bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
INTENSITY INTERFEROMETRY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Authors: HORCH E. P. , VAN BELLE G. , GENET R. M. , HOLENSTEIN B. D.
Published: January 2014

Advances in detector technology and electronic timing capabilities in recent years have resulted in a new opportunity for ultra-high resolution in astronomy using intensity interferometry. We have been working with this technology and describe here the potential as we see it. Two separate opportunities exist at present: the use of Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) detectors with existing research-grade telescopes and photomultipliers coupled with light bucket telescopes. In the future, there may also be potential for space-based intensity interferometry. While intensity interferometry is not likely to replace amplitude-based interferometry, it does have certain advantages in terms of portability, use of large baselines, narrow-band imaging, and imaging in the blue. We see a new possibility for its use particularly in stellar astrophysics for these reasons.
Content-based tag propagation and tensor factorization for personalized item recommendation based on social tagging
Authors: Rafailidis Dimitrios , Axenopoulos Apostolos , Etzold Jonas , Manolopoulou Stavroula , Daras Petros
Published: January 2014

In this article, a novel method for personalized item recommendation based on social tagging is presented. The proposed approach comprises a content-based tag propagation method to address the sparsity and “cold start” problems, which often occur in social tagging systems and decrease the quality of recommendations. The proposed method exploits (a) the content of items and (b) users' tag assignments through a relevance feedback mechanism in order to automatically identify the optimal number of content-based and conceptually similar items. The relevance degrees between users, tags, and conceptually similar items are calculated in order to ensure accurate tag propagation and consequently to address the issue of “learning tag relevance.” Moreover, the ternary relation among users, tags, and items is preserved by performing tag propagation in the form of triplets based on users' personal preferences and “cold start” degree. The latent associations among users, tags, and items are revealed based on a tensor factorization model in order to build personalized item recommendations. In our experiments with real-world social data, we show the superiority of the proposed approach over other state-of-the-art methods, since several problems in social tagging systems are successfully tackled. Finally, we present the recommendation methodology in the multimodal engine of I-SEARCH, where users' interaction capabilities are demonstrated.
ACM-W Athena lectures
Authors: Brown Andy , Jay Caroline
Published: January 2014

The ACM is keen to recognise and celebrate outstanding women researchers who have made fundamental contributions to computer science. One part of this is the Athena Lectures: each year ACM honors a preeminent woman computer scientist as the Athena Lecturer. The researcher receiving this prestigious award will give an invited lecture at an ACM meeting (usually a ACM SIG conference); expenses are paid, and the winner will receive a $10,000 honorarium.
"Harvesting movie ratings from structured data in social media" by Simon Dooms and Luc Martens with Ching-man Au Yeung as coordinator
Authors: Dooms Simon , Martens Luc
Published: January 2014

Public movie rating datasets, like MovieLens or Netflix, have long been popular and widely used in the recommmender systems domain for comparison and experimentation. More and more however these datasets are becoming outdated and fail to incorporate new and relevant items. In our work, we tap into the vast availability of social media and construct a new movie rating dataset 'MovieTweetings' based on public and well-structured tweets. New data is added on a daily basis, which guarantees the MovieTweetings dataset to always incorporate ratings on the newest and most relevant movies.
Upcoming SIGWEB supported conferences
Authors: Samuel Hamman
Published: January 2014

The Special Interest Group on Hypertext and the Web, SIGWEB was created in 1989 to support the community participating in the annual ACM Hypertext Conference. Now in its third decade, SIGWEB has grown considerably and now sponsors five annual conferences of different sizes and covering a wide range of topics. SIGWEB supports several specialized conferences, short courses, and workshops, as well as the Annual Hypertext Conference. SIGWEB sponsored conferences focus on timely topics in applied and computational hypertext and Web disciplines and provide a place for members and the entire applied Hypermedia and Web community to exchange ideas and to meet with and expand their network of colleagues. In this article, we provide a brief overview of SIGWEB sponsored conferences, in addition to events that are in cooperation with SIGWEB.
Joint optimization of overlapping phases in MapReduce
Authors: Lin Minghong , Zhang Li , Wierman Adam , Tan Jian
Published: January 2014

MapReduce is a scalable parallel computing framework for big data processing. It exhibits multiple processing phases, and thus an efficient job scheduling mechanism is crucial for ensuring efficient resource utilization. This work studies the scheduling challenge that results from the overlapping of the "map" and "shuffle" phases in MapReduce. We propose a new, general model for this scheduling problem. Further, we prove that scheduling to minimize average response time in this model is strongly NP-hard in the offline case and that no online algorithm can be constant-competitive in the online case. However, we provide two online algorithms that match the performance of the offline optimal when given a slightly faster service rate.
Sojourn time distributions in tandem batch-networks
Authors: Harrison Peter
Published: January 2014

The joint probability distribution of a customer's sojourn times in passing through a tandem pair of geometric batch-queues is obtained as a Laplace-Stieltjes transform (LST). The results obtained relate to a customer that passes, within a full batch, between the queues rather than being discarded in a partial batch.
Queueing with future information
Authors: Spencer Joel , Sudan Madhu , Xu Kuang
Published: January 2014

We study an admissions control problem, where a queue with service rate 1 -
p
receives incoming jobs at rate λ ε (1?
p
, 1), and the decision maker is allowed to redirect away jobs up to a rate of
p
, with the objective of minimizing the time-average queue length.

