bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating variation in use of definitive therapy and risk-adjusted prostate cancer mortality in England and the USA
Authors: Sachdeva Ashwin , van der Meulen Jan H , Emberton Mark , Cathcart Paul J
Published: February 2015

Objectives

Prostate cancer mortality (PCM) in the USA is among the lowest in the world, whereas PCM in England is among the highest in Europe. This paper aims to assess the association of variation in use of definitive therapy on risk-adjusted PCM in England as compared with the USA.

Design

Observational study.

Setting

Cancer registry data from England and the USA.

Participants

Men diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) in England and the USA between 2004 and 2008.

Outcome measures

Competing-risks survival analyses to estimate subhazard ratios (SHR) of PCM adjusted for age, ethnicity, year of diagnosis, Gleason score (GS) and clinical tumour (cT) stage.

Results

222 163 men were eligible for inclusion. Compared with American patients, English patients were more likely to present at an older age (70–79 years: England 44.2%, USA 29.3%, p<0.001), with higher tumour stage (cT3-T4: England 25.1%, USA 8.6%, p<0.001) and higher GS (GS 8–10: England 20.7%, USA 11.2%, p<0.001). They were also less likely to receive definitive therapy (England 38%, USA 77%, p<0.001).

English patients were more likely to die of PCa (SHR=1.9, 95% CI 1.7 to 2.0, p<0.001). However, this difference was no longer statistically significant when also adjusted for use of definitive therapy (SHR=1.0, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.1, p=0.3).

Conclusions

Risk-adjusted PCM is significantly higher in England compared with the USA. This difference may be explained by less frequent use of definitive therapy in England.
Statin use and risk of haemorrhagic stroke in a community-based cohort of postmenopausal women: an observational study from the Women's Health Initiative
Authors: Salmoirago-Blotcher Elena , Hovey Kathleen M , Andrews Christopher A , Robinson Jennifer G , Johnson Karen C , Wassertheil-Smoller Sylvia , Crawford Sybil , Qi Lihong , Martin Lisa W , Ockene Judith , Manson JoAnn E
Published: February 2015

Objectives

To determine whether statin treatment is associated with increased risk of haemorrhagic stroke (HS) in older women. A secondary objective was to evaluate HS risk in users of combined statin and antiplatelet treatment.

Design

Observational study: secondary data analysis from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trials.

Setting

Women were recruited from 40 participating sites.

Participants

Cohort of 68 132 women followed through 2005 (parent study) and for an additional 5 years in the extension study.

Main outcome measures

Statin use was assessed at baseline and at follow-up visits (1, 3, 6 and 9 years). Women brought medications in original containers for inventory. Strokes were ascertained semiannually and centrally adjudicated. Risk of HS by statin use (time-varying covariate, with the ‘no use’ category as the referent) was estimated from Cox proportional hazard regression models adjusted for age (model 1); risk factors for HS (model 2); and possible confounders by indication (model 3). Prespecified subgroup analyses were conducted by use of antiplatelet medications.

Results

Final models included 67 882 women (mean age, 63±7 years). Over a mean follow-up of 12 years, incidence rates of HS were 6.4/10 000 person-years among statin users and 5.0/10 000 person-years among non-users (p=0.11). The unadjusted risk of HS in statin users was 1.21 (CI 0.96 to 1.53); after adjusting for age and HS risk factors the HR was 0.98 (CI 0.76 to 1.26). Risk of HS was higher among women on statins and antiplatelet agents versus women on antiplatelet medications alone (HR=1.59; CI 1.03 to 2.47); p for interaction=0.011.

Conclusions

This retrospective analysis did not show an association between statin use and HS risk among older women. HS risk was higher among women taking statins with antiplatelet agents. These findings warrant further investigation, given potential implications for clinical decision-making.
A UK cost of care model for inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Ghosh Nivedita , Premchand Purushothaman
Published: February 2015

Objectives

There are an estimated 620 000 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the UK. The rising incidence of IBD combined with its incurability has significant cost implications. The aim of this cost of care model was to calculate the annual cost per adult patient of treating ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) from a NHS perspective, and to enable areas of potential cost savings to be explored.

Design

The cost of IBD was calculated by summing the costs of treatment, treatment side effects and disease-related complications, accounting for the proportions of patients incurring these costs. Default input values for costs, the percentage of patients receiving each treatment, and the percentage of patients experiencing treatment-related side effects or disease-related complications were determined from national sources and published literature. However, the model permitted the user to input local or alternative data.

Setting

The model was designed to be used by NHS trusts in the UK.

Results

Using default input values, the annual cost of treating any patient with UC was estimated to be £3084. For a patient with UC in remission, in relapse with mild-to-moderate UC or in relapse with severe UC, annual cost per patient was estimated to be £1693, £2903 and £10 760, respectively. The annual cost for any patient with CD was estimated to be £6156 (£1800 for patients in remission; £10 513 for patients in relapse).

