bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Virtual Element Method for general second-order elliptic problems on polygonal meshes
Authors: Beirão da Veiga L. , Brezzi F. , Marini L. D. , Russo A.
Published: November 2015

We consider the discretization of a boundary value problem for a general linear second-order elliptic operator with smooth coefficients using the Virtual Element approach. As in [A. H. Schatz, An observation concerning Ritz–Galerkin methods with indefinite bilinear forms, Math. Comput. 28 (1974) 959–962] the problem is supposed to have a unique solution, but the associated bilinear form is not supposed to be coercive. Contrary to what was previously done for Virtual Element Methods (as for instance in [L. Beirão da Veiga, F. Brezzi, A. Cangiani, G. Manzini, L. D. Marini and A. Russo, Basic principles of virtual element methods, Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci. 23 (2013) 199–214]), we use here, in a systematic way, the [Formula: see text]-projection operators as designed in [B. Ahmad, A. Alsaedi, F. Brezzi, L. D. Marini and A. Russo, Equivalent projectors for virtual element methods, Comput. Math. Appl. 66 (2013) 376–391]. In particular, the present method does not reduce to the original Virtual Element Method of [L. Beirão da Veiga, F. Brezzi, A. Cangiani, G. Manzini, L. D. Marini and A. Russo, Basic principles of virtual element methods, Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci. 23 (2013) 199–214] for simpler problems as the classical Laplace operator (apart from the lowest-order cases). Numerical experiments show the accuracy and the robustness of the method, and they show as well that a simple-minded extension of the method in [L. Beirão da Veiga, F. Brezzi, A. Cangiani, G. Manzini, L. D. Marini and A. Russo, Basic principles of virtual element methods, Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci. 23 (2013) 199–214] to the case of variable coefficients produces, in general, sub-optimal results.
Application of probability distribution in order to fit the diameter and height of oak species in two natural and man-made stands in Hyrcanian forests
Authors: Mohammadi Farah , Fallahchai Mir Mozaffar , Hashemi Seyed Armin
Published: November 2015

In order to study the fitting of some characteristics like low diameter at breast height (DBH), the height and height to the beginning of crown of the Oak species in two man-made and natural forests of this species in north of Guilan’s forests, Tooshi and Radarposhte forests were selected. A 100% inventory was done on a one-hectare sample plot in Tooshi man-made forests and on a two-hectare sample plot in Radarposhte natural forests. The results from this study showed that, in order to fit the diameter and the height of the Oak trees in man-made stands, Johnson’s S[Formula: see text] and normal statistical distributions have more capabilities and the three-parameter gamma and the three-parameter Weibull distributions are appropriate for diameters and heights of the natural Oak trees in Radarposhte forest, respectively.
Combinations of nonstandard finite difference schemes and composition methods with complex time steps for population models
Authors: Liao Cuicui , Ding Xiaohua , Liang Jiuzhen
Published: November 2015

We propose an efficient numerical method for two population models, based on the nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) schemes and composition methods with complex time steps. The NSFD scheme is able to give positive numerical solutions that satisfy the conservation law, which is a key property for biological population models. The accuracy is improved by using the composition methods with complex time steps. Numerical tests on the plankton nutrient model and whooping cough model are presented to show the efficiency and advantage of the proposed numerical method.
Characterizing UVB-induced skin tumor process using optical coherence tomography
Authors: Wu Shulian , Huang Zheng , Wang Yunxia , Li Hui
Published: November 2015

The incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer is rising worldwide. The major carcinogenic factor for most skin cancers is solar ultraviolet light, in particular, the chronic exposure to UVB (280–320[Formula: see text]nm). In this study, the optical characteristics of skin canceration process induced by UVB were analyzed. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used for monitoring the morphologic changes and compared with histological analysis. Meanwhile, the optical property, such as the attenuation coefficient ([Formula: see text]t) was systematically extracted and analyzed. In addition, characteristic textures, including energy, entropy and correlation were revealed from OCT images. Results suggest that OCT is a useful tool for monitoring the process of UVB-induced skin cancer and changes of optical property during this process.
Simulation study on improvement of air quality by introducing electric vehicles
Authors: Du Yiman , Wu Jianping , Hu Kezhen , Guo Yue
Published: November 2015

Recently, Chinese megacities have suffered serious air pollution. Previous studies have pointed out that transportation systems have become one of the major sources of air pollution and on-road pollutant concentrations are significantly higher than off-road. Electric vehicle (EV) introduction is proposed as a method to alleviate the current situation. In order to better understand the benefit of the use of EVs in Beijing, a simulation platform has been developed to evaluate the improvement of air quality with the use of EVs quantitatively within the selected area. Four scenarios with different EV penetration rates are proposed and the results revealed 5%, 10%, 15% EV penetration rates which will bring about improvement of 0.86%, 9.01% and 12.23% for PM2.5, 0.92%, 9.01% and 13.32% for nitrogen oxides (NOx), 0.95%, 8.86% and 13.73% for CO, respectively. The results revealed a promising improvement of air quality with the introduction of EVs.
Challenges in assessing seismic hazard in intraplate Europe
Authors: Stein Seth , Liu Mian , Camelbeeck Thierry , Merino Miguel , Landgraf Angela , Hintersberger Esther , Kübler Simon
Published: November 2015

