bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Generation of a dual RT Env SHIV that is infectious in rhesus macaques
Authors: Smith James M. , Dauner Allison , Li Bin , Srinivasan Priya , Mitchell James , Hendry Michael , Ellenberger Dennis , Butera Sal , Otten Ron A.
Published: July 2010

Background  The best current animal model for HIV infection and evaluation of antiviral compounds is the Simian–human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)/macaque system. There are multiple recombinant SHIVs available, but these viruses have limitations in evaluating combination drug strategies for prevention. Drug combinations that target reverse transcriptase (RT, either nRTI or nnRTI) and envelope (entry or fusion inhibitors) have to be tested separately, which does not permit the assessment of additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects of ARV combinations. We describe construction of a dual SHIV containing both HIV RT and a CCR5‐specific HIV envelope gene in a simian immunodeficiency virus backbone.

Methods  The RT Env SHIV molecular clone was constructed using RT SHIV and SHIV162p3 sequences as templates to generate RT Env SHIV. RT Env SHIV was expanded in vitro in CD8‐depleted macaque peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Recombinant virus was used to infect a rhesus macaque (4.3 × 104 tissue culture infectious dose [TCID50], intravenously [IV]). A second passage in a macaque by IV transfer of 10 ml of blood obtained from the first infection was also done. The in vivo adapted virus stock from these macaques was used to produce high titer stocks in vitro and used to rectally infect an additional macaque.

Results  Peak viral load reached 6 × 105 vRNA copies/ml in plasma in both IV‐exposed macaques and remained detectable in the one animal for 16 weeks after infection. A viral stock (1.68 × 104 TCID50) derived from the second macaque passage has been produced in CD8‐depleted rhesus PBMC and was successfully used to demonstrate mucosal transmission. The resulting RT Env SHIV retained the sensitivity to HIV RT and entry inhibitors of its parental viruses.

Conclusions  The objective of this study was to develop and characterize a SHIV recombinant virus for evaluating the efficacy of ART and microbicide products that target both HIV RT and/or Env‐mediated entry. RT Env SHIV can productively infect macaques by both the IV and mucosal route, making it a valuable tool for transmission studies.
Effect of TGF-β1 polymorphism on the susceptibility to schizophrenia and treatment response to atypical antipsychotic agent
Authors: Lee Hwa-Young , Kim Yong-Ku
Published: July 2010

Lee H-Y, Kim Y-K. Effect of TGF-β1 polymorphism on the susceptibility to schizophrenia and treatment response to atypical antipsychotic agent.

Objective:

Several studies have suggested that cytokine alterations could be related to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) is believed to be an important factor in regulation of inflammatory responses and to have anti-inflammatory effects. TGF-β1 also has trophic effects on dopaminergic neurons. We tested the hypothesis TGF-β1 is associated with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Methods:

The polymorphisms at codon 10 (T869C) and codon 25 (G915C) of TGF-β1 were analysed in 99 schizophrenia patients and 130 normal controls. At baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment, clinical symptoms were evaluated on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).

Results:

None of the subjects were polymorphic at codon 25. However, the C allele at codon 10 was more frequent in schizophrenia (p = 0.05). Although schizophrenia group showed a higher tendency of allele frequency in the subjects with C allele (p = 0.05), the allelic difference did not reach statistical significance after correction for multiple comparisons (p = 0.1).

PANSS scores showed no significant correlation with genotypes. The genotype distribution was not significantly different between responders and non-responders. However, the C allele was more frequent among responders (p = 0.03).

Conclusion:

These results suggest that the TGF-β1 polymorphism is associated with therapeutic response to antipsychotics. However, further studies with larger numbers of subjects are needed to confirm the effect of TGF-β1 in schizophrenia.
Deprivation, ethnicity and prematurity in infant respiratory failure in PICU in the UK
Authors: O’Donnell DR , Parslow RC , Draper ES
Published: July 2010

Aim:  To describe the epidemiology of infants admitted to Paediatric Intensive Care (PIC) with acute respiratory failure including bronchiolitis.

Methods:  Data from all consecutive admissions from 2004 to 2007 in all 29 designated Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) in England and Wales were collected. Admission rates, risk‐adjusted mortality, length of stay, ventilation status, preterm birth, deprivation and ethnicity were studied.

Results:  A total of 4641 infants under 1 year of age had an unplanned admission to PIC with acute respiratory failure (ARF), an admission rate of 1.80 per 1000 infants per year. There was a reduced rate of admission with bronchiolitis in South Asian children admitted to PICU, which is not explained by case‐mix. Children born preterm had a higher rate of admission and longer stay, but a similar low mortality. Risk‐adjusted mortality was higher in South Asian infants and the highest in those with ARF (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.20–2.57) compared with the rest of the PICU population.

