bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biological Activity Of Antithrombin III In Blood Plasma And Edematous Fluids Of Patients With A Nephrotic Syndrome
Authors: Podorolskaya L V , Andreenko G V , Polyantseva L R
Published: July 2018

The biological activity of antithrombin (AT) III was tested by the Abilgaard method in blood plasma of 149 patients with renal lesions of various etiology, of 27 donors and in 17 samples of edematous fluid of patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS). The majority of patients had a decreased AT III content in blood plasma, which was especially well pronounced in NS patients irrespective of etiology. In edematous fluids the level of AT III was 10% of that in the plasma. The functional activity of AT III in the plasma was well-correlated with IIS manifestations, i.e, 24 hr-proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, hyperchole- sterinemia) and with hemocoagulation and fibrinolysis parei:.eters (SFMC content, plasma tolerancy to heparin, contents of heparin, plasminogen activator and kallikrein and total antitryptic activity). A reactive increase of AT III in NS patients with venous occlusion is of essential prognostic value. Heparin therapy results in an increase of the originally low AT III content and in positive dynamics of NS.
A Comparison Of Various Methods For Measuring At III In Different Clinical Conditions
Authors: Poggi M , Palareti G , Coccheri S
Published: July 2018

A comparison of different methods for AT III was performed in 65 patients. Of these, 45 affected by thrombotic diseases (TD) or under oral contraceptives (0C) were selected on the basis of the finding of low values of “serum” AT III (von Kaulla, AT III S), while 20, under oral anticoagulants, (AC) had abnormally high values of AT III S. The methods used were: AT III S, Xa I, reptilase defibrination (RD), immunologic (Imm), Coatest S 2238 (Chr).

In the 45 cases (TD+OC) with low AT III S (≤ 70%), a low AT III level was confirmed with Imm in 20% of the cases, RD also in 20%, XaI in 15,5%, and Chr in 4,4%. Imm values were correlated (p < 0.05) with RD values. The variability of AT III S was completely different from that of all other methods. In AC patients with increased values of AT III S, there was no significant change in AT III with any other method.

In conclusion, our results show a marked discrepancy between AT III S and the other methods used, suggesting heterogeneity of AT III S method. AT III S values are in fact related not only to AT III “in vivo”, but also to its “in vitro” consumption rate and possibly to other clotting inhibitors. However, the clinical usefulness of AT III S as an index of “hypercoagulability” remains to be investigated.
The Relationship Of Lipids To Antithrombin Consumption During Clotting
Authors: Winter J H , Bennett B , McTaggart F , Douglas A S
Published: July 2018

The relationship between serum lipids and the plasma and serum anti thrombin activity was studied in blood samples from 18 patients who had suffered myocardial infarction 1-3 years previously and 18 age matched controls without clinical evidence of vascular disease. Progressive anti thrombin activity was measured by the technique of Abildgaard et al (1970) and anti thrombin III levels were measured by radial immunodiffusion using Partigen plates.

Plasma specific anti thrombin activity was defined as the ratio of progressive anti thrombin activity to the anti thrombin III level measured by immunoassay. Serum was separated from blood incubated for 1 hour at 37°C in glass tubes.

Serum tryglycerides were determined using a commercial kinetic enzymatic method, heparin precipitable lipoproteins (VLDL and LDL) by nephephelometric method, and high density lipoprotein by a Mn2+ and heparin precipitation method. A negative correlation was found between plasma specific anti thrombin activity and serum triglycerides (R = -0.35 p < 0.05). Significant correlations were found between the consumption of anti thrombin activity during clotting and serum triglyceride (R = -0.53, p < 0.001) heparin precipitable lipoproteins (R = -0.48, p < 0.01) and high density lipoprotein (R = + 0.40, p < 0.01).

These data indicate that blood lipids influence antithrombin III - coagulant interactions, possibly protecting the activated coagulant factors from inhibition by antithrombin. The data concerning anti thrombin-lipid interactions clearly merits expansion.
Inactivation Of Hepatitis B Virus By Heat In Antithrombin III Stabilized With Citrate
Authors: Tabor Edward , Murano Genesio , Snoy Philip , Robert Robert J
Published: July 2018

The recent report that antithrombin III (AT-III) prepared in solution with 0.5 M sodium citrate can withstand heating at 60°C for 10 hours suggested that this method of preparation could permit the heat-inactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) which might be present. Although heating at 60°C for 10 hours will inactivate HBV in albumin, this will not inactivate HBV in whole plasma or in some purified hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) preparations. HBV, subtype ayw, hepatitis B e antigen positive, containing 103.5 chimpanzee infectious doses per ml, was added to each of two vials containing 690 plasma units each of AT- III. One was kept at 4°C for 10 hours (unheated AT-III), the second was heated at 60°C for 10 hours. The contents of both vials were separately dialyzed and inoculated intravenously into chimpanzees with no prior exposure to hepatitis B virus and with no serologic evidence of prior hepatitis B infection. No evidence of hepatitis B was detected in the chimpanzee inoculated with the heated AT-III during six months of evaluation. Aspartate and alanine aminotransferase levels (AST, ALT) remained within or near the normal range. Neither HBsAg, antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), nor antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs) was detected in any of the weekly serum samples. The chimpanzee inoculated with the unheated AT-III developed hepatitis B. AST and ALT became elevated 13 weeks after inoculation; HBsAg (subtype ayw) was detected six weeks after inoculation and remained detectable; anti-HBc became detectable 12 weeks after inoculation. Liver biopsies obtained 20 and 23 weeks after inoculation showed histologic changes of acute hepatitis. This study shows that the application of heat at 60°C for 10 hours to AT-III stabilized with 0.5 M sodium citrate can inactivate > 1,000 chimpanzee infectious doses of HBV.
Influence Of Variations In The Chemical Structure Of Heparin On Its Anticoagulant And Anti Xa Activities
Authors: Perlin A S , Ayotte L , Lormeau J C
Published: July 2018