Intraplate seismicity is often characterized by episodic, clustered and migrating earthquakes and extended after-shock sequences. Can these observations – primarily from North America, China and Australia – usefully be applied to seismic hazard assessment for intraplate Europe? Existing assessments are based on instrumental and historical seismicity of the past
c.
1000 years, as well as some data for active faults. This time span probably fails to capture typical large-event recurrence intervals of the order of tens of thousands of years. Palaeoseismology helps to lengthen the observation window, but preferentially produces data in regions suspected to be seismically active. Thus the expected maximum magnitudes of future earthquakes are fairly uncertain, possibly underestimated, and earthquakes are likely to occur in unexpected locations. These issues particularly arise in considering the hazards posed by low-probability events to both heavily populated areas and critical facilities. For example, are the variations in seismicity (and thus assumed seismic hazard) along the Rhine Graben a result of short sampling or are they real? In addition to a better assessment of hazards with new data and models, it is important to recognize and communicate uncertainties in hazard estimates. The more users know about how much confidence to place in hazard maps, the more effectively the maps can be used.
Implementing Curve25519 for Side-Channel--Protected Elliptic Curve Cryptography
Authors: Sasdrich Pascal , Güneysu Tim
Published: November 2015

For security-critical embedded applications Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) has become the predominant cryptographic system for efficient key agreement and digital signatures. However, ECC still involves complex modular arithmetic that is a particular burden for small processors. In this context, Bernstein proposed the highly efficient ECC instance Curve25519 that particularly enables efficient software implementations at a security level comparable to AES-128 with inherent resistance to simple power analysis (SPA) and timing attacks. In this work, we show that Curve25519 is likewise competitive on FPGAs even when countermeasures to thwart side-channel power analysis are included. Our basic multicore DSP-based architectures achieves a maximal performance of more than 32,000 point multiplications per second on a Xilinx Zynq 7020 FPGA. Including a mix of side-channel countermeasures to impede simple and differential power analysis, we still achieve more than 27,500 point multiplications per second with a moderate increase in logic resources.
Learning to Remove Soft Shadows
Authors: Gryka Maciej , Terry Michael , Brostow Gabriel J.
Published: November 2015

Manipulated images lose believability if the user's edits fail to account for shadows. We propose a method that makes removal and editing of soft shadows easy. Soft shadows are ubiquitous, but remain notoriously difficult to extract and manipulate. We posit that soft shadows can be segmented, and therefore edited, by learning a mapping function for image patches that generates shadow mattes. We validate this premise by removing soft shadows from photographs with only a small amount of user input.

Given only broad user brush strokes that indicate the region to be processed, our new supervised regression algorithm automatically unshadows an image, removing the umbra and penumbra. The resulting lit image is frequently perceived as a believable shadow-free version of the scene. We tested the approach on a large set of soft shadow images, and performed a user study that compared our method to the state-of-the-art and to real lit scenes. Our results are more difficult to identify as being altered and are perceived as preferable compared to prior work.
Mapping QoE through QoS in an Approach to DDB Architectures
Authors: Souza Ramon Hugo De , Dantas Mário Antônio Ribeiro
Published: November 2015

In the context of distributed databases (DDBs), the absence of mathematically well defined equations to evaluate quality of service (QoS), especially with statistical models, seems to have taken database community attention from the possible performance guarantees that could be handled by concepts related to quality of experience (QoE). In this article, we targeted the definition of QoE based on completeness of QoS to deal with decisions concerning with performance correction in a system level. This study also presents a statistical bibliometric analysis before the proposed model. The idea was to show the origin of first studies with correlated focus, which also have initial conceptualizations, and then propose a new model. This model concerns concise QoS definitions, grouped to provide a basis for QoE analysis. Afterward, it is foreseen that a DDB system will be able to autoevaluate and be aware of recovering situations before they happen.
“Introducing Capisco: a semantically-enhanced search and discovery system for large-scale text corpora”
Authors: Hinze Annika , Taube-Schock Craig , Bainbridge David , Cunningham Sally Jo , Downie J. Stephen
Published: November 2015

This article discusses a new approach to scholarly search and discovery in large-scale text corpora. While lexicographic search is at present the predominant means to access large document corpora, it cannot directly address the inherent ambiguity of natural language. As a pragmatic solution, many scholars manually build their own list of suitable search terms to be used in repeated searches in digital libraries and other online resources; however, scholars then have to resolve on a case-by-case basis issues caused by synonyms, homonyms and OCR errors. Our approach differs from this by supporting scholars in developing and refining a set of relevant concepts, searches a large document collection using semantic concepts, and categorizes the potentially relevant documents from search results into worksets. The developed technique revisits the notion of semantic search and redesigns both the underlying data representation and interface support. This is achieved through an end-to-end design that relies centrally on a Concept-in-Context network sourced through the link structure of Wikipedia. We discuss here the principles of our approach, its implementation in the
Capisco
prototype, and the relationship between established search techniques and our approach.
Who really quits?
Authors: Maier Christian , Laumer Sven , Eckhardt Andreas , Weitzel Tim
Published: November 2015