Conclusion:  Acute respiratory failure in infants causes most of the seasonal variation in unplanned admission to intensive care. Socioeconomic deprivation and prematurity are additional risk factors for admission. Fewer South Asian infants are admitted to PICU with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis, but risk‐adjusted mortality is higher in South Asian infants overall.
‘Refuge for the Homeless’: Not at Home in Romanticism and Comparative Literature
Authors: McGrath Brian
Published: July 2010

“‘Refuge for the Homeless’: Not at Home in Romanticism and Comparative Literature” explores the romantic legacy of Comparative Literature. Like many romantic texts, the discipline of Comparative Literature invites and catalogs doubts about its self‐definition and so stages the temporal relationship between act and interpretation. In particular, I focus on William Wordsworth’s “Resolution and Independence” and link questions Wordsworth raises about what it means to feel at home to what Theodore Adorno identifies as part of morality today: not feeling too much at home at home. I connect Comparative Literature’s struggle with its own self‐definition to a romantic project that investigates the draw but also the threat of vagrancy and refuge, home and its negation.
Linking pseudouridine synthases to growth, development and cell competition
Authors: Tortoriello Giuseppe , de Celis José F. , Furia Maria
Published: July 2010

Eukaryotic pseudouridine synthases direct RNA pseudouridylation and bind H/ACA small nucleolar RNA (snoRNAs), which, in turn, may act as precursors of microRNA‐like molecules. In humans, loss of pseudouridine synthase activity causes dyskeratosis congenita (DC), a complex systemic disorder characterized by cancer susceptibility, failures in ribosome biogenesis and telomere stability, and defects in stem cell formation. Considering the significant interest in deciphering the various molecular consequences of pseudouridine synthase failure, we performed a loss of function analysis of minifly (mfl), the pseudouridine synthase gene of Drosophila, in the wing disc, an advantageous model system for studies of cell growth and differentiation. In this organ, depletion of the mfl‐encoded pseudouridine synthase causes a severe reduction in size by decreasing both the number and the size of wing cells. Reduction of cell number was mainly attributable to cell death rather than reduced proliferation, establishing that apoptosis plays a key role in the development of the loss of function mutant phenotype. Depletion of Mfl also causes a proliferative disadvantage in mosaic tissues that leads to the elimination of mutant cells by cell competition. Intriguingly, mfl silencing also triggered unexpected effects on wing patterning and cell differentiation, including deviations from normal lineage boundaries, mingling of cells of different compartments, and defects in the formation of the wing margin that closely mimic the phenotype of reduced Notch activity. These results suggest that a component of the pseudouridine synthase loss of function phenotype is caused by defects in Notch signalling.
Direct integration of cell‐free‐synthesized connexin‐43 into liposomes and hemichannel formation
Authors: Moritani Yuki , Nomura Shin‐ichiro M. , Morita Ikuo , Akiyoshi Kazunari
Published: July 2010

Proteoliposomes were directly prepared by synthesizing membrane proteins with the use of minimal protein synthesis factors isolated from Escherichia coli (the PURE system) in the presence of liposomes. Connexin‐43 (Cx43), which is a water‐insoluble integral membrane protein that forms a hexameric complex in membranes, was cotranslationally integrated with an essentially uniform orientation in liposomes. The addition of liposomes following protein expression (post‐translational presence of liposomes) did not lead to the integration of Cx43 into the liposome membranes. The amount of integrated Cx43 increased as the liposome concentration increased. The presence of liposomes did not influence the total amount of synthesized Cx43. The Cx43 integrated into the liposome membranes formed open membrane pores. These results indicate that the liposomes act in a chaperone‐like manner by preventing Cx43 from aggregating in solution, because of integration into the bilayer, and also by functionalization of the integrated Cx43 in the membrane. This is the first report that cell‐free‐synthesized water‐insoluble membrane protein is directly integrated with a uniform orientation as a functional oligomer into liposome membranes. This simple proteoliposome preparation procedure should be a valuable approach for structural and functional studies of membrane proteins.

Structured digital abstract

MINT‐7900670: Cx‐43 (uniprotkb:P08050) and Cx‐43 (uniprotkb:P08050) bind (MI:0407) by cross‐linking study (MI:0030)
Decision‐making process of patients with gynecological cancer regarding their cancer treatment choices using the analytic hierarchy process
Authors: KITAMURA Yuko
Published: July 2010

Aim:  In order to support patients' decision‐making regarding cancer treatments, it is important to clarify which criteria that cancer patients use to set priorities in their treatment choices. Using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a mathematical decision‐making method, this article investigates the criteria and the priorities of patients with gynecological cancer.

Methods:  In the AHP, multiple and hierarchical criteria in the decision‐making process were organized by a repeated pairwise judgment of the participants so as to serialize the alternatives along with the rational order of the priorities. For the alternatives “to receive treatment” and “to not receive treatment,” the following five criteria were set: “anxiety about relapse and metastasis”, “distress about side‐effects”, “advice of family”, “advice of medical staff”, and “economic burden”. The participants determined a pairwise priority scale, as well as a priority scale between the alternatives for every criterion. The logical consistency of their answers was checked by a consistency index (CI). The participants were 31 patients with ovarian or endometrial cancer who were being followed up after undergoing surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy.

