bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermoregulatory vasomotor tone of the rat tail and paws in thermoneutral conditions and its impact on a behavioral model of acute pain
Authors: El Bitar Nabil , Pollin Bernard , Karroum Elias , Pincedé Ivanne , Mouraux André , Le Bars Daniel
Published: July 2014

The tail and paws in rodents are heat exchangers involved in the maintenance of core body temperature (Tcore). They are also the most widely used target organs to study acute or chronic “models” of pain. We describe the fluctuations of vasomotor tone in the tail and paws in conditions of thermal neutrality and the constraints of these physiological processes on the responses to thermal nociceptive stimuli, commonly used as an index of pain. Skin temperatures were recorded with a calibrated thermal camera to monitor changes of vasomotor tone in the tail and paws of awake and anesthetized rats. In thermoneutral conditions, the sympathetic tone fluctuated at a rate of two to seven cycles/h. Increased mean arterial blood pressure (MAP; ∼46 mmHg) was followed by increased heart rate (HR; ∼45 beats/min) within 30 s, vasoconstriction of extremities (3.5–7°C range) within 3–5 min, and increased Tcore (∼0.7°C) within 6 min. Decreased MAP was followed by opposite events. There was a high correlation between HR and Tcore recorded 5–6 min later. The reaction time of the animal's response to a radiant thermal stimulus—heat ramp (6°C/s, 20 mm2 spot) generated by a CO2 laser—directed to the tail depends on these variations. Consequently, the fluctuations in tail and paw temperature thus represent a serious confound for thermal nociceptive tests, particularly when they are conducted at thermal neutrality.
Using Multilayered Substrate Integrated Waveguide to Design Microwave Gain Equalizer
Authors: Wang Yongfei , Zhou Dongfang , Zhang Yi , Chang Chaowen
Published: July 2014

This paper presents the design and experiment of a novel microwave gain equalizer based on the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technique. The proposed equalizer is formed by an SIW loaded by SIW resonators, which has very compact structure and can compensate for gain slope of microwave systems. Equivalent circuit analysis is given about the proposed structure for a better insight into the structure’s response. A Ku-Band equalizer with four SIW resonators is simulated and fabricated with a multilayer printed circuit board process. The measured results show good performance and agreement with the simulated results; an attenuation slope of −4.5 dB over 12.5–13.5 GHz is reached with a size reduction of 76%.
Planning Office and Community Influence on Land-Use Decisions Intended to Benefit the Low-Income: Welcome to Chicago
Authors: Searcy Yan Dominic
Published: July 2014

This study explores urban planning office and community influence on land-use decision making in two poverty-stricken but redeveloping neighborhood areas in Chicago. The Department of Planning and Development in this study had marginal impact on land-use decisions due to administrative limitations. Community influence is moderated by the degree to which low-income housing advocates can act directly as developers and produce housing units. The research findings indicate that land-use decisions intended to benefit the low-income resulted not from community-based political conflict but more so from community organization cooperation with political actors.
Lane Detection in Video‐Based Intelligent Transportation Monitoring via Fast Extracting and Clustering of Vehicle Motion Trajectories
Authors: Ren Jianqiang , Chen Yangzhou , Xin Le , Shi Jianjun
Published: July 2014

Lane detection is a crucial process in video‐based transportation monitoring system. This paper proposes a novel method to detect the lane center via rapid extraction and high accuracy clustering of vehicle motion trajectories. First, we use the activity map to realize automatically the extraction of road region, the calibration of dynamic camera, and the setting of three virtual detecting lines. Secondly, the three virtual detecting lines and a local background model with traffic flow feedback are used to extract and group vehicle feature points in unit of vehicle. Then, the feature point groups are described accurately by edge weighted dynamic graph and modified by a motion‐similarity Kalman filter during the sparse feature point tracking. After obtaining the vehicle trajectories, a rough k‐means incremental clustering with Hausdorff distance is designed to realize the rapid online extraction of lane center with high accuracy. The use of rough set reduces effectively the accuracy decrease, which results from the trajectories that run irregularly. Experimental results prove that the proposed method can detect lane center position efficiently, the affected time of subsequent tasks can be reduced obviously, and the safety of traffic surveillance systems can be enhanced significantly.
An Online Full‐Body Motion Recognition Method Using Sparse and Deficient Signal Sequences
Authors: Guo Chengyu , Liu Jie , Fan Xiaohai , Qin Aihong , Liang Xiaohui
Published: July 2014

This paper presents a method to recognize continuous full‐body human motion online by using sparse, low‐cost sensors. The only input signals needed are linear accelerations without any rotation information, which are provided by four Wiimote sensors attached to the four human limbs. Based on the fused hidden Markov model (FHMM) and autoregressive process, a predictive fusion model (PFM) is put forward, which considers the different influences of the upper and lower limbs, establishes HMM for each part, and fuses them using a probabilistic fusion model. Then an autoregressive process is introduced in HMM to predict the gesture, which enables the model to deal with incomplete signal data. In order to reduce the number of alternatives in the online recognition process, a graph model is built that rejects parts of motion types based on the graph structure and previous recognition results. Finally, an online signal segmentation method based on semantics information and PFM is presented to finish the efficient recognition task. The results indicate that the method is robust with a high recognition rate of sparse and deficient signals and can be used in various interactive applications.
Biologic Collagen Cylinder with Skate Flap Technique for Nipple Reconstruction
Authors: Tierney Brian P. , Hodde Jason P. , Changkuon Daniela I.
Published: July 2014