Conclusions

While IBD remains a costly condition with modest potential cost savings, this model facilitates calculation of annual costs per patient with UC and CD, and its customisability will help hospitals identify areas where savings could be made.
Cytokeratin 7 negative invasive breast carcinoma: clinicopathological and immunohistochemical analysis of 14 cases with clinical follow-up
Authors: Moatamed Neda A , Wu Annie , Sarah Khaled , Apple Sophia K
Published: February 2015

Cytokeratin 7 (CK 7) negative breast tumours are reported to occur rarely. We studied 14 CK 7 negative cases of primary invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) detected during sentinel lymph node metastases work-up and immunohistochemistry panel in the work-up of metastatic carcinoma of unknown origin. Axillary lymph node metastases were present in seven patients (50%). Oestrogen receptor (ER) was strongly positive in all cases: progesterone receptor in 78%, Her-2/neu in 7% and high proliferation index with Ki-67 >20% was seen in 71% of the cases.

Metastatic and/or recurrence were found in 8 of 14 patients (57%) with the mean clinical follow-up of 55 months. Metastatic sites include multiple bones, brain, spinal cord, liver, pancreas, ovary, lung, lymph node other than ipsilateral axillary and skin. 12 of 14 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. All 14 patients received hormonal therapy and radiation therapy. Morphologically, IDC with neuroendocrine features was noted in 57%. Synaptophysin stain was positive in 57% and chromogranin was positive in 21% of the cases. In conclusion, these CK 7 negative breast carcinomas were ER positive, mostly Her-2/neu negative, had high Ki-67 and frequently showed neuroendocrine differentiation. More than half of these cases had a poor outcome.
Low-grade fibromatosis-like spindle cell carcinomas of the breast are molecularly exiguous
Authors: Takano Elena A , Hunter Sally M , Campbell Ian G , Fox Stephen B
Published: February 2015

Background

Low-grade fibromatosis-like spindle cell carcinomas are very rare breast carcinomas comprising <0.5% of all breast cancers. They demonstrate immunohistochemical (IHC) features of basal-like/metaplastic breast carcinomas, but the underlying molecular characteristics are unknown. We hypothesised that, as with IHC similarities, there may be common genomic alterations between spindle cell and basal-like/metaplastic carcinomas.

Methods and results

Genomic mutational profile and genomic copy number aberration (CNA) analyses were performed on three cases of this unusual entity, and findings were compared with that reported for basal-like/metaplastic breast carcinomas. Copy number analyses by molecular inversion probe assays of the three spindle cell carcinoma samples revealed little overall genomic CNAs with only minor changes identified (fraction of the genome altered; 1.3%–6.4%), but with a common 9p21.3 loss in 2 out of 3 samples, withCDKN2A(p16) being a likely candidate. No areas of commonality were identified in an in silico analysis compared with publically available basal-like/metaplastic carcinoma copy number data.

Conclusions

These tumours are characterised by low genomic instability, and share no CNAs with other metaplastic carcinomas. These findings favour this entity being a unique group genotype and belie their apparent homogeneous morphology and phenotype.
Beyond the usual suspects: using political science to enhance public health policy making
Authors: Fafard Patrick
Published: February 2015

That public health policy and practice should be evidence based is a seemingly uncontroversial claim. Yet governments and citizens routinely reject the best available evidence and prefer policies that reflect other considerations and concerns. The most common explanations of this paradox emphasise scientific disagreement, the power of ‘politics’, or the belief that scientists and policymakers live in two separate communities that do not communicate. However, another explanation may lie in the limits of the very notion of evidence-based policy making. In fact, the social science discipline of political science offers a rich body of theory and empirical evidence to explain the apparent gap between evidence and policy. This essay introduces this literature with a particular emphasis on a recent book by Katherine Smith,Beyond evidence-based policy in public health: the interplay of ideas. As the title suggests, Smith argues that what matters for public health policy is less scientific evidence and much more a more complex set of ideas. Based on detailed case studies of UK tobacco and health inequality policy, Smith offers a richly textured alternative account of what matters for policy making. This excellent book is part of a small but growing body of political science research on public health policy that draws on contemporary theories of policy change and governance more generally. This essay provides a window on this research, describes some examples, but emphasises that public health scholars and practitioners too often retain a narrow if not naive view of the policy-making process.
An evaluation of the burden placed on the General Internal Medicine team at the Role 3 Hospital in Camp Bastion by UK Armed Forces personnel presenting with symptoms resulting from previously identified disease
Authors: Cox Andrew T , D Linton T , Bailey K , Stacey M , Sharma S , Thomas L , Wilson D
Published: February 2015

Introduction

During previous deployments of the British Armed Forces, a significant proportion of aeromedical evacuations were accounted for with recurrent symptoms from a known disease that had often triggered occupational medical downgrading. Many servicemen and women had deployed inappropriately, and by doing so became a burden on the deployed medical facilities. Commanders performing systematic medical risk assessments prior to departure might have prevented these individuals from deploying. This study was designed to assess the avoidable burden from recurrent disease during the current Afghanistan operation.

Methods

A cross-sectional study reviewing the hospital and computerised primary care medical records of consecutive patients admitted under the General Physicians to the Role 3 Hospital in Camp Bastion over 9 months from April 2011. The occupational medical grading, diagnosis, disposal and whether the disease was recurrent were recorded.

Results

Of 270 patients admitted, 14 (5.2%) were medically downgraded. The computerised records were unavailable for 31 (11.5%) patients. All those patients who were medically downgraded were graded ‘Medically Limited Deployable’. In the downgraded group, only one patient presented with recurrent symptoms from their pre-existing condition (Crohn's disease). In the non-downgraded group, two patients presented with symptoms relating to their previous diagnoses. One presented with a second heat illness and should have been medically downgraded and not have been deployed, while the other patient had previously been investigated for recurrent syncope and was upgraded 6 months prior to deploying. All three patients underwent aeromedical evacuation but only two of these were considered to have been avoidable.

