bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phototoxicity of Kava — Formation of Reactive Oxygen Species Leading to Lipid Peroxidation and DNA Damage
Authors: Xia Qingsu , Chiang Hsiu-Mei , Zhou Yu-Ting , Yin Jun-Jie , Liu Fang , Wang Cheng , Guo Lei , Fu Peter P.
Published: December 2012

Kava is one of the most widely sold herbal dietary supplements in the United States. It has been reported that, besides exhibiting hepatotoxicity, kava also possesses photosensitivity and induces dermopathy in humans. In this study, we determined that UVA irradiation of kava in the presence of a lipid, methyl linoleate, generated lipid peroxidation which was mediated by singlet oxygen generated during photoirradiation. The six major kavalactones(yangonin, 7,8-dihydrokawa in, kawain, 7,8-dihydromethysticin, methysticin, and 5,6-dehydrokawain) were also studied in parallel; only 5,6-dehydrokawain and yangonin-induced a low level of lipid peroxidation. UVA irradiation of kava in human HaCaT skin keratinocytes induced cytotoxicity which was mediated by oxidative stress, led to DNA strand cleavage, and produced 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) adduct. Study by the electron spin resonance (ESR) method revealed that UVA irradiation of kava produced singlet oxygen and carbon-centered radicals. The overall results suggest that kava is photocytotoxic and photogenotoxic, both mediated by free radicals generated during photoirradiation.
Tanshinone IIA Attenuates H2O2-Induced Injury in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells
Authors: Chan Paul , Chen Yen-Cheng , Lin Li-Jen , Cheng Tzu-Hurng , Anzai Kazunori , Chen Yin-Han , Liu Zhong-Min , Lin Jaung-Geng , Hong Hong-Jye
Published: December 2012

The injury of endothelial cell is the critical event of vascular disease. In endothelial cell, oxidative stress is regarded as critical to pathogenic factors in endothelial cell injury and apoptosis. Tanshinone IIA is the main effective component of Salvia miltiorrhiza known as "Danshen" in traditional Chinese medicine for treating cardiovascular disorders, but the mechanism by which it exerts the protective effect is not well established. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that tanshinone IIA can inhibit hydrogen peroxide ( H2O2 )-induced injury and unravel its intracellular mechanism in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In this study, HUVECs were treated with tanshinone IIA in the presence/absence of H2O2 . The protective effects of tanshinone IIA against H2O2 were evaluated. Our results show that HUVECs incubated with 200 μM H2O2 had significantly decreased the viability of endothelial cells, which was accompanied with apparent cell apoptosis, the activation of caspase-3 and the upregulation of p53 expression, which was known to play a key role in H2O2 -induced cell apoptosis. However, pretreatment with tanshinone IIA (3–10 μM) resulted in a significant resistance to H2O2 -induced apoptosis. In addition, pretreatment with tanshinone IIA decreased the activity of caspase-3 and p53 expression. Tanshinone IIA also induced activating transcription factor (ATF) 3 expression; while knockdown of ATF-3 with ATF-3 siRNAsignificantly reduced tanshinone IIA's protective effect. In conclusion, the present study shows that tanshinone IIA can protect endothelial cells against oxidative injury induced by H2O2 , suggesting that this compound may constitute a promising intervention against cardiovascular disorders and ATF-3 may play an important role in this process.
SNYDER GEOMETRY AND QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
Authors: VALTANCOLI P.
Published: December 2012

We find that, in presence of the Snyder geometry, the notion of translational invariance needs to be modified, allowing a momentum dependence of this symmetry. This step is necessary to build the maximally localized states and the Feynman rules of the corresponding quantum field theory.
EFFECT OF BOTH Z AND Z′-MEDIATED FLAVOR-CHANGING NEUTRAL CURRENTS ON Bs →τ+τ- DECAY
Authors: SAHOO S. , BANERJEE D. , KUMAR M. , MOHANTY S.
Published: December 2012

In recent years, Bs →τ+τ- rare decay has attracted a lot of attention since it is very sensitive to the structure of standard model (SM) and potential source of new physics beyond SM. In this paper, we study the effect of both Z and Z′-mediated flavor-changing neutral currents on the Bs →τ+τ- decay. We find the branching ratio B(Bs→τ+τ-) is enhanced relative to SM prediction, which would help to explain the recently observed CP-violation from like-sign dimuon charge asymmetry in the B system.
THERMAL SOLUTIONS FOR MOLECULAR EVOLUTION
Authors: MAST CHRISTOF B. , OSTERMAN NATAN , BRAUN DIETER
Published: December 2012