Fractions of hog mucosal heparin, prepared by graded sedimentation as barium salts, are distinguished by large differences in chemical composition and relatively small differences in molecular weight. These fractions were found to vary widely in anticoagulant activity and in their ability to potentiate the inhibition of Factor Xa. Anticoagulant activity was highest for fractions that consisted mainly of L-iduronic acid 2-sulfate and 2-deoxy-2-sulfamino-D-glucose 6-sulfate, and decreased overall by a factor of 3 (from 145 to 56 USP units) as the proportion of residues of 2- acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose, D-glucuronic acid and L- iduronic acid became progressively more prominent. Conversely, a 10-fold increment in anti Xa activity (from 59 to 639 units/mg) accompanied the increase in the relative proportions of the minor, non-sulfated, heparin constituents. These findings suggest that individual steps of the coagulation process are subject to selective catalytic effects on reaction rate by differently constituted molecules within a heparin preparation
Gerinnungsfaktoren in der Lymphe
Authors: Hansen H. G , Aepinus K
Published: July 2018

Die vorliegenden Untersuchungen dienten dem Ziel, nähere Aufschlüsse über den bisher wenig bekannten Gehalt der Gewebsflüssigkeit an Gerinnungsfaktoren zu bekommen. In der bei Katzen aus dem Ductus thoracicus gewonnenen Sammellymphe wurden fortlaufende Bestimmungen der Thrombinzeit, des Fibrinogens, der Antithrombine II und III, der Thromboplastinzeit, der Faktoren V und VII und des Prothrombins durchgeführt. Bezogen auf den Faktorengehalt des Plasmas läßt derjenige der Lymphe statistisch gesicherte Abstufungen erkennen. Der Kurvenverlauf ist bezüglich der Faktoren V und VII und des Prothrombins durch einen gesicherten Abfall während des Versuchs gekennzeichnet. Die in vieler Beziehung noch problematische Interpretation der Versuchsergebnisse wird diskutiert.
Thrombin Augments Vascular Cell-dependent Migration of Human Mast Cells: Role of MGF
Authors: Baghestanian Mehrdad , Hofbauer Roland , Kress Hans G , Wojta Johann , Fabry Astrid , Binder Bernd R , Kaun Christoph , Müller Michael R , Mehrabi Mohammad R , Kapiotis Stylianos , Sengoelge Gürkan , Ghannadan Minoo , Lechner Klaus , Valent Peter
Published: July 2018

Recent data suggest that auricular thrombosis is associated with accumulation of mast cells (MC) in the upper endocardium (where usually no MC reside) and local expression of MGF (mast cell growth factor) (25). In this study, the role of vascular cells, thrombin-activation and MGF, in MC-migration was analyzed. For this purpose, cultured human auricular endocardial cells (HAUEC), umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and uterine-(HUTMEC) and skin-derived (HSMEC) microvascular endothelial cells were exposed to thrombin or control medium, and the migration of primary tissue MC (lung, n = 6) and HMC-1 cells (human MC-line) against vascular cells (supernatants) measured. Supernatants (24 h) of unstimulated vascular cells (monolayers of endocardium or endothelium) as well as recombinant (rh) MGF induced a significant migratory response in HMC-1 (control: 3025 ± 344 cells [100 ± 11.4%] vs. MGF, 100 ng/ml: 8806 ± 1019 [291 ± 34%] vs. HAUEC: 9703 ± 1506 [320.8 ± 49.8%] vs. HUTMEC: 8950 ± 1857 [295.9 ± 61.4%] vs. HSMEC: 9965 ± 2018 [329.4 ± 66.7%] vs. HUVEC: 9487 ± 1402 [313.6 ± 46.4%], p <0.05) as well as in primary lung MC. Thrombin-activation (5 U/ml, 12 h) of vascular cells led to an augmentation of the directed migration of MC as well as to a hirudin-sensitive increase in MGF synthesis and release. Moreover, a blocking anti-MGF antibody was found to inhibit MC-migration induced by unstimulated or thrombin-activated vascular cells. Together, these data show that endocardial and other vascular cells can induce migration of human MC. This MC-chemotactic signal of the vasculature is associated with expression and release of MGF, augmentable by thrombin, and may play a role in the pathophysiology of (auricular) thrombosis.
Extravascular Administration of Factor IX: Potential for Replacement Therapy of Canine and Human Hemophilia B
Authors: Liles Darla , Landen Charles N , Monroe Dougald M , Lindley Celeste M , Read Marjorie s , Roberts Harold R , Brinkhous Kenneth M
Published: July 2018