Results:  Of the participants who answered the questionnaire, 17 satisfied the logical consistency. Of the five criteria for the treatment choices, “anxiety about relapse and metastasis” and “advice of medical staff” were found to be the important factors for treatment choice; however, the weight attached to the priority criteria differed much among the patients.

Conclusion:  The AHP made it possible to support patients' decision‐making in order to clarify their priority criteria and to quantitatively present their decision‐making process.
Nominalizations: A Probe into the Architecture of Grammar Part I: The Nominalization Puzzle
Authors: Alexiadou Artemis
Published: July 2010

Nominalizations have remained in the center of linguistic discussion at least since 1960, and one might be correct in stating that they are still much of a puzzle. In this paper, I offer a partial historical overview of the literature on nominalizations, beginning with a discussion of Chomsky’s Remarks on nominalization, surveying the lexicon vs. syntax debate that characterized the research in this area during the 80s and 90s, and concluding with the presentation of some work that focuses on event structure and aspectual properties of nominalizations.
Nominalizations: A Probe into the Architecture of Grammar Part II: The Aspectual Properties of Nominalizations, and the Lexicon vs. Syntax Debate
Authors: Alexiadou Artemis
Published: July 2010

In this paper I will present two approaches to the aspectual properties of nominalizations by comparing lexical and syntactic approaches to one another. In addition, I will highlight some open questions in this area.
De/Re‐Centring Work and Class?: A Review and Critique of Labour Geography
Authors: Rutherford Tod
Published: July 2010

In this paper I examine how labour geographer’s research on the work‐place, the wage relation and class have evolved and assess their implications for the sub‐discipline. Since the early 1990s post‐structural and post‐structurally informed Marxist approaches have both challenged classical Marxism and added new insights. In particular, the former have de‐centred the formal work‐place as a site of value production, exploitation and class and emphasized the critical role of intersectionality of class with other identities such as gender and race. Paralleling and informing this shift has been a significant restructuring of capitalism as formerly stable employment is disrupted via (often global) outsourcing, downsizing and the blurring of enterprises and organizations. Thus post‐structural perspectives have developed important insights into the active agency and the differentiated nature of labour, the work‐place and class. Yet despite some congruence between post‐structural and Marxist approaches I argue that there remain important empirical and theoretical concerning the work‐place, the wage‐ relation and class. I conclude that while post‐structural approaches are correct in arguing that the formal work‐place and wage relation are not the exclusive sites of work, surplus production or class identity, over‐emphasize the decline of the formal work‐place and the wage relation’s role in collectivity and class identity more traditional Marxian concerning this relationship remain powerfully relevant to both labour geography and progressive politics.
Social Sustainability and the City
Authors: Davidson Mark
Published: July 2010

Over the past 25 years, sustainability has become a key consideration for city governments. However, many sustainability initiatives have remained dogged by the concept’s nebulous character. The development of the triple‐bottom‐line conceptualization of sustainability – environment, economy, society – has been seen as potentially offering a solution to this problem. This paper reviews recent engagements in academic and policy debates with the least examined of the triple‐bottom‐line:social sustainability. It begins by asking if a concern for the social sustainability of cities is anything new. This leads into a review of the ways in which the concept of social sustainability has been developed in the urban literature. Here, varying relations to environmental debates are identified and the intersections between sustainability and contemporary policy thinking flagged. A cursory review of current engagements with social sustainability by city governments, something mostly confined to the Anglo context, flags how issues of definition and application distinguish those approaches developed. In conclusion, the question of whether engagements with social sustainability conform to critiques about the post‐political nature of sustainability is considered.
The Effects of Weather and Climate on the Seasonality of Influenza: What We Know and What We Need to Know
Authors: Fuhrmann Christopher
Published: July 2010

Influenza is one of the most deadly of all airborne and upper‐respiratory infections. On average, 22,000 deaths and over 3 million hospitalizations in USA are attributed to influenza each year. The distinct seasonality of influenza suggests a climate connection, but the wide range of methodologies used to explore this connection makes it difficult to elucidate a definitive relationship. Much of what is known about the effects of weather and climate on the seasonality of influenza stems from research conducted by members of the public health and medical communities, with few contributions from other physical and social science fields. Most of these studies are either based on experiments conducted under controlled laboratory conditions or on the broad‐scale patterns of morbidity and mortality and their relationship to large‐scale climate signals. What remains largely unknown is the suitability of these results for the development of early warning systems and for determining the dynamics of viral transmission on multiple space and time scales.
The Ontario Securities Commission on Accounting and Auditing from the 1960s to 2008–Part 2: The First Four Chief Accountants, 1986–1996*
Authors: ZEFF STEPHEN A. , RADCLIFFE VAUGHAN S.
Published: July 2010

This article, Part 2 of a historical review and analysis of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), describes the role played by the first four Chief Accountants in the regulation of accounting and auditing from 1986 to 1996. Part 1 dealt with the period from the 1960s to 1985. Part 3 will treat the role played by the fifth Chief Accountant, from 1996 to 2008. As the principal Canadian stock exchange in recent times has been the Toronto Stock Exchange, the OSC has been the most important securities market regulator in Canada. Prior to this article, the academic and professional accounting literature has been largely barren on the OSC’s evolving role on accounting and auditing issues.
Large intestinal mast cell count and proteinase expression is associated with larval burden in cyathostomin‐infected horses
Authors: PICKLES K. J. , MAIR J. A. , LOPEZ‐VILLALOBOS N. , SHAW D. J. , SCOTT I. , POMROY W.
Published: July 2010

Reasons for performing study: Cyathostomins are the principal pathogenic nematode of equidae worldwide. In other species mast cell (MC) proteinases, in particular chymases, appear to have protective roles. Knowledge of the equine intestinal immune response to cyathostomins is limited.

