bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Guided modes with multiple zero-group-velocity points in fluid-filled cylindrical pipes
Authors: Cui Hanyin , Lin Weijun , Zhang Hailan , Wang Xiuming , Trevelyan Jon
Published: May 2014

It is known that guided modes in isotropic hollow cylinders exhibit backward wave propagation with negative group velocity. And interferences between backward and forward waves generate zero-group-velocity (ZGV) resonances with a finite wavenumber but vanishing group velocity. These ZGV resonances can be applied for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of hollow pipes. In this paper, influences of a fluid-loading on ZGV resonances in pipes are studied for the possible application of integrity inspections of oil transportation pipelines. From numerically simulated frequency-wavenumber spectra of axisymmetric guided modes, in addition to the backward mode with a single ZGV point, certain branches change the sign of their slopes for twice (i.e., two ZGV points in one branch). Such multiple ZGV modes might be caused by the strong repulsion between the backward mode with a single ZGV point that is propagating in the hollow pipe and a number of longitudinal modes in the fluid cylinder. It is found that, from wave structure analyses, ZGV points correspond to relatively large displacement amplitudes at the pipe’s inner and outer interfaces. It indicates that guided modes with multiple ZGV points can be sensitive to the surface features of fluid-filled pipes, which is useful for NDE application.
Speaking style adaptations across the lifespan
Authors: Gilbert Rachael C. , Trimble-Quiz Cristabella , Johnson Karen , Smiljanic Rajka
Published: May 2014

While intelligibility-enhancing speaking style modifications have been well researched in young adults, little is known about the development of speaking style adaptations across age. In particular, research on intelligibility-enhancing strategies in response to the environment (noise-adapted speech) and to the listener (clear speech) in children and older adult talkers is limited. In order to better understand how speech intelligibility varies with age, the present study examined conversational and clear speech sentences produced in quiet and in response to noise by 10 children (11–13 years old), 10 young adults (18–29 years old), and 10 older adults (60–84 years old). Twenty-two young adult listeners participated in word-recognition-in-noise and perceived age tasks. Results revealed that noise-adapted and clear speech modifications increased intelligibility for all talker groups compared to conversational speech produced in quiet, although children were marginally less intelligible. Perceived age strongly correlated with chronological age. Measures of F0, vowel space area, voice quality, spectral energy, and speaking rate were obtained for all talkers. Age-related differences were found for speaking rate, total energy in the 1-to-3 kHz region, and F0 mean. Further analyses will examine to what extent these acoustic-phonetic characteristics correlate with increases in intelligibility across speaking style adaptations and talker groups.
Vowel discrimination at high fundamental frequencies in real speech
Authors: Friedrichs Daniel , Maurer Dieter , Suter Heidy , Dellwo Volker
Published: May 2014

Previous research showed that, in singing, vowel qualities of isolated vowel sounds can be discriminated up to a fundamental frequency (F0) of about 500 Hz. However, indications are reported in literature for vowel discrimination on F0 > 500 Hz for singing (raised larynx condition, CVC context) as well as for speech-like sounds. In this study, we tested vowel discrimination at a high F0 in speech using minimal pairs build from eight long German vowels. Words were produced in speech mode at F0 of about 650 Hz by two female speakers. For all samples except the words including /a/ and /ɛ/, F0 exceeded F1 values as given in vowel statistics for Standard German. In a listening test, stimuli were played back in random order to 14 listeners (7f, 7m) for identification. The results showed that vowel discrimination can be preserved at such high fundamental frequencies. This could mean that, for our speakers and the high fundamental frequency examined, (1) source-filter-characteristics were effective up to 650 Hz, or (2) transitions played a crucial role, or (3) other spectral characteristics than formants have to be taken into account in order to explain these results.
Perceptual importance of time-domain features of the voice source
Authors: Garellek Marc , Chen Gang , Gerratt Bruce R. , Alwan Abeer , Kreiman Jody E.
Published: May 2014

