bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design of Novel Mixer and Applicator for Two-Component Surgical Adhesives
Authors: Go Kevin , Kim Yeong , Lee Andy H. , Staricha Kelly , Messersmith Phillip , Glucksberg Matthew
Published: June 2015

Current mixer and applicator devices on the market are not able to properly and efficiently mix two-component surgical adhesives in small volumes necessary to achieve economic viability. Furthermore, in these devices a significant amount of adhesive is wasted during the application process, as material within the dead space of the mixing chamber must be discarded. We have designed and demonstrated a new active mixer and applicator system capable of rapidly and efficiently mixing two components of an adhesive and applying it to the surgical site. Recently, Messersmith et al. have developed a tissue adhesive inspired by the mussel byssus and have shown that it is effective as a surgical sealant, and is especially suited for wet environments such as in fetal surgery. Like some other tissue sealants, this one requires that two components of differing viscosities be thoroughly mixed within a specified and short time period. Through a combination of compression and shear testing, we demonstrated that our device could effectively mix the adhesive developed by Messersmith et al. and improve its shear strength to significantly higher values than what has been reported for vortex mixing. Overall, our mixer and applicator system not only has potential applications in mixing and applying various adhesives in multiple surgical fields but also makes this particular adhesive viable for clinical use.
Nonlinear Dynamics of Carbon Nanotubes Under Large Electrostatic Force
Authors: Xu Tiantian , Younis Mohammad I.
Published: June 2015

Because of the inherent nonlinearities involving the behavior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) when excited by electrostatic forces, modeling and simulating their behavior are challenging. The complicated form of the electrostatic force describing the interaction of their cylindrical shape, forming upper electrodes, to lower electrodes poises serious computational challenges. This presents an obstacle against applying and using several nonlinear dynamics tools typically used to analyze the behavior of complicated nonlinear systems undergoing large motion, such as shooting, continuation, and integrity analysis techniques. This work presents an attempt to resolve this issue. We present an investigation of the nonlinear dynamics of CNTs when actuated by large electrostatic forces. We study by expanding the complicated form of the electrostatic force into enough number of terms of the Taylor series. Then, we utilize this form along with an Euler–Bernoulli beam model to study for the first time the dynamic behavior of CNTs when excited by large electrostatic force. The geometric nonlinearity and the nonlinear electrostatic force are considered. An efficient reduced-order model (ROM) based on the Galerkin method is developed and utilized to simulate the static and dynamic responses of the CNTs. Several results are generated demonstrating softening and hardening behavior of the CNTs near their primary and secondary resonances. The effects of the DC and AC voltage loads on the behavior have been studied. The impacts of the initial slack level and CNT diameter are also demonstrated.
foxl3
is a germ cell–intrinsic factor involved in sperm-egg fate decision in medaka
Authors: Nishimura Toshiya , Sato Tetsuya , Yamamoto Yasuhiro , Watakabe Ikuko , Ohkawa Yasuyuki , Suyama Mikita , Kobayashi Satoru , Tanaka Minoru
Published: June 2015

How germ cells become sperm or egg

During vertebrate development, germ cells switch from a sexually indifferent to a committed state for either egg or sperm. Signals from somatic gonadal cells are generally thought to influence the sexual differentiation of germ cells. However, Nishimura
et al.
demonstrate that germ cell–intrinsic sex determination cues are at play in the teleost fish medaka. The forkhead box transcriptional factor foxl3 represses the initiation of spermatogenesis. In the absence of foxl3 function, females develop ovaries filled with functional sperm. Thus, the male gonad environment is not required for spermatogenesis.

Science
, this issue p.
328
The phytosociology and ecology of saline vegetation with Scorzonera parviflora across the Pannonian-Western Balkan gradient
Authors: Dítě Daniel , Eliáš Pavol , Šuvada Róbert , Píš Vladimír , Melečková Zuzana
Published: June 2015

The phytosociology and ecology of Scorzonera parviflora stands were studied in the Pannonian Basin and Western Balkans. In total, we used 60 relevés (46 collected for this study and 14 from the literature) for the ordination analysis. Optimal conditions for S. parviflora
are species-poor coastal habitats in regions with hot summers and with high soil salinity and nutrient-richness. The species reached high cover values in most cases (25–50%) and it often dominated the stand. The classification of phytosociological data shows four floristically and ecologicaly
well characterized clusters. Cluster 1 was identified as the rare association Junco maritimi-Scorzoneretum parviflorae, sampled only in coastal Croatia (on the island of Pag) and inland Hungary (Fertőszéplak). Cluster 2 groups meadow-like salt marsh vegetation in transition
between two vegetation types, Limonio narbonensis-Puccinellietum festuciformis and Trifolio-Hordeetum secalini. Cluster 3 represents the typical variant of the Scorzonero parviflorae-Juncetum gerardii, while cluster 4 was determined as a variant with Tripolium pannonicum
of the Scorzonero parviflorae-Juncetum gerardii characterized by a higher presence of obligate halophytes (Tripolium pannonicum, Puccinellia distans agg. and Plantago maritima) than in cluster 3. Our study shows that vegetation with Scorzonera parviflora
in inland Central and SE Europe belongs to the Juncion gerardii and stands of coastal Croatia are related to the Juncion maritimi alliance. The species composition and the classification of the examined stands in the Pannonian and Transylvanian basins were influenced more by
abiotic environmental factors than by current management.
Genome Sequence of Anoxybacillus geothermalis Strain GSsed3, a Novel Thermophilic Endospore-Forming Species
Authors: Filippidou Sevasti , Jaussi Marion , Junier Thomas , Wunderlin Tina , Roussel-Delif Ludovic , Jeanneret Nicole , Vieth-Hillebrand Andrea , Vetter Alexandra , Regenspurg Simona , Johnson Shannon L. , McMurry Kim , Gleasner Cheryl D. , Lo Chien-Chi , Li Paul , Vuyisich Momchilo , Chain Patrick S. , Junier Pilar
Published: June 2015