A surgical technique using local tissue skate flaps combined with cylinders made from a naturally derived biomaterial has been used effectively for nipple reconstruction. A retrospective review of patients who underwent nipple reconstruction using this technique was performed. Comorbidities and type of breast reconstruction were collected. Outcome evaluation included complications, surgical revisions, and nipple projection. There were 115 skate flap reconstructions performed in 83 patients between July 2009 and January 2013. Patients ranged from 32 to 73 years old. Average body mass index was 28.0. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (39.8%) and smoking (16.9%). After breast reconstruction, 68.7% of the patients underwent chemotherapy and 20.5% underwent radiation. Seventy-one patients had immediate breast reconstruction with expanders and 12 had delayed reconstruction. The only reported complications were extrusions (3.5%). Six nipples (5.2%) in 5 patients required surgical revision due to loss of projection; two patients had minor loss of projection but did not require surgical revision. Nipple projection at time of surgery ranged from 6 to 7 mm and average projection at 6 months was 3–5 mm. A surgical technique for nipple reconstruction using a skate flap with a graft material is described. Complications are infrequent and short-term projection measurements are encouraging.
Moving Object Localization Using Optical Flow for Pedestrian Detection from a Moving Vehicle
Authors: Hariyono Joko , Hoang Van-Dung , Jo Kang-Hyun
Published: July 2014

This paper presents a pedestrian detection method from a moving vehicle using optical flows and histogram of oriented gradients (HOG). A moving object is extracted from the relative motion by segmenting the region representing the same optical flows after compensating the egomotion of the camera. To obtain the optical flow, two consecutive images are divided into grid cells14×14pixels; then each cell is tracked in the current frame to find corresponding cell in the next frame. Using at least three corresponding cells, affine transformation is performed according to each corresponding cell in the consecutive images, so that conformed optical flows are extracted. The regions of moving object are detected as transformed objects, which are different from the previously registered background. Morphological process is applied to get the candidate human regions. In order to recognize the object, the HOG features are extracted on the candidate region and classified using linear support vector machine (SVM). The HOG feature vectors are used as input of linear SVM to classify the given input into pedestrian/nonpedestrian. The proposed method was tested in a moving vehicle and also confirmed through experiments using pedestrian dataset. It shows a significant improvement compared with original HOG using ETHZ pedestrian dataset.
Effect of Yoga on Pain, Brain‐Derived Neurotrophic Factor, and Serotonin in Premenopausal Women with Chronic Low Back Pain
Authors: Lee Moseon , Moon Woongjoon , Kim Jaehee
Published: July 2014

Background. Serotonin and brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are known to be modulators of nociception. However, pain‐related connection between yoga and those neuromodulators has not been investigated. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effect of yoga on pain, BDNF, and serotonin. Methods. Premenopausal women with chronic low back pain practiced yoga three times a week for 12 weeks. At baseline and after 12 weeks, back pain intensity was measured using visual analogue scale (VAS), and serum BDNF and serotonin levels were evaluated. Additionally, back flexibility and level of depression were assessed. Results. After 12‐week yoga, VAS decreased in the yoga group (P < 0.001), whereas it increased (P < 0.05) in the control group. Back flexibility was improved in the yoga group (P < 0.01). Serum BDNF increased in the yoga group (P < 0.01), whereas it tended to decrease in the control group (P = 0.05). Serum serotonin maintained in the yoga group, while it reduced (P < 0.01) in the control group. The depression level maintained in the yoga group, whereas it tended to increase in the control group (P = 0.07). Conclusions. We propose that BDNF may be one of the key factors mediating beneficial effects of yoga on chronic low back pain.
Concurrent Malignant Solitary Fibrous Tumor Arising from the Omentum and Grade 3 Endometrial Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma of the Uterus withp53Immunoreactivity
Authors: Harada Naoya , Nobuhara Ichiro , Haruta Noriko , Higashiura Yumi , Watanabe Hideki , Ohno Sumire
Published: July 2014

A malignant solitary fibrous tumor arising from the omentum is extremely rare. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a malignant solitary fibrous omentum tumor coexisting with uterine corpus cancer. A 62-year-old woman presented to our hospital with vaginal discharge. Endometrioid adenocarcinoma was diagnosed by endometrial curettage. In addition, a solid tumor in front of the uterus was detected following computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging, which was suspected to be a primary (or secondary) malignant tumor arising from the omentum. Hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, omentectomy, and lymphadenectomy were performed. A malignant solitary fibrous tumor of the omentum and grade 3 endometrioid adenocarcinoma of the uterus were diagnosed by pathohistological analysis. Interestingly, the tumor cells were immunoreactive forp53. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered for the uterine corpus cancer and the patient remains healthy 48 months after the surgery. These tumors may have become malignant due to the presence ofp53mutations.
Generalized Common Fixed Point Results via Greatest Lower Bound Property
Authors: Kutbi Marwan Amin , Ahmad Jamshaid , Azam Akbar , Al-Rawashdeh Ahmed Saleh
Published: July 2014