The key requirement to solve the origin of life puzzle are disequilibrium conditions. Early molecular evolution cannot be explained by initial high concentrations of energetic chemicals since they would just react towards their chemical equilibrium allowing no further development. We argue here that persistent disequilibria are needed to increase complexity during molecular evolution. We propose thermal gradients as the disequilibrium setting which drove Darwinian molecular evolution. On the one hand the thermal gradient gives rise to laminar thermal convection flow with highly regular temperature oscillations that allow melting and replication of DNA. On the other hand molecules move along the thermal gradient, a mechanism termed Soret effect or thermophoresis. Inside a long chamber a combination of the convection flow and thermophoresis leads to a very efficient accumulation of molecules. Short DNA is concentrated thousand-fold, whereas longer DNA is exponentially better accumulated. We demonstrated both scenarios in the same micrometer-sized setting. Forthcoming experiments will reveal how replication and accumulation of DNA in a system, driven only by a thermal gradient, could create a Darwinian process of replication and selection.
COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF NORMAL AND DIABETIC HEART RATE SIGNALS: A REVIEW
Authors: FAUST OLIVER , PRASAD V. RAMANAN , SWAPNA G. , CHATTOPADHYAY SUBHAGATA , LIM TEIK-CHENG
Published: December 2012

A large section of the world's population is affected by diabetes mellitus (DM), commonly referred to as "diabetes." Every year, the number of cases of DM is increasing. Diabetes has a strong genetic basis, hence it is very difficult to cure, but can be controlled with medications to prevent subsequent organ damage. Therefore, early diagnosis of diabetes is very important. In this paper, we examine how diabetes affects cardiac health, which is reflected through heart rate variability (HRV), as observed in electrocardiography (ECG) signals. Such signals provide clues for both the presence and severity of diabetes as well as diabetes-induced cardiac impairments. Heart rate (HR) is a non-linear and non-stationary signal. Thus, extracting useful information from HRV signals is a difficult task. We review several sophisticated signal processing and information extraction methods in order to establish measurable relationships between the presence and the extent of diabetes as well as the changes in the HRV signals. Furthermore, we discuss a typical range of values for several statistical, geometric, time domain, frequency domain, time–frequency, and non-linear features for HR signals from 15 normal and 15 diabetic subjects. We found that non-linear analysis is the most suitable approach to capture and analyze the subtle changes in HRV signals caused by diabetes.
COLLABORATION AND CONFLICT IN SOFTWARE REVIEW MEETINGS
Authors: LINHARES GIOVANA B. R. , BORGES MARCOS R. S. , ANTUNES PEDRO
Published: December 2012

This paper discusses the collaboration-conflict process: a binomial process mixing collaboration and conflict. We applied the collaboration-conflict process to Software Review Meetings, commonly adopted to verify the functional specification of software. We developed a groupware tool demonstrating the dynamics of the collaboration-conflict process in review meetings. We also provide results from an experiment with the tool in a software engineering firm. The results show that the collaboration-conflict process promotes argumentation and generates better reviews.
RISK INTEGRATION MECHANISMS AND APPROACHES IN BANKING INDUSTRY
Authors: LI JIANPING , FENG JICHUANG , SUN XIAOLEI , LI MINGLU
Published: December 2012

Recently, the number of consultative documents and research papers that discuss risk integration has grown considerably. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the work done on risk integration in the banking industry. This survey includes: (1) risk integration methods within regulatory frameworks and the banking industry; (2) challenges of risk integration; (3) risk interaction mechanisms; (4) development of risk integration approaches; (5) risk interaction results: diversification versus compounding effects; and (6) some future research topics in risk integration. We seek to understand developments in modeling risk integration, particularly in light of the global financial crisis of 2008 and important future research topics that emerge from both the literature and the banking industry.
THE LINEAR $\mathfrak{aff}(n|1)$-INVARIANT DIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS ON WEIGHTED DENSITIES ON THE SUPERSPACE ℝ1|n AND $\mathfrak{aff}(n|1)$-RELATIVE COHOMOLOGY
Authors: BASDOURI IMED , LARAIEDH ISMAIL , NCIB OTHMEN
Published: December 2012

Over the (1, n)-dimensional real superspace, we classify [Formula: see text]-invariant linear differential operators acting on the superspaces of weighted densities, where [Formula: see text] is the Lie superalgebra of contact vector fields. This result allows us to compute the first differential cohomology of [Formula: see text] with coefficients in the superspace of weighted densities, vanishing on the Lie superalgebra [Formula: see text]. We explicitly give 1-cocycles spanning these cohomology spaces.
DAMAGE POTENTIAL OF THE 2009 L'AQUILA, ITALY, EARTHQUAKE
Authors: DECANINI L. D. , LIBERATORE L. , MOLLAIOLI F.
Published: December 2012

On April 6, 2009 (1:32 UTC) an earthquake of magnitude MW6.3, caused by a normal fault rupture, shook the Abruzzo Region of Central Italy causing 309 deaths, hundreds injured and thousands homeless. L'Aquila city, which is located very close to the causative fault in hanging wall position, was severely damaged by the event. In this work, after a description of the damages observed in reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, a study on the characterization of damage potential of strong ground motions recorded during the main shock and the strongest aftershocks is presented. Elastic and inelastic spectral demands, in terms of displacement, forces, and energy are estimated and different parameters related to the "ground motion records destructiveness" are calculated. Moreover, the demand imposed on multi degree of freedom systems is estimated by means of nonlinear dynamic analyses and compared to the single degree of freedom systems demand.
On physical-layer identification of wireless devices
Authors: Danev Boris , Zanetti Davide , Capkun Srdjan
Published: December 2012