Anoxybacillus geothermalis
strain GSsed3 is an endospore-forming thermophilic bacterium isolated from filter deposits in a geothermal site. This novel species has a larger genome size (7.2 Mb) than that of any other
Anoxybacillus
species, and it possesses genes that support its phenotypic metabolic characterization and suggest an intriguing link to metals.
Draft Genome Sequence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Strain UV74 Reveals Extensive Variability within Its Genomic Group
Authors: Conchillo-Solé Oscar , Yero Daniel , Coves Xavier , Huedo Pol , Martínez-Servat Sònia , Daura Xavier , Gibert Isidre
Published: June 2015

We report the draft genome sequence of
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
UV74, isolated from a vascular ulcer. This draft genome sequence shall contribute to the understanding of the evolution and pathogenicity of this species, particularly regarding isolates of clinical origin.
Complete Genome Sequence of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus (H5N2) Associated with an Outbreak in Commercial Chickens, Iowa, USA, 2015
Authors: Clement Travis , Kutish Gerald F. , Nezworski Jill , Scaria Joy , Nelson Eric , Christopher-Hennings Jane , Diel Diego G.
Published: June 2015

A novel reassortant influenza A virus (H5N2) was first detected in British Columbia, Canada, in December 2014. The virus rapidly spread along the waterfowl migration flyways in the United States, causing multiple HPAI outbreaks in poultry. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of HPAIV-H5N2 from a commercial chicken flock in Iowa.
Genome Sequence of an Indigoid-Producing Strain,
Pseudomonas
sp. PI1
Authors: Qu Yuanyuan , Liu Ziyan , Shen Wenli , Li Shuzhen , Tang Hongzhi , Xu Ping
Published: June 2015

Pseudomonas
sp. strain PI1 can cometabolize indole in the presence of phenol to produce various indigoids. Here, we present a 7.2-Mb draft genome sequence of strain PI1, which may provide insight into the study of phenol-indole cometabolism and its application in aromatic bioremediation and wastewater treatment processes.
Draft Genome Sequence of Mycobacterium arupense Strain GUC1
Authors: Greninger Alexander L. , Cunningham Gail , Yu Joanna M. , Hsu Elaine D. , Chiu Charles Y. , Miller Steve
Published: June 2015

We report the draft genome sequence of
Mycobacterium arupense
strain GUC1 from a sputum sample of a patient with bronchiectasis. This is the first draft genome sequence of
Mycobacterium arupense
, a rapidly growing nonchromogenic mycobacteria.
Cost-effectiveness of a repeat HIV test in pregnancy in India
Authors: Joshi Smita , Kulkarni Vinay , Gangakhedkar Raman , Mahajan Uma , Sharma Sushma , Shirole Devendra , Chandhiok Nomita
Published: June 2015

Objective

To evaluate cost-effectiveness of second HIV test in pregnancy.

Background

Current strategy of single HIV test during pregnancy in India can miss new HIV infections acquired after the first test or those HIV infections that were missed in the first test due to a false-negative HIV test.

Methods

Between August 2011 and April 2013, 9097 pregnant HIV uninfected women were offered a second HIV test near term (34 weeks or beyond) or within 4 weeks of postpartum period. A decision analysis model was used to evaluate cost-effectiveness of a second HIV test in pregnant women near term.

Primary and secondary outcome

Our key outcome measures include programme cost with addition of second HIV test in pregnant women and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained.

Results

We detected 4 new HIV infections in the second test. Thus HIV incidence among pregnant women was 0.12 (95% 0.032 to 0.297) per 100 person women years (PWY). Current strategy of a single HIV test is 8.2 times costlier for less QALYs gained as compared to proposed repeat HIV testing of pregnant women who test negative during the first test.

Conclusions

Our results warrant consideration at the national level for including a second HIV test of all pregnant women in the national programme. However prior to allocation of resources for a second HIV test in pregnancy, appropriate strategies will have to be planned for improving compliance for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and reducing loss-to-follow-up of those women detected with HIV.

Trial registration number

CTRI/2013/12/004183.
Rationale and methods of a multicentre randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of a Community Health Assessment Programme with Emergency Medical Services (CHAP-EMS) implemented on residents aged 55 years and older in subsidised seniors’ housing buildings in Ontario, Canada
Authors: Agarwal Gina , McDonough Beatrice , Angeles Ricardo , Pirrie Melissa , Marzanek Francine , McLeod Brent , Dolovich Lisa
Published: June 2015

Introduction

Chronic diseases and falls substantially contribute to morbidity/mortality among seniors, causing this population to frequently seek emergency medical care. Research suggests the paramedic role can be successfully expanded to include community-based health promotion and prevention. This study implements a community paramedicine programme targeting seniors in subsidised housing, a high-risk population and frequent users of emergency medical services (EMS). The aims are to reduce EMS calls, improve health outcomes and healthcare utilisation.