We show that the amount of information about the future has a significant impact on system performance, in the heavy-traffic regime. When the future is unknown, the optimal average queue length diverges at rate ~ log

1/1-
p

1/1-λ, as λ → 1. In sharp contrast, when all future arrival and service times are revealed beforehand, the optimal average queue length converges to a finite constant, (1 -
p
)/
p
, as λ → 1. We further show that the finite limit of (1 -
p
)/
p
can be achieved using only a finite lookahead window starting from the current time frame, whose length scales as O(log 1/1-λ), as λ → 1. This leads to the conjecture of an interesting duality between queuing delay and the amount of information about the future.
A particle process underlying SSD storage structures
Authors: Coffman Edward G. , Momčilović Petar
Published: January 2014

We introduce a particle process that models the evolution of page configurations in solid-state-drive (SSD) storage devices. These devices use integrated circuitry as memory to store data. Typically, pages (units of storage) are organized into blocks of a given size. Three operations are permitted: write, read, and clean. Rewrites are not allowed, i.e., a page has to be "cleaned" before the write operation can be repeated. While the read and write operations are permitted on individual pages, the clean operation can be executed on whole blocks only. Analysis of our particle process captures a key tradeoff in the operation of SSD's.
Exploring smart grid and data center interactions for electric power load balancing
Authors: Wang Hao , Huang Jianwei , Lin Xiaojun , Mohsenian-Rad Hamed
Published: January 2014

The operation of a data center consumes a tremendous amount of electricity, and the energy cost accounts for a large portion of the data center's operation cost. This leads to a growing interest towards reducing the energy cost of data centers. One approach advocated in recent studies is to distribute the computation workload among multiple geographically dispersed data centers by exploiting the electricity price differences. However, the impact of load redistributions on the power grid is not well understood yet. This paper takes the first step towards tackling this important issue, by studying how the power grid can take advantage of the data center's load distribution proactively for the purpose of power load balancing. We model the interactions between power grid and data centers as a two-stage problem, where the power grid operator aims to balance the electric power load in the first stage, and the data centers seek to minimize their total energy cost in the second stage. We show that this two-stage problem is a bilevel program with an indefinite quadratic objective function, which cannot be solved efficiently using standard convex optimization algorithms. Therefore, we reformulate this bilevel optimization problem as a linear program with additional finite complementarity slackness conditions, and propose a branch and bound algorithm to attain the globally optimal solution. The simulation results demonstrate that our proposed scheme can improve the load balancing performance by around 12% in terms of the electric load index and reduce the energy cost of data centers by 46% on average.
Revisiting BGP churn growth
Authors: Elmokashfi Ahmed , Dhamdhere Amogh
Published: January 2014

In the mid 2000s there was some concern in the research and operational communities over the scalability of BGP, the Internet's interdomain routing protocol. The focus was on update churn (the number of routing protocol messages that are exchanged when the network undergoes routing changes) and whether churn was growing too fast for routers to handle. Recent work somewhat allayed those fears, showing that update churn grows slowly in IPv4, but the question of routing scalability has re-emerged with IPv6.

In this work, we develop a model that expresses BGP churn in terms of four measurable properties of the routing system. We show why the number of updates normalized by the size of the topology is constant, and why routing dynamics are qualitatively similar in IPv4 and IPv6. We also show that the exponential growth of IPv6 churn is entirely expected, as the underlying IPv6 topology is also growing exponentially.
Optimizing bi-directional low-latency communication in named data networking
Authors: Almishari Mishari , Gasti Paolo , Nathan Naveen , Tsudik Gene
Published: January 2014

Content-Centric Networking (CCN) is an alternative to today's Internet IP-style packet-switched host-centric networking. One key feature of CCN is its focus on content distribution, which dominates current Internet traffic and which is not well-served by IP. Named Data Networking (NDN) is an instance of CCN; it is an on-going research effort aiming to design and develop a full-blown candidate future Internet architecture. Although NDN's emphasizes content distribution, it must also support other types of traffic, such as conferencing (audio, video) as well as more historical applications, such as remote login and file transfer.