Physical-layer device identification aims at identifying wireless devices during radio communication by exploiting unique characteristics of their analog (radio) circuitry. This work systematizes the existing knowledge on this topic in order to enable a better understanding of device identification, its implications on the analysis and design of security solutions in wireless networks and possible applications. We therefore present a systematic review of physical-layer identification systems and provide a summary of current state-of-the-art techniques. We further present a classification of attacks and discuss the feasibility, limitations, and implications in selected applications. We also highlight issues that are still open and need to be addressed in future work.
Search-based software engineering
Authors: Harman Mark , Mansouri S. Afshin , Zhang Yuanyuan
Published: December 2012

In the past five years there has been a dramatic increase in work on Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE), an approach to Software Engineering (SE) in which Search-Based Optimization (SBO) algorithms are used to address problems in SE. SBSE has been applied to problems throughout the SE lifecycle, from requirements and project planning to maintenance and reengineering. The approach is attractive because it offers a suite of adaptive automated and semiautomated solutions in situations typified by large complex problem spaces with multiple competing and conflicting objectives.

This article
1
provides a review and classification of literature on SBSE. The work identifies research trends and relationships between the techniques applied and the applications to which they have been applied and highlights gaps in the literature and avenues for further research.
A BCI-based application in music
Authors: Folgieri Raffaella , Zichella Matteo
Published: December 2012

The relationship between the brain and music represents a fundamental field for investigation in HCI (human-computer interaction), for example, in games, virtual reality, and digital entertainment, due to the impact of music on human experience, emotions, and cognitive processes. For a low cost and the possibility of real-time analysis, the brain computer Interface (BCI) offers the potential for using music in HCI-related applications, as in games and entertainment.

In many studies related to music and the brain, BCI devices have been used both for psychological aims and for neuro-feedback-based therapy. In our work we focus on the possibility of enabling users to consciously play a specific musical note through low-cost BCI devices by reading subjects' brainwaves under a combined paradigm of audio, gesture, and visual stimuli. The results encourage further developments and future research.
Introduction to the special section on clinical data mining
Authors: Yu Shipeng , Rao Bharat
Published: December 2012

Mining clinical data is a fast-evolving field, ranging from mining patient data of a particular type (e.g., images, genomics) to mining the increased amount of mixed-format information (databases, free text, images, labs, etc) in electronic health records (EHR), to selecting, extracting and synthesizing relevant knowledge from large medical corpuses, to the promise of personalized medicine where therapy and prevention are tailored to smaller and smaller patient subpopulations, down to the individual patient. Clinical data mining can be a key asset in driving vast systemic improvements in healthcare, leading to improved patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. In this report we briefly survey the latest advancements in this field, and introduce four selected articles that cover both state-of-the-art data mining techniques for clinical data and discuss emerging clinical data mining applications.
A new algorithm for computing triple-base number system
Authors: Maitra Subhashis , Sinha Amitabha
Published: December 2012

We introduce here a generalized method a new Algorithm to find Triple-Base number system and Triple-Base chain and hence in turn Single Digit Triple-Base number system(SDTBNS). The proposed method is not only simpler and faster than the Algorithms to find Double-Base number system or Double-Base chain, experimentally it also returns a shorter length of Triple-Base chain which in turn reduces the size of the look-up-table to find out SDTBNS. The complexity analysis and experimental results shows the novelty of the proposed Algorithm. Moreover when the proposed method is applied to find scalar multiplication in case of Elliptic Curve Cryptography and coefficient multiplication in case of designing digital filter, its efficiency also proves its novelty. Here we have used third base as 5 because when it is multiplied by 2 gives 10 which can be efficiently used for decimal shifting, i.e. if an integer 'n' can be represented in SDTBNS form, then n/10
x
or nx10
x
can also represented in SDTBNS only by diving or multiplying 'n' by 10.
Network load and traffic pattern on the capacity of wireless ad hoc networks
Authors: Kumar Shiv , Murthy Seshadri Krishna , Varaprasad G. , Sivasathya S.
Published: December 2012