Current therapy for hemophilia B requires large intravenous doses of factor IX (F.IX) given in the clinic or at home. Although home therapy is possible for many patients, it is often complicated by factors such as the lack of good venous access. Very little is known about extravascular routes for administering proteins like F.IX (57 kD) or other vitamin K-dependent procoagulant factors into the circulation. Questions about the absorption rate from extravascular administration as well as plasma recovery and bioavailability have arisen recently with the growing availibility of highly purified procoagulant proteins and increased interest in gene therapy of hemophilia B. Therefore, a group of studies were undertaken to determine the absorption rate, plasma recovery, and bioavailability of high purity, human plasma-derived F.IX concentrates administered via extravascular routes in hemophilia B dogs and in one human hemophilia B subject. Five hemophilia B dogs were given human F.IX via either a subcutaneous (SC), intramuscular (IM), intra- peritoneal (IP) or intravenous (IV) route. In a subsequent study, a single SC administration of human F.IX was compared to an identical IV dose of F.IX in the human hemophilia B subject. All extravascular routes of F.IX administration in both the canine and human gave lower levels of circulating plasma F.IX than the IV route, however all routes resulted in measurable F.IX activity. Of the extravascular routes, the IM injection in the canine resulted in a bioavailibility of 82.8%, while the SC injection resulted in a bioavailability of 63.5%. F.IX reached the plasma compartment by all extravascular routes used, confirming that F.IX can be absorbed extravascularly. The duration of measurable F.IX activity following extravascular administration is prolonged beyond that typically seen with IV administration. These data show that significant levels of F.IX may be obtained via SC injection in canine and ‘ human hemophilia B subjects and further highlight the potential of extravascular routes of administration for future experimental and clinical uses of F.IX and other procoagulant proteins.
Aggregation, Release and Desensitization Induced in Platelets from Five Species by Platelet Activating Factor (PAF)
Authors: Cargill D I , Cohen D S , Valen R G Van , Klimek J J , Levin R P
Published: July 2018

PAF-induced aggregation and dense granule release (ATP release) were investigated in human, primate, guinea pig, rabbit and rat platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Guinea pig PRP was most sensitive to PAF, followed by rabbit and then human. PRP from rats and primates did not aggregate or release when exposed to PAF.

In guinea pig and rabbit PRP, release was independent of aggregatory response. In human PRP high doses of PAF (5 × 10-7M) caused maximum aggregation and a biphasic ATP release, whilst lower concentrations (3×10-8M) induced biphasic aggregation and one phase of ATP release concomitant with the second phase of aggregation.

Aggregation and ATP release induced by PAF in guinea pig and rabbit PRP is dependent upon Ca++ levels, whilst the response of human platelets is relatively independent of the Ca++ level above a certain threshold concentration.

The PRP from the three species which aggregated with PAF also demonstrate the phenomenon of desensitization.
The Role of Factor VIII in the Activation of Human Blood Coagulation Factor X by Activated Factor IX
Authors: Mertens K , van Wijngaarden A , Bertina R M
Published: July 2018

The role of factor VIII in the activation of human factor X by factor IXa, Ca2+ and phospholipid has been investigated. Factor VIII stimulated the factor Xa formation after activation by factor Xa or thrombin; the activity of thrombin-activated factor VIII was about 4-fold that of factor Xa-activated factor VIII. The isolated procoagulant moiety of the factor VIII complex behaved identically to the complete complex, whereas the von Willebrand factor moiety did not participate in the factor Xa formation. Thrombin-activated factor VIII complex (factor Villa) was used to study the effect of factor Villa in kinetic experiments. The results revealed a complex kinetic behaviour, including substrate inhibition and non-linearity of the reaction rate with the enzyme concentration. Using previously obtained insight into the kinetics of factor X activation in the absence of factor VIII, the results were found to support the hypothesis that factor Villa participates in the factor Xa formation in a complex with phospholipid-bound factor IXa; the formation of the factor VUIa-factor IXa complex then increases the catalytic efficiency of the factor IXa by 500-fold.
Further Studies on the Modulation of Blood Coagulation by Human Serum Amyloid P Component and Its Acute Phase Homologue C-Reactive Protein
Authors: Fiedel B A , Ku Cecilia S L
Published: July 2018

Serum amyloid P component (SAP), and its acute phase homologue C-reactive protein (CRP), prolonged activated partial thromboplastin times (APTT) in cell free plasma when assayed at physiological concentrations in the presence of heparin. SAP also inhibited clot formation initiated through the extrinsic and terminal phases of coagulation in heparinized cell free plasma, an activity not shared with CRP. When CRP and SAP were similarly evaluated in whole blood using the thromboelastograph (TEG), CRP delayed the onset of coagulation and the initial rate of fibrin formation/polymerization; final clot patency was unaltered. SAP suppressed the anticoagulant activity of heparin in the TEG assay, unlike results obtained in heparinized cell free plasma, by facilitating a more rapid onset of coagulation, increasing the rate of fibrin formation/polymerization, and correcting clot patency. The data provided offer further evidence that these homologues can intercede in blood coagulation.
Studies on Production of Antithrombin III with Special Reference to Endotoxin-Induced DIC in Dogs
Authors: Tanaka H , Kobayashi N , Maekawa T
Published: July 2018