Our previous study examined the perceptual adequacy of different source models. We found that perceived similarity between modeled and natural voice samples was best predicted (in the time dimension) by thematch between waveforms at the negative peak of the flow derivative (R2 = 0.34). The extent of fit during the opening phase of the source pulses added only 2% to perceived match. However, in that study model, fitting was unweighted, and results might differ if another approach were used. In this study, we constrained the models to fit the negative peak of the flow derivative precisely. We fit 6 different source models to 40 natural voice sources, and then generated synthetic copies of the voices using each modeled source pulse, with all other synthesizer parameters held constant. We then conducted a visual sort-and-rate task in which listeners assessed the extent of perceived match between the original natural voice samples and each copy. Discussion will focus on the specific strengths and weaknesses of each modeling approach for characterizing differences in vocal quality, and on the importance of matches to specific time-domain events versus spectral features in determining voice quality. [Work supported by NIH/NIDCD grant DC01797 and NSF grant IIS-1018863.]
Using acoustic string-edit distance to evaluate US pronunciation variation
Authors: LaMonica Clelia R.
Published: May 2014

String-edit distances, such as the Levenstien distance, have been used in perceptual-linguistic studies to compare differences among language varieties, based on changes that occur between two speech samples (Gooskens and Heeringa, 2004; Heeringa et al., 2006; Nerbonne et al., 2008). However, this method relies mainly on phonetic transcriptions rather than actual speech data. This work illustrates how acoustic measurements are taken from speech samples from across the United States, and a distance measurement between them is derived for use in further perceptual comparisons (such as perceived distance from standard, intelligibility, appeal, and identification). The speech samples consist of six sentences from various regions of the United States, each sentence containing phonological features that may be marked as perceptually significant for dialect identification (Clopper 2011, Labov et al. 2005, Thomas 2001). The methodology for assessing phonetic distance between two regional varieties is addressed, in particular, by using the Euclidean distance between normalized Bark formants of phonological features within the samples. The benefits and potential disadvantages to using acoustic data vs. transcribed data are addressed as well.
Mapping accent similarity and speech in noise intelligibility for British English accents
Authors: Iverson Paul , Pinet Melanie , Evans Bronwen G.
Published: May 2014

Previous work has suggested that the recognition of speech in noise is affected by the accent similarity of the speaker and listener, as well as by the familiarity of the speaker’s accent. The present study investigated this further by constructing multidimensional accent maps for British English speakers, as well as a small group of general American speakers, and examining how intelligibility within this space varied for listeners with different British English accents. The preliminary results suggest that speakers who have a central position in the accent space are most intelligible in noise, and that speakers with standard accents tend to occupy this central position. This implies that some aspects of speech intelligibility may be explained by the prototypicality of speakers within the broader accent space.
Lexically mediated perceptual learning generalizes to new word positions
Authors: Johns Alexis R. , Magnuson James S.
Published: May 2014

Acoustic properties of words vary based on idiolects of different speakers, yet listeners appear to understand this varying speech input effortlessly. How do listeners adapt to acoustic variation across speakers? Previous research has shown that listeners can implicitly shift phonetic category boundaries in a speaker-specific fashion during a two-step paradigm involving lexical decision on critical words with a word-medial ambiguous phoneme, followed by a phonetic categorization task of that ambiguous phoneme (see Kraljic and Samuel, 2005). Other studies report that this boundary shift does not generalize to other speakers (Kraljic et al., 2008). However, for a given speaker, it does generalize to different positions within a word, for instance, from word-medial to word-initial (Jesse and McQueen, 2011). Importantly, these generalization tests used identical ambiguous phonemes in each position, rather than context-appropriate tokens, allowing the possibility of token-specific learning rather than true generalization. The current research extends these findings by providing distinct, position-appropriate tokens of the ambiguous phoneme during training and test items, and shows that the generalization to new word position is retained. Thus, generalization within a speaker is not token-specific, but instead exhibits some level of abstraction.
The role of acoustics in processing syntactically ambiguous sentences
Authors: Sharpe Victoria , den Ouden Dirk-Bart , Fogerty Daniel
Published: May 2014