This paper focuses on the capacity of wireless ad hoc networks and analyzes the effect of key factors viz. network size, traffic patterns and detailed local radio interactions on the capacity of such networks. The capacity is evaluated with several different network layouts and traffic patterns through simulations. To demonstrate the impact of these factors, the capacity evaluation starts with a simple case of a chain of evenly spaced nodes in a network environment and progresses to a network with random traffic and randomly spaced nodes. Initially, capacity of static nodes is evaluated for various network layouts and traffic patterns. Since, in most scenarios, nodes do not travel significant distances during packet transmissions. As an enhancement, mobility of nodes is introduced into the network scenario and the performance is again evaluated. The simulations are carried out using OPNET modeler and the results obtained are presented in this report. The results are analyzed to understand the impact of these factors on the capacity and consequently suggest measures to increase the same. This work shows that the achievable capacity of ad hoc network depends on network size, traffic pattern and mobility. In a single cell topology, it is found that there is a 50% reduction in network throughput, if the node size increases from 2 to 10 nodes, whereas there is a 74% reduction in the throughput for chain topology for the same increase in node size. In a lattice topology with horizontal traffic, there is a 46 % reduction in network throughput when the lattice size increases from 4X4 to 5x5.The same percentage of reduction is observed when both horizontal and network traffic is introduced. In a random network topology with random traffic, there is an 80 % reduction in network throughput when the node size increases from 150 to 750 nodes. However, for the same scenario with the introduction of mobility to the nodes, a slight improvement is achieved with an overall 75% reduction in network throughput.
Are call detail records biased for sampling human mobility?
Authors: Ranjan Gyan , Zang Hui , Zhang Zhi-Li , Bolot Jean
Published: December 2012

Call detail records (CDRs) have recently been used in studying different aspects of human mobility. While CDRs provide a means of sampling user locations at large population scales, they may not sample all locations proportionate to the visitation frequency of a user, owing to sparsity in time and space of voice-calls, thereby introducing a bias. Also, as the rate of sampling is inherently dependent on the calling frequencies of an individual, high voice-call activity users are often chosen for conducting a meaningful study. Such a selection process can, inadvertently, lead to a biased view as high frequency callers may not always be representative of an entire population. With the advent of 3G technology and wide adoption of smart-phones, cellular devices have become versatile end-hosts. As the data accessed on these devices does not always require human initiation, it affords us with an unprecedented opportunity to validate the utility of CDRs for studying human mobility. In this work, we investigate various metrics for human mobility studied in literature for over a million cellular users in the San Francisco bay-area, for over a month. Our findings reveal that although the voice-call process does well to sample significant locations, such as home and work, it may in some cases incur biases in capturing the overall spatio-temporal characteristics of individual human mobility. Additionally, we motivate an "artificially" imposed sampling process, vis-a-vis the voice-call process with the same average intensity. We observe that in many cases such an imposed sampling process yields better performance results based on the usual metrics like entropies and marginal distributions used often in literature.
Vascularity of myocardium and gastrocnemius muscle in rats selectively bred for endurance running capacity
Authors: Beighley Patricia E. , Zamir Mair , Wentz Robert J. , Koch Lauren G. , Britton Steven L. , Ritman Erik L.
Published: December 2012

We tested the hypothesis that changes in the arteriolar branching architecture contributed to increased running capacity of rats subjected to two-way artificial selection for intrinsic aerobic endurance treadmill running capacity resulting in strains of low-capacity and high-capacity endurance rats. Hearts and gastrocnemius muscles were harvested from each strain, and the microvasculature's branching geometry measured from micro-CT images. The vascular branching geometry of the hearts and skeletal muscle from the high capacity was indistinguishable from low-capacity rats. Our hypothesis was not supported. Neither remodeling nor an increase in arteriolar microvasculature branching appears to play a role in the enhanced performance of the high capacity rats. We are led to speculate that endothelial tolerance for shear stress and/or increased coupling of myocardial muscle fiber metabolic-to-contractile function is increased in the high-capacity runner strain to the effect of allowing either higher flow rate per unit volume of muscle or more efficient use of oxygen and nutrients in the high-capacity endurance rats.
The Behaviour of Stallions in a Semiferal Herd in Iceland: Time Budgets, Home Ranges, and Interactions
Authors: Sigurjonsdottir Hrefna , Thorhallsdottir Anna G. , Hafthorsdottir Helga M. , Granquist Sandra M.
Published: December 2012

A permanent herd of Icelandic horses with four stallions and their harems was studied for a total of 316 hours in a large pasture (215 ha) in May 2007 in Iceland. Interactions between stallions of different harems and other aspects of the horses' behaviour were studied. One stallion and nine horses were introduced into the pasture prior to the study to examine the reactions of the resident stallions to a newcomer. The stallions spent significantly less time grazing than other horses and were more vigilant. Home ranges overlapped, but harems never mixed. The stallions prevented interactions between members of different harems indirectly by herding. Generally, interactions between resident stallions were nonviolent. However, encounters with the introduced stallion were more aggressive and more frequent than between the other stallions. Here, we show that four harems can share the same enclosure peacefully. The social network seems to keep aggression at a low level both within the harems and the herd as a whole. We encourage horse owners to consider the feasibility of keeping their horses in large groups because of low aggression and because such a strategy gives the young horses good opportunities to develop normally, both physically and socially.
Pth Moment Exponential Stability of Impulsive Stochastic NeuralNetworks with Mixed Delays
Authors: Li Xiaoai , Zou Jiezhong , Zhu Enwen
Published: December 2012