Methods/analysis

This is a pragmatic clustered randomised control trial in four communities across Ontario, Canada. Within each, four to eight seniors’ apartment buildings will be paired and within each pair one building will be randomly assigned to receive the Community Health Assessment Programme through EMS (CHAP-EMS) intervention, while the other building receives no intervention. During the 1-year intervention, paramedics will run weekly sessions in a common area of the building, assessing risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and falls; providing health education and referrals to community programmes; and communicating results to the participant's primary physician. The primary outcomes are rate of emergency calls per 100 residents, change in blood pressure and change in Canadian Diabetes Risk (CANRISK) score, as collected by the local EMS and study databases. The secondary outcomes are change in health behaviours, measured using a preintervention and postintervention survey and healthcare utilisation, available through administrative databases. Analysis will mainly consist of descriptive statistics and generalised estimating equations, including subgroup cluster analysis.

Ethics/dissemination

This study is approved by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board and will follow the Tri-Council Policy Statement. Findings will be disseminated through reports to local stakeholders, publication in peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.

Trial registration number

NCT02152891.
APPROXIMATE HEDGING OF OPTIONS UNDER JUMP-DIFFUSION PROCESSES
Authors: MINA KARL FRIEDRICH , CHEANG GERALD H. L. , CHIARELLA CARL
Published: June 2015

We consider the problem of hedging a European-type option in a market where asset prices have jump-diffusion dynamics. It is known that markets with jumps are incomplete and that there are several risk-neutral measures one can use to price and hedge options. In order to address these issues, we approximate such a market by discretizing the jumps in an averaged sense, and complete it by including traded options in the model and hedge portfolio. Under suitable conditions, we get a unique risk-neutral measure, which is used to determine the option price integro-partial differential equation, along with the asset positions that will replicate the option payoff. Upon implementation on a particular set of stock and option prices, our approximate complete market hedge yields easily computable asset positions that equal those of the minimal variance hedge, while at the same time offers protection against upward jumps and higher profit compared to delta hedging.
A Histogram-Based Two-Stage Adaptive Character Segmentation for Transcription of Inter-Point Hindi Braille to Text
Authors: Shreekanth T. , Udayashankara V.
Published: June 2015

Problem statement: The optical Braille character recognition (OBR) system is in substantial need in order to preserve the Braille documents to make them available in future for the large section of visually impaired people. The recognition and transcribing of the double sided Braille document into its corresponding natural text is indeed a challenging task. This difficulty is due to the overlapping of the front side dots (recto) with that of the back side dots (verso) in the inter-point Braille document. In such settings, the habitual method of template matching to distinguish recto and verso dots is unproductive. Approach: A fresh system for double sided Braille dot recognition is proposed, which employs a two-stage highly efficient and an adaptive technique to differentiate the recto and verso dots from an inter-point Braille expending the horizontal and vertical projection profiles along with distance thresholding for Braille character segmentation. Materials: The efficacy of this segmentation technique is demonstrated on a large dataset consisting of Hindi Devanagari Braille documents with varying image resolution and with diverse word patterns. The primary reason for choosing the Hindi Devanagari Braille is that, Hindi is the national language of India and OBR for the Hindi Devanagari Braille is not available. Results: Braille line segmentation accuracy of 100%, word segmentation accuracy of 99.8% and character segmentation accuracy of 99.4% has been accomplished. Conclusion: This effort of OBR development for Hindi Devanagari Braille has been done for the first time. The proposed method is tolerant to merging of Braille dots and presence of half characters.
Directional entropy of ℤ+k-actions
Authors: Zhang Jinlian , Zhang Wenda
Published: June 2015

In this paper, topological and measure-theoretic directional entropies are investigated for [Formula: see text]-actions. Let [Formula: see text] be a [Formula: see text]-action on a compact metric space. For each ray [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] we introduce a notion of positive expansivity for [Formula: see text] along [Formula: see text]. We apply the technique of “coding” which was given by Boyle and Lind in [1] to show that these directional entropies are both continuous at positively expansive directions. We relate the directional entropies of a [Formula: see text]-action at a ray [Formula: see text] to the entropies of a nonautonomous dynamical system which induced by the compositions of a sequence of maps along [Formula: see text]. And hence the variational principle relating topological and measure-theoretic directional entropies is given at positively expansive directions. Applying some known results relating entropies and other invariants (such as preimage entropies, degrees and Lyapunov exponents), we obtain the formulas of directional entropies for some classic examples, such as the [Formula: see text]-subshift actions on [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]-actions on finite graphs and certain smooth [Formula: see text]-actions on Riemannian manifolds.
Biogenic Strain of Silver and Selenium Nanoparticles by Pseudomonas fluorescens and Cladosporium sp. JAPSK3 Isolated from Coal Mine Samples and Their Antimicrobial Activity
Authors: Singh Nidhi , Saha Prasenjit , Rajkumar Karthik , Abraham Jayanthi
Published: June 2015