The aim of this paper is to unify the concept of greatest lower bound (g.l.b) property and establish some generalized common fixed results. We support our results by a nontrivial example.
Mycobacterium tuberculosisP-Type ATPases: Possible Targets for Drug or Vaccine Development
Authors: Novoa-Aponte Lorena , Soto Ospina Carlos Yesid
Published: July 2014

Tuberculosis (TB) has been the biggest killer in the human history; currently,Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) kills nearly 2 million people each year worldwide. The high prevalence of TB obligates the identification of new therapeutic targets and the development of anti-TB vaccines that can control multidrug resistance and latent TB infections. Membrane proteins have recently been suggested as key targets for bacterial viability. Current studies have shown that mycobacteria P-type ATPases may play critical roles in ion homeostasis and in the response of mycobacteria to toxic substances in the intraphagosomal environment. In this review, we bring together the genomic, transcriptomic, and structural aspects of the P-type ATPases that are relevant during active and latentMtbinfections, which can be useful in determining the potential of these ATPases as drug targets and in uncovering their possible roles in the development of new anti-TB attenuated vaccines.
Promoting Nerve Regeneration in a Neurotmesis Rat Model Using Poly(DL-lactide-ε-caprolactone) Membranes and Mesenchymal Stem Cells from the Wharton’s Jelly:In VitroandIn VivoAnalysis
Authors: Pereira T. , Gärtner A. , Amorim I. , Almeida A. , Caseiro A. R. , Armada-da-Silva Paulo A. S. , Amado Sandra , Fregnan Federica , Varejão A. S. P. , Santos J. D. , Bartolo P. J. , Geuna S. , Luís A. L. , Mauricio A. C.
Published: July 2014

In peripheral nerves MSCs can modulate Wallerian degeneration and the overall regenerative response by acting through paracrine mechanisms directly on regenerating axons or upon the nerve-supporting Schwann cells. In the present study, the effect of human MSCs from Wharton’s jelly (HMSCs), differentiated into neuroglial-like cells associated to poly (DL-lactide-ε-caprolactone) membrane, on nerve regeneration, was evaluated in the neurotmesis injury rat sciatic nerve model. Resultsin vitroshowed successful differentiation of HMSCs into neuroglial-like cells, characterized by expression of specific neuroglial markers confirmed by immunocytochemistry and by RT-PCR and qPCR targeting specific genes expressed.In vivotesting evaluated during the healing period of 20 weeks, showed no evident positive effect of HMSCs or neuroglial-like cell enrichment at the sciatic nerve repair site on most of the functional and nerve morphometric predictors of nerve regeneration although the nociception function was almost normal. EPT on the other hand, recovered significantly better after HMSCs enriched membrane employment, to values of residual functional impairment compared to other treated groups. When the neurotmesis injury can be surgically reconstructed with an end-to-end suture or by grafting, the addition of a PLC membrane associated with HMSCs seems to bring significant advantage, especially concerning the motor function recovery.
Implementation of Membrane Algorithms on GPU
Authors: Zhang Xingyi , Wang Bangju , Ding Zhuanlian , Tang Jin , He Juanjuan
Published: July 2014

Membrane algorithms are a new class of parallel algorithms, which attempt to incorporate some components of membrane computing models for designing efficient optimization algorithms, such as the structure of the models and the way of communication between cells. Although the importance of the parallelism of such algorithms has been well recognized, membrane algorithms were usually implemented on the serial computing device central processing unit (CPU), which makes the algorithms unable to work in an efficient way. In this work, we consider the implementation of membrane algorithms on the parallel computing device graphics processing unit (GPU). In such implementation, all cells of membrane algorithms can work simultaneously. Experimental results on two classical intractable problems, the point set matching problem and TSP, show that the GPU implementation of membrane algorithms is much more efficient than CPU implementation in terms of runtime, especially for solving problems with a high complexity.
The Effect of Maternal Healthcare on the Probability of Child Survival in Azerbaijan
Authors: Habibov Nazim , Fan Lida
Published: July 2014

This study assesses the effects of maternal healthcare on child survival by using nonrandomized data from a cross-sectional survey in Azerbaijan. Using 2SLS and simultaneous equation bivariate probit models, we estimate the effects of delivering in healthcare facility on probability of child survival taking into account self-selection into the treatment. For women who delivered at healthcare facilities, the probability of child survival increases by approximately 18%. Furthermore, if every woman had the opportunity to deliver in healthcare facility, then the probability of child survival in Azerbaijan as a whole would have increased by approximately 16%.
ManySense: An Extensible and Accessible Middleware for Consumer-Oriented Heterogeneous Body Sensor Networks
Authors: Westlin Joonas , Laine Teemu H.
Published: July 2014