The production of antithrombin III (AT III) was studied using Se-75-selenomethionine as a tracer in dogs with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) experimentally induced by endotoxin infusion. Using canine AT III purified by heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography, antiserum against canine AT III was raised in rabbit. To study the production of plasma AT III, Se-75-selenomethionine was injected into the dog and thereafter the radioactivity incorporated into plasma AT III immunoprecipitated by anti-AT III rabbit serum was serially measured. In normal control dogs, peak radioactivity incorporated into AT III fraction was 970 ± 55 (mean ± SE) cpm/mg of AT III. It was 1196 ± 51.5 cpm/mg, 2748 ± 826 cpm/mg and 1057 ± 74 cpm/mg when Se-75-selenomethionine was injected 6 h, 24 h and 48 h after a single infusion with one mg of endotoxin/kg body weight of dogs, and was 1.2 times, 2.8 times and 1.1 times more than normal control dogs, respectively. Plasma AT III levels decreased to a minimum of 26.7 ± 4.9 mg/dl within 6 h after endotoxin infusion and returned to normal levels by 2 to 3 days after the infusion. Since the catabolic rate of AT III was evidently accelerated, judging from the more rapid decay of the AT III radioactivity, it is suggested that the production of AT III is markedly increased in dogs with DIC induced by endotoxin infusion even during a period of low plasma level.
Sensitive and Specific Detection of Platelet-Derived and Tissue Factor–Positive Extracellular Vesicles in Plasma Using Solid-Phase Proximity Ligation Assay
Authors: Thulin Åsa , Yan Junhong , Åberg Mikael , Christersson Christina , Kamali-Moghaddam Masood , Siegbahn Agneta
Published: July 2018

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from blood cells are promising biomarkers for various diseases. However, they are difficult to measure accurately in plasma due to their small size. Here, we demonstrate that platelet-derived EVs in plasma can be measured using solid-phase proximity ligation assay with high sensitivity and specificity using very small sample volume of biological materials. The results correlate well with high-sensitivity flow cytometry with the difference that the smallest EVs are detected. Briefly, the EVs are first captured on a solid phase, using lactadherin binding, and detection requires recognition with two antibodies followed by qPCR. The assay, using cholera toxin subunit-B or lactadherin as capture agents, also allowed detection of the more rare population of tissue factor (TF)-positive EVs at a concentration similar to sensitive TF activity assays. Thus, this assay can detect different types of EVs with high specificity and sensitivity, and has the potential to be an attractive alternative to flow cytometric analysis of preclinical and clinical samples. Improved techniques for measuring EVs in plasma will hopefully contribute to the understanding of their role in several diseases.
Invited Article: Experimental evaluation of gold nanoparticles as infrared
scatterers for advanced cardiovascular optical imaging
Authors: Hu Jie , Romero Abujetas Diego , Tsoutsi Dionysia , Leggio Luca , Rivero Fernando , Martín Rodríguez Emma , Aguilar Torres Río , Sánchez-Gil José A. , Loro Ramírez Héctor , Gallego Daniel , Lamela Rivera Horacio , Rivera Gil Pilar , Alfonso Fernando , García Solé José , Jaque Daniel
Published: July 2018

The tremendous impact that cardiovascular diseases have in modern society is motivating the research of novel imaging techniques that would make possible early diagnosis and, therefore, efficient treatments. Cardiovascular optical coherence tomography (CV-OCT) emerged as a result of such a demand, and it has already been used at the clinical level. Full utilization of CV-OCT requires the development of novel contrast molecular agents characterized by a large scattering efficiency in the infrared (800-1400 nm). Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) seem to be the best candidates, but their scattering properties in the infrared are hardly known. In most of the cases, scattering properties are extracted from numerical simulations. This knowledge gap here is covered by providing an experimental evaluation of the infrared scattering properties of different GNPs (nanoshells, nanostars, and nanorods). These GNPs display remarkable extinction coefficients in the first and second biological windows, including the particular CV-OCT wavelength. We use a unique combination of techniques (thermal loading experiments, infrared optical coherence tomography, infrared dark field microscopy, and optoacoustic spectroscopy) to experimentally determine the scattering efficiency at three different near-infrared wavelengths (808 nm, 980 nm, and 1280 nm), lying in the first and second biological windows. Consequently, this work determines experimentally the influence of particle morphology on the infrared scattering efficiency of GNPs and evidences the existence of remarkable discrepancies between experimental data and numerical simulations.
Symmetric quasi-classical dynamics with quasi-diabatic propagation scheme
Authors: Sandoval C. Juan Sebastián , Mandal Arkajit , Huo Pengfei
Published: July 2018