While natural speech prosody facilitates sentence processing, unnatural prosody is expected to decrease speed and accuracy in resolving syntactic ambiguities. This study investigated how, and to what extent, fundamental frequency (F0) and temporal envelope (E) contribute to sentence processing. Signal processing methods degraded either F0 or E in 120 garden-path sentences with a temporarily ambiguous structure (e.g., While the man hunted the deer ran into the woods). Participants listened to natural and acoustically modified garden-paths and, for each, answered a comprehension question and repeated the sentence. Results demonstrated that degrading E consistently affected sentence comprehension, with a different effect observed for degrading F0. Interestingly, the effect of acoustic degradation interacted with effects of verb type and sentence plausibility. In the E-modified condition, sentences with Reflexive Absolute Transitive verbs in which the erroneous interpretation was plausible (e.g., While Mary bathed the baby fell in the tub—*Mary bathed the baby) resulted in productions that were relatively shorter in duration and that reconstructed the original sentence prosody. These findings suggest E plays a greater role, compared to F0, in disambiguating syntax. However, use of prosody by listeners may vary based on context, suggesting prosodic information can interact with cognitive processing load.
The Liver May Act as a Firewall Mediating Mutualism Between the Host and Its Gut Commensal Microbiota
Authors: Balmer Maria L. , Slack Emma , de Gottardi Andrea , Lawson Melissa A. E. , Hapfelmeier Siegfried , Miele Luca , Grieco Antonio , Van Vlierberghe Hans , Fahrner René , Patuto Nicola , Bernsmeier Christine , Ronchi Francesca , Wyss Madeleine , Stroka Deborah , Dickgreber Nina , Heim Markus H. , McCoy Kathy D. , Macpherson Andrew J.
Published: May 2014

The liver forms a firewall that protects against vascular-borne gut microbes and is commonly impaired in liver disease.
Merlin Deficiency Predicts FAK Inhibitor Sensitivity: A Synthetic Lethal Relationship
Authors: Shapiro Irina M. , Kolev Vihren N. , Vidal Christian M. , Kadariya Yuwaraj , Ring Jennifer E. , Wright Quentin , Weaver David T. , Menges Craig , Padval Mahesh , McClatchey Andrea I. , Xu Qunli , Testa Joseph R. , Pachter Jonathan A.
Published: May 2014

FAK inhibitor treatment is effective against Merlin-negative mesothelioma tumors and preferentially targets cancer stem cells.
How Does the Heart Heal?
Authors: Stecker Eric C.
Published: May 2014

Long noncoding RNAs predict patterns of adverse healing after myocardial infarction in a mouse model.
Surgical management of pheochromocytoma in a 13-week pregnant woman
Authors: Memon Mazhar Ali , Aziz Wajahat , Abbas Farhat
Published: May 2014

A 34-year-old 13-week pregnant woman presented with hypertension refractory to medical therapy and on workup was found to have a right adrenal mass. Due to her persistent increased blood pressure she was advised urinary vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and its level was raised. MRI of the abdomen showed a well-circumcised lesion in the right adrenal of 3.0×2.5 cm suggestive of pheochromocytoma. The patient was started on antihypertensives including α-blockers and β-blockers and planned for right open adrenalectomy. Intraoperatively, blood pressure was raised up to 180/110 mm Hg on slight manipulation of adrenal gland which was controlled with glyceryl-trinitrate and volatile agents. Postoperatively urinary VMA decreased to normal range and all antihypertensives were gradually stopped. She had uneventful pregnancy and delivered vaginally. This case report highlights the importance of surgical management of pheochromocytoma in second trimester of pregnancy to avoid catastrophic complications later in pregnancy.
Two siblings with Paget's disease of bone
Authors: Naik Dukhabandhu , Asha Hesargatta Shyamsunder , Mathews Suma Susan , Paul Thomas Vizhalil
Published: May 2014

Paget's disease of bone (PDB) is a chronic disorder characterised by focal areas of excessive osteoclastic bone resorption with a secondary increase in osteoblastic bone formation. First-degree relatives of patients with PDB are at seven times higher risk of developing this disorder, with a tendency towards earlier age at onset. We report two siblings who presented with features of polyostotic Paget's disease. They presented with features of non-inflammatory back pain. Biochemical evaluation was unremarkable except for elevated serum alkaline phosphatase. Subsequently, radiology and bone scans were diagnostic of polyostotic PDB. They were treated with bisphosphonates with which they improved.
Suspected hydatid cyst of liver harbouring an aggressive desmoplastic small round cell tumour
Authors: Alam Feroz , Alam Kiran , Qadri Shagufta , Ali Wasif Mohd
Published: May 2014