In response to high turnover rates among IT personnel compared to other groups of professionals, IS research has focused on factors contributing to IT personnel's turnover intention; however, only few studies have focused on actual turnover. To shed more light on actual turnover behavior, this longitudinal study of 125 IT personnel theorizes and analyzes the influence of job-related beliefs on turnover intention and behavior over time. Our results confirm a previously documented turnover intention-behavior gap, finding that 91 out of 125 survey participants indicate a high turnover intention, but that only 27 reported actual turnover behavior within the following 12 months. We further theorize this turnover intention-behavior gap by identifying IT personnel's personality as an important moderating variable for this relation. Specifically, IT personnel more disposed to resisting change translate turnover intentions into actual turnover behavior more seldom than IT personnel less disposed to resisting change. Our study also focuses on how personality influences changes in IT personnel's job-related beliefs and whether or not actual turnover behavior has a positive influence on these beliefs. Our results show that more change-resistant IT personnel change their degrees of job satisfaction and organizational commitment more seldom than less change-resistant personnel and that IT personnel who quit their job change their degree of job satisfaction and organizational commitment more frequently. Our results also show that intentions are a more suitable predictor for less change-resistant individuals than for change-resistant ones.
Livestock and the Environment: What Have We Learned in the Past Decade?
Authors: Herrero Mario , Wirsenius Stefan , Henderson Benjamin , Rigolot Cyrille , Thornton Philip , Havlík Petr , de Boer Imke , Gerber Pierre J.
Published: November 2015

The livestock and environment nexus has been the subject of considerable research in the past decade. With a more prosperous and urbanized population projected to grow significantly in the coming decades comes a gargantuan appetite for livestock products. There is growing concern about how to accommodate this increase in demand with a low environmental footprint and without eroding the economic, social, and cultural benefits that livestock provide. Most of the effort has focused on sustainably intensifying livestock systems. Two things have characterized the research on livestock and the environment in the past decade: the development of increasingly disaggregated and sophisticated methods for assessing different types of environmental impacts (climate, water, nutrient cycles, biodiversity, land degradation, deforestation, etc.) and a focus on examining the technical potential of many options for reducing the environmental footprint of livestock systems. However, the economic or sociocultural feasibility of these options is seldom considered. Now is the time to move this agenda from knowledge to action, toward realizable goals. This will require a better understanding of incentives and constraints for farmers to adopt new practices and the design of novel policies to support transformative changes in the livestock sector. It will also require novel forms of engagement, interaction, and consensus building among stakeholders with enormously diverse objectives. Additionally, we have come to realize that managing the demand trajectories of livestock products must be part of the solution space, and this is an increasingly important research area for simultaneously achieving positive health and environmental outcomes.
Ankyrin-B directs membrane tethering of periaxin and is required for maintenance of lens fiber cell hexagonal shape and mechanics
Authors: Maddala Rupalatha , Walters Mark , Brophy Peter J. , Bennett Vann , Rao Ponugoti V.
Published: November 2015

Periaxin (Prx), a PDZ domain protein expressed preferentially in myelinating Schwann cells and lens fibers, plays a key role in membrane scaffolding and cytoarchitecture. Little is known, however, about how Prx is anchored to the plasma membrane. Here we report that ankyrin-B (AnkB), a well-characterized adaptor protein involved in linking the spectrin-actin cytoskeleton to integral membrane proteins, is required for membrane association of Prx in lens fibers and colocalizes with Prx in hexagonal fiber cells. Under AnkB haploinsufficiency, Prx accumulates in the soluble fraction with a concomitant loss from the membrane-enriched fraction of mouse lenses. Moreover, AnkB haploinsufficiency induced age-dependent disruptions in fiber cell hexagonal geometry and radial alignment and decreased compressive stiffness in mouse lenses parallel to the changes observed in Prx null mouse lens. Both AnkB- and Prx-deficient mice exhibit disruptions in membrane organization of the spectrin-actin network and the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex in lens fiber cells. Taken together, these observations reveal that AnkB is required for Prx membrane anchoring and for maintenance of lens fiber cell hexagonal geometry, membrane skeleton organization, and biomechanics.
Mini-review: diabetic renal complications, a potential stinky remedy
Authors: Sen Utpal , Pushpakumar Sathnur
Published: November 2015

Chronic kidney disease is associated with vasculitis and is also an independent risk factor for peripheral vascular and coronary artery disease in diabetic patients. Despite optimal management, a significant number of patients progress toward end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a suggestion that the disease mechanism is far from clear. A reduction in hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been suggested to play a vital role in diabetic vascular complications including diabetic nephropathy (DN). This mini-review highlights the recent findings on the role of H2S in mitigating abnormal extracellular matrix metabolism in DN. A discussion on the development of the newer slow-releasing H2S compounds and its therapeutic potential is also included.
Mini-review: emerging roles of microRNAs in the pathophysiology of renal diseases
Authors: Bhatt Kirti , Kato Mitsuo , Natarajan Rama
Published: November 2015