However, suitability of NDN for applications that are not obviously or primarily content-centric. We believe that such applications are not going away any time soon. In this paper, we explore NDN in the context of a class of applications that involve lowlatency bi-directional (point-to-point) communication. Specifically, we propose a few architectural amendments to NDN that provide significantly better throughput and lower latency for this class of applications by reducing routing and forwarding costs. The proposed approach is validated via experiments.
Peeking into the invitation-based adoption process of OSN-based applications
Authors: Rahman Mohammad Rezaur , Noël Pierre-André , Chuah Chen-Nee , Krishnamurthy Balachander , D'Souza Raissa M. , Wu S. Felix
Published: January 2014

Online social network (OSN) based applications often rely on user interactions to propagate information or to recruit more users, producing a sequence of user actions called adoption process or cascades. This paper presents the first attempt to quantitatively study the adoption process or cascade of such OSN-based applications by analyzing detailed user activity data from a popular Facebook gifting application. In particular, due to the challenge of monitoring user interactions over all possible channels on OSN platforms, we focus on characterizing the adoption process that relies only on user-based invitation (which is applicable to most gifting applications). We characterize the adoptions by tracking the invitations sent by the existing users to their friends through the Facebook gifting application and the events when their friends install the application for the first time. We found that a small number of big cascades carry the adoption of most of the application users. Contrary to common beliefs, we did not observe special influential nodes that are responsible for the viral adoption of the application.
A survey of interdomain routing policies
Authors: Gill Phillipa , Schapira Michael , Goldberg Sharon
Published: January 2014

Researchers studying the inter-domain routing system typically rely on models to fill in the gaps created by the lack of information about the business relationships and routing policies used by individual autonomous systems. To shed light on this unknown information, we asked 100 network operators about their routing policies, billing models, and thoughts on routing security. This short paper reports the survey's results and discusses their implications.
Feature interview with Antonio Nucci
Authors: Mellia Marco
Published: January 2014

Dr. Antonio Nucci is the chief technology officer of Narus and is responsible for setting the company's direction with respect to technology and innovation. He oversees the entire technology innovation lifecycle, including incubation, research, and prototyping. He also is responsible for ensuring a smooth transition to engineering for final commercialization. Antonio has published more than 100 technical papers and has been awarded 38 U.S. patents. He authored a book, "Design, Measurement and Management of Large-Scale IP Networks Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice", in 2009 on advanced network analytics. In 2007 he was recognized for his vision and contributions with the prestigious Infoworld CTO Top 25 Award. In 2013, Antonio was honored by InfoSecurity Products Guide's 2013 Global Excellence Awards as "CTO of the Year" and Gold winner in the "People Shaping Info Security" category. He served as a technical lead member of the Enduring Security Framework (ESF) initiative sponsored by various U.S. agencies to produce a set of recommendations, policies, and technology pilots to better secure the Internet (Integrated Network Defense). He is also a technical advisor for several venture capital firms.

Antonio holds a Ph.D. in computer science, and master's and bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy.
Inhibition of Mammalian Target of Rapamycin With Rapamycin Reverses Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Mice With Cardiomyocyte-Specific Knockout of PTEN
Authors: Xu Xihui , Roe Nathan D. , Weiser-Evans Mary C.M. , Ren Jun
Published: January 2014

The role of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted from chromosome 10 (PTEN) in the maintenance of cardiac homeostasis still remains controversial. This study was designed to evaluate the role of cardiomyocyte-specific PTEN in the maintenance of cardiac homeostasis and the underlying mechanisms involved with a focus on autophagy, an evolutionarily conserved pathway for protein degradation. Cardiomyocyte-specific PTEN
(flox/flox)
/α-myosin heavy chain Cre mice, henceforth referred to as CM-PTENKO, were generated by crossing the floxed PTEN mice with α-myosin heavy chain Cre mice driven by a Cre recombinase promoter. The adult PTEN
−/−
mice displayed the phenotype of established hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, including unfavorable geometric, functional, and histological changes. Furthermore, cardiomyocyte-specific PTEN knockout mice exhibited increased cardiac mammalian target of rapamycin although suppressed autophagy. Treatment with rapamycin (2 mg/kg per day, IP), an inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin, for 1 month effectively reversed the established hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in CM-PTENKO mice. With rapamycin treatment, autophagy activity was significantly restored in the heart of CM-PTENKO mice. Taken together, our results demonstrate an essential role for cardiomyocyte PTEN in maintaining cardiac homeostasis under physiological condition. Cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of PTEN results in the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy possibly through a mechanism associated with mammalian target of rapamycin hyperactivation and autophagy suppression.
Three new species of Aulonemia (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest
Authors: Viana Pedro Lage , Filgueiras Tarciso S.
Published: January 2014

Three new Brazilian species of Aulonemia, a Neotropical woody bamboo genus, are described and illustrated: Aulonemia cincta, with its distinctive corky girdles; Aulonemia prolifera, characterized, among other Brazilian congeners, by its fimbriate leaf sheaths; and Aulonemia soderstromii, with its conspicuous cluster of spreading fimbriae. These new species all propagate by amphipodial rhizomes, an unusual feature shared with the Brazilian species A. aristulata, with which they are morphologically compared. Comments about habitat, distribution, phenology, and conservation status for each species are provided, as well as photographs taken in the wild.
Noninvasive Keratograph assessment of tear film break-up time and location in patients with age-related cataracts and dry eye syndrome
Authors: Jiang Yongxiang , Ye Hongfei , Xu Jianjiang , Lu Yi
Published: January 2014

Objective

To investigate tear-film break-up time and spatial distribution via noninvasive Keratograph 4 in patients with cataracts and dry eye syndrome (DES).

