bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A dynamic decision network framework for online media adaptation in stroke rehabilitation
Authors: Chen Yinpeng , Xu Weiwei , Sundaram Hari , Rikakis Thanassis , Liu Sheng-Min
Published: November 2008

In this article, we present a media adaptation framework for an immersive biofeedback system for stroke patient rehabilitation. In our biofeedback system, media adaptation refers to changes in audio/visual feedback as well as changes in physical environment. Effective media adaptation frameworks help patients recover generative plans for arm movement with potential for significantly shortened therapeutic time. The media adaptation problem has significant challenges—(a) high dimensionality of adaptation parameter space; (b) variability in the patient performance across and within sessions; (c) the actual rehabilitation plan is typically a non-first-order Markov process, making the learning task hard.

Our key insight is to understand media adaptation as a real-time feedback control problem. We use a mixture-of-experts based Dynamic Decision Network (DDN) for online media adaptation. We train DDN mixtures per patient, per session. The mixture models address two basic questions—(a) given a specific adaptation suggested by the domain experts, predict the patient performance, and (b) given the expected performance, determine the optimal adaptation decision. The questions are answered through an optimality criterion based search on DDN models trained in previous sessions. We have also developed new validation metrics and have very good results for both questions on actual stroke rehabilitation data.
Nuisance level of a voice call
Authors: Kolan Prakash , Dantu Ram , Cangussu João W.
Published: November 2008

In our everyday life, we communicate with many people such as family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. We communicate with them using different communication media such as email, telephone calls, and face-to-face interactions. While email is not real-time and face-to-face communications require geographic proximity, voice and video communications are preferred over other modes of communication. However, real-time voice/video calls may create nuisance to the receiver. In this article, we describe a mathematical model for computing nuisance level of incoming voice/video calls. We computed the closeness and nuisance level using the calling patterns between the caller and the callee. To validate the nuisance model, we collected cell phone call records of real-life people at our university and computed the nuisance value for all voice calls. We validated the nuisance levels using the feedback from those real-life people. Such a nuisance model is useful for predicting unwanted voice and video sessions in an IP communication network.
Constructing visual phrases for effective and efficient object-based image retrieval
Authors: Zheng Qing-Fang , Gao Wen
Published: November 2008

The explosion of multimedia data necessitates effective and efficient ways for us to get access to our desired ones. In this article, we draw an analogy between image retrieval and text retrieval and propose a visual phrase-based approach to retrieve images containing desired objects (object-based image retrieval). The visual phrase is defined as a pair of frequently co-occurred adjacent local image patches and is constructed using data mining. We design methods on how to construct visual phrase and how to index/search images based on visual phrase. We demonstrate experiments to show our visual phrase-based approach can be very efficient and more effective than current visual word-based approach.
A survey of spatial deformation from a user-centered perspective
Authors: Gain James , Bechmann Dominique
Published: November 2008

The spatial deformation methods are a family of modeling and animation techniques for indirectly reshaping an object by warping the surrounding space, with results that are similar to molding a highly malleable substance. They have the virtue of being computationally efficient (and hence interactive) and applicable to a variety of object representations.

In this article we survey the state of the art in spatial deformation. Since manipulating ambient space directly is infeasible, deformations are controlled by tools of varying dimension—points, curves, surfaces and volumes—and it is on this basis that we classify them. Unlike previous surveys that concentrate on providing a single underlying mathematical formalism, we use the user-centered criteria of versatility, ease of use, efficiency and correctness to compare techniques.
Distributed and Secure Bootstrapping of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks
Authors: Xu Shouhuai , Čapkun Srdjan
Published: November 2008

Secure bootstrapping of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) is a challenging problem in scenarios in which network users (or nodes) do not share trust relationships prior to the network deployment. In recent years, a number of schemes have been proposed to solve this problem, assuming either no or limited trust between the nodes prior to their deployment. Despite numerous proposals, there is no common understanding of the proposed schemes and of the trade-offs that they provide. This has consequences for both researchers and practitioners, who do not have a clear idea how to compare the schemes and how to select a scheme for a given application. In this article, we present a framework that helps in understanding and comparing schemes for secure bootstrapping of MANETs. The framework is general because it is policy-neutral and can accommodate many existing bootstrapping schemes. The proposed framework can equally serve as a good basis for the development of new MANET bootstrapping schemes; we show how the development of the framework leads to two new (classes of) distributed bootstrapping schemes. Within the framework, we not only investigate and characterize the properties of the relevant bootstrapping schemes, but also give methods for practitioners to select the relevant system parameters in the Random Walk and the (Restricted) Random Waypoint mobility models.
Random sampling from a search engine's index
Authors: Bar-Yossef Ziv , Gurevich Maxim
Published: November 2008

We revisit a problem introduced by Bharat and Broder almost a decade ago: How to sample random pages from the corpus of documents indexed by a search engine, using only the search engine's public interface? Such a primitive is particularly useful in creating objective benchmarks for search engines.