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are endogenously produced short noncoding regulatory RNAs that can repress gene expression by posttranscriptional mechanisms. They can therefore influence both normal and pathological conditions in diverse biological systems. Several miRNAs have been detected in kidneys, where they have been found to be crucial for renal development and normal physiological functions as well as significant contributors to the pathogenesis of renal disorders such as diabetic nephropathy, acute kidney injury, lupus nephritis, polycystic kidney disease, and others, due to their effects on key genes involved in these disease processes. miRNAs have also emerged as novel biomarkers in these renal disorders. Due to increasing evidence of their actions in various kidney segments, in this mini-review we discuss the functional significance of altered miRNA expression during the development of renal pathologies and highlight emerging miRNA-based therapeutics and diagnostic strategies for early detection and treatment of kidney diseases.
An association of losartan-hydrochlorothiazide, but not losartan-furosemide, completely arrests progressive injury in the remnant kidney
Authors: Arias Simone Costa Alarcon , Souza Renata Alves , Malheiros Denise Maria Avancini Costa , Fanelli Camilla , Fujihara Clarice Kazue , Zatz Roberto
Published: November 2015

We have previously shown that an association of losartan and hydrochlorothiazide, initiated 1 mo after 5/6 nephrectomy (Nx), reversed hypertension and albuminuria and promoted lasting renoprotection. In this new study, we investigated whether equal or even better protection could be obtained by combining losartan and furosemide. Nx was performed in 58 Munich-Wistar rats. One month later, tail-cuff pressure and albuminuria were markedly elevated. At this time, Nx rats were distributed among the following four groups: untreated Nx rats, Nx rats that received losartan, Nx rats that received losartan + hydrochlorothiazide, and Nx rats that received losartan + furosemide. Seven months later, Nx rats exhibited high mortality, severe hypertension, albuminuria, glomerulosclerosis, and interstitial fibrosis. Losartan treatment limited mortality and attenuated the renal and hemodynamic abnormalities associated with Nx. As previously shown, the losartan + hydrochlorothiazide association normalized tail-cuff pressure and albumin, prevented renal injury, and reduced mortality to zero. The losartan + furosemide treatment failed to reduce tail-cuff pressure or albumin to normal and prevented renal injury less efficiently than the losartan and hydrochlorothiazide regimen. The reasons for the differing efficacies of the losartan + furosemide and losartan + hydrochlorothiazide schemes are unclear and may include beneficial nondiuretic actions of thiazides, such as vasorelaxation and antiproliferative activity. These results refute the established concept that thiazides and thiazide-like diuretics are ineffective at advanced chronic kidney disease stages. Rather, they suggest that, in view of their renoprotective action, these compounds may even be preferable to loop diuretics in the management of hypertension in advanced chronic kidney disease.
Spermatogenesis: The Commitment to Meiosis
Authors: Griswold Michael D.
Published: November 2015

Mammalian spermatogenesis requires a stem cell pool, a period of amplification of cell numbers, the completion of reduction division to haploid cells (meiosis), and the morphological transformation of the haploid cells into spermatozoa (spermiogenesis). The net result of these processes is the production of massive numbers of spermatozoa over the reproductive lifetime of the animal. One study that utilized homogenization-resistant spermatids as the standard determined that human daily sperm production (dsp) was at 45 million per day per testis (60). For each human that means ∼1,000 sperm are produced per second. A key to this level of gamete production is the organization and architecture of the mammalian testes that results in continuous sperm production. The seemingly complex repetitious relationship of cells termed the “cycle of the seminiferous epithelium” is driven by the continuous commitment of undifferentiated spermatogonia to meiosis and the period of time required to form spermatozoa. This commitment termed the A to A1 transition requires the action of retinoic acid (RA) on the undifferentiated spermatogonia or prospermatogonia. In stages VII to IX of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium, Sertoli cells and germ cells are influenced by pulses of RA. These pulses of RA move along the seminiferous tubules coincident with the spermatogenic wave, presumably undergoing constant synthesis and degradation. The RA pulse then serves as a trigger to commit undifferentiated progenitor cells to the rigidly timed pathway into meiosis and spermatid differentiation.
Impacts of Different Tree Species of Different Sizes on Spatial Distribution of Herbaceous Plants in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone
Authors: Buba Toma
Published: November 2015