Objective: To investigate MC numbers and proteinase expression in equine cyathostomin‐infected large intestine.

Hypothesis: MC populations in the large intestine are positively associated with cyathostomin burden and predominantly express chymase.

Methods: The caecal cyathostomin burden of naturally infected horses (n = 25) was determined by luminal counts and pepsin digest (mural count). MC were identified and enumerated in caecal tissue using toluidine blue (TB). Immunofluorescent labelling with polyclonal rabbit antibodies was used to demonstrate expression of equine tryptase and the chymase equine mast cell proteinase‐1 (eqMCP‐1) in Carnoy's fixed caecal sections.

Results: Significant positive linear relationships were found between TB‐stained mucosal and submucosal MC counts and total cyathostomin burden (P<0.001, r2>36%), and both luminal (P<0.010, r2>25%) and mural (P<0.001, r2>36%) larval counts. Similar relationships were found with mucosal and submucosal chymase and tryptase‐labelled MC counts (total: P<0.004, r2>29%; luminal: P<0.004, r2>30%; and mural: P<0.030, r2>19%). With all three MC labels, mean MC counts were higher in the submucosa compared to the mucosa (P<0.001). All caecal MC appeared to express chymase, with a small number of MC expressing both tryptase and chymase.

Conclusions and potential relevance: Large intestinal MC counts are significantly associated with cyathostomin burden, with a predominance of chymase‐positive MC. The burden is significantly associated with expression of MC proteinases, supporting their likely involvement in the intestinal immune response to cyathostomin infection. Further work to investigate the kinetics of proteinase expression, the possibility of differential proteinase expression and the role of these MC proteinases is warranted.
The Museum Visit: It’s an Experience, Not a Lesson
Authors: Duke Linda
Published: July 2010

Abstract  Museums offer visitors direct experiences—such as visual experiences—that are not available elsewhere in daily life. Learning through verbal information is part of it, yet the aesthetic experience is always outside of the “right‐answer paradigm.” Cognitive development occurs when perceptions inform thinking, thoughts are expressed in language, and expressed thoughts invite reconsideration of the material at hand. Both science and art require the development of these skills. Science and art museum educators can and should advocate the value of looking, thinking, wondering about complexity, and discussing the results.
Atom-by-atom assembly and spectroscopy of In/InAs(111)A adatom chains by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy
Authors: Yang Jianshu , Nacci Christophe , Kanisawa Kiyoshi , Fölsch Stefan
Published: July 2010

By means of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy at 5 K, the authors demonstrate the controlled and reversible vertical manipulation of native In adatoms on the InAs(111)A surface grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Monatomic In adatom chains are constructed by positioning In atoms one by one. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy and spatial mapping of the differential tunneling conductance reveal substantial along-chain electronic coupling. This coupling results in the formation of chain-localized quantum states, which can be described as the bonding ground-state orbital in an artificial linear molecule.
Numerical testing of the Fowler–Nordheim equation for the electronic field emission from a flat metal and proposition for an improved equation
Authors: Mayer A.
Published: July 2010

The author uses a transfer-matrix technique to simulate field electronic emission from a flat metal. He compares, in particular, the results provided by this numerical scheme with those predicted by the standard Fowler–Nordheim equation. He considers for this study electric fields between 1 and 10 V/nm as well as work functions between 1.5 and 5 eV. The results demonstrate that the Fowler–Nordheim theory and the transfer-matrix calculations are globally in good agreement. With the Fermi energy of 10 eV considered in this work, the results provided by the standard Fowler–Nordheim equation are, however, systematically larger than the quantum-mechanical result, especially for low values of the work function and for high electric fields. This is essentially due to the fact the standard Fowler–Nordheim theory relies on the simple Jeffreys–Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin approximation for evaluating the electronic transmission through the surface barrier of the emitter. A correction factor is thus established that enables the temperature-dependent version of the standard Fowler–Nordheim equation to match the exact quantum-mechanical result.
Fabrication of nanowires with high aspect ratios utilized by dry etching with SF6:C4F8 and self-limiting thermal oxidation on Si substrate
Authors: Park Si-Young , Di Giacomo Sandro J. , Anisha R. , Berger Paul R. , Thompson Phillip E. , Adesida Ilesanmi
Published: July 2010