We apply a recently developed quasi-diabatic (QD) scheme to the symmetric quasi-classical (SQC) approach for accurate quantum dynamics propagation. By using the adiabatic states as the QD states during a short-time quantum dynamics propagation, the QD scheme allows for directly interfacing the diabatic SQC method with commonly used adiabatic electronic structure calculations, thus alleviating any non-trivial theoretical efforts to reformulate SQC in the adiabatic representation. Furthermore, the QD scheme ensures a stable propagation of the dynamics and allows using a much larger time step compared to directly propagating SQC dynamics in the adiabatic representation. This is due to the fact that the QD scheme does not explicitly require non-adiabatic couplings that could exhibit highly peaked values during non-adiabatic dynamics propagation. We perform the QD-SQC calculations with a wide range of model non-adiabatic systems to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed scheme. This study opens up the possibility for combining accurate diabatic quantum dynamics methods such as SQC with any adiabatic electronic structure calculations for non-adiabatic on-the-fly propagations.
Design, fabrication, and metrology of 10 × 100 multi-planar integrated photonic routing manifolds for neural networks
Authors: Chiles Jeff , Buckley Sonia M. , Nam Sae Woo , Mirin Richard P. , Shainline Jeffrey M.
Published: July 2018

We design, fabricate, and characterize integrated photonic routing manifolds with 10 inputs and 100 outputs using two vertically integrated planes of silicon nitride waveguides. We analyze manifolds via top-view camera imaging. This measurement technique allows the rapid acquisition of hundreds of precise transmission measurements. We demonstrate manifolds with uniform and Gaussian power distribution patterns with mean power output errors (averaged over 10 sets of 10 inputs) of 0.7 and 0.9 dB, respectively, establishing this as a viable architecture for precision light distribution on-chip. We also assess the performance of the passive photonic elements comprising the system via self-referenced test structures, including high-dynamic-range beam taps, waveguide cutback structures, and waveguide crossing arrays.
Electronic and mechanical properties of C/Si phases with sp2 and sp3 hybridization: A first-principles study
Authors: Bu Hongxia , Zheng Haibin , Zhou Hongcai , Zhang Hongyu , Yang Zaifa , Liu Zhie , Tan Xia
Published: July 2018

A first-principles approach is utilized to systematically investigate the electronic and mechanical properties of SiC3/Si3C phases with sp2 and sp3 hybridization. In the SiC3 phases, electronic states around the Fermi level mainly originate from the C-2p orbitals, whereas in the case of Si3C phases, it is the C-2p and Si-3p orbitals. Cm-SiC3 and Cmc21-SiC3 show metallic properties arising from sp2-hybridized components. P4¯m2-Si3C exhibits good ductility and metallic properties due to the formation of conductive sublattices as a result of the distribution of valence electrons in three-dimensional C and Si frameworks. Furthermore, the semiconducting P4¯m2-SiC3 phase is a superhard material with a remarkable hardness of 47.14 GPa. In general, SiC3 phases exhibit higher brittleness due to sp3-hybridized C atoms while Si3C phases are more ductile.
Oxygen desorption kinetics of ZnO nanorod–gated AlGaN/GaN HEMT-based UV photodetectors
Authors: Khan Fasihullah , Khan Waqar , Kim Ji Hyun , Huda Noor ul , Salman Ajmal Hafiz Muhammad , Kim Sam-Dong
Published: July 2018

In this study, we investigated the effect of gate length and surface area of the ZnO ultraviolet (UV) absorbing structure on the transient characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HEMT based UV photodetectors. The gate-areas (2, 6 and 18 μm lengths with same width of 100 μm) of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs are covered with ZnO thin film and nanorods (NR) separately. The fabricated devices show enhancement in response speed with the reduction of gate length or the increase of ZnO surface area. The best response speed of ∼10 ms response time and ∼190 ms recovery time is measured from the NR-gated device with a gate length of 2 μm. A model for the oxygen desorption kinetics is proposed for the first time which theoretically shows that the response speed is dependent on two key parameters; light absorbing surface area and gate length. From our model analysis, it is shown that predicted response time is a strong function of these two device parameters, and the calculations show a good agreement with the experimental measurements.
Effect of ractopamine on digestible-lysine requirement for finishing barrows under thermoneutral conditions
Authors: Souza M. F. , Donzele J. L. , Silva F. C. O. , Donzele R. F. M. O. , Cardoso E. F. , Braga D. A. M. , Faria L. F. , Maurício T. V.
Published: July 2018

The purpose of the present study was to determine the digestible-lysine (Lys) requirement in diets supplemented or not with ractopamine (RAC), so as to maximise performance and carcass characteristics for finishing barrows reared at thermoneutral conditions. In total, 128 high-lean commercial hybrid barrows with an initial bodyweight of 78.2 ± 4.3 kg were distributed in a completely randomised block design, in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement (four Lys concentrations: 0.730%, 0.830%, 0.930% and 1.030% and two RAC inclusions: 0 and 10 mg/kg), with two animals per pen and eight pens per treatment. Lys concentrations tested significantly (P < 0.05) affected digestible-lysine intake, and the absolute (g) and relative (%) lean meat content, regardless of RAC inclusion. When diets were RAC-supplemented, feed conversion rate of animals was improved and, in addition, final bodyweight, daily bodyweight gain, loin eye area, loin eye depth, and absolute (g) and relative (%) carcass lean meat content increased (P < 0.05). RAC inclusion also decreased (P < 0.05) backfat thickness and the colour values a* and b* of finishing pigs. Therefore, on the basis of our results, it can be inferred that the best performance and carcass characteristics for finishing barrows reared at thermoneutral conditions were obtained at 1.030% and 0.730% Lys respectively, corresponding to an estimated daily Lys intake of 34.3 g and 24.2 g, independently of the diet RAC concentration.
Corrigendum to: Significant difference in HEDIS annual chlamydia testing rates between women who had given birth and those who had not among young Medicaid women
Authors: Tao Guoyu , Owusu-Edusei Kwame , Friedman Eleanor , Aslam Maria , Viall Abigail H. , Dietz Patricia , Gift Thomas L.
Published: July 2018