Selenium and silver have unique properties and great potential in the field of physics, chemistry and biology. The bacterial strain Pseudomonas fluorescens was isolated by using Kings'B media and Cladosporium sp. was isolated by using potato dextrose agar for soil sample collected from Andhra Pradesh coal field of Singareni. Rapid formation of stable silver and selenium nanoparticles ( AgNPs ; SeNPs ) were observed on exposure of the microbial culture with solution of silver nitrate and sodium selenite. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Further, the biologically synthesized nanoparticles were found to have efficient antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria, thus implying significance of the present study in production of biomedical products. AgNPs synthesized by P. fluorescens showed more antimicrobial activity than Cladosporium sp. As the AgNPs are much smaller in size, they showed effective antimicrobial activity when compared to that of SeNPs which showed less effective antimicrobial activity in both P. fluorescens and Cladosporium sp. The microbes are capable of reducing both AgNPs and SeNPs . The biological synthesis of nanoparticles is useful when compared with other physical and chemical methods as they are eco-friendly.
Microstructural Finite Element Modeling and Simulation on Al–MgO Composites
Authors: Patel Satyanarayan , Vaish Rahul , Chauhan Vishal Singh , Bowen Chris
Published: June 2015

Object Oriented Finite Element Analysis (OOF2) is used to predict the thermal and mechanical properties of Al – MgO composites. In this work, three compositions of composites containing 5%, 10% and 15% MgO (by volume) are studied. The influence of MgO volume fraction is examined in terms of effective Young's modulus and coefficient of thermal expansion of the composites. In addition, the stress and strain contours are plotted, which are helpful to understand the mechanical behavior of these composites. It is noted that the properties of composites are improved because of the presence of MgO . However, local stresses increase with filler content.
Coordination and acid-base properties of meso-nitro derivatives of β-octaethylporphyrin
Authors: Pukhovskaya Svetlana , Ivanova Yuliya , Nam Dao The , Vashurin Artur , Golubchikov Oleg
Published: June 2015

Spectrophotometric method is used to study the acid-base and coordination properties of a series of porphyrins with a continuously increasing degree of macrocycle deformation resulting from the introduction of strong electron — withdrawing substituents: 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrin (1), 5-nitro-2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrin (2), 5,15-dinitro-2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrin (3), 5,10,15-trinitro-2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrin (4), and 5,10,15,20-tetranitro-2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrin (5). It is found that the values of total basicity constants obtained for the investigated compounds consistently diminish with an increase in the number of meso-substituents: 11.85 (1) < 10.45 (2) < 10.31 (3) < 10.23 (4) < 9.56 (5). The values of the combined acidity constants of porphyrins (4–5) obtained in acetonitrile-DBU system at 298 K are pKa = 10.90 and 10.40 respectively. The reaction of complex formation between the porphyrins and their dianionic forms with zinc acetate was studied. It is shown that two opposing factors, the steric and electronic effects of the substituents, change the acid-base and coordination properties of the above series of compounds.
SERVICE INNOVATION PERFORMANCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS FROM THE DYNAMIC CAPABILITY PERSPECTIVE
Authors: PLATTFAUT RALF , NIEHAVES BJOERN , VOIGT MATTHIAS , MALSBENDER ANDREA , ORTBACH KEVIN , POEPPELBUSS JENS
Published: June 2015

Service firms need to continuously innovate their service offerings in order to remain competitive in constantly changing market conditions. Successful innovators utilise current information technology (IT) to access service innovation capacity and knowledge which can be located internal or external to their organisation. In this paper, we develop and test a theoretical framework that explains how IT can contribute to service innovation performance, and finally, to service provision performance. Drawing on dynamic capability theory, we differentiate between sensing (SN), seizing (SZ), and transformation (TF) as the key abilities in service innovation. With our theoretical model, we can explain almost 40% of the variance in service innovation performance (SIP) (R2 = 0.3955) and provide evidence for the multi-faceted and significant effects of IT. In particular, we are able to show a significant influence of inter-organisational IT support on SN and SZ abilities while organisational IT support has a significant impact on TF abilities.
CONSOLIDATION WITHIN THE BANKING SECTOR AND SAVINGS DEPOSITS: EFFECTS ON LIQUIDITY, OUTPUT, AND PROFITABILITY WITHIN THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY
Authors: OBRIMAH OGHENOVO ADEWALE , EBERE CHIDINMA EDITH
Published: June 2015

In this study, we find savings deposits have contributed significantly to the effectiveness of regulation induced consolidation within the banking sector in so far as improvements in banking system structure, output, profitability and competitiveness are concerned. Specifically, we find savings deposits are key parameters in the transition from a banking structure within which profitability is primarily determined by liquidity during the pre-consolidation period (2007–2008) to a banking structure within which profitability is primarily a function of loan portfolio growth (output) during the post-consolidation period (2010–2012). In spite of the increase in importance of savings deposits for banking system competition, output, or profitability during the post-consolidation period, savings deposit rates have decreased by about 50% between the pre- and post-consolidation periods. Interest rates on savings deposits also do not lie on the efficiency frontier for loan production. Combined, our findings indicate the benefits of consolidation that accrue from savings deposits have yet to translate into social welfare benefits for banks' retail customers.
A Generic Holonic Control Architecture for Heterogeneous Multiscale and Multiobjective Smart Microgrids
Authors: Frey Sylvain , Diaconescu Ada , Menga David , Demeure Isabelle
Published: June 2015