Methods

Noninvasive first break-up time (NIKf-BUT) and average break-up time (NIKav-BUT) were evaluated via Keratograph 4 in patients with age-related cataracts and DES. The location and size of tear break regions were recorded and the distribution of first break-up areas was summarized. Patients also underwent conventional break-up time assessments (TBUT test and Schirmer’s test).

Results

A total of 43 left and 43 right eyes were examined. There was no significant difference between TBUT and NIKav-BUT. NIKf-BUT was significantly shorter than TBUT. Both NIKf-BUT and NIKav-BUT correlated positively with TBUT. In both the left and right eye, the most common first break-up areas were the peripheral domain of the inferior precorneal surface and the central domain of the superior portion.

Conclusions

The Keratograph 4 appears to provide an effective noninvasive method for assessing tear film, enabling effective preoperative evaluation of tear film break-up regularity, informing the location of the incision and reducing the probability of postoperative DES.
Improving Students’ Long-Term Knowledge Retention Through Personalized Review
Authors: Lindsey Robert V. , Shroyer Jeffery D. , Pashler Harold , Mozer Michael C.
Published: January 2014

Human memory is imperfect; thus, periodic review is required for the long-term preservation of knowledge and skills. However, students at every educational level are challenged by an ever-growing amount of material to review and an ongoing imperative to master new material. We developed a method for efficient, systematic, personalized review that combines statistical techniques for inferring individual differences with a psychological theory of memory. The method was integrated into a semester-long middle-school foreign-language course via retrieval-practice software. Using a cumulative exam administered after the semester’s end, we compared time-matched review strategies and found that personalized review yielded a 16.5% boost in course retention over current educational practice (massed study) and a 10.0% improvement over a one-size-fits-all strategy for spaced study.
Trends in aggregate cancer incidence rates in relation to screening and possible overdiagnosis: A word of caution
Authors: Duffy Stephen W. , Michalopoulos Dimitrios , Sebuødegård Sofie , Hofvind Solveig
Published: January 2014

Background

Overdiagnosis in breast cancer screening is a topic of debate. Researchers often estimate trends in incidence prior to screening and project these to predict incidence during the screening epoch.

Methods

Data was obtained from the Cancer Registry of Norway and the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Programme. Using breast cancer incidence prior to screening in Norway (1976–1995), incidence trends were estimated from age-period and age-cohort models. These estimates were used to predict the incidence of breast cancer in five-year age and period groups in the screening epoch (1996–2009).

Results

Excess numbers of cancers in the screening age range (6,876 cancers), and deficits in women above and below the screening age range (1,947 cancers) were observed. However, only part of the observed differences between the observed and the expected incidence can be explained by screening, as evidenced by numbers of excess cancers greater than the numbers of screen-detected cancers in some age groups and time periods.

Conclusion

There are potential errors in estimation of overdiagnosis from screening if individual data on screening exposure and detection mode are not taken into account. For reliable estimates of overdiagnosis, it is necessary to compare excess incidence in the screening period in those actually screened with the corresponding excess in those not screened. This is the subject of ongoing research.
An experimental validation of Temporal Semiotic Units and Parameterized Time Motifs
Authors: Frey Aline , Hautbois Xavier , Bootz Philippe , Tijus Charles
Published: January 2014

Nineteen Temporal Semiotic Units (TSU) have been defined by musicians and researchers from the Laboratoire Musique et Informatique de Marseille (MIM) as categories of musical segments that acquire meaning through their temporal organization. The model of Parameterized Time Motifs (PTMs) provides a graphic modelling of TSUs, which is based on temporal functions and allows for their synthesis. The aim of the present study is to validate the model of PTMs through categorization. To do this, musician and non-musician participants were made to listen and group together three kinds of musical segments: TSUs taken from existing musical works, musical segments played on the piano that correspond to TSUs, and TSUs synthesized from the PTM model. Results have shown that each musical segment, whether synthesized from the PTM model or not, was more frequently paired with other segments of the same TSU category than with other TSU segments. No strong effect of musical expertise was observed. Finally, some TSU categories seemed to be more easily identifiable than others. The significance of these results is discussed in regard to the categorization theory and the effect of implicit learning on perception and knowledge.
The labour of visual art in Western Australia
Authors: McKay Duncan
Published: January 2014

This article presents a conceptual model of the labour of visual art developed from the analysis of qualitative data collected from interviews with professional visual artists in Western Australia. The labour discussed relates to the exertions of artists to make places for themselves and their practices within the field of cultural production. It is what Bourdieu has described as a ‘specific labour’ in relation to milieu. Drawing on Florian Znaniecki’s philosophical and sociological work as a means of engaging with the multidimensional cultural values involved, this study found that the interviewed artists laboured across four realms of cultural production. Artists laboured in order to (1) define their practices, (2) create the conditions under which they can continue to practice, (3) attract validations of their practices and artistic identities and all the while they actively laboured to (4) maintain their integrity as an important creative and social resource. These four realms of production are integrated in a dynamic system where artists’ efforts in each impact on and influences the products of the others. Over the course of this article, it will be argued that the labour of professional visual art practice can be, and must be, understood across a number of dimensions and systems of cultural values.
Bleeding Outcomes in Patients Given Clopidogrel Within 5 Days of Robotic Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Procedure
Authors: Vainrub Sophia , Patanwala Asad E. , Cosgrove Richard , Poston Robert , Nolan Paul E.
Published: January 2014

