplicity and reuse. We evaluate our encryption scheme using simulation, key similarity assessment, key sequence randomness assessment, protocol analysis and security analysis.
ISAR Imaging Based on the Wideband Hyperbolic Frequency-ModulationWaveform
Authors: Zhou Wei , Yeh Chun-mao , Jin Kan , Yang Jian , Lu Yao-bin
Published: September 2015

The hyperbolic frequency-modulated (HFM) waveform has an inherent Doppler-invariant property. It is more conducive than the conventional linear frequency-modulated (LFM) waveform to high speed moving target imaging. In order to apply the HFM waveform to existing inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging systems, a new pulse compression algorithm is proposed. First, the received HFM echoes are demodulated with the transmitted signal, which is called “decurve” in this paper. By this operation, the bandwidth of the demodulated echoes is effectively reduced and can be processed by the existing narrow-band receiver. Then, the phase of the decurved HFM echoes is analyzed, and thus, the pulse compression is accomplished by space-variant phase compensation. In addition, the space-variant phase compensation is realized by resampling and fast Fourier transform (FFT) with high computational efficiency. Finally, numerical results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (CMUTs) for Underwater Imaging Applications
Authors: Song Jinlong , Xue Chenyang , He Changde , Zhang Rui , Mu Linfeng , Cui Juan , Miao Jing , Liu Yuan , Zhang Wendong
Published: September 2015

A capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer structure for use in underwater imaging is designed, fabricated and tested in this paper. In this structure, a silicon dioxide insulation layer is inserted between the top electrodes and the vibration membrane to prevent ohmic contact. The capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristic curve shows that the transducer offers suitable levels of hysteresis and repeatability performance. The −6 dB center frequency is 540 kHz and the transducer has a bandwidth of 840 kHz for a relative bandwidth of 155%. Underwater pressure of 143.43 Pa is achieved 1 m away from the capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer under 20 excitation. Two-dimensional underwater ultrasonic imaging, which is able to prove that a rectangular object is present underwater, is achieved. The results presented here indicate that our work will be highly beneficial for the establishment of an underwater ultrasonic imaging system.
Adaptive Data Gathering in Mobile Sensor Networks Using Speedy Mobile Elements
Authors: Lai Yongxuan , Xie Jinshan , Lin Ziyu , Wang Tian , Liao Minghong
Published: September 2015

Data gathering is a key operator for applications in wireless sensor networks; yet it is also a challenging problem in mobile sensor networks when considering that all nodes are mobile and the communications among them are opportunistic. This paper proposes an efficient data gathering scheme called ADG that adopts speedy mobile elements as the mobile data collector and takes advantage of the movement patterns of the network. ADG first extracts the network meta-data at initial epochs, and calculates a set of proxy nodes based on the meta-data. Data gathering is then mapped into the Proxy node Time Slot Allocation (PTSA) problem that schedules the time slots and orders, according to which the data collector could gather the maximal amount of data within a limited period. Finally, the collector follows the schedule and picks up the sensed data from the proxy nodes through one hop of message transmissions. ADG learns the period when nodes are relatively stationary, so that the collector is able to pick up the data from them during the limited data gathering period. Moreover, proxy nodes and data gathering points could also be timely updated so that the collector could adapt to the change of node movements. Extensive experimental results show that the proposed scheme outperforms other data gathering schemes on the cost of message transmissions and the data gathering rate, especially under the constraint of limited data gathering period.
Workload Model Based Dynamic Adaptation of Social Internet of Vehicles
Authors: Alam Kazi , Saini Mukesh , Saddik Abdulmotaleb
Published: September 2015

Social Internet of Things (SIoT) has gained much interest among different research groups in recent times. As a key member of a smart city, the vehicular domain of SIoT (SIoV) is also undergoing steep development. In the SIoV, vehicles work as sensor-hub to capture surrounding information using the in-vehicle and Smartphone sensors and later publish them for the consumers. A cloud centric cyber-physical system better describes the SIoV model where physical sensing-actuation process affects the cloud based service sharing or computation in a feedback loop or vice versa. The cyber based social relationship abstraction enables distributed, easily navigable and scalable peer-to-peer communication among the SIoV subsystems. These cyber-physical interactions involve a huge amount of data and it is difficult to form a real instance of the system to test the feasibility of SIoV applications. In this paper, we propose an analytical model to measure the workloads of various subsystems involved in the SIoV process. We present the basic model which is further extended to incorporate complex scenarios. We provide extensive simulation results for different parameter settings of the SIoV system. The findings of the analyses are further used to design example adaptation strategies for the SIoV subsystems which would foster deployment of intelligent transport systems.
A Novel Phonology- and Radical-Coded Chinese Sign Language Recognition Framework Using Accelerometer and Surface Electromyography Sensors
Authors: Cheng Juan , Chen Xun , Liu Aiping , Peng Hu
Published: September 2015