Designing the control infrastructure of future “smart” power grids is a challenging task. Future grids will integrate a wide variety of heterogeneous producers and consumers that are unpredictable and operate at various scales. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions will have to control these in order to attain global objectives at the macrolevel, while also considering private interests at the microlevel. This article proposes a
generic holonic architecture to help the development of ICT control systems
that meet these requirements. We show how this architecture can integrate heterogeneous control designs, including state-of-the-art smart grid solutions. To illustrate the applicability and utility of this generic architecture, we exemplify its use via a concrete proof-of-concept implementation for a holonic controller, which integrates two types of control solutions and manages a multiscale, multiobjective grid simulator in several scenarios. We believe that the proposed contribution is essential
for helping to understand, to reason about, and to develop the “smart” side of future power grids
.
SASO 2013
Authors: Pitt Jeremy , Holvoet Tom
Published: June 2015

IEEE SASO (Self-Adapting and Self-Organizing Systems) is the premier international conference for computer systems and networks that autonomously change some aspect of themselves: code, form, function, shape, structure, components, and so on. Over the past 10 years, it has emerged as a key multidisciplinary event for sharing theoretical insights and technical innovations across the numerous scientific fields and application domains impacted by this research. In 2013, the conference was hosted by Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and offered an extensive program of high-quality papers. This special issue of ACM TAAS presents selected, revised, and extended best articles, which showcase the rich variety and depth of the SASO scientific community.
CacheAudit
Authors: Doychev Goran , Köpf Boris , Mauborgne Laurent , Reineke Jan
Published: June 2015

We present CacheAudit, a versatile framework for the automatic, static analysis of cache side channels. CacheAudit takes as input a program binary and a cache configuration and derives formal, quantitative security guarantees for a comprehensive set of side-channel adversaries, namely, those based on observing cache states, traces of hits and misses, and execution times. Our technical contributions include novel abstractions to efficiently compute precise overapproximations of the possible side-channel observations for each of these adversaries. These approximations then yield upper bounds on the amount of information that is revealed.

In case studies, we apply CacheAudit to binary executables of algorithms for sorting and encryption, including the AES implementation from the PolarSSL library, and the reference implementations of the finalists of the eSTREAM stream cipher competition. The results we obtain exhibit the influence of cache size, line size, associativity, replacement policy, and coding style on the security of the executables and include the first formal proofs of security for implementations with countermeasures such as preloading and data-independent memory access patterns.
Detection of Political Manipulation in Online Communities through Measures of Effort and Collaboration
Authors: Lee Sihyung
Published: June 2015

Online social media allow users to interact with one another by sharing opinions, and these opinions have a critical impact on the way readers think and behave. Accordingly, an increasing number of manipulators deliberately spread messages to influence the public, often in an organized manner. In particular, political manipulation—manipulation of opponents to win political advantage—can result in serious consequences: antigovernment riots can break out, leading to candidates’ defeat in an election. A few approaches have been proposed to detect such manipulation based on the level of social interaction (i.e., manipulators actively post opinions but infrequently befriend and reply to other users). However, several studies have shown that the interactions can be forged at a low cost and thus may not be effective measures of manipulation.

To go one step further, we collect a dataset for real, large-scale political manipulation, which consists of opinions found on Internet forums. These opinions are divided into manipulators and nonmanipulators. Using this collection, we demonstrate that manipulators inevitably work hard, in teams, to quickly influence a large audience. With this in mind, it could be said that a high level of collaborative efforts strongly indicates manipulation. For example, a group of manipulators may jointly post numerous opinions with a consistent theme and selectively recommend the same, well-organized opinion to promote its rank. We show that the effort measures, when combined with a supervised learning algorithm, successfully identify greater than 95% of the manipulators. We believe that the proposed method will help system administrators to accurately detect manipulators in disguise, significantly decreasing the intensity of manipulation.
Novel mechanism within the paraventricular nucleus reduces both blood pressure and hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal axis responses to acute stress
Authors: Erdos Benedek , Clifton Rebekah R. , Liu Meng , Li Hongwei , McCowan Michael L. , Sumners Colin , Scheuer Deborah A.
Published: June 2015