Si-based nanowires with high aspect ratios have been fabricated using an inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) with a continuous processing gas mixture of fluorine-based SF6:C4F8 combined with a thermal oxidation technique. The subsequent thermal oxidation further reduced the nanowire diameter utilizing the self-limiting oxidation effect below the lithographic dimensions. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of the completed nanostructures revealed the total oxide thickness and the consumption of the Si core which determines the inner nanowire diameter. The final dimensions of the inner Si nanowire are about 600 nm tall and less than 25 nm wide using top-down processing techniques.
Decoyed from Tumorigenesis
Authors: Wong Wei
Published: July 2010

A PTEN pseudogene generates a microRNA decoy that acts as a tumor suppressor.
Move or Divide?
Authors: Gough Nancy R.
Published: July 2010

A nonreceptor guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Gα
i
interacts with EGFR to tip cells from proliferating to migrating.
Squeezing Through with Sema3A
Authors: Adler Elizabeth M.
Published: July 2010

Sema3A activates ROCK- and myosin-dependent contraction to promote dendritic cell entry into the lymphatics.
Discrepancies between research advertisements and disclosure of study locations in trial registrations for USA-sponsored research in Russia
Authors: Patrone D
Published: July 2010

Background and Aim

The full disclosure of all locations at which research is conducted is an important requirement of clinical trial registration. Yet, little is known about how well researchers and sponsors disclose this information in their registrations. The aim of this study is to examine the adequacy of study location disclosure onhttp://ClinicalTrials.gov/for recent USA-sponsored research in the Russian Federation.

Methods and Results

Information from advertisements for clinical research participation opportunities in Russia was compared with that in the corresponding trial registration inhttp://ClinicalTrials.gov/. Of 218 USA-sponsored trials advertised to Russian patients and physicians, nearly one-third did not disclose Russia as a study location in the registration. Longer trials were more likely to specify Russia as a study location.

Conclusion

This study found that recent USA-sponsored clinical trials advertised to patients and physicians in the Russian Federation often do not specify Russia as a study location in their registrations onhttp://ClinicalTrials.gov/. The failure to fully disclose the locations at which research takes place undermines patients' ability to access information about potentially beneficial research opportunities, limits access to information, which may be important for identifying or avoiding ethically questionable practices, and may frustrate the ability to interpret the results of research.
Acceptable risks and burdens for children in research without direct benefit: a systematic analysis of the decisions made by the Dutch Central Committee
Authors: Westra Anna E , Sukhai Rám N , Wit Jan M , de Beaufort Inez D , Cohen Adam F
Published: July 2010

Objectives

To evaluate whether the requirement of “minimal risk and burden” for paediatric research without direct benefit to the subjects compromises the ability to obtain data necessary for improving paediatric care. To provide evidence-based reflections on the EU recommendation that allows for a higher level of risk.

Design and setting

Systematic analysis of the approval/rejection decisions made by the Dutch Central Committee on Research involving Human Subjects (CCMO).

Review methods

The analysis included 165 proposals for paediatric research without direct benefit that were reviewed by the CCMO between January, 2000, and July, 2007. A separate, in-depth analysis of all drug studies included 18 early phase drug studies and nine other drug studies without direct benefit.

Results

11 out of 165 studies were definitively rejected because the CCMO did not regard the risk and/or burden to be minimal. In three of these 11 cases (including two early phase drug studies) the requirement of minimal risk and burden was cited as the only reason for rejection. Four other early phase drug studies also involved risks and/or burdens that were not regarded to be minimal but were nevertheless approved.

Conclusions

The requirement of minimal risk and burden, aiming to protect research subjects, occasionally leads to rejection of protocols. Early phase drug studies relatively often do not comply with the requirement. Committees may find ways to approve important studies that formally should be rejected, but that is not a desirable solution. The regulatory framework should be revised to make such occasional exceptions to the requirement legitimate and transparent.
Coercive offers and research participation: a comment on Wertheimer and Miller
Authors: McMillan John
Published: July 2010

Concepts such as ‘coercion’ and ‘inducement’ are often used within bioethics without much reflection upon what they mean. This is particularly so in research ethics where they are assumed to imply that payment for research participation is unethical. Wertheimer and Miller advance our thinking about these concepts and research ethics in a significant way, specifically by questioning the possibility of genuine offers ever being coercive. This commentary argues that they are right to question this assumption, however, more needs to be said about the plausible coercive offer cases and to explain the normativity of these cases.
EVALUATION OF QRS COMPLEX BASED ON DWT COEFFICIENTS ANALYSIS USING DAUBECHIES WAVELETS FOR DETECTION OF MYOCARDIAL ISCHAEMIA
Authors: PATIL G. M. , SUBBA RAO K. , NIRANJAN U. C. , SATYANARAYAN K.
Published: July 2010