This study was aimed at finding the impacts of different tree species and individual trees of different sizes on species richness, diversity, and composition of the herbaceous layer. All the three tree species have greatly increased species richness and diversity both within and outside their crown zones compared with the open grassland. Both species richness and diversity were found to be higher under all the three tree species than outside their crowns, which was in turn higher than the open field.Daniella oliverihas the highest species richness and diversity both within and outside its crown zone followed byVitellaria paradoxaand thenParkia biglobosa. The result also revealed that the same tree species with different sizes leads to different herbaceous species richness, diversity, and composition under and around the trees’ crowns.P. biglobosaandV. paradoxatrees with smaller sizes showed higher species richness and diversity under their crowns than the bigger ones. The dissimilarity of species composition differs between the inside and outside crown zones of the individuals of the same tree species and among the different trees species and the open field.
Massive Hemothorax Caused by a Single Intercostal Artery Bleed Ten Days after Solitary Minimally Displaced Rib Fracture
Authors: Curfman Karleigh R. , Robitsek R. Jonathan , Salzler Gregory G. , Gray Katherine D. , Lapunzina Charles S. , Kothuru Ravi K. , Schubl Sebastian D.
Published: November 2015

Delayed hemothorax (DHX) following blunt thoracic trauma is a rare occurrence with an extremely variable incidence and time to diagnosis that is generally associated with clinically insignificant blood loss. In this report, we present a case of acute onset DHX ten days after a relatively mild traumatic event that resulted in a single minimally displaced rib fracture. The patient awoke from sleep suddenly with acute onset dyspnea and chest pain and reported to the emergency department (ED). The patient lost over six and a half liters of blood during the first 9 hours of his admission, the largest volume yet reported in the literature for DHX, which was eventually found to be due to a single intercostal artery bleed. Successful management in this case entailed two emergent thoracotomies and placement of multiple thoracostomy tubes to control blood loss. The patient was discharged home on postoperative day 5.
Free Vibration Analysis of Symmetrically Laminated Folded Plate Structures Using an Element-Free Galerkin Method
Authors: Peng L. X.
Published: November 2015

An element-free Galerkin method for the solution of free vibration of symmetrically laminated folded plate structures is introduced. Employing the mature meshfree folded plate model proposed by the author, a folded laminated plate is simulated as a composite structure of symmetric laminates that lie in different planes. Based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and the moving least-squares (MLS) approximation, the stiffness and mass matrices of the laminates are derived and supposed to obtain the stiffness and mass matrices of the entire folded laminated plate. The equation governing the free vibration behaviors of the folded laminated plate is thus established. Because of the meshfree characteristics of the proposed method, no mesh is involved to determine the stiffness and mass matrices of the laminates. Therefore, the troublesome remeshing can be avoided completely from the study of such problems as the large deformation of folded laminated plates. The calculation of several numerical examples shows that the solutions given by the proposed method are very close to those given by ANSYS, using shell elements, which proves the validity of the proposed method.
Synthesis of Relativistic Wave Equations: The Noninteracting Case
Authors: Okniński Andrzej
Published: November 2015

We study internal structure of the Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau equations for spin 0 and spin 1 mesons. We show that in the noninteracting case full covariant solutions of thes=0ands=1DKP equations are generalized solutions of the Dirac equation.
Effect of Longitudinal-External-Fins on Fluid Flow Characteristics for Wing-Shaped Tubes Bundle in Crossflow
Authors: Sayed Ahmed Sayed Ahmed E. , Mesalhy Osama M. , Abdelatief Mohamed A.
Published: November 2015

A numerical study is conducted to clarify fluid-flow characteristics, pressure drop coefficient (Pdc), and the average skin friction coefficient (Cf,m) for wing-shaped-tubes bundle with longitudinal fins at downstream side of the tube using the commercial CFD FLUENT software package. The air-side Rea ranges from 1800 to 9700. The tubes are employed with various fin heights (hf) and fin thicknesses (δ) such as 2 mm ≤ hf ≤ 12 mm and 1.5 mm ≤ δ ≤ 3.5 mm at the considered Rea range. Results indicate that ΔPa increases with Rea for all hf. Pdc decreases with Rea for all hf values for 1800 ≤ Rea ≤ 4200 and then increases for 4200 ≤ Rea ≤ 10000. Lowest values of ΔPa, Pdc, and pumping power (PP) occurred at hf = 6 mm. Values of Pdc for hf = 6 mm are lower than those of NOF and hf = 2 mm by about 73 % and 32 %, respectively, at Rea = 4000. Cf,m decreases with Rea. δ has negligible effect on Cf,m. ΔPa increases for 1.5 mm ≤ δ ≤ 2.5 mm while ΔPa decreases with 2.5 mm < δ ≤ 3.5 mm for the considered Rea range except for Rea = 1850.
Regulation of Murine Ovarian Epithelial Carcinoma by Vaccination against the Cytoplasmic Domain of Anti-Müllerian Hormone Receptor II
Authors: Sakalar Cagri , Mazumder Suparna , Johnson Justin M. , Altuntas Cengiz Z. , Jaini Ritika , Aguilar Robert , Prasad Sathyamangla V. Naga , Connolly Denise C. , Tuohy Vincent K.
Published: November 2015