Consumer-oriented wearable sensors such as smart watches are becoming popular, but each manufacturer uses its own data access mechanism. At the same time, the need for inferred context data is increasing in context-aware applications. A system is needed to provide a unified access to heterogeneous wearable devices for context-aware application developers. We propose ManySense—an Android-based middleware for heterogeneous consumer-oriented BSNs. Extensibility is achieved through adapter interfaces which allow sensors and context inferencing algorithms to be coupled with the middleware. Accessibility of the middleware allows third party applications to access raw sensor data and inferred context data uniformly. This paper provides two main contributions which are divided into several outcomes: (1) design and implementation of the ManySense BSN middleware that allows low-effort addition of new sensors and context inferencing algorithms through adapter interfaces, provides unified access to optionally filtered sensor data and inferred context data for third party applications, mediates control queries to sensor adapters and context inferencing adapters, and facilitates adapter development through an SDK and (2) evaluation of ManySense by comparing its performance with manual sensor data acquisition, analysis of ManySense's extensibility through adapter interfaces, and analysis of ManySense's accessibility from third party applications.
Intrastrain Comparison of the Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of an Edible Mushroom,Pleurotus giganteus, and Its Potent Neuritogenic Properties
Authors: Phan Chia-Wei , David Pamela , Tan Yee-Shin , Naidu Murali , Wong Kah-Hui , Kuppusamy Umah Rani , Sabaratnam Vikineswary
Published: July 2014

Two strains ofPleurotus giganteus(commercial and wild) were tested for their ability to induce neurite outgrowth in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) and mouse neuroblastoma-2a (N2a) cells. Treatment with the mushroom extracts resulted in neuronal differentiation and neuronal elongation, but not nerve growth factor (NGF) production. Linoleic acid (4.5–5.0%, w/w) which is a major fatty acid present in the ethanol extract promoted NGF biosynthesis when augmented with low concentration of NGF (5 ng/mL). The two strains of mushroom were found to be high in protein (154–192 g kg−1), total polysaccharides, phenolics, and flavonoids as well as vitamins B1, B2, and B3. The total phenolics present in the mushroom extracts were positively correlated to the antioxidant activity (free radical scavenging, ferric reducing power, and lipid peroxidation inhibition). To conclude,P. giganteuscould potentially be used in well-balanced diet and as a source of dietary antioxidant to promote neuronal health.
Feature and Score Fusion Based Multiple Classifier Selection for Iris Recognition
Authors: Islam Md. Rabiul
Published: July 2014

The aim of this work is to propose a new feature and score fusion based iris recognition approach where voting method on Multiple Classifier Selection technique has been applied. Four Discrete Hidden Markov Model classifiers output, that is, left iris based unimodal system, right iris based unimodal system, left-right iris feature fusion based multimodal system, and left-right iris likelihood ratio score fusion based multimodal system, is combined using voting method to achieve the final recognition result. CASIA-IrisV4 database has been used to measure the performance of the proposed system with various dimensions. Experimental results show the versatility of the proposed system of four different classifiers with various dimensions. Finally, recognition accuracy of the proposed system has been compared with existingNhamming distance score fusion approach proposed by Ma et al., log-likelihood ratio score fusion approach proposed by Schmid et al., and single level feature fusion approach proposed by Hollingsworth et al.
Automated Detection and Evaluation of Swallowing Using a Combined EMG/Bioimpedance Measurement System
Authors: Schultheiss Corinna , Schauer Thomas , Nahrstaedt Holger , Seidl Rainer O.
Published: July 2014

Introduction. Developing an automated diagnostic and therapeutic instrument for treating swallowing disorders requires procedures able to reliably detect and evaluate a swallow. We tested a two-stage detection procedure based on a combined electromyography/bioimpedance (EMBI) measurement system. EMBI is able to detect swallows and distinguish them from similar movements in healthy test subjects.Study Design. The study was planned and conducted as a case-control study (EA 1/019/10, and EA1/160/09, EA1/161/09).Method. The study looked at differences in swallowing parameters in general and in the event of penetration during swallows in healthy subjects and in patients with an oropharyngeal swallowing disorder. A two-stage automated swallow detection procedure which used electromyography (EMG) and bioimpedance (BI) to reliably detect swallows was developed.Results. Statistically significant differences between healthy subjects and patients with a swallowing disorder were found in swallowing parameters previously used to distinguish between swallowing and head movements. Our two-stage algorithm was able to reliably detect swallows (sensitivity = 96.1%, specificity = 97.1%) on the basis of these differences.Discussion. Using a two-stage detection procedure, the EMBI measurement procedure is able to detect and evaluate swallows automatically and reliably. The two procedures (EMBI + swallow detection) could in future form the basis for automated diagnosis and treatment (stimulation) of swallowing disorders.
Two-Channel Metal Detector Using Two Perpendicular Antennas
Authors: Choi Kyoo Nam
Published: July 2014

Two-channel metal detector, having two sets of perpendicularly oriented sensor antennas, is proposed to expand detectable size, ranging from mm through cm scale, of metal sensor, while conventional metal sensor is dedicated for detection only in mm or cm scale. The characteristics of the two metal detection sensor channels were investigated, respectively, and the interference effect, while in simultaneous operation, between two sensor channels was discussed. Metal detection channel, having sensitivity in mm scale, showed detectable sensitivity to moving ferrous sphere, with diameter down to 0.7 mm, at 50 kHz exciting frequency and enhanced sensitivity distribution. And metal detection channel having sensitivity in cm scale showed more uniform sensitivity distribution with the flexibility for future modular construction. The effect of interference, while in simultaneous operation of two sensors, resulted in reduced output response, but still within usable detection range. Thus it was feasible to operate two sensors, having different sensitivity range, simultaneously and to extend detection range from mm to cm scale, within practically acceptable interference.
Improved Radio Frequency Identification Indoor Localization Method via Radial Basis Function Neural Network
Authors: Guo Dongliang , Zhang Yudong , Xiang Qiao , Li Zhonghua
Published: July 2014