This paper investigates the problem of pth moment exponential stability for a class of stochastic neural networks with time‐varying delays and distributed delays under nonlinear impulsive perturbations. By means of Lyapunov functionals, stochastic analysis and differential inequality technique, criteria on pth moment exponential stability of
this model are derived. The results of this paper are completely new and complement
and improve some of the previously known results (Stamova and Ilarionov (2010), Zhang et al. (2005), Li (2010), Ahmed and Stamova (2008), Huang et al. (2008), Huang et al. (2008), and Stamova (2009)). An example is employed to illustrate our feasible results.
An Investigation of the Use of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Stroke Patients in Taiwan
Authors: Liao Chien-Chang , Lin Jaung-Geng , Tsai Chin-Chuan , Lane Hsin-Long , Su Ta-Chen , Wang Hwang-Huei , Sung Fung-Chang , Chen Ta-Liang , Shih Chun-Chuan
Published: December 2012

Background. The use of complementary and alternative medicine in critical illness is increasing worldwide. This study investigates how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is used in stroke patients.Methods. Using Taiwan National Health Insurance reimbursement claims, we compared the annual use of TCM between stroke patients and general population, identifying 15,330 patients with a new onset of stroke in 2000–2009. The sociodemographic status and medical comorbidities between stroke patients receiving TCM services and those without using the service were compared.Results. The use of TCM was higher in stroke patients than in the general population, 27.9% versus 25.4% in 2000 and 32.7% versus 27.8% in 2009, respectively, and grew consistently from 2000 to 2009. Among stroke patients, women, younger patients, white-collar employees, higher-income residents, and those living in areas with more TCM physicians were more likely to use TCM. Stroke patients using rehabilitation services were more likely to have more TCM visits (OR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.96–2.66) and higher expenditure on TCM (OR = 2.67, 95% CI = 2.29–3.12) compared with stroke patients without rehabilitation.Conclusion. TCM is popular and well accepted in Taiwan. Patients with stroke have a higher TCM utilization rate than people without stroke.
Change of Body Composition and Adipokines and Their Relationship with Insulin Resistance across Pubertal Development in Obese and Nonobese Chinese Children: The BCAMS Study
Authors: Xu Lu , Li Ming , Yin Jinhua , Cheng Hong , Yu Miao , Zhao Xiaoyuan , Xiao Xinhua , Mi Jie
Published: December 2012

A transient increase in insulin resistance (IR) is a component of puberty. We investigated the impact of body composition and adipokines on IR during puberty in Chinese children. This study included 3223 schoolchildren aged 6–18 years. IR was calculated using homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). We revealed that body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference increased gradually during puberty in both genders, while fat-mass percentage (FAT%) increased steadily only in girls. Change of leptin showed striking sexual dimorphisms: in girls leptin increased steadily during puberty, whereas in boys, after a transient rise at the beginning of puberty, leptin declined by Tanner staging even in those overweight or obese. Inversely, adiponectin level decreased significantly during puberty. In both genders, HOMA-IR started to increase at the beginning of puberty, peaked in the middle, and revised at late puberty in overweight/obesity boys while it stayed high till the end of puberty in girls and normal weight boys. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that leptin presented a stronger indicator of HOMA-IR than anthropometric measures during puberty. Our results demonstrated that gender-specific FAT% and leptin changed with pubertal development. Leptin emerged as a stronger predictor of IR than traditional anthropometric indices, suggesting a prominent role in the development of pubertal IR.
Evolutionary and Molecular Aspects of Indian Tomato Leaf Curl Virus Coat Protein
Authors: Kumar Sivakumar Prasanth , Patel Saumya K. , Kapopara Ravi G. , Jasrai Yogesh T. , Pandya Himanshu A.
Published: December 2012

Tomato leaf curl disease (ToLCD) is manifested by yellowing of leaf lamina with upward leaf curl, leaf distortion, shrinking of the leaf surface, and stunted plant growth caused by tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV). In the present study, using computational methods we explored the evolutionary and molecular prospects of viral coat protein derived from an isolate of Vadodara district, Gujarat (ToLCGV-[Vad]), India. We found that the amino acids in coat protein required for systemic infection, viral particle formation, and insect transmission to host cells were conserved amongst Indian strains. Phylogenetic studies on Indian ToLCV coat proteins showed evolutionary compatibility with other viral taxa. Modeling of coat protein revealed a topology similar to characteristic Geminate viral particle consisting of antiparallel β-barrel motif with N-terminus α-helix. The molecular interaction of coat protein with the viral DNA required for encapsidation and nuclear shuttling was investigated through sequence- and structure-based approaches. We further emphasized the role of loops in coat protein structure as molecular recognition interface.
Asymmetric Information and Quantization in Financial Economics
Authors: Hawkins Raymond J. , Frieden B. Roy
Published: December 2012

We show how a quantum formulation of financial economics can be derived from asymmetries with respect to Fisher information. Our approach leverages statistical derivations of quantum mechanics which provide a natural basis for interpreting quantum formulations of social sciences generally and of economics in particular. We illustrate the utility of this approach by deriving arbitrage-free derivative-security dynamics.
Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity, and Gastrointestinal Cancer
Authors: Fujihara Shintaro , Mori Hirohito , Kobara Hideki , Nishiyama Noriko , Kobayashi Mitsuyoshi , Oryu Makoto , Masaki Tsutomu
Published: December 2012