Background: Current guidelines recommend that clopidogrel should be held for 5 days prior to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedure. However, it is unknown if this recommendation should apply to robotic-assisted (rCABG), which is less invasive because it does not involve sternotomy and thus reduces the risk of bleeding. Objective: To compare postoperative bleeding for rCABG patients who were taking clopidogrel within 5 days of the procedure with those who were not taking clopidogrel. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012 of consecutive patients undergoing rCABG. Patients were categorized into 2 groups based on whether or not clopidogrel was administered within 5 days prior to the date of surgery. The primary outcome measure was the occurrence of the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) definition for CABG-related bleeding. The secondary outcome measure was a comparison of chest tube output during the first 24-hour postoperative period. Results: A total of 136 rCABG patients were included in the final analyses. Of these, 39 (29%) received clopidogrel within 5 days of surgery. CABG-related bleeding using the BARC definition occurred in 26% of patients who received clopidogrel and 8% of patients who did not ( P = .011). Median chest tube output during the first 24-hour postoperative period was also greater in patients who received clopidogrel (900 vs 735 mL, P = .002). Conclusions: The use of clopidogrel within 5 days of rCABG is associated with greater postoperative bleeding and chest tube output, as defined by the BARC criteria.
Moral decline sociology: Critiquing the legacy of Durkheim
Authors: Hookway Nicholas
Published: January 2014

This article critically evaluates key assumptions within classical and contemporary ‘decline’ moral sociology. It argues that two dominant models of moral loss sociology – the ‘cultural pessimist’ and ‘communitarians’ – are indebted to a set of Durkheimian assumptions that underwrite his original diagnosis of the moral crisis of modernity. Three specific assumptions are identified and critiqued: view of human nature and self; ‘society’ as the necessary source of morality; and the functions of morality. The article suggests that these assumptions work to ignore how self, emotions and cultural ideals of self-improvement may work as alternate moral structures in late modernity.
Comparison of six different calprotectin assays for the assessment of inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Labaere Delphine , Smismans Annick , Van Olmen August , Christiaens Paul , D’Haens Geert , Moons Veerle , Cuyle Pieter-Jan , Frans Johan , Bossuyt Peter
Published: January 2014

Background and objectives

Faecal calprotectin is a valuable noninvasive marker for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of our study was to determine the correlation between six different calprotectin assays and compare their performance for diagnosis and follow up of IBD.

Methods

Thirty‐one patients with suspected IBD and 31 patients in follow up were included. We determined calprotectin by means of three rapid immmunochromatographic tests, two enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays, and one automated fluoroimmunoassay. Results were correlated with endoscopic and histological findings.

Results

Although all methods correlated significantly, slopes and intercepts differed extensively, with up to 5‐fold quantitative differences between assays. Sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of IBD were 82–83 and 84–89%, respectively. For follow up, sensitivity in detecting mild ulcerative colitis was 71–100%. In moderate‐to‐severe ulcerative colitis, sensitivity was 100% for all assays. Specificity was 67–86% in both subgroups. In Crohn's disease, only moderate‐to‐severe disease could be differentiated from remission, with sensitivity 83–86% and specificity 75% for all tests.

Conclusions

All calprotectin assays showed comparable clinical performance for diagnosis of IBD. For follow up, performance was acceptable, except for mild Crohn's disease. Because of the large quantitative differences, further efforts are needed to standardize calprotectin assays.
EndoFLIP system for the intraoperative evaluation of peroral endoscopic myotomy
Authors: Familiari Pietro , Gigante Giovanni , Marchese Michele , Boskoski Ivo , Bove Vincenzo , Tringali Andrea , Perri Vincenzo , Onder Graziano , Costamagna Guido
Published: January 2014

Background

Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has been recently introduced in clinical practice for the treatment of achalasia. The endoluminal functional lumen imaging probe (EndoFLIP) system) uses impedance planimetry for the real‐time measurement of the diameter of the oesophago‐gastric junction.

Objective

The aim of this study is to prospectively evaluate the effect of POEM on the oesophago‐gastric junction using EndoFLIP.

Methods

All the patients who underwent POEM in a single centre between April and July 2013 were enrolled in the study. EndoFLIP was used intraoperatively, immediately before and after POEM. During follow‐up patients underwent oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, oesophageal pH monitoring and manometry. Clinical outcomes were compared with the diameter of the oesophago‐gastric junction after POEM.