Anti-Müllerian hormone receptor, type II (AMHR2), is a differentiation protein expressed in 90% of primary epithelial ovarian carcinomas (EOCs), the most deadly gynecologic malignancy. We propose that AMHR2 may serve as a useful target for vaccination against EOC. To this end, we generated the recombinant 399-amino acid cytoplasmic domain of mouse AMHR2 (AMHR2-CD) and tested its efficacy as a vaccine target in inhibiting growth of the ID8 transplantable EOC cell line in C57BL/6 mice and in preventing growth of autochthonous EOCs that occur spontaneously in transgenic mice. We found that AMHR2-CD immunization of C57BL/6 females induced a prominent antigen-specific proinflammatory CD4+ T cell response that resulted in a mild transient autoimmune oophoritis that resolved rapidly with no detectable lingering adverse effects on ovarian function. AMHR2-CD vaccination significantly inhibited ID8 tumor growth when administered either prophylactically or therapeutically, and protection against EOC growth was passively transferred into naive recipients with AMHR2-CD-primed CD4+ T cells but not with primed B cells. In addition, prophylactic AMHR2-CD vaccination of TgMISIIR-TAg transgenic mice significantly inhibited growth of autochthonous EOCs and provided a 41.7% increase in mean overall survival. We conclude that AMHR2-CD vaccination provides effective immunotherapy of EOC with relatively benign autoimmune complications.
An Image Defogging Approach Based on a Constrained Energy Functional under Bayesian and Variation Theories
Authors: Zhou Li , Bi Du-Yan , He Lin-Yuan
Published: November 2015

Hazy images produce negative influences on visual applications in the open air since they are in poor visibility with low contrast and whitening color. Numerous existing methods tend to derive a totally rough estimate of scene depth. Unlike previous work, we focus on the probability distribution of depth that is considered as a scene prior. Inspired by the denoising work of multiplicative noises, the inverse problem for hazy removal is recast as deriving the optimal difference between scene irradiance and the airlight from a constrained energy functional under Bayesian and variation theories. Logarithmic maximum a posteriori estimator and a mixed regularization term are introduced to formulate the energy functional framework where the regularization parameter is adaptively selected. The airlight, another unknown quantity, is inferred precisely under a geometric constraint and dark channel prior. With these two estimates, scene irradiance can be recovered. The experimental results on a series of hazy images reveal that, in comparison with several relevant and most state-of-the-art approaches, the proposed method outperforms in terms of vivid color and appropriate contrast.
Undiagnosed Hepatocellular Carcinoma Presenting as Nasal Metastases
Authors: Mohammed Hassen , Sheikh Rashid , Rahman Waheed , Sheta Sally , Dogan Zeynel
Published: November 2015

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary malignancy of the liver with up to half of cases suffering from extrahepatic metastasis in the later stages of the disease. Commonly reported and encountered metastatic sites include the lymph nodes, lung, bone, and adrenal glands. This is an effort to throw a spotlight on a rare case of metastatic HCC which presented to us as two distinct lesions in the nose. It focuses on the presentation and the steps that were taken to reach this rare and unusual diagnosis. It sparks interest from a clinical and histopathology perspective. Our cynosure is the findings of the case coupled with a probe on the possible routes of spread of HCC to sinonasal region.
Serum β-Defensin-2 Levels and Their Relationship with the Clinical Course and Prognosis in Patients with Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
Authors: Aksoy Osman , Parlak Emine , Parlak Mehmet , Aksoy Hülya
Published: November 2015

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the clinical course and prognosis of serum levels of β-defensin-2 (BD-2) in patients with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). Subjects and Methods: Patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology of the Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, were considered for inclusion in this study. The patients had positive real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and/or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results of the CCHF virus. There were 60 patients with CCHF in the study group and 25 healthy participants in the control group. Serum BD-2 levels were measured using ELISA. Data were analyzed using the Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Of the 60 patients, 6 (10%) died and 54 (90%) were discharged following their recovery. The mean BD-2 level of the patient group was significantly higher (4,180.30 ± 3,944.19 pg/ml) than that of the control group (964.45 ± 266.07 pg/ml; p = 0.001). Serum BD-2 levels of the patients with fatal (1,529.81 ± 1,028.14) and nonfatal disease (4,474.80 ± 4,041.58) differed, but this difference showed only borderline significance (p = 0.055). The mean BD-2 level of the severe group was 5,507.45 ± 4,327.06 pg/ml, while it was 3,611.52 ± 3,676.73 pg/ml in the mild/moderate group, and both were significantly higher than that of the control group (p = 0.001). Conclusion: In this study, the expression of serum BD-2 was raised in patients with CCHF, and this increase may beneficially affect survival. Studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm the association of serum BD-2 with CCHF prognosis.
Genotype-guided therapy improves initial acenocoumarol dosing
Authors: Cerezo-Manchado Juan Jose , Roldán Vanessa , Corral Javier , Rosafalco Mario , Antón Ana Isabel , Padilla Jose , González-Conejero Rocio , Vicente Vicente
Published: November 2015