We used the 2013 Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) database to estimate chlamydia testing rates separately for sexually active women aged 15–25 years who had, or had not, given birth in 2013. Approximately 9.2% of sexually active women aged 15–25 years gave birth in 2013. The Healthcare Effectiveness Data Information Set (HEDIS) annual chlamydia testing rate was significantly higher among women who had given birth than women who had not in 2013 (59.7 vs 29.4%, P
“The end is near”
Authors: Veloso Francisco O. D. , Feng Dezheng
Published: July 2018

Discourse is a constitutive element of politics as a social practice. This chapter analyzes a political propaganda video released during the 2010 presidential election in Brazil during the final week of the run-off between Dilma Rousseff and José Serra. We employ the appraisal system (Martin and White, 2005) to investigate the language used in the video voice-over aimed at persuading people not to vote for Rousseff. The study reveals the discursive construction of a political struggle in Brazil and provides a methodological model for the systematic analysis of public discourse and language structure. Language, supported by other available semiotic resources, is deployed to represent a possible victory by Dilma Rousseff which invokes fear from the audience through negative attitudinal meanings. That benefits her political opponent, José Serra, who emerges from the narrative as the viable choice for the run-off.
Iconicity in independent noun phrases in print advertising
Authors: Pelclová Jana
Published: July 2018

This chapter studies the interplay of multimodal iconic signs that construct the meaning of independent noun phrases in advertisements promoting food products. The methodology consists in approaching the diagrammatic iconicity found in language through the perspective of Kress and van Leeuwen’s (1996, 2001) analytical framework of multimodal text and the perspective of typeface design and impression variables as described by Henderson, Giese and Cote (2004). The analysis reveals that independent noun phrases iconicize the process of production, the ingredients used, the variety of products, and gustatory perception. The language diagrammatic iconicity in the analyzed advertisements is achieved by a sequential ordering of modifiers that mirrors either chronological order or the order of importance, and by means of figurative language, lexical cohesion, and a lack of explicit syntactic relations. Both typographic and visual iconicity tend to objectify the semantic dimension of the diagrammatic iconicity. At the same time, the visual iconicity mirrors a close spatial relation between the consumer and the product.
1. Confession, conversion, testimony
Authors: Marcus Laura
Published: July 2018

While autobiography can be defined as a literary form, it reaches into, and overlaps with, many other kinds of writing and fields of knowledge. This is particularly clear in the case of the models confession, conversion, and testimony, which bring the literary into relation with concepts central to religion, law, and history. ‘Confession, conversion, testimony’ explains that these models also bear on questions that have been fundamental to understandings of autobiography: truth, authenticity, selfhood, narrative time, memory, the relationship between past and present selves, the motives for writing an autobiography, and the identities, imagined or real, of the autobiography’s addressees or readers. Examples of autobiographies discussed include those of St Augustine, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and J. M. Coetzee.
3. Autobiographical consciousness
Authors: Marcus Laura
Published: July 2018

The concepts of time, memory, and identity, which are central to autobiographical theory, are also perennial concerns of philosophers, who have given widely differing account of them, both in their formal philosophical work and in their more personal reflections. ‘Autobiographical consciousness’ takes the autobiographies of predominantly Western philosophers—including Descartes, Montaigne, Hume, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir—as central examples, and focuses on their representations of memory, the self in and through time, concepts of subjectivity, identity, and consciousness, and self-formation or ‘becoming’. It also discusses recent theories of ‘autobiographical consciousness’, including the works of Jerome Bruner and Antonio Damasio.
8. Autobiographies, autobiographical novels, and autofictions
Authors: Marcus Laura
Published: July 2018

Few of the great modernist writers produced explicit or fully fledged autobiographies, but the expansion of the ‘life-writing’ category has made visible the prevalence of autobiographical novels, including works by Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, Dorothy Richardson, and Virginia Woolf. ‘Autobiographies, autobiographical novels, and autofictions’ explains that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries there was an increasingly ‘aesthetic’ approach to autobiography. New genres arose that blended life-writing and fiction, such as the personal essay, the ‘imaginary portrait’, and novels which incorporated authentic letters and journal entries. Since the 1980s, it is argued, the novel has been eclipsed by autobiographical narrative, reversing the earlier sense that autobiographical writing was of secondary importance.
Agreement in Occupational Exposures Between Men and Women Using Retrospective Assessments by Expert Coders
Authors: Lacourt Aude , Labrèche France , Goldberg Mark S , Siemiatycki Jack , Lavoué Jérôme
Published: July 2018

Objectives

To estimate the level of agreement and identify notable differences in occupational exposures (agents) between men and women from retrospective assessments by expert coders.

Methods

Lifetime occupational histories of 1657 men and 2073 women from two case–control studies, were translated into exposure estimates to 243 agents, from data on 13882 jobs. Exposure estimates were summarized as proportions and frequency-weighted intensity of exposure for 59 occupational codes by sex. Agreement between metrics of exposure in men’s and women’s jobs was determined with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and weighted Kappa coefficients, using as unit of analysis (‘cell’) a combination of occupational code and occupational agent. ‘Notable’ differences between men and women were identified for each cell, according to a Bayesian hierarchical model for both proportion and frequency-weighted intensity of exposure.