Results

In total, 23 patients (12 males, mean age 51.7 years) were enrolled, and 21 underwent POEM successfully. Preoperative mean basal lower oesophageal sphincter pressure was 42.1 mmHg (±17.6). Before POEM, the mean oesophago‐gastric junction diameter and cross‐sectional area were 6.3 mm (±1.8) and 32.9 mm2 (±23.1), respectively. After treatment, the mean diameter and cross‐sectional area of the oesophago‐gastric junction were 11.3 mm (±1.7 SD) and 102.38 mm2 (±28.2 SD), respectively. No complications occurred during a mean follow‐up of 5 months. Median post‐operative Eckardt score was 1. Three patients (14.3%) referred heartburn. Follow‐up studies revealed gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) in 57.1% of patients and oesophagitis in 33.3%. No correlations were observed between the diameter of oesophago‐gastric junction after POEM and symptoms relief, GORD incidence and lower oesophageal sphincter pressure.

Conclusions

The diameter of oesophago‐gastric junction substantially increases after POEM. EndoFLIP is a reliable method for the intraoperative evaluation of oesophago‐gastric junction diameter. However, the real usefulness of this technology after POEM remains controversial.
UNESCO and the Globalization of the Public Library Idea, 1948 to 1965
Authors: Laugesen Amanda
Published: January 2014

In the two decades following the end of the Second World War, the public library was promoted on a global scale by organizations such as UNESCO and the various librarians who worked with it. This article explores the global public library discourse that was shaped and promoted by UNESCO, placing this discourse within its historical context of the Cold War, decolonization, modernization, and internationalism. It also briefly examines some aspects of the work that UNESCO undertook to promote the public library in developing nations. While much of this work was well intentioned, global public library development was very much both a product and captive of its context. The work of UNESCO and the librarians who worked with the organization is a significant and fascinating chapter in library history that illuminates not only the evolution of library thought, but also illuminates the global work and thinking of international associations in the crucial decades of decolonization and the Cold War.
A prospective study on drug monitoring of PEGasparaginase and Erwinia asparaginase and asparaginase antibodies in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Tong Wing H. , Pieters Rob , Kaspers Gertjan J. L. , te Loo D. Maroeska W. M. , Bierings Marc B. , van den Bos Cor , Kollen Wouter J. W. , Hop Wim C. J. , Lanvers-Kaminsky Claudia , Relling Mary V. , Tissing Wim J. E. , van der Sluis Inge M.
Published: January 2014

Key Points

Use of native E coli asparaginase in induction leads to high hypersensitivity rates to PEGasparaginase in intensification. Switching to Erwinia asparaginase leads to effective asparaginase activity levels in most patients who experienced an allergy to PEGasparaginase.
MiR-133b is frequently decreased in gastric cancer and its overexpression reduces the metastatic potential of gastric cancer cells
Authors: Zhao Yu , Huang Jie , Zhang Li , Qu Ying , Li Jianfang , Yu Beiqin , Yan Min , Yu Yingyan , Liu Bingya , Zhu Zhenggang
Published: January 2014

Background

Emerging evidence has shown that microRNAs are involved in gastric cancer development and progression. Here we examine the role of miR-133b in gastric cancer.

Methods

Quantitative real-time PCR analysis was performed in 140 patient gastric cancer tissues and 8 gastric cancer cell lines. The effects of miR-133b in gastric cancer cells metastasis were examined by scratch assay, transwell migration and matrigel invasion. In vivo effects of miR-133b were examined in an intraperitoneal mouse tumor model. Targets of miR-133b were predicted by bioinformatics tools and validated by luciferase reporter analyses, western blot, and quantitative real-time PCR.

Results

MiR-133b was significantly downregulated in 70% (98/140) of gastric cancer patients. Expression of miR-133b was negatively correlated with lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer in patients. Similarly, the expression of miR-133b was significantly lower in seven tested gastric cancer cell lines than in the immortalized non-cancerous GES-1 gastric epithelial cells. Overexpression of miR-133b markedly inhibited metastasis of gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the transcriptional factor Gli1 was identified as a direct target for miR-133b. Level of Gli1 protein but not mRNA was decreased by miR-133b. Activity of luciferase with Gli1 3′-untranslated region was markedly decreased by miR-133b in gastric cancer cells. Gli1 target genes, OPN and Zeb2, were also inhibited by miR133b.

Conclusions

MiR-133b is frequently decreased in gastric cancer. Overexpression of miR-133b inhibits cell metastasis in vitro and in vivo partly by directly suppressing expression of Gli1 protein. These results suggested that miR-133b plays an important role in gastric cancer metastasis.
Cross sectional survey of human-bat interaction in Australia: public health implications
Authors: Paterson Beverley J , Butler Michelle T , Eastwood Keith , Cashman Patrick M , Jones Alison , Durrheim David N
Published: January 2014

Background

Flying foxes (megachiroptera) and insectivorous microbats (microchiroptera) are the known reservoirs for a range of recently emerged, highly pathogenic viruses. In Australia there is public health concern relating to bats’ role as reservoirs of Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABLV), which has clinical features identical to classical rabies. Three deaths from ABLV have occurred in Australia. A survey was conducted to determine the frequency of bat exposures amongst adults in Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales; explore reasons for handling bats; examine reported practices upon encountering injured or trapped bats or experiencing bat bites or scratches; and investigate knowledge of bat handling warnings.