Sign language recognition (SLR) is an important communication tool between the deaf and the external world. It is highly necessary to develop a worldwide continuous and large-vocabulary-scale SLR system for practical usage. In this paper, we propose a novel phonology- and radical-coded Chinese SLR framework to demonstrate the feasibility of continuous SLR using accelerometer (ACC) and surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors. The continuous Chinese characters, consisting of coded sign gestures, are first segmented into active segments using EMG signals by means of moving average algorithm. Then, features of each component are extracted from both ACC and sEMG signals of active segments (i.e., palm orientation represented by the mean and variance of ACC signals, hand movement represented by the fixed-point ACC sequence, and hand shape represented by both the mean absolute value (MAV) and autoregressive model coefficients (ARs)). Afterwards, palm orientation is first classified, distinguishing “Palm Downward” sign gestures from “Palm Inward” ones. Only the “Palm Inward” gestures are sent for further hand movement and hand shape recognition by dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm and hidden Markov models (HMM) respectively. Finally, component recognition results are integrated to identify one certain coded gesture. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed SLR framework with a vocabulary scale of 223 characters can achieve an averaged recognition accuracy of 96.01% ± 0.83% for coded gesture recognition tasks and 92.73% ± 1.47% for character recognition tasks. Besides, it demonstrats that sEMG signals are rather consistent for a given hand shape independent of hand movements. Hence, the number of training samples will not be significantly increased when the vocabulary scale increases, since not only the number of the completely new proposed coded gestures is constant and limited, but also the transition movement which connects successive signs needs no training samples to model even though the same coded gesture performed in different characters. This work opens up a possible new way to realize a practical Chinese SLR system.
CCTV Coverage Index Based on Surveillance Resolution and Its Evaluation Using 3D Spatial Analysis
Authors: Choi Kyoungah , Lee Impyeong
Published: September 2015

We propose a novel approach to evaluating how effectively a closed circuit television (CCTV) system can monitor a targeted area. With 3D models of the target area and the camera parameters of the CCTV system, the approach produces surveillance coverage index, which is newly defined in this study as a quantitative measure for surveillance performance. This index indicates the proportion of the space being monitored with a sufficient resolution to the entire space of the target area. It is determined by computing surveillance resolution at every position and orientation, which indicates how closely a specific object can be monitored with a CCTV system. We present full mathematical derivation for the resolution, which depends on the location and orientation of the object as well as the geometric model of a camera. With the proposed approach, we quantitatively evaluated the surveillance coverage of a CCTV system in an underground parking area. Our evaluation process provided various quantitative-analysis results, compelling us to examine the design of the CCTV system prior to its installation and understand the surveillance capability of an existing CCTV system.
Dual-Stack Single-Radio Communication Architecture for UAV Acting As a Mobile Node to Collect Data in WSNs
Authors: Sayyed Ali , De Araújo Gustavo , Bodanese João , Becker Leandro
Published: September 2015

The use of mobile nodes to collect data in a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) has gained special attention over the last years. Some researchers explore the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as mobile node for such data-collection purposes. Analyzing these works, it is apparent that mobile nodes used in such scenarios are typically equipped with at least two different radio interfaces. The present work presents a Dual-Stack Single-Radio Communication Architecture (DSSRCA), which allows a UAV to communicate in a bidirectional manner with a WSN and a Sink node. The proposed architecture was specifically designed to support different network QoS requirements, such as best-effort and more reliable communications, attending both UAV-to-WSN and UAV-to-Sink communications needs. DSSRCA was implemented and tested on a real UAV, as detailed in this paper. This paper also includes a simulation analysis that addresses bandwidth consumption in an environmental monitoring application scenario. It includes an analysis of the data gathering rate that can be achieved considering different UAV flight speeds. Obtained results show the viability of using a single radio transmitter for collecting data from the WSN and forwarding such data to the Sink node.