This paper presents a new approach in the field of electrocardiogram (ECG) feature extraction system based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) coefficients using Daubechies Wavelets. Real ECG signals recorded in lead II configuration are chosen for processing. The ECG signal was acquired by a battery operated, portable ECG data acquisition and signal processing module. In the second step the ECG signal was denoised using soft thresholding with Symlet4 wavelet. Further denoising was achieved by removing the corresponding wavelet coefficients at higher levels of decomposition. Later the ECG data files were converted to .txt files and subsequently to. mat files before being imported into the Matlab 7.4.0 environment for the computation of the decomposition coefficients. The QRS complexes were grouped as normal or myocardial ischaemic ones based on these decomposition coefficients. The algorithm developed by us was evaluated with control database comprising 120 records and validated using 60 records making up test database. By using the DWT coefficients, we have successfully achieved the myocardial ischaemia detection rates up to 97.5% with the technique developed by us for control data and up to 100% for validation test data.
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF A MODEL OF SIMULATED VERTEBRAL CEMENT AUGMENTATION: INFLUENCE OF THE REPRESENTATION OF THE SHAPE OF THE CEMENT DOMAIN ON BIOMECHANICAL PARAMETERS
Authors: LI YUAN , LEWIS GLADIUS
Published: July 2010

Vertebral cement augmentation is rapidly becoming the modality of choice for treating patients who are experiencing severe and persistent pain because of osteoporosis-induced vertebral compression fracture(s). The resulting cement domain (the part of the vertebral body (VB) filled with the cement) has an irregular or complicated shape. In literature reports of finite element analysis (FEA) of models of simulated vertebral cement augmentation, a variety of representations of the shape of the cement domain have been used. In the literature, only very limited attention has been given to the issue of the influence of cement domain shape representation on biomechanical parameters for a given combination of model and loading. This issue is the subject of the present work, with the model being of the L1-L3 motion segments. Augmentation of an unfractured L2 (prophylactic augmentation) was simulated, three cement domain shapes were considered — namely, solid cylinder, with rounded edges; two prolate spheroids; and oblate spheroid — and the applied loading comprised a simultaneous application of a uniform compressive pressure of 0.53 MPa (equivalent to an 800-N compression load) and a counter-clockwise-acting axial rotation moment of 1 Nm to the superior surface of L1. It was found that (1) while the cement domain shape representation has a marked influence on the mean von Mises stress (σAVM), the maximum von Mises stress (σMVM), and the strain energy density (MSED) distribution in the cement domain, its influence on each of these parameters in each of the biological tissues in the model as well as on the total segmental range of motion is minimal and (2) for σAVM and σMVM, the lowest value of each of these parameters was obtained when the oblate spheroid model was used. From both clinical and computational perspectives, these findings are significant. For example, the latter finding suggests that there is scope for researching the combination of key process variables used, such as the cement chemistry, the cement delivery system, and the augmentation technique/approach, that would ensure that the final cement domain shape in cement-augmented VBs of patients be oblate spheroid on a consistent and predictable basis.
Characterization of the porous nature of a phthalocyanine derivative with axial ligation designed to prevent aggregation
Authors: Barker Carl A. , Massey Alan , Rhodes Aidan , Bryce Martin R. , Kataky Ritu
Published: July 2010

Judiciously designed phthalocyanines (Pcs), such as silicon-Pc bis(3,5-diphenyl)benzoate (1c), with axial substituents which prevent aggregation, can self-assemble to form ordered nanoporous films on electrode surfaces. In this paper, complementary techniques such as Scanning Kelvin Nanoprobe (SKN) microscopy, Atom Force Microscopy (AFM) and electrochemical measurements are used to demonstrate that films formed by silicon-Pc bis(3,5-diphenyl)benzoate allow size- and charge- selective transport of probe molecules through well-defined intermolecular cavities. In contrast, the analogs silicon-Pc bis(4-tert-butylbenzoate) (1a) and silicon-Pc bis(3-thienyl)acetate (1b) have different film morphologies when solvent-cast in the same manner and block the electrode surface. The role of the different axial substituents in orienting the molecules on the substrate is discussed.
Benzo-fused low symmetry metal-free tetraazaporphyrin and phthalocyanine analogs: synthesis, spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and density functional theory calculations
Authors: Li Renjie , Qi Dongdong , Jiang Jianzhuang , Bian Yongzhong
Published: July 2010

A whole series of low-symmetry, metal-free tetrapyrrole analogs 1–11 ranging from tetraazaporphyrin H2TAP(tBu)4 to napthalocyanine H2Nc(tBu)4via H2Pc(tBu)4 have been designed and prepared. Their electronic structures have been spectroscopically and electrochemically investigated. Through the preparation of a series of tetrapyrrole compounds with just the same number of four tert-butyl substituents at similar positions of the macrocyclic ring, the effect intrinsic to the enlargement of the ring system has been easily extracted and understood. Along with the increase in the size of central conjugated system, the half-wave potentials of the first oxidation for 1–11 are shifted significantly to the negative direction. This is also true for the half-wave potentials of the first reduction process of this series of tetrapyrrole derivatives but in a slight manner. These results indicate that along with the ring extension, the energy of the HOMO increases significantly while that of the LUMO only slightly increases. The effect of the ring size of these tetrapyrrole compounds on the electronic absorption and fluorescence spectra is also clear: both the Q band and fluorescence shifts to longer wavelength with the increase in the number of fused benzene rings but with a diminishing increase due to the extending of the central conjugated system. These results were reasonably explained by considering the energy levels of frontier molecular orbitals of the series of compounds obtained by the calculations using DFT method at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level.
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS FOR THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DOUBLE/SINGLE EFFECT HYBRID TYPE ABSORPTION CHILLER
Authors: PARK CHAN WOO , YOU DA YOUNG , KIM HYOUNG JIN , IM IK-TAE
Published: July 2010