The technique of Bharat and Broder suffers from a well-recorded bias: it favors long documents. In this article we introduce two novel sampling algorithms: a lexicon-based algorithm and a random walk algorithm. Our algorithms produce
biased
samples, but each sample is accompanied by a
weight
, which represents its bias. The samples, in conjunction with the weights, are then used to
simulate
near-uniform samples. To this end, we resort to four well-known Monte Carlo simulation methods:
rejection sampling
,
importance sampling
, the
Metropolis--Hastings
algorithm, and the
Maximum Degree
method.

The limited access to search engines force our algorithms to use bias weights that are only “approximate”. We characterize analytically the effect of approximate bias weights on Monte Carlo methods and conclude that our algorithms are
guaranteed
to produce near-uniform samples from the search engine's corpus. Our study of approximate Monte Carlo methods could be of independent interest.

Experiments on a corpus of 2.4 million documents substantiate our analytical findings and show that our algorithms do not have significant bias towards long documents. We use our algorithms to collect comparative statistics about the corpora of the Google, MSN Search, and Yahoo! search engines.
GridCast
Authors: Cheng Bin , Stein Lex , Jin Hai , Liao Xiaofei , Zhang Zheng
Published: November 2008

Video-on-Demand (VoD) is a compelling application, but costly. VoD is costly due to the load it places on video source servers. Many have proposed using peer-to-peer (P2P) techniques to shift load from servers to peers. Yet, nobody has implemented and deployed a system to openly and systematically evaluate how these techniques work.

This article describes the design, implementation and evaluation of GridCast, a real deployed P2P VoD system. GridCast has been live on CERNET since May of 2006. It provides seek, pause, and play operations, and employs peer sharing to improve system scalability. In peak months, GridCast has served videos to 23,000 unique users. From the first deployment, we have gathered information to understand the system and evaluate how to further improve peer sharing through caching and replication.

We first show that GridCast with single video caching (SVC) can decrease load on source servers by an average of 22% from a client-server architecture. We analyze the net effect on system resources and determine that peer upload is largely idle. This leads us to changing the caching algorithm to cache multiple videos (MVC). MVC decreases source load by an average of 51% over the client-server. The improvement is greater as user load increases. This bodes well for peer-assistance at larger scales.

A detailed analysis of MVC shows that departure misses become a major issue in a P2P VoD system with caching optimization. Motivated by this observation, we examine how to use replication to eliminate departure misses and further reduce server load. A framework for lazy replication is presented and evaluated in this article. In this framework, two predictors are plugged in to create the working replication algorithm. With these two simple predictors, lazy replication can decrease server load by 15% from MVC with only a minor increase in network traffic.
Cloudy weather
Authors: Greiner Lynn
Published: November 2008

Like the soggy summer just past, the climate in the computing cloud is, shall we say, less than ideal these days.
Role of NOX2 in the regulation of afferent arteriole responsiveness
Authors: Carlström Mattias , Lai En Yin , Ma Zufu , Patzak Andreas , Brown Russell D. , Persson A. Erik G.
Published: November 2008

NADPH oxidases (NOX) are the major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the vasculature and contribute to the control of renal perfusion. The role of NOX2 in the regulation of blood pressure and afferent arteriole responsiveness was investigated in NOX2−/−and wild-type mice. Arteriole constrictions to ANG II (10−14–10−6mol/l) were weaker in NOX2−/−compared with wild types. Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME; 10−4mol/l) treatment reduced basal diameters significantly more in NOX2−/−(−18%) than in wild types (−6%) and augmented ANG II responses. Adenosine (10−11–10−4mol/l) constricted arterioles of wild types but not of NOX2−/−. However, simultaneous inhibition of adenosine type-2 receptors induced vasoconstriction, which was stronger in NOX2−/−. Adenosine (10−8mol/l) enhanced the ANG II response in wild type, but not in NOX2−/−. This sensitizing effect by adenosine was abolished by apocynin. Chronic ANG II pretreatment (14 days) did not change the ANG II responses in NOX2−/−, but strengthened the response in wild types. ANG II pretreatment augmented the l-NAME response in NOX2−/−(−33%), but not in wild types. Simultaneous application of l-NAME and ANG II caused a stronger constriction in the NOX2−/−(−64%) than in wild types (−46%). Basal blood pressures were similar in both genotypes, however, chronic ANG II infusion elevated blood pressure to a greater extent in wild-type (15 ± 1%) than in NOX2−/−(8 ± 1%) mice. In conclusion, NOX2 plays an important role in the control of afferent arteriole tone and is involved in the contractile responses to ANG II and/or adenosine. NOX2 can be activated by elevated ANG II and may play an important role in ANG II-induced hypertension. NOX2-derived ROS scavenges nitric oxide, causing subsequent nitric oxide-deficiency.
Direction Selectivity of Neurons in the Macaque Lateral Intraparietal Area
Authors: Fanini Alessandra , Assad John A.
Published: November 2008