Discussion

The number of general medical admissions to the Role 3 Hospital due to a pre-existing disease is very low.
Relation between dietary pattern analysis (principal component analysis) and body mass index: a 5-year follow-up study in a Belgian military population
Authors: Mullie Patrick , Clarys P
Published: February 2015

Introduction

Increasing body mass index (BMI) has been related to many chronic diseases. Knowledge of nutritional determinants of BMI increase may be important to detect persons at risk.

Methods

A longitudinal prospective study design was used in 805 Belgian soldiers. Daily nutrition was recorded with a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Weight and height were recorded from medical military data and principal component analysis was used to detect dietary patterns.

Results

During the 5 years follow-up, mean BMI increased from 25.8 (±3.3) kg/m2to 27.1 (±3.6) kg/m2(p<0.05). Consequently, the prevalence of being overweight and obesity increased from 46.2% and 9.6% to 51.6% and 19.9% (p<0.05), respectively. Mean (SD) weight gain differed between the BMI categories at baseline with a respective weight gain of 3.8 (±3.1) kg for normal weight at baseline, 4.2 (±3.2) kg for overweight and 5.1 (±3.4) kg for obesity (p for trend <0.05). Three dietary patterns were detected by principal component analysis: Meat, Sweet and Healthy dietary pattern. In energy-unadjusted and adjusted linear regressions, no dietary pattern was associated with BMI increase.

Conclusions

No specific dietary pattern was related to BMI increase. Prevention of obesity should focus on total energy intake at all BMI categories.
Republished: Improvement of sudden bilateral hearing loss after vertebral artery stenting
Authors: Kim Ji Hwa , Roh Kyung Jin , Suh Sang Hyun , Lee Kyung-Yul
Published: February 2015

Bilateral deafness is a rare but possible symptom of vertebrobasilar ischemia. We report a case of sudden bilateral sensorineural hearing loss caused by bilateral vertebral artery (VA) occlusion which dramatically improved after stenting. A 54-year-old man was admitted with sudden onset of bilateral deafness, vertigo, and drowsy mental status. Brain diffusion-weighted MRI showed acute infarction involving both the posterior inferior cerebellar artery and left posterior cerebral artery territory. Cerebral angiography showed bilateral distal VA occlusion, and emergency intracranial stenting was performed in the left VA. After reperfusion therapy his symptoms gradually improved, including hearing impairment. Endovascular stenting may be helpful in a patient with sudden deafness caused by bilateral VA occlusion.
Diary of a parliamentary intern
Authors: Jordan Hannah
Published: February 2015

Hannah Jordan, parliamentary intern to Lord Trees, is in thoughtful mood as she reflects on February's events, both personal and professional.
DETERMINANTS OF INNOVATIVE ACTIVITIES: EVIDENCE FROM EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA REGION
Authors: LAU CHI KEUNG MARCO , YANG FU STEVE , ZHANG ZHE , LEUNG VINCENT K. K.
Published: February 2015

Recent studies in the innovation literature show that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) enhances innovations in recipient countries through spill-over effects. In this paper we extend the existing literature by incorporating the corruption index in the estimation procedure. Using a cross-country analysis from the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, covering 57 countries over the period of 1995–2010, we find no evidence of FDI spill-over effects on innovations, when corruption is endogenously modelled in the regression. Interestingly, we find that corruption and expenditure on education sector are positively related to the number of patents applications, suggesting anti-corruption programs encourage innovations that promote economic growth. Our study shed light on the national innovations and anti-corruption programs.
ARE ISLAMIC BANKS SUBJECT TO DEPOSITOR DISCIPLINE?
Authors: AYSAN AHMET F. , DISLI MUSTAFA , OZTURK HUSEYIN , TURHAN IBRAHIM M.
Published: February 2015

We look at market discipline in the Islamic deposit market of Turkey for the period after the 2000 crisis. We find support for quantity based disciplining of Islamic banks through the capital ratio. The evidence for price disciplining is, however, less convincing. In addition, we also look at the effect of the deposit insurance reform in which the dual deposit insurance was revised and all banks were put under the same deposit insurance company in December 2005. We observe that the reform increased quantity based disciplining in the Turkish Islamic deposit market.
Local string models and moduli stabilisation
Authors: Quevedo Fernando
Published: February 2015

A brief overview is presented of the progress made during the past few years on the general structure of local models of particle physics from string theory including: moduli stabilisation, supersymmetry breaking, global embedding in compact Calabi–Yau compactifications and potential cosmological implications. Type IIB D-brane constructions and the Large Volume Scenario (LVS) are discussed in some detail emphasising the recent achievements and the main open questions.
D0 diffractive summary
Authors: Rangel M. S.
Published: February 2015

We present a summary of results from studies of diffraction at the Fermilab Tevatron collider by the D0 experiment. These include the elastic scattering measurement and studies of dijet exclusive production using Run II data. A brief description of Run I results is also given.
Efficient quantum dialogue without information leakage
Authors: Yin Ai-Han , Tang Zhi-Hui , Chen Dong
Published: February 2015