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) counteracts pressor effects of angiotensin II (ANG II) in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) in normotensive rats, but this mechanism is absent in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) due to a lack of MIF in PVN neurons. Since endogenous ANG II in the PVN modulates stress reactivity, we tested the hypothesis that replacement of MIF in PVN neurons would reduce baseline blood pressure and inhibit stress-induced increases in blood pressure and plasma corticosterone in adult male SHRs. Radiotelemetry transmitters were implanted to measure blood pressure, and then an adeno-associated viral vector expressing either enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) or MIF was injected bilaterally into the PVN. Cardiovascular responses to a 15-min water stress (1-cm deep, 25°C) and a 60-min restraint stress were evaluated 3–4 wk later. MIF treatment in the PVN attenuated average restraint-induced increases in blood pressure (37.4 ± 2.0 and 27.6 ± 3.5 mmHg in GFP and MIF groups, respectively, P < 0.05) and corticosterone (42 ± 2 and 36 ± 3 μg/dl in GFP and MIF groups, respectively, P < 0.05). MIF treatment in the PVN also reduced stress-induced elevations in the number of c-Fos-positive cells in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (71 ± 5 in GFP and 47 ± 5 in MIF SHRs, P < 0.01) and corticotropin-releasing factor mRNA expression in the PVN. However, MIF had no significant effects on the cardiovascular responses to water stress in SHRs or to either stress in Sprague-Dawley rats. Therefore, viral vector-mediated restoration of MIF in PVN neurons of SHRs attenuates blood pressure and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis responses to stress.
Matching of postcontraction perfusion to oxygen consumption across submaximal contraction intensities in exercising humans
Authors: Buck Amanda K. W. , Elder Christopher P. , Donahue Manus J. , Damon Bruce M.
Published: June 2015

Studying the magnitude and kinetics of blood flow, oxygen extraction, and oxygen consumption at exercise onset and during the recovery from exercise can lead to insights into both the normal control of metabolism and blood flow and the disturbances to these processes in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine the on- and off-kinetics for oxygen delivery, extraction, and consumption as functions of submaximal contraction intensity. Eight healthy subjects performed four 1-min isometric dorsiflexion contractions, with two at 20% MVC and two at 40% MVC. During one contraction at each intensity, relative perfusion changes were measured by using arterial spin labeling, and the deoxyhemoglobin percentage (%HHb) was estimated using the spin- and gradient-echo sequence and a previously published empirical calibration. For the whole group, the mean perfusion did not increase during contraction. The %HHb increased from ∼28 to 38% during contractions of each intensity, with kinetics well described by an exponential function and mean response times (MRTs) of 22.7 and 21.6 s for 20 and 40% MVC, respectively. Following contraction, perfusion increased ∼2.5-fold. The %HHb, oxygen consumption, and perfusion returned to precontraction levels with MRTs of 27.5, 46.4, and 50.0 s, respectively (20% MVC), and 29.2, 75.3, and 86.0 s, respectively (40% MVC). These data demonstrate in human subjects the varied recovery rates of perfusion and oxygen consumption, along with the similar rates of %HHb recovery, across these exercise intensities.
Purple Sweet Potato Leaf Extract Induces Apoptosis and Reduces Inflammatory Adipokine Expression in 3T3-L1 Differentiated Adipocytes
Authors: Lee Shou-Lun , Chin Ting-Yu , Tu Ssu-Chieh , Wang Yu-Jie , Hsu Ya-Ting , Kao Ming-Ching , Wu Yang-Chang
Published: June 2015

Background. Purple sweet potato leaves (PSPL) are widely grown and are considered a healthy vegetable in Taiwan. PSPL contain a high content of flavonoids, and the boiling water-extracted PSPL (PSPLE) is believed to prevent metabolic syndrome. However, its efficacy has not yet been verified. Therefore, we investigated the effect of PSPLE on adipocytes.Methods. The differentiated 3T3-L1 cells used in this study were derived from preadipocytes that were differentiated into adipocytes using an adipogenic agent (insulin, dexamethasone, and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine); approximately 90% of the cells were differentiated using this method.Results. Treating the differentiated 3T3-L1 cells with PSPLE caused a dose-dependent decrease in the number of adipocytes rather than preadipocytes. In addition, treatment with PSPLE resulted in apoptosis of the differentiated 3T3-L1 cells as determined by DAPI analysis and flow cytometry. PSPLE also increased the expression of cleaved caspase-3 and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP). Furthermore, PSPLE induced downregulation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) gene expression in the differentiated 3T3-L1 cells.Conclusions. These results suggest that PSPLE not only induced apoptosis but also downregulated inflammation-associated genes in the differentiated 3T3-L1 cells.
Necrotizing Urethritis due toAerococcus urinae
Authors: Babaeer Abdulrahman A. , Nader Claudia , Iacoviello Vito , Tomera Kevin
Published: June 2015

A 49-year-old male presented to the emergency with hematuria and pain in the shaft of the penis for one day. The patient was found to be in a state of shock. The shaft of the penis and the scrotum were swollen and tender. No skin necrosis was observed and no crepitus was palpable. Serum white count (WBC) was 29.5 × 103/μL. A CT scan showed gas in the corpus spongiosum. Antibiotics were started with IV metronidazole, vancomycin, and piperacillin/tazobactam. Metronidazole was then replaced by clindamycin. Exploration was performed but no necrotic tissue was identified. Cystourethroscopy revealed dusky looking urethra. A suprapubic tube and a urethral catheter were placed in the bladder. WBC trended down to 13.9 × 103/μL on the fourth postoperative day. Urine culture grewAerococcus urinaeand blood cultures grewAlpha Hemolytic Streptococcus.On the sixth day, the patient was feeling worse and WBC increased. MRI revealed absent blood flow to the corpus spongiosum. Urethroscopy revealed necrosis of the urethra. Urethrectomy was performed via perineal approach. The patient immediately improved. The patient was discharged on the sixth postoperative day to continue ampicillin/sulbactam IV every 6 hours for a total of 4 weeks from the day of urethrectomy.
Encapsulated Urea-Kaolinite Nanocomposite for Controlled Release Fertilizer Formulations
Authors: Sempeho Siafu Ibahati , Kim Hee Taik , Mubofu Egid , Pogrebnoi Alexander , Shao Godlisten , Hilonga Askwar
Published: June 2015