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities and is defined as the presence of three or more of the following factors: increased waist circumference, elevated triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high fasting glucose. Obesity, which is accompanied by metabolic dysregulation often manifested in the metabolic syndrome, is an established risk factor for many cancers. Adipose tissue, particularly visceral fat, is an important metabolic tissue as it secretes systemic factors that alter the immunologic, metabolic, and endocrine milieu and also promotes insulin resistance. Within the growth-promoting, proinflammatory environment of the obese state, cross-talk between macrophages, adipocytes, and epithelial cells occurs via obesity-associated hormones, adipocytokines, and other mediators that may enhance cancer risk and progression. This paper synthesizes the evidence on key molecular mechanisms underlying the obesity-cancer link.
Thermostructural Analysis of Plate-Type Heat Exchanger Prototypes Considering Weld Properties
Authors: Song Kee-nam , Hong Sung-deok
Published: December 2012

The mechanical properties in a weld zone are different from those in the parent material owing to their different microstructures and residual weld stresses. Welded plate-type heat exchanger prototypes made of Hastelloy-X alloy were manufactured, and performance tests on the prototypes were performed in a small-scale nitrogen gas loop at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Owing to a lack of mechanical properties in the weld zone, previous research on the strength analyses of the prototypes was performed using the parent material properties. In this study, based on the mechanical properties of Hastelloy-X alloy obtained using an instrumented indentation technique, strength analyses considering the mechanical properties in the weld zone were performed, and the analysis results were compared with previous research. As a result of the comparison, a thermostructural analysis considering the weld material properties is needed to understand the structural behavior and evaluate the structural integrity of the prototype more reliably.
Child and Home Predictors of Children's Name Writing
Authors: Gerde Hope K. , Skibbe Lori E. , Bowles Ryan P. , Martoccio Tiffany L.
Published: December 2012

The current study used dominance analysis to investigate the relative importance of multiple factors on children's (ages 3–5; mean age of 47.3 months) name writing skill when they enter preschool. Children () were tested individually at the beginning of preschool on six factors thought to be important for name writing success: letter knowledge, decoding, motor skills, problem behaviors, self-regulation, and home literacy environment. Collectively, these variables explained 37.1% of the variation in children's name writing, but the importance of each factor differed widely. Children’s knowledge of capital letters (11.8%) and their motor development (11.8%) were the most important for children’s name writing whereas the home learning environment (2.3%) and reported problem behaviors (1.5%) were the least important factors. These findings suggest that researchers and teachers should focus on letter knowledge and motor development in understanding and promoting children’s name writing skills.
Fault Detection for Industrial Processes
Authors: Zhang Yingwei , Zhang Lingjun , Zhang Hailong
Published: December 2012

A new fault‐relevant KPCA algorithm is proposed. Then the fault detection approach is proposed based on the fault‐relevant KPCA algorithm. The proposed method further decomposes both the KPCA principal space and residual space into two subspaces. Compared with traditional statistical techniques, the fault subspace is separated based on the fault‐relevant influence. This method can find fault‐relevant principal directions and principal components of systematic subspace and residual subspace for process monitoring. The proposed monitoring approach is applied to Tennessee Eastman process and penicillin fermentation process. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
High Order Linguistic Features Such as Ambiguity Processing as Relevant Diagnostic Markers for Schizophrenia
Authors: Ketteler Daniel , Theodoridou Anastasia , Ketteler Simon , Jäger Matthias
Published: December 2012

Due to the deficits of schizophrenic patients regarding the understanding of vague meanings (D. Ketteler and S. Ketteler (2010)) we develop a special test battery called HOLF (high order linguistic function test), which should be able to detect subtle linguistic performance deficits in schizophrenic patients. HOLF was presented to 40 schizophrenic patients and controls, focussing on linguistic features such as ambiguity, synonymy, hypero-/hyponymy, antinomy, and adages. Using the HOLF test battery we found that schizophrenic patients showed significant difficulties in discriminating ambiguities, hypero- and hyponymy, or synonymy compared to healthy controls. Antonyms and adages showed less significant results in comparing both groups. The more difficult a linguistic task was, the more confusion was measured in the schizophrenic group while healthy controls did not show significant problems in processing high order language tasks.
Fuzzy Networked Control Systems Design Considering Scheduling Restrictions
Authors: Benítez-Pérez H. , Benítez-Pérez A. , Ortega-Arjona J. , Esquivel-Flores O.
Published: December 2012

Nowadays network control systems present a common approximation when connectivity is the issue to be solved based on time delays coupling from external factors. However, this approach tends to be complex in terms of time delays. Therefore, it is necessary to study the behavior of the delays as well as the integration into differential equations of these bounded delays. The related time delays needs to be known a priory but from a dynamic real-time behavior. To do so, the use of priority dynamic Priority exchange scheduling is performed. The objective of this paper is to show a way to tackle multiple time delays that are bounded and the dynamic response from real-time scheduling approximation. The related control law is designed considering fuzzy logic approximation for nonlinear time delays coupling, where the main advantage is the integration of this behavior through extended state space representation keeping certain linear and bounded behavior and leading to a stable situation during events presentation by guaranteeing stability through Lyapunov.
Chemical Recycling of Expanded Polystyrene Waste: Synthesis of Novel Functional Polystyrene‐Hydrazone Surface for Phenol Removal
Authors: Siyal Ali N. , Memon Saima Q. , Parveen Sajida , Soomro Asma , Khaskheli Mazhar I. , Khuhawar M. Y.
Published: December 2012