The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) of the macaque is believed to play a role in the allocation of attention and the plan to make saccadic eye movements. Many studies have shown that LIP neurons generally encode the static spatial location demarked by the receptive field (RF). LIP neurons might also provide information about the features of visual stimuli within the RF. For example, LIP receives input from cortical areas in the dorsal visual pathway that contain many direction-selective neurons. Here we examine direction selectivity of LIP neurons. Animals were only required to fixate while motion stimuli appeared in the RF. To avoid spatial confounds, the motion stimuli were patches of randomly arrayed dots that moved with 100% coherence in eight different directions. We found that the majority (61%) of LIP neurons were direction selective. The direction tuning was fairly broad, with a median direction-tuning bandwidth of 136°. The average strength of direction selectivity was weaker in LIP than that of other areas of the dorsal visual stream but that difference may be because of the fact that LIP neurons showed a tonic offset in firing whenever a visual stimulus was in the RF, independent of direction. Direction-selective neurons do not seem to constitute a functionally distinct subdivision within LIP, because those neurons had robust, sustained delay-period activity during a memory delayed saccade task. The direction selectivity could also not be explained by asymmetries in the spatial RF, in the hypothetical case that the animals attended to slightly different locations depending on the direction of motion in the RF. Our results show that direction selectivity is a distinct attribute of LIP neurons in addition to spatial encoding.
Fredholm Determinant of an Integral Operator Driven by a Diffusion Process
Authors: Lim Adrian P. C.
Published: November 2008

This article aims to give a formula for differentiating, with respect to T, an expression of the form λ(T, x) : = 𝔼x, where p ≥ 0 and X is a diffusion process starting from x, taking values in a manifold, and the expectation is taken with respect to the law of this process. KX,T : L2([0, T) → ℝN) → L2([0, T) → ℝN) is a trace class operator defined by , where H, Γ are locally Lipschitz, positive N × N matrices.
Handheld Digital TV Performance Evaluation Method
Authors: Bedicks Gunnar , Yamada Fujio , Sukys Francisco , Akamine Cristiano , Raunheitte Luis Tadeu , Horta Edson L.
Published: November 2008

This paper presents a simplified method for signal level clearance evaluation in each place of signal reception up to threshold for a given portable TV receiver device. It describes briefly the structure of transmission system considering the “1Seg” structure of ISDB-T. The preliminary laboratory test was made before the field tests to verify the main features of handheld receiver.
Color Image Quality in Presentation Software
Authors: Valencia Edison , Millán María S.
Published: November 2008

The color image quality of presentation programs is evaluated and measured using S‐CIELAB and CIEDE2000 color difference formulae. A color digital image in its original format is compared with the same image already imported by the program and introduced as a part of a slide. Two widely used presentation programs—Microsoft PowerPoint 2004 for Mac and Apple′s Keynote 3.0.2—are evaluated in this work.
Potential Therapeutic Use of PPARγ‐Programed Human Monocyte‐Derived Dendritic Cells in Cancer Vaccination Therapy
Authors: Gyöngyösi Adrienn , Nagy László
Published: November 2008

Dendritic cells (DCs) can regulate all elements of the immune system, and therefore are an ideal target for vaccination. During the last two decades, as a result of extensive research, DCs became the primary target of antitumor vaccination as well. A critical issue of antitumor vaccination is the phenotype of the dendritic cell used. It has been recently shown that several nuclear hormone receptors, and amongst them the lipid‐activated nuclear receptor and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), have important roles in effecting the immunophenotype of human dendritic cells. It regulates primarily lipid metabolism and via this it influences the immunophenotype of DCs by altering lipid antigen uptake, presentation, and also other immune functions. In this review, we summarize the principles of antitumor vaccination strategies and present our hypothesis on how PPARγ‐regulated processes might be involved and could be exploited in the design of vaccination strategies.
Convergence Theorems of Common Fixed Points for Pseudocontractive Mappings
Authors: Hao Yan
Published: November 2008

We consider an implicit iterative process with mixed errors for a finite family of pseudocontractive mappings in the framework of Banach spaces. Our results improve and extend the recent ones announced by many others.
On the Mini‐Superambitwistor Space and𝒩 = 8	Super‐Yang‐Mills Theory
Authors: Sämann Christian
Published: November 2008

We construct a new supertwistor space suited for establishing a Penrose‐Ward
transform between certain bundles over this space and solutions to the 𝒩 = 8
super‐Yang‐Mills equations in three dimensions. This mini‐superambitwistor
space is obtained by dimensional reduction of the superambitwistor space, the
standard superextension of the ambitwistor space. We discuss in detail the construction
of this space and its geometry before presenting the Penrose‐Ward
transform. We also comment on a further such transform for purely bosonic
Yang‐Mills‐Higgs theory in three dimensions by considering third‐order formal
“subneighborhoods" of a miniambitwistor space.
Neighborhood Composition and Cancer among Hispanics: Tumor Stage and Size at Time of Diagnosis
Authors: Reyes-Ortiz Carlos A. , Eschbach Karl , Zhang Dong D. , Goodwin James S.
Published: November 2008

Background: We have previously reported that cancer incidence for lung, female breast, and colon and rectum for Hispanics decreases with increasing percentage of Hispanics at the census tract. In contrast, cervical cancer incidence increases with increasing percentage of Hispanics at the census tract.

Methods: In this study, we investigate the hypothesis that Hispanics living in census tracts with high percentages of Hispanics are diagnosed with more advanced cancer, with respect to tumor size and stage of diagnosis. Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry and the U.S. Census Bureau were used to estimate the odds of diagnosis at a “late” stage (II, III, IV) versus “early” stage (I) and breast cancer tumor size among Hispanics as a function of census tract percent Hispanic. Hispanic ethnicity in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry was identified by medical record review and Hispanic surname lists. The study also used income of Hispanics living in the census tract and controlled for age at diagnosis and gender.