A two-step quantum dialogue scheme is put forward with a class of three-qubit W state and quantum dense coding. Each W state can carry three bits of secret information and the measurement result is encrypted without information leakage. Furthermore, we utilize the entangle properties of W state and decoy photon checking technique to realize three-time channel detection, which can improve the efficiency and security of the scheme.
A Four-Leaf Chaotic Attractor of a Three-Dimensional Dynamical System
Authors: Miyaji Tomoyuki , Okamoto Hisashi , Craik Alex D. D.
Published: February 2015

A three-dimensional autonomous dynamical system proposed by Pehlivan is untypical in simultaneously possessing both unbounded and chaotic solutions. Here, this topic is studied in some depth, both numerically and analytically. We find, by standard methods, that four-leaf chaotic orbits result from a period-doubling cascade; we identify unstable fixed points and both stable and unstable periodic orbits; and we examine how initial data determines whether orbits approach infinity or a stable periodic orbit. Further, we describe and apply a strict numerical verification method that rigorously proves the existence of sequences of period doublings.
Volume-Preserving Diffeomorphisms with Various Limit Shadowing
Authors: Lee Manseob
Published: February 2015

We present the following: (1) if a volume-preserving diffeomorphism has C1-robustly various limit shadowing property, then it is Anosov; (2) C1-generically, if a volume-preserving diffeomorphism has various limit shadowing property, then it is Anosov.
Bifurcation Analysis of a Class of (n + 1)-Dimension Internet Congestion Control Systems
Authors: Xu Wenying , Cao Jinde , Xiao Min
Published: February 2015

This paper investigates the stability and Hopf bifurcation induced by the time delay in a class of (n + 1)-dimension Internet congestion control systems. Although there are several previous works on simplified models of Internet congestion systems with only one or two sources and such works can reflect partly dynamical behaviors of real Internet systems, some complicated problems may inevitably be overlooked. Hence, it is meaningful to study high-dimensional models which stand closer to general realistic large-scale Internet congestion networks. By analyzing the distribution of the associated characteristic roots, we can obtain conditions for keeping systems stable. When the delay increases and exceeds a critical value, the system will undergo a Hopf bifurcation. Furthermore, the explicit formulas to determine the stability and the direction of the bifurcating periodic solution are derived by applying the normal form theory and the center manifold reduction. Finally, two numerical examples are given to verify our theoretical analysis.
Saddle-Node Bifurcation and Vibrational Resonance in a Fractional System with an Asymmetric Bistable Potential
Authors: Yang J. H. , Sanjuán Miguel A. F. , Tian F. , Yang H. F.
Published: February 2015

We investigate the saddle-node bifurcation and vibrational resonance in a fractional system that has an asymmetric bistable potential. Due to the asymmetric nature of the potential function, the response and its amplitude closely depend on the potential well where the motion takes place. And consequently for numerical simulations, the initial condition is a key and important factor. To overcome this technical problem, a method is proposed to calculate the bifurcation and response amplitude numerically. The numerical results are in good agreement with the analytical predictions, indicating the validity of the numerical and theoretical analysis. The results show that the fractional-order of the fractional system induces one saddle-node bifurcation, while the asymmetric parameter associated to the asymmetric nature of the potential function induces two saddle-node bifurcations. When the asymmetric parameter vanishes, the saddle-node bifurcation turns into a pitchfork bifurcation. There are three kinds of vibrational resonance existing in the system. The first one is induced by the high-frequency signal. The second one is induced by the fractional-order. The third one is induced by the asymmetric parameter. We believe that the method and the results shown in this paper might be helpful for the analysis of the response problem of nonlinear dynamical systems.
Effect of Nonlinear Dissipation on the Basin Boundaries of a Driven Two-Well Modified Rayleigh–Duffing Oscillator
Authors: Miwadinou C. H. , Monwanou A. V. , Chabi Orou J. B.
Published: February 2015

This paper considers the effect of nonlinear dissipation on the basin boundaries of a driven two-well modified Rayleigh–Duffing oscillator where pure cubic, unpure cubic, pure quadratic and unpure quadratic nonlinearities are considered. By analyzing the potential, an analytic expression is found for the homoclinic orbit. The Melnikov criterion is used to examine a global homoclinic bifurcation and transition to chaos. Unpure quadratic parameter and parametric excitation amplitude effects are found on the critical Melnikov amplitude μ cr . Finally, the phase space of initial conditions is carefully examined in order to analyze the effect of the nonlinear damping, and particularly how the basin boundaries become fractalized.
Integral Step Size Makes a Difference to Bifurcations of a Discrete-Time Hindmarsh–Rose Model
Authors: Yu Yang , Cao Hongjun
Published: February 2015

A three-dimensional discrete-time Hindmarsh–Rose model obtained by the forward Euler scheme is investigated in this paper. When the integral step size is chosen as a bifurcation parameter, conditions of existence for the fold bifurcation, the flip bifurcation, and the Hopf bifurcation are derived by using the center manifold theorem, bifurcation theory and a criterion of Hopf bifurcation. Numerical simulations including time series, bifurcation diagrams, Lyapunov exponents, phase portraits show the consistence with the analytical analysis. Our research results demonstrate that the integral step size makes a difference corresponding to local and global bifurcations of the three-dimensional discrete-time Hindmarsh–Rose model. These results can supply a solid analytical basis to the study of Hindmarsh–Rose model, and it is necessary to illustrate how much the integral step size is adopted in advance when numerical solutions or approximate solutions of the original continuous-time model is concerned.
Alexander invariants for virtual knots
Authors: Boden Hans U. , Dies Emily , Gaudreau Anne Isabel , Gerlings Adam , Harper Eric , Nicas Andrew J.
Published: February 2015