Urea controlled release fertilizer (CRF) was prepared via kaolinite intercalation followed by gum arabic encapsulation in an attempt to reduce its severe losses associated with dissolution, hydrolysis, and diffusion. Following the beneficiation, the nonkaolinite fraction decreased from 39.58% to 0.36% whereas the kaolinite fraction increased from 60.42% to 99.64%. The X-ray diffractions showed that kaolinite was a major phase with FCC Bravais crystal lattice with particle sizes ranging between 14.6 nm and 92.5 nm. The particle size varied with intercalation ratios with methanol intercalated kaolinite > DMSO-kaolinite > urea-kaolinite (KPDMU). Following intercalation, SEM analysis revealed a change of order from thick compact overlapping euhedral pseudohexagonal platelets to irregular booklets which later transformed to vermiform morphology and dispersed euhedral pseudohexagonal platelets. Besides, dispersed euhedral pseudohexagonal platelets were seen to coexist with blocky-vermicular booklets. In addition, a unique brain-form agglomeration which transformed into roundish particles mart was observed after encapsulation. The nanocomposites decomposed between 48 and 600°C. Release profiles showed that 100% of urea was released in 97 hours from KPDMU while 87% was released in 150 hours from the encapsulated nanocomposite. The findings established that it is possible to use Pugu kaolinite and gum arabic biopolymer to prepare urea CRF formulations.
Arsenic Primes Human Bone Marrow CD34+ Cells for Erythroid Differentiation
Authors: Zhang Yuanyuan , Wang Shasha , Chen Chunyan , Wu Xiao , Zhang Qunye , Jiang Fan
Published: June 2015

Arsenic trioxide exhibits therapeutic effects on certain blood malignancies, at least partly by modulating cell differentiation. Previousin vitrostudies in human hematopoietic progenitor cells have suggested that arsenic may inhibit erythroid differentiation. However, these effects were all observed in the presence of arsenic compounds, while the concomitant cytostatic and cytotoxic actions of arsenic might mask a prodifferentiating activity. To eliminate the potential impacts of the cytostatic and cytotoxic actions of arsenic, we adopted a novel protocol by pretreating human bone marrow CD34+ cells with a low, noncytotoxic concentration of arsenic trioxide, followed by assaying the colony forming activities in the absence of the arsenic compound. Bone marrow specimens were obtained from chronic myeloid leukemia patients who achieved complete cytogenetic remission. CD34+ cells were isolated by magnetic-activated cell sorting. We discovered that arsenic trioxide enhanced the erythroid colony forming activity, which was accompanied by a decrease in the granulomonocytic differentiation function. Moreover, in erythroleukemic K562 cells, we showed that arsenic trioxide inhibited erythrocyte maturation, suggesting that arsenic might have biphasic effects on erythropoiesis. In conclusion, our data provided the first evidence showing that arsenic trioxide could prime human hematopoietic progenitor cells for enhanced erythroid differentiation.
Interrater Reliability of Motion Palpation in the Thoracic Spine
Authors: Walker Bruce F. , Koppenhaver Shane L. , Stomski Norman J. , Hebert Jeffrey J.
Published: June 2015

Introduction. Manual therapists commonly use assessments of intervertebral motion to determine the need for spinal manipulation, but the reliability of these procedures demonstrates conflicting results. The objectives of this study were to investigate the interrater reliability of thoracic spine motion palpation for perceived joint restriction and pain.Methods. Twenty-five participants between the ages of 18 and 70, with or without mid-back pain, were enrolled. Two raters motion palpated marked T5–T12 levels using two methods (standardised and pragmatic) and noted any restricted or painful segments. We calculated agreement between two raters by generating raw agreement percentages and Kappa coefficients with 95% confidence intervals.Results. There was poor to low level of agreement between the raters for both joint stiffness and pain localization using both pragmatic and standardized approaches. The results did not improve significantly when we conducted a post hoc analysis where three spinal levels were collapsed as one and right and left sides were also combined.Conclusions. The results for interrater reliability were poor for motion restriction and pain. These findings may have unfavourable implications for all manual therapists who use motion palpation to select patients appropriate for spinal manipulation.
Bioinformatics Analysis of Potential Candidates for Therapy of TDRD7 Deficiency-Induced Congenital Cataract
Authors: Shao De-Wang , Yang Chun-Yan , Liu Bing , Chen Wei , Wang Hua , Ru Hai-Xia , Zhang Min , Wang Ying
Published: June 2015