Results

For cells common to both men and women, the ICC for continuous probability of exposure was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.83–0.84) and 7.4% of cells showed notable differences with jobs held by men being more often exposed. A weighted kappa of 0.67 (95% CI: 0.61–0.73) was calculated for intensity of exposure, and an ICC of 0.67 (95% CI: 0.62–0.71) for frequency-weighted intensity of exposure, with a tendency of higher values of exposure metrics in jobs held by men.

Conclusions

Exposures were generally in agreement between men and women. Some notable differences were identified, most of them explained by differential sub-occupations or industries or dissimilar reported tasks within the studied occupations.
Machine learning meets genome assembly
Authors: Padovani de Souza Kleber , Setubal João Carlos , Ponce de Leon F. de Carvalho André Carlos , Oliveira Guilherme , Chateau Annie , Alves Ronnie
Published: July 2018

Motivation: With the recent advances in DNA sequencing technologies, the study of the genetic composition of living organisms has become more accessible for researchers. Several advances have been achieved because of it, especially in the health sciences. However, many challenges which emerge from the complexity of sequencing projects remain unsolved. Among them is the task of assembling DNA fragments from previously unsequenced organisms, which is classified as an NP-hard (nondeterministic polynomial time hard) problem, for which no efficient computational solution with reasonable execution time exists. However, several tools that produce approximate solutions have been used with results that have facilitated scientific discoveries, although there is ample room for improvement. As with other NP-hard problems, machine learning algorithms have been one of the approaches used in recent years in an attempt to find better solutions to the DNA fragment assembly problem, although still at a low scale.

Results: This paper presents a broad review of pioneering literature comprising artificial intelligence-based DNA assemblers—particularly the ones that use machine learning—to provide an overview of state-of-the-art approaches and to serve as a starting point for further study in this field.
Higher-order molecular organization as a source of biological function
Authors: Gaudelet Thomas , Malod-Dognin Noël , Pržulj Nataša
Published: July 2018

Motivation

Molecular interactions have widely been modelled as networks. The local wiring patterns around molecules in molecular networks are linked with their biological functions. However, networks model only pairwise interactions between molecules and cannot explicitly and directly capture the higher-order molecular organization, such as protein complexes and pathways. Hence, we ask if hypergraphs (hypernetworks), that directly capture entire complexes and pathways along with protein–protein interactions (PPIs), carry additional functional information beyond what can be uncovered from networks of pairwise molecular interactions. The mathematical formalism of a hypergraph has long been known, but not often used in studying molecular networks due to the lack of sophisticated algorithms for mining the underlying biological information hidden in the wiring patterns of molecular systems modelled as hypernetworks.

Results

We propose a new, multi-scale, protein interaction hypernetwork model that utilizes hypergraphs to capture different scales of protein organization, including PPIs, protein complexes and pathways. In analogy to graphlets, we introduce hypergraphlets, small, connected, non-isomorphic, induced sub-hypergraphs of a hypergraph, to quantify the local wiring patterns of these multi-scale molecular hypergraphs and to mine them for new biological information. We apply them to model the multi-scale protein networks of bakers yeast and human and show that the higher-order molecular organization captured by these hypergraphs is strongly related to the underlying biology. Importantly, we demonstrate that our new models and data mining tools reveal different, but complementary biological information compared with classical PPI networks. We apply our hypergraphlets to successfully predict biological functions of uncharacterized proteins.

Availability and implementation

Code and data are available online at http://www0.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/natasa/hypergraphlets.
Quantifying heterogeneity of expression data based on principal components
Authors: Yang Zi , Michailidis George
Published: July 2018

Motivation

The diversity of biological omics data provides richness of information, but also presents an analytic challenge. While there has been much methodological and theoretical development on the statistical handling of large volumes of biological data, far less attention has been devoted to characterizing their veracity and variability.

Results

We propose a method of statistically quantifying heterogeneity among multiple groups of datasets, derived from different omics modalities over various experimental and/or disease conditions. It draws upon strategies from analysis of variance and principal component analysis in order to reduce dimensionality of the variability across multiple data groups. The resulting hypothesis-based inference procedure is demonstrated with synthetic and real data from a cell line study of growth factor responsiveness based on a factorial experimental design.