Given a virtual knot K, we introduce a new group-valued invariant VGK called the virtual knot group, and we use the elementary ideals of VGK to define invariants of K called the virtual Alexander invariants. For instance, associated to the zeroth ideal is a polynomial HK(s, t, q) in three variables which we call the virtual Alexander polynomial, and we show that it is closely related to the generalized Alexander polynomial GK(s, t) introduced by Sawollek; Kauffman and Radford; and Silver and Williams. We define a natural normalization of the virtual Alexander polynomial and show it satisfies a skein formula. We also introduce the twisted virtual Alexander polynomial associated to a virtual knot K and a representation ϱ : VGK → GLn(R), and we define a normalization of the twisted virtual Alexander polynomial. As applications we derive bounds on the virtual crossing numbers of virtual knots from the virtual Alexander polynomial and twisted virtual Alexander polynomial.
A toy cosmological model with dynamical backreaction
Authors: Drobov Ivan V. , Paklin Nikolai N. , Tegai Sergey Ph.
Published: February 2015

In this paper, the Buchert averaging of the Dust Shell Universe is explicitly carried out. The dynamical backreaction does not vanish in such a model. Instead, it acts as the possible source of the negative deceleration. However, the parameters of the model allowing negative deceleration lead to mean overdensities with r200 > 10 h -1 Mpc and peculiar velocities as high as the fifth part of the speed of light. With more realistic parameter values the averaged model behavior is close to Friedmannian.
Study of alpha-decay half-lives with deformed, oriented daughter nuclei
Authors: Naderi D. , Zargooshi M.
Published: February 2015

In this paper, Coulomb and proximity potential model has been applied to calculate the half-lives of alpha-decay for isotopes around N = Z = 50. Using this model, we investigated the influence of deformation and orientation of daughter nucleus on alpha-decay half-lives. Two orientations (90° and 180°) with quadrupole deformation are applied to study the role of daughter orientation in alpha-decay process. It is found that the deformation and orientation of daughter nucleus affects the alpha-decay half-life and changes the slope and intercept of linear relation between log10(T1/2) and Q-1/2.
Dark matter, dark energy and gravity
Authors: Robson B. A.
Published: February 2015

Within the framework of the Generation Model (GM) of particle physics, gravity is identified with the very weak, universal and attractive residual color interactions acting between the colorless particles of ordinary matter (electrons, neutrons and protons), which are composite structures. This gravitational interaction is mediated by massless vector bosons (hypergluons), which self-interact so that the interaction has two additional features not present in Newtonian gravitation: (i) asymptotic freedom and (ii) color confinement. These two additional properties of the gravitational interaction negate the need for the notions of both dark matter and dark energy.
Empirical Evaluation of Generic Weighted Cubicle Pattern and LBP Derivatives for Abnormality Detection in Mammogram Images
Authors: Suruliandi A. , Murugeswari G. , Arockia Jansi Rani P.
Published: February 2015

Digital image processing techniques are very useful in abnormality detection in digital mammogram images. Nowadays, texture-based image segmentation of digital mammogram images is very popular due to its better accuracy and precision. Local binary pattern (LBP) descriptor has attracted many researchers working in the field of texture analysis of digital images. Because of its success, many texture descriptors have been introduced as variants of LBP. In this work, we propose a novel texture descriptor called generic weighted cubicle pattern (GWCP) and we analyzed the proposed operator for texture image classification. We also performed abnormality detection through mammogram image segmentation using k-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) algorithm and compared the performance of the proposed texture descriptor with LBP and other variants of LBP namely local ternary pattern (LTPT), extended local texture pattern (ELTP) and local texture pattern (LTPS). For evaluation, we used the performance metrics such as accuracy, error rate, sensitivity, specificity, under estimation fraction and over estimation fraction. The results prove that the proposed method outperforms other descriptors in terms of abnormality detection in mammogram images.
Computer Vision-Based Real-Time 3D Gesture Recognition Using Depth Image
Authors: Heickal Hasnain , Zhang Tao , Hasanuzzaman Md.
Published: February 2015

Gesture is one of the fundamental ways of human machine natural interaction. To understand gesture, the system should be able to interpret 3D movements of human. This paper presents a computer vision-based real-time 3D gesture recognition system using depth image which tracks 3D joint position of head, neck, shoulder, arms, hands and legs. This tracking is done by Kinect motion sensor with OpenNI API and 3D motion gesture is recognized using the movement trajectory of those joints. User to Kinect sensor distance is adapted using proposed center of gravity (COG) correction method and 3D joint position is normalized using proposed joint position normalization method. For gesture learning and recognition, data mining classification algorithms such as Naive Bayes and neural network is used. The system is trained to recognize 12 gestures used by umpires in a cricket match. It is trained and tested using about 2000 training instances for 12 gesture of 15 persons. The system is tested using 5-fold cross validation method and achieved 98.11% accuracy with neural network and 88.84% accuracy with Naive Bayes classification method.
Implementation of a quantum $\sqrt{\rm_{swap}}$ gate for two distant atoms trapped in separate cavities
Authors: Lin Xiu , Yang Rong-Can , Chen Xiang
Published: February 2015