Results: We found that Hispanics living in neighborhoods with higher density of Hispanic populations were more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast, cervical, or colorectal cancer, and to have a larger tumor size of breast cancer.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the benefits of lower cancer incidence in high tract percent Hispanics are partially offset by poorer access and reduced use of screening in conjunction with lower income, poorer health insurance coverage, and language barriers typical of these communities. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(11):2931–6)
Glutathione Transferases and Glutathionylated Hemoglobin in Workers Exposed to Low Doses of 1,3-Butadiene
Authors: Primavera Alessandra , Fustinoni Silvia , Biroccio Antonino , Ballerini Sabrina , Urbani Andrea , Bernardini Sergio , Federici Giorgio , Capucci Enrico , Manno Maurizio , Lo Bello Mario
Published: November 2008

We evaluated glutathione transferase (GST) activities and the levels of glutathionylated hemoglobin in the RBC of 42 workers exposed to 1,3-butadiene in a petrochemical plant, using 43 workers not exposed to 1,3-butadiene and 82 foresters as internal and external controls, respectively. Median 1,3-butadiene exposure levels were 1.5, 0.4, and 0.1 μg/m3 in 1,3-butadiene-exposed workers, in workers not directly exposed to 1,3-butadiene, and in foresters, respectively. In addition, we determined in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of the same individuals the presence of GST polymorphic genes GSTT1 and GSTM1 and the distribution of GSTP1 allelic variants. Comparing the mean values observed in petrochemical workers with those of control foresters, we found a marked decrease of GST enzymatic activity and a significant increase of glutathionylated hemoglobin in the petrochemical workers. A weak but significant negative correlation was found between levels of 1,3-butadiene exposure and GST activity, whereas a positive correlation was found between 1,3-butadiene exposure and glutathionylated hemoglobin. A negative correlation was also observed between GST activity and glutathionylated hemoglobin. No influence of confounders was observed. Using a multiple linear regression model, up to 50.6% and 41.9% of the variability observed in glutathionylated hemoglobin and GST activity, respectively, were explained by 1,3-butadiene exposure, working setting, and GSTT1 genotype. These results indicate that occupational exposure to 1,3-butadiene induces an oxidative stress that impairs the GST balance in RBC, and suggest that GST activity and glutathionylated hemoglobin could be recommended as promising biomarkers of effect in petrochemical workers. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(11):3004–12)
Systems Epidemiology in Cancer
Authors: Lund Eiliv , Dumeaux Vanessa
Published: November 2008

Prospective studies in cancer epidemiology have conserved their study design over the last decades. In this context, current epidemiologic studies investigating gene-environment interactions are based on biobank for the analysis of genetic variation and biomarkers, using notified cancer as outcome. These studies result from the use of high-throughput technologies rather than from the development of novel design strategies. In this article, we propose the globolomic design to run integrated analyses of cancer risk covering the major -omics in blood and tumor tissue. We defined this design as an extension of the existing prospective design by collecting tissue and blood samples at time of diagnosis, including biological material suitable for transcriptome analysis. The globolomic design opens up for several new analytic strategies and, where gene expression profiles could be used to verify mechanistic information from experimental biology, adds a new dimension to causality in epidemiology. This could improve, for example, the interpretation of risk estimates related to single nucleotide polymorphisms in gene-environment studies by changing the criterion of biological plausibility from a subjective discussion of in vitro information to observational data of human in vivo gene expression. This ambitious design should consider the complexity of the multistage carcinogenic process, the latency time, and the changing lifestyle of the cohort members. This design could open the new research discipline of systems epidemiology, defined in this article as a counterpart to systems biology. Systems epidemiology with a focus on gene functions challenges the current concept of biobanking, which focuses mainly on DNA analyses. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(11):2954–7)
Survival After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis Is Associated with Colorectal Cancer Family History
Authors: Zell Jason A. , Honda Jane , Ziogas Argyrios , Anton-Culver Hoda
Published: November 2008

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) family history is a known risk factor for CRC development; however, effects of CRC family history on survival after CRC diagnosis are less well-defined. Our population-based analysis investigates whether familial CRC cases exhibit improved survival compared with sporadic CRC cases.

Methods: Cases enrolled in the University of California Irvine Gene-Environment Study of Familial Colorectal Cancer from 1994 to 1996 were analyzed, with follow-up through December 2006. Cases were categorized as familial or sporadic based on self-reported CRC family history in a first-degree relative. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses with Cox proportional hazards ratios were done for overall survival (OS) and CRC-SS (CRC-SS).

Results: One thousand one hundred fifty-four CRC cases were analyzed, including 781 colon cancer and 373 rectal cancer cases. Nineteen percent of colon cases had family history of CRC in a first-degree relative, compared with 16% of rectal cancer cases. No statistically significant differences between familial and sporadic colon or rectal cancer cases were detected for age, gender, ethnicity, stage, tumor location, histology, tumor grade, or stage-specific treatment rendered. Among colon cancer cases, family history of CRC (versus no family history as a reference group) was associated with improved OS (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.760; 95% confidence interval, 0.580-0.997), but not with CRC-SS (hazard ratio, 0.880; 95% confidence interval, 0.621-1.246). No OS or CRC-SS differences were detected for rectal cancer cases.