Among the group of small round cell tumours, there is a distinct and rare tumour known as desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT). DSRCT presents as multiple, widespread masses in the abdomen and pelvis and may be accompanied by extensive tumour implants throughout the peritoneum as the tumour is known to spread diffusely along serosal surfaces. We discuss a case of DSRCT in a 16-year-old boy who presented with abdominal pain since 2 years, a non-tender mass was palpable on the right upper quadrant of the abdomen, ultrasonographic and CT findings suggested hydatid cyst of liver. Laparotomy revealed multiple small peritoneal deposits along with a single mass in the liver. On histopathology, the lesion was found to be neoplastic and composed of predominantly clusters of small round blue cells, in a desmoplastic stroma; tumour cells were diffusely positive for cytokeratin, vimentin and neuron-specific enolase, thus confirming the diagnosis of DSRCT.
MEMENTA—‘Mental healthcare provision for adults with intellectual disability and a mental disorder’. A cross-sectional epidemiological multisite study assessing prevalence of psychiatric symptomatology, needs for care and quality of healthcare provision for adults with intellectual disability in Germany: a study protocol
Authors: Koch Andrea , Vogel Anke , Holzmann Marco , Pfennig Andrea , Salize Hans Joachim , Puschner Bernd , Schützwohl Matthias
Published: May 2014

Introduction

The study ‘Mental healthcare provision for adults with intellectual disability and a mental disorder’ (MEMENTA) is a cross-sectional epidemiological study carried out in three different regions of Germany. Its main aim is to assess the prevalence of mental disorders in adults with intellectual disability (ID) as well as quality of mental healthcare for this population.

Methods and analysis

The target population are persons aged between 18 and 65 years with a mild or moderate ID. The study population will be recruited through service providers. A representative sample is realised by two-stage sampling. First, institutions providing services for people with ID (sheltered workshops) are selected in a stratified cluster sampling, with strata being (1) types of service-providing non-governmental organisations and (2) sizes of their sheltered workshops. Then persons working in selected sheltered workshops are selected by simple random sampling.

An estimated number of 600 adults with ID will be included. Information will be obtained from the group leaders in the sheltered workshops, informal carers or staff members in sheltered housing institutions and the person with ID. Besides the main outcome parameter of psychiatric symptomatology and problem behaviour, other outcome parameters such as needs for care, quality of life, caregiver burden, health services utilisation and costs for care are assessed using well-established standardised instruments. If a comorbid mental disorder is diagnosed, quality of mental healthcare will be assessed with open questions to all interview partners and, in addition, problem-focused interviews with a small subgroup. Analyses will be carried out using quantitative and qualitative methods.

Ethics and dissemination

Approval of all three local ethics committees was obtained. Research findings will add much needed empirical information in order to improve services provided to this vulnerable group of patients.

Trial Registration number

NCT01695395.
Tracing artificialtransfat in popular foods in Europe: a market basket investigation
Authors: Stender Steen , Astrup Arne , Dyerberg Jørn
Published: May 2014

Objective

To minimise the intake of industrial artificialtransfat (I-TF), nearly all European countries rely on food producers to voluntarily reduce the I-TF content in food. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of this strategy on I-TF content in prepackaged biscuits/cakes/wafers in 2012–2013 in 20 European countries.

Design

The I-TF content was assessed in a market basket investigation. Three large supermarkets were visited in each capital, and in some countries, three additional ethnic shops were included.