We present a scheme to implement a quantum [Formula: see text] gate for two-atom trapped in distant cavities connected via an optical fiber. In the whole process, the atomic system, the cavity modes and the fiber are not excited ensuring that the operation is insensitive to atomic spontaneous emission, cavity decay and the fiber loss. This scheme is significant for distributed and scalable quantum computation.
Novel Hierarchical TiO2/C Nanocomposite with Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance
Authors: Gao Yupeng , Chen Hao , Zhou Aiguo , Li Zhengyang , Liu Fanfan , Hu Qianku , Wang Libo
Published: February 2015

Hierarchical TiO 2/carbon nanocomposites were synthesized by oxidation of two-dimensional (2D) Ti 3 C 2 nanosheets at different temperatures. Crystal structures and morphologies of the obtained samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that 2D Ti 3 C 2 nanosheets are partially oxidized to form a novel hierarchical nanostructure which is composed of carbon nanosheets and TiO 2 nanoparticles. With the calcination temperature increasing, the crystal structure of TiO 2 nanoparticles changes from anatase to rutile and the hierarchical structure was gradually destroyed. The photodegradation results reveal that the samples obtained at 200°C and 285°C show much better photocatalytic properties than P25. And meanwhile the photocatalytic property will become worse with the increase in calcinations temperature.
Random graphs, weak coarse embeddings, and higher index theory
Authors: Willett Rufus
Published: February 2015

This paper studies higher index theory for a random sequence of bounded degree, finite graphs with diameter tending to infinity. We show that in a natural model for such random sequences the following hold almost surely: the coarse Baum–Connes assembly map is injective; the coarse Baum–Connes assembly map is not surjective; the maximal coarse Baum–Connes assembly map is an isomorphism. These results are closely tied to issues of expansion in graphs: in particular, we also show that such random sequences almost surely do not have geometric property (T), a strong form of expansion.

The key geometric ingredients in the proof are due to Mendel and Naor: in our context, their results imply that a random sequence of graphs almost surely admits a weak form of coarse embedding into Hilbert space.
Slow volume growth for Reeb flows on spherizations and contact Bott–Samelson theorems
Authors: Frauenfelder Urs , Labrousse Clémence , Schlenk Felix
Published: February 2015

We give a uniform lower bound for the polynomial complexity of Reeb flows on the spherization (S*M, ξ) over a closed manifold. Our measure for the dynamical complexity of Reeb flows is slow volume growth, a polynomial version of topological entropy, and our lower bound is in terms of the polynomial growth of the homology of the based loop space of M. As an application, we extend the Bott–Samelson theorem from geodesic flows to Reeb flows: If (S*M, ξ) admits a periodic Reeb flow, or, more generally, if there exists a positive Legendrian loop of a fiber [Formula: see text], then M is a circle or the fundamental group of M is finite and the integral cohomology ring of the universal cover of M agrees with that of a compact rank one symmetric space.
On hypergraph coloring and 3-uniform linear hypergraph set-indexers of a graph
Authors: Paul Viji , Germina K A
Published: February 2015

For a graph G = (V, E) and a nonempty set X, a linear hypergraph set-indexer (LHSI) is a function f : V(G) → 2X satisfying the following conditions: (i) f is injective (ii) the ordered pair Hf(G) = (X, f(V)), where f(V) = {f(v) : v ∈ V(G)}, is a linear hypergraph (iii) the induced function f⊕ : E → 2X defined by f⊕(uv) = f(u) ⊕ f(v), for all uv ∈ E is injective and (iv) Hf⊕(G) = (X, f⊕(E)), where f⊕(E) = {f⊕(e) : e ∈ E}, is a linear hypergraph. It is shown that a 3-uniform LHSI of a graph, corresponding to upper LHSI number, is unique up to isomorphism and possible relations between the coloring numbers of a given graph and the two linear set-indexing hypergraphs are established. Also, we show that the two hypergraphs associated with an extremal 3-uniform LHSI of a graph are 2-colorable and the corresponding induced edge hypergraphs are self-dual.
SYNTHESIS, GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES OF p-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID ADDITION WITH THE GUANIDINIUM CARBONATE SINGLE-CRYSTALS
Authors: DHAVAMURTHY M. , PERAMAIYAN G. , BABU S. SYED SURESH , MOHAN R.
Published: February 2015

An organic nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal of Guanidinium carbonate (GUCT) was synthesized by the slow evaporation solution growth method using water as solvent. The GUCT crystalized in the tetragonal crystal system with non-centrosymmetric space group P43212, which has been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystalline perfection of the grown crystals has been analyzed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) rocking curve measurements. The UV-Vis-NIR spectrum studies have been carried out to identify the optical transmittance, lower cut off wavelength and optical band gap energy of GUCT crystal. The luminescence spectrum of crystal contains a green emission band with λmax, 545 nm. From thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), the thermal stability of the grown crystal is found to be 117°C. The dielectric tensor components ε11 and ε22 of the grown crystal were evaluated as a function of frequency at 40°C. The mechanical strength and its parameters of the grown crystals have been determined by Vickers' microhardness test. The Kurtz-powder technique reveals that the second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of the grown crystal is 5.2 times greater than that of KDP.
Carbon monoxide reverses adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance upon loss of ovarian function
Authors: Choi Eun-Kyung , Park Hyun-Jung , Sul Ok-Joo , Rajasekaran Monisha , Yu Rina , Choi Hye-Seon
Published: February 2015