Conclusions: CRC cases with family history of the disease have improved overall survival compared with sporadic CRC cases, a finding that is independent of other relevant clinical factors. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(11):3134–40)
Association Study of the G-Protein β3 Subunit C825T Polymorphism with Disease Progression an Overall Survival in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Lehnerdt Goetz F. , Franz Peter , Bankfalvi Agnes , Grehl Sara , Jahnke Klaus , Lang Stephan , Schmid Kurt W. , Siffert Winfried , Frey Ulrich H.
Published: November 2008

The T-allele of a common C825T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene GNB3, encoding the G3 subunit of heterotrimeric G-proteins, is associated with a truncated form of the G3 protein that imparts a greater signaling capacity than the alternative C-allele encoding a nontruncated protein. We analyzed the C825T-allele status with regard to disease progression in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The prognostic value of the SNP was evaluated in an unselected series of 341 patients treated with curative intent for HNSCC including all tumor stages with different therapeutic regimens. Genotype analysis was done by Pyrosequencing using DNA from paraffin-embedded tissue samples. Genotypes were correlated with relapse-free and overall survival. Proportions of 5-year relapse-free intervals were 62% for CC, 60% for TC, and 42% for TT genotypes. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed a significant genotype-dependent relapse-free interval (P = 0.036). In multivariate analysis with stage, localization, grade, gender, and smoking habits as covariates, GNB3 825T homozygous patients displayed a higher risk for relapse than C825 homozygous patients (TT versus CC, hazard ratio; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-4.8; P = 0.002). The same genotype effect was found for overall survival, TT genotypes were at higher risk for death compared with CC genotypes (hazard ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-4.3; P < 0.001), and 5-year survival proportions were 60% for CC, 52% for TC, and 33% for TT. The GNB3 C825T SNP thus represents a host derived prognostic marker in HNSCC, which allows identifying high-risk patients, which could benefit from novel and/or more aggressive therapeutic regimes. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(11):3203–7)
Prevalence and Age Distribution of Human Papillomavirus Infection in a Population of Inuit Women in Nunavik, Quebec
Authors: Hamlin-Douglas Lauren Kay , Coutlée François , Roger Michel , Franco Eduardo L. , Brassard Paul
Published: November 2008

Objectives: Our aim was to study the prevalence and age distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among Inuit women in Nunavik, northern Quebec, a population at high risk of cervical cancer.

Methods: We recruited a cohort of Inuit women seeking routine care and living primarily in four communities of the Nunavik region. Pap smears were done and cervical specimens were tested for HPV-DNA using the PGMY-Line blot assay.

Results: From January 2002 until December 2007, 629 women were recruited into the study and had their cervical specimens tested. Of 554 women with complete results, the overall and high-risk HPV prevalence were 28.9% and 20.4%, respectively. Multiple-type infections were observed in 40% of HPV-positive subjects. The most common HPV type was HPV-16 (n = 31), and other common high-risk types included HPV-31, HPV-58, and HPV-52. The most prevalent papillomavirus species were α-9 (60% of infections), α-3 (44%), and α-7 (31%). Age-specific prevalence of low-risk HPV, high-risk HPV, and overall HPV showed a U-shaped curve. Of women with baseline cytology, 6.5% had an abnormal result, either atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), or high-grade intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). HPV-16, HPV-31, and HPV-58 were some of the most common high-risk types detected in both LSIL and HSIL specimens.

Conclusions: Overall and high-risk HPV prevalence was elevated in this population of Quebec Inuit women when compared with other populations that have been studied in Canada. Different HPV types seem to be important as contributors to the overall burden of infection and to the presence of cervical abnormalities, which may have implications for developing cervical screening and vaccination programs. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(11):3141–9)
Validation of Tissue Microarray Technology in Ovarian Cancer: Results from the Nurses' Health Study
Authors: Hecht Jonathan L. , Kotsopoulos Joanne , Gates Margaret A. , Hankinson Susan E. , Tworoger Shelley S.
Published: November 2008

Background: Tissue microarrays (TMAs) allow high-throughput evaluation of protein expression from archived tissue samples. We identified characteristics specific to ovarian cancer that may influence TMA interpretation.

Methods: TMAs were constructed using triplicate core samples from 174 epithelial ovarian cancers. Stains for p53, Ki-67, estrogen receptor-α, progesterone receptor, Her-2, WT-1, cytokeratin 7, and cytokeratin 20 were evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficients, Spearman correlation coefficients, the effect of sample age, and tumor histology on the ability to score the cores, and inter-rater reliability.

Results: The interclass correlation coefficient and the mean Spearman correlation coefficients among 3 cores were ≥0.91 and 0.87, respectively. Tissue age and tumor histology were not predictive of an inability to evaluate stains, but borderline tumors had a 2 to 4-fold increase in the risk of having uninterpretable cores over invasive tumors. There was moderate to substantial concordance between the two pathologists for estrogen receptor-α [Cohen's Kappa (κ), 0.79] and Ki-67 (κ, 0.52). The prevalence of positive staining cells by histologic type was comparable with previous studies.