Methods

A representative sample of 821 New South Wales adults aged 16 years and older were interviewed during May and June 2011, using a computer assisted telephone interview (CATI) method. Frequencies, proportions and statistical differences in proportion were performed. Using an α-value of 0.05 and power of 80%, it was calculated that a sample size of 800 was required to provide statistical significance of +/− 5% for dichotomous variables.

Results

One-hundred-and-twenty-seven (15.5%) respondents indicated that they had previously handled a bat, being 22% (48/218) rural and 13% (78/597) urban respondents (χ
2 = 9.8, p = 0.0018). Twenty one percent of males (63/304) had handled bats compared with 12% (64/517) of females (χ
2 = 10.2, p = 0.0014). Overall, 42.0% (n = 345) of respondents reported having seen or heard a warning about handling bats. If faced with an injured or trapped bat, 25% (206/821) indicated that they would handle the bat, with 17% (36/206) saying that they would use their bare hands. For minor scratches, 14% (117/821) indicated that they would ignore the injury while four respondents would ignore major scratches or bites.

Conclusions

Previous human-bat interactions were relatively common. Bat exposures most frequently occurred with sick or injured bats, which have the highest risk of ABLV. On encountering an injured or sick bat, potentially high risk practices were commonly reported, particularly among rural males. It is important to understand why people still handle bats despite public health warnings to inform future communication strategies.
The therapeutic target of estrogen receptor-alpha36 in estrogen-dependent tumors
Authors: Gu Yu , Chen Tianxiang , López Elena , Wu Weizhu , Wang Xiangdong , Cao Jiang , Teng Lisong
Published: January 2014

Estrogen receptor-alpha36 (ER-α36) is a new isoform of estrogen receptors without transcriptional activation domains of the classical ER-α(ER − α66). ER-α36 is mainly located in cytoplasm and plasma membrane. ER-α36 mediates non-genomic signaling and is involved in genomic signaling of other ERs. Recently ER-α36 is found to play a critical role in the development of estrogen-dependent cancers and endocrine resistance of breast cancer. The present article overviews and updates the biological nature and function of ER-α36, potential interaction of ER-α36 with other estrogen receptors and growth factor receptors, intracellular signaling pathways, potential mechanism by which ER-α36 may play an important role in the development of tumor resistance to endocrine therapies.
Brain biopsy in AIDS patients: diagnostic yield and treatment applications
Authors: Zibly Zion , Levy Itzchak , Litchevski Vlady , Nass Dvora , Hofmann Chen , Barham Jacob , Graves Christian A , Spiegelmann Roberto , Hadani Moshe , Cohen Zvi R
Published: January 2014

Objective

Central nervous system involvement in AIDS patients can present at any stage of the disease. Brain lesions detected in imaging studies are usually treated empirically. A brain biopsy is indicated in the absence of clinical and radiologic improvement. In the present study, 16 AIDS patients underwent brain biopsy. We evaluated the diagnostic yield of the brain biopsy and the changes in the disease course.

Materials and methods

Sixteen consecutive AIDS patients (12 men, 4 women; mean age 40.8 years) underwent a brain biopsy at Sheba Medical Center between 1997 and 2009. A retrospective analysis was performed and the clinical outcome was recorded.

Results

Median CD4 count before biopsy was 62.6. Magnetic resonance images revealed multiple lesions in 12 patients and enhancing lesions in 12 patients. A total of 19 biopsies were performed in 16 patients. In the present series, the initial procedures provided a diagnostic yield of 81.25% (13 diagnostic cases from 16 procedures in 16 patients). Two of these patients underwent repeated biopsies that were eventually diagnostic . If repeated biopsies were taken into consideration, the diagnostic yield was 93.75% (15 diagnostic cases in 16 patients). The rate of hemorrhagic complications was 10.5% (2 hemorrhages in 19 procedures).

Pathologic examination revealed parasitic and fungal infections in 6 patients (6/16; 38%), progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in 4 patients (4/16; 25%), AIDS encephalopathy in 4 patients (4/16; 25%), and lymphoma in 1 patient (1/16; 6%). One patient had a nonspecific inflammatory process (6%). The treatment modality was modified in 12 patients and led to clinical and radiologic improvement in 8 patients.

Conclusions

Brain biopsy should be considered when empiric treatment of central nervous system lesions in AIDS patients fails. Biopsy is diagnostic in the majority of patients. The diagnosis allows for treatment modifications, which lead to clinical and radiologic improvement in some patients.
Protective effects of flavonol isoquercitrin, against 6-hydroxy dopamine (6-OHDA) - induced toxicity in PC12 cells
Authors: Magalingam Kasthuri Bai , Radhakrishnan Ammu , Haleagrahara Nagaraja
Published: January 2014

Background

Free radicals-induced neurodegeneration is one of the many causes of Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study investigated the neuroprotective effects of flavonol isoquercitrin against toxicity induced by 6-hydroxy-dopamine (6-OHDA) in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells.

Methods

PC12 cells were pretreated with different concentrations of isoquercitrin for 4, 8 and 12 hours and incubated with 6-OHDA for 24 hours to induce oxidative cell damage.