Availability and implementation

Source code and datasets are freely available at https://github.com/yangzi4/gPCA.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Instrumental variables estimation with competing risk data
Authors: Martinussen Torben , Vansteelandt Stijn
Published: July 2018

Time-to-event analyses are often plagued by both—possibly unmeasured—confounding and competing risks. To deal with the former, the use of instrumental variables (IVs) for effect estimation is rapidly gaining ground. We show how to make use of such variables in competing risk analyses. In particular, we show how to infer the effect of an arbitrary exposure on cause-specific hazard functions under a semi-parametric model that imposes relatively weak restrictions on the observed data distribution. The proposed approach is flexible accommodating exposures and IVs of arbitrary type, and enabling covariate adjustment. It makes use of closed-form estimators that can be recursively calculated, and is shown to perform well in simulation studies. We also demonstrate its use in an application on the effect of mammography screening on the risk of dying from breast cancer.
On the Multiplicative Chaos of Non-Gaussian Log-Correlated Fields
Authors: Junnila Janne
Published: July 2018

We study non-Gaussian log-correlated multiplicative chaos, where the random field is defined as a sum of independent fields that satisfy suitable moment and regularity conditions. The convergence, existence of moments, and analyticity with respect to the inverse temperature are proven for the resulting chaos in the full subcritical range. These results are generalizations of the corresponding theorems for Gaussian multiplicative chaos. A basic example where our results apply is the non-Gaussian Fourier series $$\sum_{k=1}^\infty \frac{1}{\sqrt{k}}(A_k \cos(2\pi k x) + B_k \sin(2\pi k x)),$$where $A_k$ and $B_k$ are i.i.d. random variables.
A Venetian mystery: two paintings by Walter Osborne in the Kildare Street and University Club, Dublin
Authors: Milligan Kathryn
Published: July 2018

In 1916, Sir Robert Henry Woods (1865–1938), eminent surgeon and Unionist Member of Parliament, presented two large-scale paintings by Walter Osborne (1859–1903) to the University Club, Dublin, now known as the Kildare Street and University Club. Drawing on new research, this article seeks to counter the long-standing suspicions surrounding the attribution of these works to Osborne, and through hitherto unused contemporary materials, outline the circumstances of their creation, the larger group to which they once belonged, and the story they tell about an ambitious artist seeking to further his career in Victorian Dublin. Further to this, the case of Osborne’s Venetian paintings illuminates a previously unexplored area of collecting in nineteenth-century Dublin, demonstrating the networks that existed between the city’s artistic and professional élites.
Vertebrate Dynein-f depends on Wdr78 for axonemal localization and is essential for ciliary beat
Authors: Zhang Yirong , Chen Yawen , Zheng Jianqun , Wang Juan , Duan Shichao , Zhang Wei , Yan Xiumin , Zhu Xueliang
Published: July 2018

Motile cilia and flagella are microtubule-based organelles important for cell locomotion and extracellular liquid flow through beating. Although axonenal dyneins that drive ciliary beat have been extensively studied in unicellular Chlamydomonas, to what extent such knowledge can be applied to vertebrate is poorly known. In Chlamydomonas, Dynein-f controls flagellar waveforms but is dispensable for beating. The flagellar assembly of its heavy chains (HCs) requires its intermediate chain (IC) IC140 but not IC138. Here we show that, unlike its Chlamydomonas counterpart, vertebrate Dynein-f is essential for ciliary beat. We confirmed that Wdr78 is the vertebrate orthologue of IC138. Wdr78 associated with Dynein-f subunits such as Dnah2 (a HC) and Wdr63 (IC140 orthologue). It was expressed as a motile cilium-specific protein in mammalian cells. Depletion of Wdr78 or Dnah2 by RNAi paralyzed mouse ependymal cilia. Zebrafish Wdr78 morphants displayed ciliopathy-related phenotypes, such as curved bodies, hydrocephalus, abnormal otolith, randomized left–right asymmetry, and pronephric cysts, accompanied with paralyzed pronephric cilia. Furthermore, all the HCs and ICs of Dynein-f failed to localize in the Wdr78-depleted mouse ependymal cilia. Therefore, both the functions and subunit dependency of Dynein-f are altered in evolution, probably to comply with ciliary roles in higher organisms.
Inpatient and Postdischarge Outcomes Following Elective Craniotomy for Mass Lesions
Authors: Fry Donald E , Nedza Susan M , Pine Michael , Reband Agnes M , Huang Chun-Jung , Pine Gregory
Published: July 2018

BACKGROUND

Interpretation of hospital quality requires objective evaluation of both inpatient and postdischarge adverse outcomes (AOs).

OBJECTIVE

To develop risk-adjusted predictive models for inpatient and 90-d postdischarge AOs in elective craniotomy and apply those models to individual hospital performance to provide benchmarks to improve care.

METHODS

The Medicare Limited Dataset (2012-2014) was used to define all elective craniotomy procedures for mass lesions in patients ≥65 yr. Predictive logistic models were designed for inpatient mortality, inpatient prolonged length of stay, 90-d postdischarge deaths without readmission, and 90-d readmissions after exclusions. The total observed patients with one or more AOs were then compared to predicted AO values, and z-scores were computed for each hospital that met minimum volume requirements. Risk-adjusted AO rates allowed stratification of eligible hospitals into deciles of performance.

RESULTS

The hospital evaluation was performed for 223 facilities with 7624 patients that met criteria. A total of 849 patients (11.1%) died inclusive of 90 d postdischarge; 635 (8.3%) were 3σ length-of-stay outliers; and 1928 patients (25.3%) with one or more 90-d readmissions; 2716 patients experienced one or more AOs (35.6%). Six hospitals were 2 z-scores better than average, and 8 were 2 z-scores poorer. The median risk-adjusted AO rate was 18% for the first decile and 53.4% for the 10th decile.

CONCLUSION

There was a 35% difference between best and suboptimal performing hospitals for this operation. Hospitals must know their risk-adjusted AO rates and benchmark their results to inform processes of care redesign.