Conclusion: TMA is a valid method for evaluating antigen expression in invasive ovarian cancer but should be used with caution for borderline tumors. We suggest several methods of quality control based on intercore comparisons and show that some antigens may be affected by age of the samples. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(11):3043–50)
Glucose Oxidation and PQQ-Dependent Dehydrogenases in Gluconobacter oxydans
Authors: Hölscher Tina , Schleyer Ute , Merfort Marcel , Bringer-Meyer Stephanie , Görisch Helmut , Sahm Hermann
Published: November 2008

Gluconobacter oxydans is famous for its rapid and incomplete oxidation of a wide range of sugars and sugar alcohols. The organism is known for its efficient oxidation of D-glucose to D-gluconate, which can be further oxidized to two different keto-D-gluconates, 2-keto-D-gluconate and 5-keto-D-gluconate, as well as 2,5-di-keto-D-gluconate. For this oxidation chain and for further oxidation reactions, G. oxydans possesses a high number of membrane-bound dehydrogenases. In this review, we focus on the dehydrogenases involved in D-glucose oxidation and the products formed during this process. As some of the involved dehydrogenases contain pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) as a cofactor, also PQQ synthesis is reviewed. Finally, we will give an overview of further PQQ-dependent dehydrogenases and discuss their functions in G. oxydans ATCC 621H (DSM 2343).
Physiology of Acetic Acid Bacteria in Light of the Genome Sequence of Gluconobacter oxydans
Authors: Deppenmeier Uwe , Ehrenreich Armin
Published: November 2008

Acetic acid bacteria are a distinct group of microorganisms within the family Acetobacteriaceae. They are characterized by their ability to incompletely oxidize a wide range of carbohydrates and alcohols. The great advantage of these reactions is that many substrates are regio- and stereoselectively oxidized. This feature is already exploited in several combined biotechnological-chemical procedures for the synthesis of sugar derivatives. Therefore, it is important to understand the basic concepts of this type of physiology to construct strains for improved or new oxidative fermentations. Based on the genome sequence of Gluconobacteroxydans, we will shed light on the central carbon metabolism, the composition of the respiratory chain and the analysis of uncharacterized oxidoreductases. In this context, the role of membrane-bound and -soluble dehydrogenases are of major importance in the process of incomplete oxidation. Other topics deal with the question of how these organisms generate energy and assimilate carbon. Furthermore, we will discuss how acetic acid bacteria thrive in their nutrient-rich environment and how they outcompete other microorganisms.
Rapid Access to Genes of Biotechnologically Useful Enzymes by Partial Genome Sequencing: The Thermoalkaliphile Anaerobranca gottschalkii
Authors: Antranikian G. , Ruepp A. , Gordon P.M.K. , Ballschmiter M. , Zibat A. , Stark M. , Sensen C.W. , Frishman D. , Liebl W. , Klenk H.-P.
Published: November 2008

Anaerobranca gottschalkii strain LBS3T is an extremophile living at high temperature (up to 65°C) and in alkaline environments (up to pH 10.5). An assembly of 696 DNA contigs representing about 96% of the 2.26-Mbp genome of A. gottschalkii has been generated with a low-sequence-coverage shotgun-sequencing strategy. The chosen sequencing strategy provided rapid and economical access to genes encoding key enzymes of the mono- and polysaccharide metabolism, without dilution of spare resources for extensive sequencing of genes lacking potential economical value. Five of these amylolytic enzymes of considerable commercial interest for biotechnological applications have been expressed and characterized in more detail after identification of their genes in the partial genome sequence: type I pullulanase, cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase), two α-amylases (AmyA and AmyB), and an α-1,4-glucan-branching enzyme.
Perspectives and Lessons Learned after a Decade of Minimally Invasive Video-Assisted Thyroidectomy
Authors: Miccoli P. , Berti P. , Ambrosini C.E.
Published: November 2008

Minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) was introduced in our department in 1998. The procedure is based on a unique incision in the central neck, 2 cm above the sternal notch, using small conventional retractors and 2-mm reusable instruments. Hemostasis is achieved by using a Harmonic scalpel. 1,320 (1,136 female and 184 male, ratio 4:1) patients have undergone MIVAT since June 1998. Lobectomy was carried out in 421 patients, while 899 patients underwent total thyroidectomy. In 21 cases (RET oncogene mutation carriers), MIVAT was associated with central compartment lymph node clearance. Mean operative time of lobectomy was 32.3 min (range 20–120 min); for total thyroidectomy it was 44.1 min (range 30–130). Mean time for video-assisted central compartment lymphadenectomy was 57 min. Conversion to standard cervicotomy was required in 30 cases (2.2%); operative complications included transient unilateral recurrent nerve palsy in 35 cases (2.65%) and definitive unilateral recurrent nerve palsy in 15 cases (1.13%). Thirty-eight patients exhibited hypoparathyroidism, which corresponds to 4.2% of total thyroidectomies performed, but only 2 showed permanent hypoparathyroidism. MIVAT can be considered a safe operation offering significant cosmetic advantages and has possible new promising indications such as prophylactic thyroidectomy in RET gene mutation carriers.
Impaired Stria Vascularis in the Inner Ear of Apolipoprotein E Gene Knockout Mice
Authors: Zhu Shanshan , Du Xiaoping , Cai Qing , Guo Yunkai , Liu Li , Cheng Weihua , Tao Zezhang , Yoo Taijune
Published: November 2008