Indoor localization technique has received much attention in recent years. Many techniques have been developed to solve the problem. Among the recent proposed methods, radio frequency identification (RFID) indoor localization technology has the advantages of low‐cost, noncontact, non‐line‐of‐sight, and high precision. This paper proposed two radial basis function (RBF) neural network based indoor localization methods. The RBF neural networks are trained to learn the mapping relationship between received signal strength indication values and position of objects. Traditional method used the received signal strength directly as the input of neural network; we added another input channel by taking the difference of the received signal strength, thus improving the reliability and precision of positioning. Fuzzy clustering is used to determine the center of radial basis function. In order to reduce the impact of signal fading due to non‐line‐of‐sight and multipath transmission in indoor environment, we improved the Gaussian filter to process received signal strength values. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the existing methods as well as improves the reliability and precision of the RFID indoor positioning system.
Evaluation of the New Digital Goldmann Applanation Tonometer for Measuring Intraocular Pressure
Authors: Sakaue Yuta , Ueda Jun , Seki Masaaki , Tanaka Takayuki , Togano Tetsuya , Yoshino Takaiko , Fukuchi Takeo
Published: July 2014

Purpose. To compare a new digital Goldmann applanation tonometer (dGAT) that measures intraocular pressure (IOP) in 0.1 mmHg increments to a standard Goldmann applanation tonometer (sGAT).Methods. This study included 116 eyes of 60 subjects. A single examiner first measured IOP in triplicate using either sGAT or dGAT, which was randomly chosen. After a 5-minute interval, the next set of three consecutive IOP was measured using the other GAT.Results. The mean IOP measured with sGAT was 16.27 ± 6.68 mmHg and 16.35 ± 6.69 mmHg with dGAT. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was 0.998 (P<0.01). The subjects were divided into three groups based on the mean IOP: IOP < 14 mmHg, 14–20 mmHg, or >20 mmHg. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient within each group was 0.935, 0.972, and 0.997 (P<0.01), respectively. The difference within the three consecutive IOP measurements (maximum–minimum) for dGAT (0.72 ± 0.34 mmHg) was significantly smaller than those with sGAT (0.92 ± 0.42 mmHg,P<0.01). Even in patients with equal IOP (zero left-right difference) with sGAT (n=30), dGAT detected IOP differences between the left and right eyes (0.47 ± 0.31 mmHg).Conclusion. Compared to sGAT, dGAT measurements are highly reproducible and less variable.
Treatment of Anxiety and Depression in a Patient with Brugada Syndrome
Authors: Chen Jasper J. , Sangha Rajbir S.
Published: July 2014

Background. Brugada syndrome is rare and has been a clinically diagnosable entity since 1992. Its clinical manifestations are highly variable, and while some patients remain asymptomatic, others endure sudden cardiac death. Initial presenting symptoms may include palpitations, seizures, syncope, and nocturnal agonal respiration. The diagnosis of Brugada syndrome relies on both clinical findings and characteristic ECG patterns that occur spontaneously or are induced by usage of sodium-channel blocking agents.Aims of Case Report. Many psychiatrists may be unaware of the possibility of medical cocontributing etiologies to physical symptoms of anxiety and depression. We present a case of a patient who was treated psychiatrically for anxiety and panic attacks and who was subsequently diagnosed with Brugada syndrome and treated medically with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), the only treatment option demonstrated to be effective. Her psychiatric symptoms predated her diagnosis of Brugada syndrome by at least fifteen years.Conclusion. The patient's eventual diagnosis of Brugada syndrome altered the course of her psychopharmacologic medication management and illustrates the utility of a psychosomatic approach to psychiatric symptom management.
Sildenafil Ameliorates Gentamicin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats: Role of iNOS and eNOS
Authors: Morsy Mohamed A. , Ibrahim Salwa A. , Amin Entesar F. , Kamel Maha Y. , Rifaai Rehab A. , Hassan Magdy K.
Published: July 2014

Gentamicin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, is used for the treatment of serious Gram-negative infections. However, its usefulness is limited by its nephrotoxicity. Sildenafil, a selective phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, was reported to prevent or decrease tissue injury. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential protective effects of sildenafil on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Male Wistar rats were injected with gentamicin (100 mg/kg/day, i.p.) for 6 days with and without sildenafil. Sildenafil administration resulted in nephroprotective effect in gentamicin-intoxicated rats as it significantly decreased serum creatinine and urea, urinary albumin, and renal malondialdehyde and nitrite/nitrate levels, with a concomitant increase in renal catalase and superoxide dismutase activities compared to gentamicin-treated rats. Moreover, immunohistochemical examination revealed that sildenafil treatment markedly reduced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, while expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) was markedly enhanced. The protective effects of sildenafil were verified histopathologically. In conclusion, sildenafil protects rats against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity possibly, in part, through its antioxidant activity, inhibition of iNOS expression, and induction of eNOS production.
Subphrenic Abscess as a Complication of Hemodialysis Catheter-Related Infection
Authors: Caravaca Fernando , Burguera Victor , Fernández-Lucas Milagros , Teruel José Luis , Quereda Carlos
Published: July 2014