A few trials so far have evaluated the effectiveness of algorithms designed to calculate doses in oral anticoagulant therapy, with negative or contradictory results. We compared a genotype-guided algorithm vs physician management for the initiation of acenocoumarol. In a twoarm, prospective, randomised study with patients with atrial fibrillation who started therapy, the first dose was administered to all patients according to the physician’s criteria. At 72 hours, the corresponding dose was calculated based on INR in the standard care group (SC, N=92), whereas genetic data (VKORC1, CYP2C9 and CYP4F2) were also considered for the genotype-guided dosing (pharmacogenetic) group (PGx, N=87) by using an algorithm previously validated in 2,683 patients. The primary outcomes were: patients with steady dose, the time needed to reach the same and the percentage of therapeutic INRs. After 90 days, 25 % of the SC and 39 % of the PGx patients reached the steady dose (p=0.038). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that PGx group needed fewer days to reach therapeutic INR (p=0.033). Additionally, PGx had a higher percentage of therapeutic INRs than SC patients (50 % and 45 %, respectively) (p=0.046). After six months the proportion of steadily anticoagulated patients remained significantly higher in PGx (p=0.010). In conclusion, genotype-guided dosing was associated with a higher percentage of patients with steady dose than routine practice when starting oral anticoagulation with acenocoumarol.
COP9 Signalosome Controls the Degradation of Cytosolic Misfolded Proteins and Protects Against Cardiac Proteotoxicity
Authors: Su Huabo , Li Jie , Zhang Hanming , Ma Wenxia , Wei Ning , Liu Jinbao , Wang Xuejun
Published: November 2015

Rationale:

Impaired degradation of misfolded proteins is associated with a large subset of heart diseases. Misfolded proteins are degraded primarily by the ubiquitin-proteasome system, but the ubiquitin ligases responsible for the degradation remain largely unidentified. The cullin deneddylation activity of the COP9 signalosome (CSN) requires all 8 CSN subunits (CSN1 through CSN8) and regulates cullin-RING ligases, thereby controlling ubiquitination of a large number of proteins; however, neither CSN nor cullin-RING ligases is known to regulate the degradation of cytosolic misfolded proteins.

Objective:

We sought to investigate the role of CSN8/CSN in misfolded protein degradation and cardiac proteinopathy.

Methods and Results:

Cardiac CSN8 knockout causes mouse premature death; hence, CSN8 hypomorphism (CSN8
hypo
) mice were used. Myocardial neddylated forms of cullins were markedly increased, and myocardial capacity of degrading a surrogate misfolded protein was significantly reduced by CSN8 hypomorphism. When introduced into proteinopathic mice in which a bona fide misfolded protein R120G missense mutation of αβ-crystallin (CryAB
R120G
) is overexpressed in the heart, CSN8 hypomorphism aggravated CryAB
R120G
-induced restrictive cardiomyopathy and shortened the lifespan of CryAB
R120G
mice, which was associated with augmented accumulation of protein aggregates, increased neddylated proteins, and reduced levels of total ubiquitinated proteins and LC3-II in the heart. In cultured cardiomyocytes, both CSN8 knockdown and cullin-RING ligase inactivation suppressed the ubiquitination and degradation of CryAB
R120G
but not native CryAB, resulting in accumulation of protein aggregates and exacerbation of CryAB
R120G
cytotoxicity.

Conclusions:

(1) CSN8/CSN promotes the ubiquitination and degradation of misfolded proteins and protects against cardiac proteotoxicity, and (2) cullin-RING ligases participate in degradation of cytosolic misfolded proteins.
A Gift From One of the Jewish Faith: The Menorahs at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Liberal Religion in Interwar America
Authors: Schwartz Yitzchak
Published: November 2015

In January, 1925, Adolph Ochs, owner and publisher of the New York Times, wrote to Bishop William Manning of New York stating that he wished to donate $10,000 towards the construction of the Diocese’s new Cathedral of St. John the Divine, as well as to contribute two golden menorahs. These would be a “gift from one of the Jewish faith” to the Cathedral project.” The menorahs were dedicated several years later to great fanfare in both the American and Jewish press, and stand in the cathedral today. The story of their donation speaks to the progressivism of, and the power of progressive and universalizing ideas in, the American Jewish community during this period, even as their reception in the Christian community speaks to the asymmetry that often characterized ecumenical efforts between Jews and Protestants. The donation further revealed tensions between the progressive optimism of the Reform Jewish establishment and the more cautious posture of the East-European Jewish community.
Character Reconstruction in the New Testament (2): The Practice
Authors: Bennema Cornelis
Published: November 2015

This article, and its prelude, ‘Character Reconstruction in the New Testament (1): The Theory’, explore how character can be reconstructed from the New Testament text. The first article outlined a uniform three-dimensional approach to character, and this article shows how the theory works in practice. I first reconstruct the character of Jesus’ mother in the canonical Gospels, and then account for the differences between the four portrayals.
A Problem with Method in Theological Anthropology: Towards an All-Inclusive Theology
Authors: Schumacher Lydia
Published: November 2015