Purpose: To study apoptotic cell death, the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and the capillary density in the cochleae of apolipoprotein E gene knockout (ApoE KO) mice. Methods: Cochleae of ApoE KO mice were stained by HE, anti-caspase-3 and anti-eNOS antibodies and TUNEL (in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin end labeling). Capillary density was measured in the stria vascularis and in the modiolus. Results: Apoptotic cell death was found in the stria vascularis of ApoE KO mice, but not in the organ of Corti. The expression of eNOS and the capillary density were decreased in the stria vascularis and in the modiolus of ApoE KO mice. Conclusion: These results suggest that cells in the inner ear of ApoE KO mice take different pathways to undergo cell death, and apoptotic cell death is only involved in the stria vascularis. These pathological changes may play a role in the hearing loss that has been found in ApoE KO mice.
Impact of Previous Tracheotomy as a Prognostic Factor in Patients with Locally Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx Submitted to Concomitant Chemotherapy and Radiation
Authors: Herchenhorn Daniel , Dias Fernando L. , Ferreira Carlos G. , Araújo Carlos M. , Lima Roberto A. , Small Isabele A. , Kligerman Jacob
Published: November 2008

Hypothesis: The combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy is a standard nonsurgical treatment for locally advanced laryngeal cancer. Nevertheless, there are no validated markers to predict the outcome of nonsurgical therapies. The impact of previous tracheotomy is not clear in patients submitted to concomitant chemoradiotherapy. Study Design: A non-randomized prospective study. Prognostic factors such as stage, age, performance status, number of chemotherapy cycles, radiotherapy dose, stage VIb disease, and previous tracheotomy were analyzed using the Cox’s proportional hazard model. The Kaplan-Meier and log rank tests were used to evaluate the progression-free and overall survival. Patients and Methods: Patients with stage III/IV laryngeal carcinoma were prospectively selected. Treatment consisted of cisplatin 100 mg/m2 every 3 weeks for 3 cycles, radiotherapy to a total dose of 70.2 Gy and salvage surgery. Results: Forty-nine patients were analyzed; tracheotomy was performed in 12 patients (24.5%) before therapy. Patients who had previous tracheotomy had a lower rate of complete response (41.7 vs. 75%, p = 0.034, HR 0.55, CI 95% 0.27–1.11), shorter progression free-survival (HR 2.83, CI 95% 1.60–4.88, p < 0.001), and median overall survival (12 vs. 56 months, HR 2.37, CI 95% 1.43–3.93, p < 0.001), in comparison to those without a tracheotomy. Moreover a significant difference was observed in 3-year survival rates (6 vs. 61%, p = 0.001), in favor of the group without tracheotomy. Interestingly, the impact of previous tracheotomy was not altered when adjusted by other prognostic factors (HR 8.7, CI 95% 3.1–24.0, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Previous tracheotomy is a negative prognostic factor for patients submitted to chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy and should be considered as a negative clinical prognostic factor in the selection of patients for more aggressive treatment strategies.
Presenilin 1 Polymorphism Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease in Apolipoprotein E4Carriers
Authors: Martínez-García Ana , Aldudo Jesús , Recuero María , Sastre Isabel , Vilella-Cuadrada Elisabet , Rosich-Estragó Marcel , Frank Ana , Valdivieso Fernando , Bullido María J.
Published: November 2008

Mutations of presenilin 1 (PSEN1) are associated with monogenic Alzheimer’s disease (AD); polymorphisms at this gene may therefore be associated with the sporadic form of the disease. In fact, recent meta-analyses and whole-genome association studies indicate PSEN1 as one of the few genes significantly associated with AD risk. Several polymorphisms have been analyzed in PSEN1. The present work examined the possible modulation of the risk of AD by a PSEN1 polymorphism (dbSNP rs3025786) located in intron 7, which we found during a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis mutation screening of the gene, and which was previously reported as ‘suspected’ in the public databases. The study of a Spanish case-control sample of 1,183 individuals showed this polymorphism to be associated with AD in an apolipoprotein E (APOE)-specific manner: more specifically, to carry the PSEN1 C allele was associated with a decreased AD risk among carriers of the APOE4 allele. Thus, the present results reinforce the possible involvement of PSEN1 in sporadic AD.
Comparison of Domestic and War Ocular Injuries during the Lebanese Civil War
Authors: Mansour Ahmad M. , Zein Wadih M. , Sibai Tarek A. , Mehio-Sibai Abla , Ismail Hussein , Orm Sawsan Bu
Published: November 2008