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) waste was chemically recycled to a novel functional polystyrene‐hydrazone (PSH) surface by acetylation of polystyrene (PS) and then condensation with phenyl hydrazine. The synthesized surface was characterized by the FT‐IR and elemental analysis. Synthesized novel functional PSH surface was successfully applied for the treatment of phenol‐contaminated industrial wastewater by solid‐phase extraction. Multivariant sorption optimization was achieved by factorial design approach. 99.93% of phenol was removed from aqueous solution. FT‐IR study showed the involvement of nitrogen of hydrazone moiety of synthesized surface for the uptake of phenol through the hydrogen bonding.
Molecular Pathways: Targeted α-Particle Radiation Therapy
Authors: Baidoo Kwamena E. , Yong Kwon , Brechbiel Martin W.
Published: December 2012

An α-particle, a 4He nucleus, is exquisitely cytotoxic and indifferent to many limitations associated with conventional chemo- and radiotherapy. The exquisite cytotoxicity of α-radiation, the result of its high mean energy deposition [high linear energy transfer (LET)] and limited range in tissue, provides for a highly controlled therapeutic modality that can be targeted to selected malignant cells [targeted α-therapy (TAT)] with minimal normal tissue effects. A burgeoning interest in the development of TAT is buoyed by the increasing number of ongoing clinical trials worldwide. The short path length renders α-emitters suitable for treatment and management of minimal disease such as micrometastases or residual tumor after surgical debulking, hematologic cancers, infections, and compartmental cancers such as ovarian cancer or neoplastic meningitis. Yet, despite decades of study of high LET radiation, the mechanistic pathways of the effects of this modality remain not well defined. The modality is effectively presumed to follow a simple therapeutic mechanism centered on catastrophic double-strand DNA breaks without full examination of the actual molecular pathways and targets that are activated that directly affect cell survival or death. This Molecular Pathways article provides an overview of the mechanisms and pathways that are involved in the response to and repair of TAT-induced DNA damage as currently understood. Finally, this article highlights the current state of clinical translation of TAT as well as other high-LET radionuclide radiation therapy using α-emitters such as 225Ac, 211At, 213Bi, 212Pb, and 223Ra. Clin Cancer Res; 19(3); 530–7. ©2012 AACR.
Use of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire for Monitoring Health Status in Patients With Aortic Stenosis
Authors: Arnold Suzanne V. , Spertus John A. , Lei Yang , Allen Keith B. , Chhatriwalla Adnan K. , Leon Martin B. , Smith Craig R. , Reynolds Matthew R. , Webb John G. , Svensson Lars G. , Cohen David J.
Published: December 2012

Background—

Improving functional status and quality of life are important goals of treatment for patients with severe aortic stenosis. The Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) is a heart failure health status measure and has been used in studies of patients with aortic stenosis. However, its psychometric properties have not yet been evaluated in these patients.

Methods and Results—

We analyzed data from 955 patients, enrolled in the PARTNER trial of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, to evaluate the reliability, responsiveness, validity, and prognostic importance of the KCCQ in patients with severe aortic stenosis. The KCCQ was administered at baseline and at 1, 6, and 12 months after randomization to medical therapy, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or surgical valve replacement. Among clinically stable patients, there were only small changes in the KCCQ domain scores over time (mean differences 0.1–4.2 points), and the intraclass correlation coefficients showed good agreement between paired assessments (0.65–0.76). However, the domain scores of patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement showed large changes after treatment (mean differences 13–30 points). Construct validity was demonstrated by comparing each domain against a relevant reference measure (Spearman correlations 0.46–0.69). Finally, among 157 patients randomized to medical management, lower KCCQ overall summary scores at baseline were strongly associated with an increased risk of mortality during the following 12 months.

Conclusions—

The KCCQ is a highly reliable, responsive, and valid measure of symptoms, functional status, and quality of life in patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis.
Classifying Serial Sexual Murder/Murderers
Authors: Bennell Craig , Bloomfield Sarah , Emeno Karla , Musolino Evanya
Published: December 2012

Keppel and Walter’s (1999) classification system for serial sexual murder/murderers is sometimes used as the basis for generating offender profiles despite the fact that it has yet to be empirically validated. This model assumes that serial sexual murder/murderers can be classified into four categories—power-assertive, power-reassurance, anger-retaliation, and anger-excitation—according to the degree of anger and power exhibited by the offender in their criminal and noncriminal lives. Within the current study, assessing the validity of this model involved examining the crimes and backgrounds of 53 serial sexual murderers to determine if the categories proposed by Keppel and Walter could be identified. Proximity Scaling was used to examine the degree of co-occurrence between each and every behavior/characteristic. No evidence of highly co-occurring behaviors/characteristics from Keppel and Walter’s proposed categories was found, indicating that the classification system is potentially invalid. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.
Investigating the Underlying Structure and Stability of Problem Behaviors Across Adolescence
Authors: Childs Kristina K. , Sullivan Christopher J.
Published: December 2012