In this study, the characteristics of the hybrid type absorption chiller, combined with the single effect absorption chiller and the double effect absorption chiller, are numerically studied to use waste hot water effectively. In the case of the full load for hybrid type absorption system, the concentration and temperature of LiBr solution increase about 2.2°C and 0.7%, respectively, at the single effect generator by the hot water. As the partial load decreases, the COP decreasing ratio of the hybrid type absorption chiller is higher than that of the double effect absorption chiller. On the other hand, COP f shows the opposite result of COP. The cycle COP of the hybrid type is about 1.07 on the full load which is 0.11 lower than that of the conventional double effect type. But COP f of the hybrid type is 1.28 which is 0.22 larger than that of double effect type. In the case of 50% partial load, COP f of the hybrid type is 2.66 and at below 50% partial load, system can be operated without any fuels. As the temperature of hot water and the mass flow ratio of hot water increase, the fuel saving ratio increases. The effect of the inlet temperature on the COP and COP f is much more significant than that of the mass flow rate of the hot water.
Bitranslations and Symmetric Nets
Authors: Al-Kenani Ahmad N.
Published: July 2010

It is known that every class‐regular symmetric (μ, m)‐net is tactical. Also it is known that all (μ, m)‐nets with m = 2 or μ = 1 are tactical. In the work of Al‐Kenani and Mavron (2003), it is proved that every symmetric net with m = 3 is tactical if and only if it is class regular. In this paper, we construct (2, 4)‐net and show that it
is class regular and therefore tactical. New necessary and sufficient conditions are given for a symmetric net to admit a nonidentity bitranslation.
Visualizing Decision Trees in Games to Support Children's Analytic Reasoning: Any Negative Effects on Gameplay?
Authors: Haworth Robert , Tagh Bostani Sousan Sheida , Sedig Kamran
Published: July 2010

The popularity and usage of digital games has increased in recent years, bringing further attention to their design. Some digital games require a significant use of higher order thought processes, such as problem solving and reflective and analytical thinking. Through the use of appropriate and interactive representations, these thought processes could be supported. A visualization of the game's internal structure is an example of this. However, it is unknown whether including these extra representations will have a negative effect on gameplay. To investigate this issue, a digital maze-like game was designed with its underlying structure represented as a decision tree. A qualitative, exploratory study with children was performed to examine whether the tree supported their thought processes and what effects, if any, the tree had on gameplay. This paper reports the findings of this research and discusses the implications for the design of games in general.
Fiber Strain Measurement for Wide Region Quasidistributed Sensing by Optical Correlation Sensor with Region Separation Techniques
Authors: Xu Xunjian , Bueno Antonio , Nonaka Koji , Sales Salvador
Published: July 2010

The useful application of optical pulse correlation sensor for wide region quasidistributed fiber strain measurement is investigated. Using region separation techniques of wavelength multiplexing with FBGs and time multiplexing with intensity partial reflectors, the sensor measures the correlations between reference pulses and monitoring pulses from several cascadable selected sensing regions. This novel sensing system can select the regions and obtain the distributed strain information in any desired sensing region.
Anticipated Outcomes from Introduction of 5-HTTLPR Genotyping for Depressed Patients: An Expert Delphi Analysis
Authors: Oestergaard S. , Møldrup C.
Published: July 2010

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate experts’ opinions regarding the extent to which the introduction of pretesting for polymorphism of serotonin transporter promoter region (5-HTTLPR) as a routine intervention in clinical practice would lead to better clinical outcomes for depression patients. Methods: Using an internet survey system, authors of clinical studies addressing the topic of association of 5-HTTLPR genotyping with antidepressant response were contacted to participate in a Delphi study. Results: Responses from 12 experts were used for the final analysis. According to the participants, the introduction of 5-HTTLPR genotyping will lead to 33.8, 48.2, 57.8, and 65.1% of patients reaching remission at 1, 2, 3, and 6 months, respectively. Conclusions: According to experts, application of 5-HTTLPR pretreatment genotyping might influence remission; however, the estimated remission rates with genotyping at first sight do not appear to be superior to existing practice, i.e. without genotyping. It is anticipated that a combination of 5-HTTLPR testing with other genomic variables, which have yet to be determined, and compliance measurements can improve clinical outcomes in the future. At present, the introduction of 5-HTTLPR genotyping is expected to be used only in special situations.
Retrospective Survey on the Prevalence and Outcome of Prior Autoimmune Diseases in Patients with Aplastic Anemia Reported to the Registry of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Authors: Cesaro Simone , Marsh Judith , Tridello Gloria , Rovò Alicia , Maury Sebastien , Montante Barbara , Masszi Tamás , Van Lint Maria Teresa , Afanasyev Boris , Iriondo Atienza Arturo , Bierings Marc , Carbone Cecilia , Doubek Michael , Lanino Edoardo , Sarhan Mahmoud , Risitano Antonio , Steinerova Katerina , Wahlin Anders , Pegoraro Anna , Passweg Jakob
Published: July 2010