Results

A significant cytoprotective activity was observed in isoquercitrin pre-treated cells in a dose-dependent manner. There was a significant increase (P < 0.01) in the antioxidant enzymes namely superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione in isoquercitrin pretreated cells compared to cells incubated with 6-OHDA alone. Isoquercitrin significantly reduced (P < 0.01) lipid peroxidation in 6-OHDA treated cells. These results suggested that isoquercitrin protects PC 12 cells against 6-OHDA–induced oxidative stress.

Conclusions

The present study suggests the protective role of isoquercitrin on 6-hydroxydopamine-induced toxicity by virtue of its antioxidant potential. Isoquercitrin could be a potential therapeutic agent against neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease.
Effectiveness of option B highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in pregnant HIV women
Authors: Ngemu Erastus K , Khayeka-Wandabwa Christopher , Kweka Eliningaya J , Choge Joseph K , Anino Edward , Oyoo-Okoth Elijah
Published: January 2014

Background

Ensuring that no baby is born with HIV is an essential step towards achieving an AIDS-free generation. To achieve this, strategies that decouple links between childbirth and HIV transmission are necessary. Traditional forms of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), has been recommended. Recognizing the importance and challenges of combination of methods to achieve rapid PMTCT, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended option B Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) for all HIV-positive pregnant women. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the HAART in PMTCT. A cohort of HIV-infected pregnant women in Kenya were obtained from the DREAM Center, Nairobi. The study participants underwent adherence counselling and Option B of HAART [Nevirapine(NVP) + Lamivudine + Zidovudine] at the fourth week of gestation followed by an intravenous NVP administration intrapartum and postpartum NVP syrup to the respective infants for six weeks. Absolute pre-HAART and post-HAART CD4 counts and viral loads counts were determined. Comparison of the CD4 counts and viral loads before and after administration of HAART were done using Wilcoxon’s Matched Pairs Signed-Ranks Test.

Findings

The mean absolute CD4 cell counts in mothers after administration of HAART was significantly higher (Z = 15.664, p < 0.001) than before the administration of HAART). Also the viral load of the mothers significantly (Z = 11.324, p < 0.001) reduced following HAART treatment. Following the HAART administration in mothers, up to 90% of children were confirmed to be HIV negative.

Conclusion

Administration of HAART to mothers and children demonstrated an effective mechanism of PMTCT. However, other aspects of HAART such as adherence, costs, mothers behaviour during HAART, and the child feeding programme during the therapy should further be evaluated and ascertained how they can affect the overall efficacy of option B HAART in PMTCT.
Detection of branch retinal artery occlusions in Susac’s syndrome
Authors: Boukouvala Stavroula , Jacob Saiju , Lane Mark , Denniston Alastair K , Burdon Michael A
Published: January 2014

Background

We report an interesting case of asymptomatic retinal involvement in an encephalopathic patient enabling early identification of Susac’s syndrome.

Case presentation

A 39-year-old Caucasian lady with hearing loss and encephalopathy was referred for ophthalmic assessment, including screening for branch retinal artery occlusions characteristic of Susac’s syndrome. Clinical features included severe headaches, right-sided hypoacusis, dysphasia and poor memory. Routine blood tests were normal. MRI brain showed numerous hyperintense lesions mainly in corpus callosum. Although she was visually asymptomatic, dilated funduscopy detected bilateral multiple peripheral branch retinal artery occlusions which were confirmed on fluorescein angiography. She was subsequently started on intravenous steroids and pulsed cyclophosphamide which improved her symptoms within 48 hours. Full recovery was made with no new arterial occlusions on four months follow-up.

Conclusion

The case further establishes the crucial role of a detailed ophthalmic examination supported by fluorescein angiography in the assessment of these patients, who are at risk of being misdiagnosed and undertreated.
The hypoglycemic effect of Juglans regia leaves aqueous extract in diabetic patients: A first human trial
Authors: Hosseini Saeed , Huseini Hasan Fallah , Larijani Bagher , Mohammad Kazem , Najmizadeh Alireza , Nourijelyani Keramt , Jamshidi Leila
Published: January 2014

Background

Juglans regia L. (J. regia ) is one of the medicinal plants traditionally used for treatment of diabetes in Iranian medicine. The effect of this plant has already been investigated on animal models; however, this is the first study conducted on human subjects. The aim of this study is to investigate the hypoglycemic effect of J. regia leaves aqueous extract in type 2 diabetes patients. Fifty eight Iranian male and female patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled. The patients were randomly allocated into two groups. One group (n = 30) received J. regia leaves extract while the other group (n = 28) received placebo. Fasting blood samples were collected at the beginning of the study and after two months for determination of HbA1c and blood glucose level as a main outcome and insulin, SGOT, SGPT, and ALP level as secondary outcome.

Results

Our analysis showed that serum fasting HbA1C and blood glucose levels were significantly decreased and the insulin level was increased in patients in the J. regia arm.

Conclusions

The results indicate that J. regia aqueous extract favorably affects blood levels of glucose, insulin and HbA1C in type 2 diabetic patients.