Data collected as part of the Projects on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) were used to examine (1) the underlying structure of adolescent problem behavior, (2) continuity and change in patterns of problem behaviors across mid to late adolescence and (3) the risk and protective factors related to observed patterns of behavior. The data used in this study were taken from Waves 2 and 3 of Cohorts 12 and 15 of PHDCN (n = 1,124). The results suggested that a 4-class categorical model (i.e., latent class analysis) best represents the pattern of responses to behavioral items used to measure delinquency, substance use, and risky sexual practices. The analyses revealed patterns of stability, escalation, and de-escalation, as well as differential risk across the four groups. Implications for understanding problem behaviors and prevention and intervention strategy are discussed.
Measurement of Sibling Violence
Authors: Khan Roxanne , Cooke David J.
Published: December 2012

The measurement of violence is a major challenge in aggression research. Because of the heterogeneous nature of violent behavior, problems arise when applying blanket measures to inherently distinct subtypes of aggression. Incidents of intersibling violence (ISV) exacerbate these problems because siblinghood represents a unique offender–victim situation. This research explored whether an existing two-factor model for severe violence found in a sample of 250 adult offenders (age M = 26.8, SD = 5.9) could be generalized to deliberate severe ISV in a sample of 111 young offenders (age M = 14.83, SD = 1.45). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor model encompassing severe ISV perpetration with weapon use (Factor 1) and severe ISV perpetration without weapon use (Factor 2). The results provide strong empirical support for the two-factor model of violence severity previously established with adult offenders. This analysis demonstrates construct validity of the severity measures among the different types of offenders studied and provides support for generalization across populations.
Family Formation and Offspring Mortality in Sweden
Authors: Saarela Jan , Finnäs Fjalar , Rostila Mikael
Published: December 2012

Using multigenerational population register data that cover the total Swedish population, we studied relative mortality of offspring whose parents had formed a new family with children. These primarily adult-age children are found to have lower death risks than those with divorced parents who did not form a new family, which highlights that the link between parental family formation and offspring health may be attributed not only to causal factors associated with family disruption but also to social selection in parents. The association differs notably according to whether sibling groups are determined according to the mother or the father. This finding is interpreted as reflecting varying environmental exposure, because most minor children who experience parental divorce remain with the mother. We approximate that parental social selection, which maliciously affects offspring health, raises the offspring mortality risk by 20%.
Fertility and the Stability of Cohabiting Unions
Authors: Guzzo Karen Benjamin , Hayford Sarah R.
Published: December 2012

An extensive body of research demonstrates that children increase the stability of marriage, but it is unclear whether the same is true for cohabitation. Marital stability theories often assume fertility is intended, which is less likely to be the case for cohabiting births. Using the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, we find that intended and disagreed-upon pregnancies (but not unintended pregnancies) reduce the risk of dissolution relative to women who have no pregnancy or birth. Relative to nonfertile couples, all pregnancies increase the risk of marriage over staying cohabiting, but there is little difference in the odds of stability or transitions after birth. However, relative to an intended birth, having an unintended or disagreed-upon birth increases the risk of dissolution. These findings suggest that normative pressures influence the union behaviors of cohabitors during pregnancy, whereas selection processes and rational choice considerations play a greater role after a birth.
Chronic migraine and chronic daily headache in the Asia-Pacific region: A systematic review
Authors: Stark Richard J , Ravishankar K , Siow Hua Chiang , Lee Kwang Soo , Pepperle Rachael , Wang Shuu-Jiun
Published: December 2012

Background:

Data on the prevalence and characteristics of chronic migraine (CM) and chronic daily headache (CDH) in the Asia-Pacific region are limited.

Methods:

We performed a systematic review on this topic, searching for studies published from 1996 to 2012 that reported the prevalence (population-based studies) or frequency (clinic studies) of CM or CDH. We calculated 95% confidence intervals for the prevalence in population studies. Results were qualitatively described.

Results:

Seven population studies and 19 hospital clinic studies from Asia were included. The CDH prevalence in population studies was 1.0–3.9% (median 2.9%). Only two studies from Taiwan reported the population prevalence of CM (1.0% and 1.7%). In addition, we derived a prevalence of 0.6% from a Malaysian study. Eleven clinic studies reported a CM frequency of 4.7–82% (median 52%) as a subset of CDH; classification of medication overuse varied. CM was associated with substantial disability.

Conclusions:

The prevalence of CM and CDH in Asia appears lower than the global average, but applying the above prevalence estimates to the Asia-Pacific population would suggest that CM alone affects between 23 and 65 million individuals in the region.