We hypothesized that carbon monoxide (CO) might suppress chronic inflammation, which led to metabolic disturbances. Ovariectomy (OVX) was performed in mice to mimic chronic inflammation secondary to loss of ovarian function. OVX increased fat mass and the infiltration of highly inflammatory CD11c cells into adipose tissue (AT), resulting in a disturbance of glucose metabolism. Treatment of CO attenuated these; CO decreased recruitment of CD11c-expressing cells in AT and reduced expression of CD11c in bone marrow-derived macrophages, protecting them from M1 polarization. Upregulated cGMP and decreased reactive oxygen species were responsible for the inhibitory activity of CO on CD11c expression; knockdown of soluble guanylate cyclase or heme oxygenase-1 using small interfering RNAs reduced this inhibition substantially. Improved OVX-induced insulin resistance (IR) by CO was highly associated with its activity to attenuate AT inflammation. Our results suggest a therapeutic value of CO to treat postmenopausal IR by reducing AT inflammation.
β-Adrenergic stimulation and rapid pacing mutually promote heterogeneous electrical failure and ventricular fibrillation in the globally ischemic heart
Authors: Garg Vivek , Taylor Tyson , Warren Mark , Venable Paul , Sciuto Katie , Shibayama Junko , Zaitsev Alexey
Published: February 2015

Global ischemia, catecholamine surge, and rapid heart rhythm (RHR) due to ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation (VF) are the three major factors of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Loss of excitability culminating in global electrical failure (asystole) is the major adverse outcome of SCA with increasing prevalence worldwide. The roles of catecholamines and RHR in the electrical failure during SCA remain unclear. We hypothesized that both β-adrenergic stimulation (βAS) and RHR accelerate electrical failure in the globally ischemic heart. We performed optical mapping of the action potential (OAP) in the right ventricular (RV) and left (LV) ventricular epicardium of isolated rabbit hearts subjected to 30-min global ischemia. Hearts were paced at a cycle length of either 300 or 200 ms, and either in the presence or in the absence of β-agonist isoproterenol (30 nM). 2,3-Butanedione monoxime (20 mM) was used to reduce motion artifact. We found that RHR and βAS synergistically accelerated the decline of the OAP upstroke velocity and the progressive expansion of inexcitable regions. Under all conditions, inexcitability developed faster in the LV than in the RV. At the same time, both RHR and βAS shortened the time to VF (TVF) during ischemia. Moreover, the time at which 10% of the mapped LV area became inexcitable strongly correlated with TVF ( R2 = 0 .72, P < 0.0001). We conclude that both βAS and RHR are major factors of electrical depression and failure in the globally ischemic heart and may contribute to adverse outcomes of SCA such as asystole and recurrent/persistent VF.
Oxidized glutathione (GSSG) inhibits epithelial sodium channel activity in primary alveolar epithelial cells
Authors: Downs Charles A. , Kreiner Lisa , Zhao Xing-Ming , Trac Phi , Johnson Nicholle M. , Hansen Jason M. , Brown Lou Ann , Helms My N.
Published: February 2015

Amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na+channels (ENaC) regulate fluid balance in the alveoli and are regulated by oxidative stress. Since glutathione (GSH) is the predominant antioxidant in the lungs, we proposed that changes in glutathione redox potential (Eh) would alter cell signaling and have an effect on ENaC open probability ( Po). In the present study, we used single channel patch-clamp recordings to examine the effect of oxidative stress, via direct application of glutathione disulfide (GSSG), on ENaC activity. We found a linear decrease in ENaC activity as the GSH/GSSG Ehbecame less negative ( n = 21; P < 0.05). Treatment of 400 μM GSSG to the cell bath significantly decreased ENaC Pofrom 0.39 ± 0.06 to 0.13 ± 0.05 ( n = 8; P < 0.05). Likewise, back-filling recording electrodes with 400 μM GSSG reduced ENaC Pofrom 0.32 ± 0.08 to 0.17 ± 0.05 ( n = 10; P < 0.05), thus implicating GSSG as an important regulatory factor. Biochemical assays indicated that oxidizing potentials promote S-glutathionylation of ENaC and irreversible oxidation of cysteine residues with N-ethylmaleimide blocked the effects of GSSG on ENaC Po. Additionally, real-time imaging studies showed that GSSG impairs alveolar fluid clearance in vivo as opposed to GSH, which did not impair clearance. Taken together, these data show that glutathione Ehis an important determinant of alveolar fluid clearance in vivo.
Lempel-Ziv complexity of cortical activity during sleep and waking in rats
Authors: Abásolo Daniel , Simons Samantha , Morgado da Silva Rita , Tononi Giulio , Vyazovskiy Vladyslav V.
Published: February 2015