We describe an unusual case of subphrenic abscess complicating a central venous catheter infection caused byPseudomonas aeruginosain a 59-year-old woman undergoing hemodialysis. The diagnosis was made through computed tomography, andPseudomonas aeruginosawas isolated from the purulent drainage of the subphrenic abscess, the catheter tip and exit site, and the blood culture samples. A transesophageal echocardiography showed a large tubular thrombus in superior vena cava, extending to the right atrium, but no evidence of endocarditis or other metastatic infectious foci. Catheter removal, percutaneous abscess drainage, anticoagulation, and antibiotics resulted in a favourable outcome.
Study of the Correlations among Some Parameters of the Oxidative Status, Gelatinases, and Their Inhibitors in a Group of Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome
Authors: Hopps E. , Lo Presti R. , Montana M. , Canino B. , Averna M. R. , Caimi G.
Published: July 2014

Our aim was to examine some parameters of oxidative status, gelatinases, and their inhibitors and to evaluate their interrelationships in subjects with metabolic syndrome (MS). We enrolled 65 MS subjects, subdivided according to the presence or not of diabetes mellitus. We examined lipid peroxidation (expressed as thiobarbituric acid reacting substances, TBARS), protein oxidation (expressed as carbonyl groups), nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), total antioxidant status (TAS), MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2. We found that MS subjects, diabetics and nondiabetics, showed an increase in TBARS, PC, and NOx. A significant decrease in TAS was observed only in nondiabetic MS subjects in comparison with diabetic MS subjects. We observed increased concentrations of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2, higher in diabetic subjects. Our data showed a positive correlation between TAS and MMP-2, TAS and MMP-9, and TAS and MMP-9/TIMP-1 and a negative correlation between TBARS and MMP-2 in diabetic MS subjects in the entire group. In MS subjects a prooxidant status and increased levels of gelatinases and their inhibitors are evident although the correlations between oxidative stress and MMPs or TIMPs are controversial and need further investigation.
HepaticChemerinandChemokine-Like Receptor 1Expression in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C
Authors: Kukla Michał , Adamek Brygida , Waluga Marek , Zalewska-Ziob Marzena , Kasperczyk Janusz , Gabriel Andrzej , Mazur Włodzimierz , Sobala-Szczygieł Barbara , Bułdak Rafał J. , Zajęcki Wojciech , Kępa Lucjan , Ziora Katarzyna , Żwirska-Korczala Krystyna , Wiczkowski Andrzej , Hartleb Marek
Published: July 2014

Introduction. Chemerin seems to be involved in pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Hepatic expressions of chemerin and its receptor, chemokine receptor-like 1 (CMKLR1), in CHC have not been studied so far.Aim. To evaluatechemerinandCMKLR1hepatic expression together with serumchemerinconcentration in CHC patients and to assess their relationship with metabolic and histopathological abnormalities.Methods. The study included 63 nonobese CHC patients. Transcription ofchemerinandCMKLR1was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR, while serum chemerin was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results. Expression ofchemerinandCMKLR1was present in the liver of all CHC patients regardless of sex or age. This expression was not associated with necroinflammatory activity and steatosis grade, fibrosis stage, and metabolic abnormalities. There was a negative association between serum chemerin andchemerinhepatic expression (r= (−0.41),P= 0.006).Conclusion. The study for the first time confirmed a marked expression ofchemerinandCMKLR1in the liver of CHC patients. The study was performed using the homogenates of human liver tissue, so it is not possible to define whether hepatocytes or other cell types which are abundantly represented in the liver constitute the main source ofchemerinandCMKLR1mRNA.
Interaction of Ingested Leucine with Glycine on Insulin and Glucose Concentrations
Authors: Iverson Jennifer F. , Gannon Mary C. , Nuttall Frank Q.
Published: July 2014

The majority of individual amino acids increase insulin and attenuate the plasma glucose response when ingested with glucose.Objective.To determine whether ingestion of two amino acids simultaneously, with glucose, would result in an additive effect. Leucine (Leu) and glycine (Gly) were chosen because they were two of the most potent glucose-lowering amino acids when given individually.Materials and Methods.Nine subjects received test items on four separate days. The first was a water control, then 25 g glucose, or Leu + Gly (1 mmol/kg fat-free mass each) ±25 g glucose, in random order. Glucose, insulin, and glucagon were measured frequently for 2.5 hours. Net areas were calculated.Results.The glucose area response decreased by 66%. The insulin area response increased by 24% after ingestion of Leu + Gly + glucose compared to ingestion of glucose alone. The decrease in glucose response was not additive; the increase in insulin response was far less than additive when compared to previously published individual amino acid results. The glucagon concentration remained unchanged.Conclusion.There is an interaction between Leu and Gly that results in a markedly attenuated glucose response. This occurred with a very modest increase in insulin response. Changes in glucagon response could not explain the results. The mechanism is unknown.
Load Balanced Congestion Adaptive Routing for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks
Authors: Kim Jung-Yoon , Tomar Geetam S. , Shrivastava Laxmi , Bhadauria Sarita Singh , Lee Won-Hyoung
Published: July 2014