Although most of the theological anthropologies that have been developed in modern times purport to apply to all human beings, recent theologians representing the causes of feminism, the liberation of the poor and oppressed, or those with disabilities, to name just a few examples, have repeatedly complained that mainstream theologies exclude or at least fail to include these causes amongst their concerns. In this paper, I will draw on the work of Thomas Aquinas to outline a possible framework for incorporating into mainstream systematic theology these theologians’ critiques as well as their constructive efforts to account for the image of God in the aforementioned parties. The key to accomplishing this task, I will argue, involves the development of a more differentiated account of sin, which addresses the way that both those included and seemingly excluded from traditional accounts experience and commit sin.
Mental health literacy in post-secondary students
Authors: Kutcher Stan , Wei Yifeng , Morgan Catherine
Published: November 2015

Objectives:

The transition from high school to college or university is an important time to enhance mental health literacy for young people. This study evaluated the second edition of a resource entitled Transitions, a comprehensive life-skills resource with embedded mental health information available in book, e-book and iPhone app formats for post-secondary students.

Design:

In this cross-sectional/one-off study, students’ opinions about the impact of the resource were gained through in-person and online surveying.

Methods:

The survey took place on a local university campus in Canada. Frequencies of responses and sex differences in answers were analysed using Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) 17. In total, 82 students from a large, Canadian research university completed the survey.

Results:

Reading Transitions (2nd edition) improved student knowledge about and decreased stigma towards mental health and mental illness and increased help-seeking efficacy. There were sex differences in response regarding discussion of the resource with others and help-seeking intentions.

Conclusion:

Given the positive results of this study conducted at a single university, the resource could potentially be valuable in other post-secondary settings as well.
Cardiac Denial and Psychological Predictors of Cardiac Care Adherence in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: White Kamila S. , Pardue Caleb , Ludbrook Philip , Sodhi Sandeep , Esmaeeli Amirhossein , Cedars Ari
Published: November 2015

The current study examined cardiac denial and psychological predictors (i.e., depression, anxiety) of health outcomes including medical nonadherence and physical health in a sample of 80 adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). Results indicated that denial of impact was elevated in this patient group compared with reference groups, and denial was negatively associated with depression and anxiety at ps < .01. Results indicated that depression, anxiety, and denial predicted unique variance in medical nonadherence, and gender moderated the relationships between these psychological factors and nonadherence. For depression, men and women showed similar relationships between depression and nonadherence at high levels of depression; however, at low levels of depression (i.e., a more normal mood state), men were less adherent compared with women. For anxiety, men and women did not differ in adherence at low levels of anxiety; however, men experiencing high anxiety were less adherent compared with women experiencing high anxiety. Implications of this study are discussed including the role of gender and denial and the impact of denial functioning to reduce negative affect. Depression was the only significant predictor of physical functioning. Results of this study suggest that psychological interventions aimed at depression and anxiety may function differently across gender to improve patient medical adherence and improve physical functioning in ACHD.
Study protocol RapMusicTherapy for emotion regulation in a school setting
Authors: Uhlig Sylka , Jansen Erik , Scherder Erik
Published: November 2015

The growing risk of the development of problem behaviors in adolescents (ages 10–15) requires effective methods for prevention, supporting self-regulative capacities. Music listening as an effective self-regulative tool for emotions and behavioral adaptation for adolescents and youth is widely studied. However, music therapy enhancing the development of emotion regulation skills in schools is rare. The application of rap in clinical cases of music therapy appears to have a beneficial regulative effect on this population. The aim of this study is to investigate the performance of RapMusicTherapy (RMT) in a non-clinical, school-based program to support self-regulative abilities for well-being and to reduce the risk of low grades attributable to troubled mental health at an early stage.

All adolescents in Grade 8 of a public school will be invited to participate, and randomly assigned, either to RMT or to regular classes. RMT will be applied once a week during 4 months. After obtaining written informed consent by parents, measurements will take place at baseline (start of study), after 4 months (end of RMT) and again after 4 months without RMT (follow-up). Primary outcome data include measures of psychological well-being, emotion regulation, self-esteem, self-description, language development, executive functioning and the rest–activity rhythm. Secondary outcome data consist of subjective experiences of participants, collected in follow-up interviews with experimental group respondents.

RMT is developed for application in school-based settings. This is the first study to focus on RMT as an intervention for emotion regulation in order to evaluate the effects of rap on the self-regulative capacities of adolescents, in support of their well-being. This study protocol aims to outline the method and procedures involved, and to increase attention and awareness of the potential for collaborations involving music, therapy and education for future investigations.
Beyond white privilege
Authors: Bonds Anne , Inwood Joshua
Published: November 2015

This paper builds from scholarship on whiteness and white privilege to argue for an expanded focus that includes settler colonialism and white supremacy. We argue that engaging with white supremacy and settler colonialism reveals the enduring social, economic, and political impacts of white supremacy as a materially grounded set of practices. We situate white supremacy not as an artifact of history or as an extreme position, but rather as the foundation for the continuous unfolding of practices of race and racism within settler states. We illustrate this framework through a recent example of a land dispute in the American West.