Background: Aplastic anemia (AA) is rarely described after a diagnosis of autoimmune disease (aID). Aims: To assess the prevalence of prior aID in patients with AA recorded in the registry of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) and to evaluate treatment and outcome. Methods: 1,251 AA patients from 18 EBMT centers were assessed. Results: Fifty patients (4%) were eligible: 22 males and 28 females with a median age of 46 years at the diagnosis of aID and of 51 years at the diagnosis of AA. Information on the treatment of AA was available in 49 patients: 38 received only immunosuppressive therapy (IST), 8 patients underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) – 6 as first-line therapy and 2 after failure of IST – whilst 3 patients had a spontaneous recovery. After a median follow-up of 3.19 years, 32 patients were alive, including 7 of the 8 patients who underwent HSCT. Only 6 of 32 patients who were alive at the last follow-up were receiving IST for AA. Conclusions: Most cases of AA following aID benefitted from IST or HSCT if a matched donor was available. Further prospective investigation is needed to assess the effects of IST on the outcome of underlying aID.
Effects of Specific Genes Activating RAGE on Polycystic Kidney Disease
Authors: Park Eun Young , Seo Min Ji , Park Jong Hoon
Published: July 2010

Background: Autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is characterized by progressive cyst formation and secretion of fluid and is associated with interstitial inflammation and fibrosis, resulting in the loss of renal function. We previously generated mice overexpressing PKD2, causing progressive cyst development with an inflammatory and fibrotic phenotype in the kidneys. Methods: To profile the gene expression related to inflammation and cystogenesis, microarray analysis was performed with kidney tissue from 6-, 12- and 18-month-old mice. Subsequently, levels and related mechanisms of selected genes, s100a8 and s100a9, were evaluated. Results: S100a8 and s100a9 was upregulated more than 2-fold and differently expressed in the cystic region. Receptor of advanced glycation end product (RAGE) is a putative cell surface receptor for s100a8/a9. It was expressed in cyst-lining cells and up-regulated pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-ĸB in transgenic mice. We also confirmed RAGE expression in ADPKD patient kidneys. It was suggested that the signaling related to proliferative cystogenesis through previous reports; therefore, we confirmed that phosphorylated-ERK and cyst formation was reduced by treatment of RAGE-siRNA. Conclusions: The results may provide important information for the expression of s100a8/a9 and RAGE, linking progressive cystogenesis with inflammation in cystic kidney.
Modulation of Renal Blood Flow and Vascular Tone by Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase-Derived Nitric Oxide
Authors: Toda Noboru , Okamura Tomio
Published: July 2010

Nitric oxide (NO) formed via neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in renal vasculature and tissues and in the brain plays an important role in controlling renal hemodynamics, renal function, and systemic blood pressure. Activation of parasympathetic nitrergic nerves innervating renal vasculature contributes to vasodilatation in renal arteries and pre- and postglomerular arterioles, an increase in renal blood flow, and a decrease in vascular resistance. NO released from autonomic nitrergic nerves interferes with the release of norepinephrine from adrenergic nerve terminals or the amine actions on smooth muscle. The pre- or postjunctional mechanisms of NO actions participate in vasodilatation through a diminution of sympathetic vasoconstrictor influence. On the other hand, NO from neurons in the brain acts on the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and the rostral ventrolateral medulla and inhibits the central sympathetic nerve activity to the kidney, leading to renal vasodilatation and increased renal blood flow. The present article summarizes information concerning the renal blood flow and vascular tone through nNOS-derived NO produced in peripheral autonomic nerves and the brain. The nNOS-derived NO-cyclic GMP pathway would be an important target for the treatment of renal circulatory dysfunction and chronic kidney disease.
The Introduction to the Jurisprudence of Holland and the Doctrine of the Free Seas
Authors:   Zwalve
Published: July 2010

It is sometimes taken for granted that Grotius included a short restatement of his doctrine of the free sea in his famous Introduction to the Jurisprudence of Holland (Inl. 2.1.16-17). This impression is incorrect, since Grotius merely restates a dictum of the Roman lawyer Marcianus (D. 1.8.2) and, in doing so, only deals with the condition of the sea according to private law. In Mare liberum, however, he employs Marcian's idea of the sea as a res communis in a different fashion. This article is concentrating on the use of arguments taken from private law in a debate on issues of public law in the light of the exceptions to Marcian's doctrine as formulated by medieval lawyers, which have culminated in the doctrine that states can indeed exercise authority over the sea. It is contended that Grotius had to argue along the same line by using arguments from private law in order to effectively refute that doctrine.