In mobile ad hoc networks the congestion is a major issue, which affects the overall performance of the networks. The load balancing in the network alongside the congestion is another major problem in mobile ad hoc network (MANET) routing due to difference in link cost of the route. Most of the existing routing protocols provide solutions to load balancing or congestion adaptivity separately. In this paper, a congestion adaptive routing along with load balancing, that is, load balanced congestion adaptive routing (LBCAR), has been proposed. Transferring of load from congested nodes to less busy nodes and involvement of other nodes in transmission that can take part in route can improve the overall network life. In the proposed protocol two metrics, traffic load density and link cost associated with a routing path, have been used to determine the congestion status. The route with low traffic load density and maximum life time is selected for packet transmission using this protocol. Performance of the network using LBCAR has been analyzed and compared with congestion adaptive routing protocol (CRP) for packet delivery ratio, average end-to-end delay, and normalized routing overhead.
Therapeutic Efficacy of Vitamin Eδ-Tocotrienol in Collagen-Induced Rat Model of Arthritis
Authors: Haleagrahara Nagaraja , Swaminathan Mirashini , Chakravarthi Srikumar , Radhakrishnan Ammu
Published: July 2014

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, inflammatory disease primarily involving inflammation of the joints. Although the management of the disease has advanced significantly in the past three decades, there is still no cure for RA. The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic efficacy ofδ-tocotrienol, in the rat model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Arthritis was induced by intradermal injection of collagen type II emulsified in complete Freund’s adjuvant. CIA rats were orally treated withδ-tocotrienol (10 mg/kg) or glucosamine hydrochloride (300 mg/kg) from day 25 to 50. Efficacy was assessed based on the ability to reduce paw edema, histopathological changes, suppression of collagen-specific T-cells, and a reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. It was established thatδ-tocotrienol had the most significant impact in lowering paw edema when compared to glucosamine treatment. Paw edema changes correlated well with histopathological analysis where there was a significant reversal of changes in groups treated withδ-tocotrienol. The results suggest thatδ-tocotrienol is efficient in amelioration of collagen-induced arthritis. Vitamin E delta-tocotrienol may be of therapeutic value against rheumatoid arthritis.
Stem Cell Based Gene Therapy in Prostate Cancer
Authors: Kim Jae Heon , Lee Hong Jun , Song Yun Seob
Published: July 2014

Current prostate cancer treatment, especially hormone refractory cancer, may create profound iatrogenic outcomes because of the adverse effects of cytotoxic agents. Suicide gene therapy has been investigated for the substitute modality for current chemotherapy because it enables the treatment targeting the cancer cells. However the classic suicide gene therapy has several profound side effects, including immune-compromised due to viral vector. Recently, stem cells have been regarded as a new upgraded cellular vehicle or vector because of its homing effects. Suicide gene therapy using genetically engineered mesenchymal stem cells or neural stem cells has the advantage of being safe, because prodrug administration not only eliminates tumor cells but consequently kills the more resistant therapeutic stem cells as well. The attractiveness of prodrug cancer gene therapy by stem cells targeted to tumors lies in activating the prodrug directly within the tumor mass, thus avoiding systemic toxicity. Therapeutic achievements using stem cells in prostate cancer include the cytosine deaminase/5-fluorocytosine prodrug system, herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir, carboxyl esterase/CPT11, and interferon-beta. The aim of this study is to review the stem cell therapy in prostate cancer including its proven mechanisms and also limitations.
The Protective Effect ofAgaricus blazeiMurrill, Submerged Culture Using the Optimized Medium Composition, on Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury
Authors: Wang Hang , Li Gang , Zhang Wenyu , Han Chunchao , Xu Xin , Li Yong-Ping
Published: July 2014

Agaricus blazeiMurrill (ABM), an edible mushroom native to Brazil, is widely used for nonprescript and medicinal purposes. Alcohol liver disease (ALD) is considered as a leading cause for a liver injury in modern dietary life, which can be developed by a prolonged or large intake of alcohol. In this study, the medium composition of ABM was optimized using response surface methodology for maximum mycelial biomass and extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production. The model predicts to gain a maximal mycelial biomass and extracellular polysaccharide at 1.047 g/100 mL, and 0.367 g/100 mL, respectively, when the potato is 29.88 g/100 mL, the glucose is 1.01 g/100 mL, and the bran is 1.02 g/100 mL. The verified experiments showed that the model was significantly consistent with the model prediction and that the trends of mycelial biomass and extracellular polysaccharide were predicted by artificial neural network. After that, the optimized medium was used for the submerged culture of ABM. Then, alcohol-induced liver injury in mice model was used to examine the protective effect of ABM cultured using the optimized medium on the liver. And the hepatic histopathological observations showed that ABM had a relatively significant role in mice model, which had alcoholic liver damage.
Vehicle Density Based Forwarding Protocol for Safety Message Broadcast in VANET
Authors: Huang Jiawei , Huang Yi , Wang Jianxin
Published: July 2014