Objective: To examine the differences between war and domestic ocular injuries during the Lebanese Civil War in terms of baseline characteristics, treatment provided and prognosis. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of subjects with traumatic ocular injuries referred to a major medical center from 1980 to 1996. The variables were tabulated according to the international classification of ocular trauma. Results: Compared to domestic ocular injuries, war injuries were significantly more likely to include males (84.7 vs. 75.1%) and adults (72.7 vs. 39.1%), concomitant systemic injury (43.7 vs. 10.1%), and bilateral ocular affection (19.3 vs. 4.4%). Also, patients with war injuries had significantly worse initial and final visual acuities, less visual improvement (28.6 vs. 44.8%), and more intraocular foreign bodies (42.9 vs. 11%), the majority being metallic removed via an electric magnet. Moreover, war injuries had significantly more posterior scleral involvement 5 mm behind the limbus (25.2 vs. 11.6%) with more secondary retinal detachment (10.3 vs. 4.8%) and vitreous hemorrhage (36.6 vs. 17.1%). Primary evisceration was performed significantly more frequently in war injuries (24.0%) than in domestic injuries (7.7%). Conclusions: During the Lebanese Civil War, war injuries compared to domestic ones were severer resulting in more enucleation/evisceration and more retinal detachment, tended to be bilateral, and were accompanied by concurrent systemic injuries and less visual recovery. Wearing special glasses and imposing an international arms embargo are recommended to decrease ocular injuries and blinding consequences in potential future wars.
Homozygous Mutation of Desmocollin-2 in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy with Mild Palmoplantar Keratoderma and Woolly Hair
Authors: Simpson M.A. , Mansour S. , Ahnood D. , Kalidas K. , Patton M.A. , McKenna W.J. , Behr E.R. , Crosby A.H.
Published: November 2008

Objectives: The phenotypic triad of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) associated with palmoplantar keratoderma and woolly hair has been previously associated with homozygous mutations in both plakoglobin and desmoplakin, which are both critical components of the desmosome. We present here a clinical and genetic study of a consanguineous pedigree in which 2 siblings present with ARVC with left ventricular involvement and associated mild palmoplantar keratoderma and woolly hair. Methods: Clinical evaluation of the 2 patients and their family members was undertaken along with a homozygosity-mapping approach to identify the relevant gene and sequencing analysis to identify the causative mutation. Results: The homozygosity-mapping approach excluded the involvement of both plakoglobin and desmoplakin in this pedigree. However, an extended region of homozygosity in both affected cases was revealed at the chromosome 18 desmocollin/desmoglein cluster, genes which encode components of the desmosome. Sequence analysis of the democollin-2 gene, located within this cluster, revealed a homozygous single-base deletion in exon 12 (1841delG). This mutation is predicted to lead to a frame shift and a premature termination codon at position 625 (S614fsX625). Conclusions: This is the first reported case of a mutation in desmocollin-2 associated with autosomal recessive ARVC.
Early Propranolol Administration Does Not Prevent Development of Esophageal Varices in Cirrhotic Rats
Authors: Alatsakis M. , Ballas K.D. , Pavlidis T.E. , Psarras K. , Rafailidis S. , Tzioufa-Asimakopoulou V. , Marakis G.N. , Sakantamis A.K.
Published: November 2008

Background and Aims: Variceal bleeding is the most serious complication of portal hypertension associated with high mortality. This study was conducted to investigate any protective effect of early propranolol administration in the development and degree of esophageal varices in cirrhotic rats with portal hypertension. This topic is controversial in the literature. Methods: For the development of liver cirrhosis and esophageal varices, 60 rats underwent ligation of the left adrenal vein and complete devascularization of the left renal vein, followed by phenobarbital and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration. This operation enhances the development of cephalad collaterals, responsible for the induction of esophageal varices. After 2 weeks of CCl4 administration, the rats were randomly separated into 2 groups. In group I, propranolol was continuously administered intragastrically throughout the study, whereas in group II normal saline (placebo) was administered instead. Cirrhosis was detected clinically by ascites development. Hemodynamic studies and morphometric analysis of the lower esophagus were performed after complete induction of cirrhosis, measuring the following parameters: portal pressure, total number of submucosal veins, total submucosal vessel area, mean cross-sectional submucosal vessel area, relative submucosal area (percentage) occupied by vessels and area of the single most dilated submucosal vein. Results: The statistical analysis revealed no statistically important difference between the 2 groups for the morphometrically studied parameters. However, portal venous pressure was lower in group I. Conclusion: Early propranolol administration did not protect rats from developing esophageal varices, despite the fact that a significant decrease in portal pressure was detected.
Primary Ewing Sarcoma of the Stomach – A Newly Described Entity
Authors: Rafailidis S. , Ballas K. , Psarras K. , Pavlidis T. , Symeonidis N. , Marakis G. , Sakadamis A.
Published: November 2008

The Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT) includes classic Ewing sarcoma of the bone, extraosseous or soft tissue Ewing sarcoma, Askin tumors of the chest wall, and peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the bone and soft tissues. They share a common neural histogenesis, tumor genetics and biology. The genetic hallmark of the ESFT is the presence of t(11;22)(q24;q12), which creates the EWS/FLI1 fusion gene and results in the expression of a chimeric protein. Although Ewing tumors can occur at any age, the great majority are found in individuals less than 20 years of age. We herein report a case of gastric Ewing sarcoma in a 68-year-old male. This patient illustrates the second reported occurrence of primary Ewing sarcoma in the stomach and the first reported with the t(11;22)(q24;q12) gene translocation.