Understanding the dynamics of brain activity manifested in the EEG, local field potentials (LFP), and neuronal spiking is essential for explaining their underlying mechanisms and physiological significance. Much has been learned about sleep regulation using conventional EEG power spectrum, coherence, and period-amplitude analyses, which focus primarily on frequency and amplitude characteristics of the signals and on their spatio-temporal synchronicity. However, little is known about the effects of ongoing brain state or preceding sleep-wake history on the nonlinear dynamics of brain activity. Recent advances in developing novel mathematical approaches for investigating temporal structure of brain activity based on such measures, as Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC) can provide insights that go beyond those obtained with conventional techniques of signal analysis. Here, we used extensive data sets obtained in spontaneously awake and sleeping adult male laboratory rats, as well as during and after sleep deprivation, to perform a detailed analysis of cortical LFP and neuronal activity with LZC approach. We found that activated brain states—waking and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep are characterized by higher LZC compared with non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Notably, LZC values derived from the LFP were especially low during early NREM sleep after sleep deprivation and toward the middle of individual NREM sleep episodes. We conclude that LZC is an important and yet largely unexplored measure with a high potential for investigating neurophysiological mechanisms of brain activity in health and disease.
Functional topographic organization of the motor reticulothalamic pathway
Authors: Lam Ying-Wan , Sherman S. Murray
Published: February 2015

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is a thin layer of GABAergic cells lying rostral and lateral to the dorsal thalamus, and its projection to thalamic relay cells (i.e., the reticulothalamic pathway) strongly inhibits these cells. In an attempt to extend earlier studies of reticulothalamic connections to sensory thalamic nuclei, we used laser-scanning photostimulation to study the reticulothalamic projections to the main motor thalamic relays, the ventral anterior and lateral (VA and VL) nuclei, as well as to the nearby central lateral (CL) thalamic nucleus. VA/VL and the earlier studied somatosensory thalamic nuclei are considered “core” nuclei with topographic thalamocortical projections, whereas CL is thought to be a “matrix” nucleus with diffuse thalamocortical projections. We found that the TRN input footprints to VA/VL and CL are spatially localized and topographic and generally conform to the patterns established earlier for the TRN projections to sensory thalamic relays. These remarkable similarities suggest similar organization of reticulothalamic pathways and TRN regulation of thalamocortical communication for motor and sensory systems and perhaps also for core and matrix thalamus. Furthermore, we found that VA/VL and CL shared overlapping TRN input regions, suggesting that CL may also be involved in the relay of motor information.
The Value of a Panel of Autoantibodies for Predicting the Activity of Lupus Nephritis at Time of Renal Biopsy
Authors: Moroni Gabriella , Quaglini Silvana , Radice Antonella , Trezzi Barbara , Raffiotta Francesca , Messa Piergiorgio , Sinico Renato Alberto
Published: February 2015

Few studies have correlated serum biomarkers with renal histology, the gold standard for renal activity, in lupus nephritis (LN). We tested a panel of autoantibodies and complement at the time of kidney biopsy and after treatment. Anti-dsDNA, anti-nucleosome, anti-ribosome P, and anti-C1q antibodies and C3/C4 were measured in 107 patients with LN at the time of renal biopsy and after 6–12 months and were correlated with clinical/histological parameters. At multivariate analysis, high titers of anti-C1q antibodies or of anti-dsDNA antibodies (P=0.005, OR = 8.67, CI: 2.03–37.3) were the independent predictors that discriminate proliferative from nonproliferative LN. All the immunological parameters, except anti-ribosome, showed a significant correlation with activity index but not with chronicity index. Only anti-C1q showed a significant correlation with the amount of proteinuria (R=0.2,P=0.03). None of the immunological parameters were predictive of remission at 6 and 12 months. We found that anti-C1q alone or in combination with anti-dsDNA emerged as the most reliable test in differentiating proliferative and nonproliferative LN. Anti-C1q was the only test correlated with the clinical presentation of LN. After treatment, the titre of the autoantibodies was significantly reduced, but none was predictive of remission.
KLF15 and PPARαCooperate to Regulate Cardiomyocyte Lipid Gene Expression and Oxidation
Authors: Prosdocimo Domenick A. , John Jenine E. , Zhang Lilei , Efraim Elizabeth S. , Zhang Rongli , Liao Xudong , Jain Mukesh K.
Published: February 2015

The metabolic myocardium is an omnivore and utilizes various carbon substrates to meet its energetic demand. While the adult heart preferentially consumes fatty acids (FAs) over carbohydrates, myocardial fuel plasticity is essential for organismal survival. This metabolic plasticity governing fuel utilization is under robust transcriptional control and studies over the past decade have illuminated members of the nuclear receptor family of factors (e.g., PPARα) as important regulators of myocardial lipid metabolism. However, given the complexity of myocardial metabolism in health and disease, it is likely that other molecular pathways are likely operative and elucidation of such pathways may provide the foundation for novel therapeutic approaches. We previously demonstrated that Kruppel-like factor 15 (KLF15) is an independent regulator of cardiac lipid metabolism thus raising the possibility that KLF15 and PPARαoperate in a coordinated fashion to regulate myocardial gene expression requisite for lipid oxidation. In the current study, we show that KLF15 binds to, cooperates with, and is required for the induction of canonical PPARα-mediated gene expression and lipid oxidation in cardiomyocytes. As such, this study establishes a molecular module involving KLF15 and PPARαand provides fundamental insights into the molecular regulation of cardiac lipid metabolism.