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), the medium access control (MAC) protocol is of great importance to provide time-critical safety applications. Contemporary multihop broadcast protocols in VANETs usually choose the farthest node in broadcast range as the forwarder to reduce the number of forwarding hops. However, in this paper, we demonstrate that the farthest forwarder may experience large contention delay in case of high vehicle density. We propose an IEEE 802.11-based multihop broadcast protocol VDF to address the issue of emergency message dissemination. To achieve the tradeoff between contention delay and forwarding hops, VDF adaptably chooses the forwarder according to the vehicle density. Simulation results show that, due to its ability to decrease the transmission collisions, the proposed protocol can provide significantly lower broadcast delay.
Profiling of Biomarkers for the Exposure of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Lamin-A/C Isoform 3, Poly[ADP-ribose] Polymerase 1, and Mitochondria Copy Number Are Identified as Universal Biomarkers
Authors: Kim Hwan-Young , Kim Hye-Ran , Kang Min-Gu , Trang Nguyen Thi Dai , Baek Hee-Jo , Moon Jae-Dong , Shin Jong-Hee , Suh Soon-Pal , Ryang Dong-Wook , Kook Hoon , Shin Myung-Geun
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the profiling of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon- (PAH-) induced genotoxicity in cell lines and zebrafish. Each type of cells displayed different proportionality of apoptosis. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number was dramatically elevated after 5-day treatment of fluoranthene and pyrene. The notable deregulated proteins for PAHs exposure were displayed as follows: lamin-A/C isoform 3 and annexin A1 for benzopyrene; lamin-A/C isoform 3 and DNA topoisomerase 2-alpha for pentacene; poly[ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1) for fluoranthene; and talin-1 and DNA topoisomerase 2-alpha for pyrene. Among them, lamin-A/C isoform 3 and PARP-1 were further confirmed using mRNA and protein expression study. Obvious morphological abnormalities including curved backbone and cardiomegaly in zebrafish were observed in the 54 hpf with more than 400 nM of benzopyrene. In conclusion, the change of mitochondrial genome (increased mtDNA copy number) was closely associated with PAH exposure in cell lines and mesenchymal stem cells. Lamin-A/C isoform 3, talin-1, and annexin A1 were identified as universal biomarkers for PAHs exposure. Zebrafish, specifically at embryo stage, showed suitablein vivomodel for monitoring PAHs exposure to hematopoietic tissue and other organs.
Postpartum Ovarian Vein and Inferior Vena Cava Thrombosis
Authors: Arslan Harun , Ada Sibel , Çelik Sebahattin , Toptaş Tayfur
Published: July 2014

Postpartum ovarian vein thrombosis (POVT), which generally occurs 2–15 days postpartum, is a rare complication. It can be confused with acute appendicitis, pelvic infection, ovarian torsion, tubo-ovarian abscess, and pyelonephritis. It is associated with morbidity and mortality. Here, we present a patient with postpartum OVT and IVC diagnosed by US and CT findings. She was treated successfully with no further need for any interventional procedures.
Tanshinone IIA Downregulates HMGB1 and TLR4 Expression in a Spinal Nerve Ligation Model of Neuropathic Pain
Authors: Ma Yu-Qing , Chen Yi-Rong , Leng Yu-Fang , Wu Zhi-Wei
Published: July 2014

Fifty‐four Sprague‐Dawley rats weighing 200~240 g were randomly divided into sham‐operated group (sham group), vehicle‐treated SNL group (model group), and Tan IIA‐treated SNL group (Tan IIA group). Tan IIA was administered intraperitoneally to rats in the Tan IIA‐treated group at a dose of 30 mg/kg daily for 14 days after SNL surgery. Paw withdrawal mechanical thresholds (PWTs) and paw withdrawal thermal latencies (PWLs) were measured. High‐mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and Toll‐like Receptor 4 (TLR4) mRNA and protein expression in the spinal cord were measured. Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α), interleukin‐1 beta (IL‐1β), and interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) in the spinal cord were measured, too. Both the mechanical and heat pain thresholds were significantly decreased. After Tan IIA treatment, HMGB1, and TLR4 mRNA and protein levels, the expression of TNF‐α and IF‐1β was reduced significantly. In conclusion, Tanshinone IIA reversed SNL‐induced thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia and downregulated HMGB1 and TLR4 levels and inhibited the HMGB1‐TLR4 pathway. Tanshinone IIA inhibited TNF‐α and IL‐1β expression but not IF‐10 expression in the spinal cords of SNL rats. These results indicate that Tanshinone IIA inhibited SNL‐induced neuropathic pain via multiple effects, and targeting the HMGB1‐TLR4 pathway could serve as the basis of new antinociceptive agents.
Uniform versus Nonuniform Scaling of Normal Modes Predicted by Ab Initio Calculations: A Test on 2-(2,6-Dichlorophenyl)-N-(1,3-thiazol-2yl) Acetamide
Authors: Srivastava Ambrish K. , Pandey Anoop K. , Pandey Saurabh , Nayak Prakash S. , Narayana B. , Sarojini B. K. , Misra Neeraj
Published: July 2014

A test on calculated vibrational modes of 2-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-N-(1,3-thiazol-2yl) acetamide using ab initio density functional method has been performed. The calculated harmonic vibrational frequencies are scaled via two schemes, uniform, νscaled=0.9648νcalculated, and nonuniform, νscaled=22.1+0.9543νcalculated. Scaled vibrational modes are compared with experimental FTIR bands. A good correlation is shown between scaled frequencies with the correlation coefficient, R2=0.99638-0.99639. This clearly shows that both schemes efficiently reproduce observed spectrum. However, a close investigation of individual normal modes reveals that nonuniform scaling performs much better than uniform scaling especially in the high frequency region.