Aims: The aim of this study was to identify potential candidates and explore the possible mechanism in congenital cataract induced by tudor domain-containing 7 (TDRD7) deficiency. Methods: The gene expression profile GSE25812 generated from 18 samples was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between disease and normal groups were identified. Then, gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs were performed. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and transcription factor (TF) regulatory network were constructed. The modules in the PPI network were identified. Significant target genes were selected from the TF regulatory network. Results: A total of 329 DEGs were obtained, and downregulated DEGs were significantly enriched in biological processes including defense response and immune response. In the PPI network, high-degree genes of complement component 1, q subcomponent, A/B/C chain (C1QA/C1QB/C1QC), lymphocyte antigen 86 (LY86) and neuroblastoma RAS viral oncogene homolog (NRAS) were identified. From the TF regulatory network, the heat shock 27 kDa protein 1 (HSPB1) was the target of the estrogen receptor 1, and LY86 was the target of the v-myc avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog. Conclusion:HSPB1, NRAS, immune response, defense response and the related genes LY86, C1QA/C1QB/C1QC may play an important role in the development of congenital cataract induced by TDRD7 deficiency. However, further experiments are still needed.
Management of Vision-Threatening Complications of Vasoproliferative Tumors of the Retina
Authors: Garcia-Arumi Jose , Distefano Laura N. , Fonollosa Alex , Quijano Claudia , Corcostegui Borja
Published: June 2015

Aims: To report the management of vision-threatening complications of vasoproliferative tumors of the retina. Methods: Clinical records of 31 eyes of 30 patients treated at our centers from 1998 through 2013 were reviewed. The main outcome measures included: type of treatment, tumor regression, tumor relapse and final visual acuity. Results: Seventeen patients (57%) underwent vitrectomy for epimacular membranes (n = 10), rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (n = 2), vitreous hemorrhage (n = 2), tractional retinal detachment (n = 1), serous retinal detachment (n = 1) and subhyaloid hemorrhage (n = 1). After the initial treatment, 10 additional surgeries were performed for vitreoretinal complications. Tumor activity was treated in all eyes either with photocoagulation or cryotherapy. Control of tumor activity was achieved in all cases, after treatment of recurrences. There were no statistically significant differences between initial and final visual acuity (p = 0.437). Recurrence showed a statistically significant association with the presence of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (p = 0.024), tumor thickness (p = 0.026), basal diameter (p = 0.031), and use of photocoagulation alone as initial treatment (p = 0.006, logistic regression). Conclusion: In our series, more than half of vasoproliferative tumors of the retina required surgery as the initial treatment. Recurrence was associated with tumor size, presence of proliferative vitreoretinopathy, and use of photocoagulation alone as the initial treatment.
Infected Subgaleal Hematoma Following Blunt Head Trauma in a Child: Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Barry James , Fridley Jared , Sayama Christina , Lam Sandi
Published: June 2015

Subgaleal hematoma (SGH), an uncommon but potentially dangerous complication, has been reported to occur with delivery in newborns, as well as in young patients following head trauma. Infection of a SGH is extremely rare, especially in cases where no disruption of the skin barrier occurs. We report a case of an infected SGH in an 8-month-old following closed skull fracture. The patient presented with scalp swelling 1 day after falling 3 feet. Initial evaluation found a nondisplaced skull fracture on computed tomography. She was discharged following an uneventful 23-hour observation. Three days later, she developed symptoms concerning for a viral upper respiratory tract infection and received symptomatic treatment. Nine days after injury, she returned with continued fevers, irritability, and significant increase in scalp swelling. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a subgaleal abscess with osteomyelitis. Needle aspiration revealed an infected hematoma with cultures positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae, treated with intravenous ampicillin. Purulent drainage from an enlarging necrotic needle aspiration site required subsequent surgical debridement of the subgaleal abscess with drain placement. She recovered well following surgery and intravenous antibiotics. Physicians should be aware that SGH carries a risk of serious morbidity and mortality. SGH can serve as a nidus for infection, typically from skin barrier breakdown or, as in this case, hematogenous spread. Early recognition, appropriate antibiotic therapy, and surgical debridement are critical in treating infected SGH.
Detection of Patches of Outliers in Stochastic Volatility Processes
Authors: Motta Anderson C.O. , Hotta Luiz K.
Published: June 2015

Because the volatility of nancial asset returns tends to arrive in clusters, it is quite likely that outliers appear in patches. In this case, most of the statistical tests developed to detect outliers have low power. We propose to use the posterior distribution of the size of the outlier and of the probability of the presence of an outlier at each observation to detect and estimate the outlier. This sampling algorithm is an adapted version of the algorithm proposed by Justel et al. (2001) for autoregressive time-series models. Our proposed sampling procedure is applied to a simulated sample according to the stochastic volatility, a sample of the New York Stock Exchange daily returns, and a sample of the Brazilian S~ao Paulo Stock Exchange daily returns.
Entre partidos políticos, facções, redes e famílias: o que são os grupos políticos no sertão de Pernambuco?
Authors: Camargo Carla Souza
Published: June 2015

Este artigo descreve as configurações e práticas dos grupos políticos em um município do sertão de Pernambuco, a partir de uma pesquisa intensiva de campo.Tal município está localizado no Vale do Pajeú e sua população é composta por cerca 79.000 habitantes e 55.000 eleitores. A principal característica da política eleitoral é a existência de dois grupos políticos que disputam cargos eletivos; a cada um destes grupos é reconhecido um líder, assim como famílias e partidos políticos que lhes são vinculados. A inteligibilidade da atuação dos grupos políticos nesta abordagem busca levar em conta sua conjugação complexa e mutável, na qual nenhum dos elementos deve ser considerado isoladamente.