Results

A total of 598 samples of biscuits/cakes/wafers with ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable fat’ or a similar term high on the list of ingredients were analysed, 312 products had more than 2% of fat as I-TF, exceeding the legislatively determined I-TF limit in Austria and Denmark; the mean (SD) was 19 (7)%. In seven countries, no I-TF was found, whereas nine predominantly Eastern European countries had products with very high I-TF content, and the remaining four countries had intermediate levels. Of the five countries that were examined using the same procedure as in 2006, three had unchanged I-TF levels in 2013, and two had lower levels. The 18 small ethnic shops examined in six Western European countries sold 83 products. The mean (SD) was 23 (12)% of the fat as I-TF, all imported from countries in Balkan. In Sweden, this type of food imported from Balkan was also available in large supermarkets.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that subgroups of the population in many countries in Europe still consume I-TF in amounts that increase their risk of coronary heart disease. Under current European Union (EU) legislation, the sale of products containing I-TF is legal but conflicts with the WHO recommendation to minimise the intake of I-TF. An EU-legislative limit on I-TF content in foods is expected to be an effective strategy to achieve this goal.
Experimental study on dual capillary barrier using recycled asphalt pavement materials
Authors: Harnas F.R. , Rahardjo H. , Leong E.C. , Wang J.Y.
Published: May 2014

The performance of a capillary barrier cover as a cover system is affected by the ability of the capillary barrier to store water. To increase the water storage of a capillary barrier cover, the dual capillary barrier (DCB) concept is proposed. The objective of this paper is to investigate the water storage of the proposed DCB as compared to the storage of a traditional single capillary barrier (SCB). The investigation is conducted using two one-dimensional infiltration column tests under different rainfall conditions. The results show that a DCB stores more water as compared to SCB. The results show that the fine-grained layers of a DCB have higher volumetric water contents during drainage as compared to that of the fine-grained layer of an SCB. The higher volumetric water content is caused by the fact that the thickness of the layers in a DCB corresponds to a pore-water pressure head range where the material has the highest volumetric water content. In addition, a slower drainage rate is resulted from additional layering in a DCB.
A System Dynamics Model for Modern AirLand Battle
Authors: Liu Pei-Leen , Sun Huai-Ku , You Yue-Tarng
Published: May 2014

The Lanchester Model has been widely used to explain the main features of the battle. However, its application to actual cases seems to be limited. The purpose of this study is to attempt to extend the Lanchester Model with the System Dynamics approach in order to better suit the real modern AirLand Battle case. To demonstrate how the AirLand Battle System Dynamics model works and how it provides easier ways to account for variables, normally present in real combat situations, three common tactical scenarios are employed for simulation. The results indicate that the developed model can fully describe AirLand Battle and reflect the synergy that results from the interaction of strategies and force redeployment. The proposed model, in addition, allows users to easily adjust settings when simulating different scenarios.
Discotic liquid crystals of transition metal complexes 50: spiranthes-like supramolecular structure of phthalocyanine-fullerene dyads
Authors: Ishikawa Aya , Ono Kenta , Ohta Kazuchika , Yasutake Mikio , Ichikawa Musubu , Itoh Eiji
Published: May 2014

We have synthesized novel liquid crystalline Pc - C 60 dyads (CnS)6PcCu-C60 (n = 14, 16, 18: 1a–1c) by using our developed synthetic method in order to investigate the mesomorphism and alignment behavior. Each of the (CnS)6PcCu-C60 dyads shows perfect homeotropic alignment in the Colho mesophase between two glass plates for n = 14, 16, 18 and also on a glass plate for n = 14, although none of the parent Pc compounds (CnS)8PcCu and the Pc precursors (CnS)6PcCu-OH and (CnS)6PcCu-OFBA shows homeotropic alignment. It may be attributed to the strong affinity between fullerene and glass surface. Although the reason is not so clear at the present time, this is very useful guideline for the molecular design to prepare homeotropic alignment-showing discotic liquid crystals. Very interestingly, the spherical C 60 parts form a helical structure around the column formed by the disk-like Pc parts This supramolecular structure very resembles spiranthes. The spiranthes-like supramolecular structure is compatible with one-dimensional nano-array expecting the high conversion efficiency of solar cells.
What Ecologists Can Tell Virologists
Authors: Dennehy John J.
Published: May 2014

I pictured myself as a virus…and tried to sense what it would be like.

—Jonas Salk

Ecology as a science evolved from natural history, the observational study of the interactions of plants and animals with each other and their environments. As natural history matured, it became increasingly quantitative, experimental, and taxonomically broad. Focus diversified beyond the Eukarya to include the hidden world of microbial life. Microbes, particularly viruses, were shown to exist in unfathomable numbers, affecting every living organism. Slowly viruses came to be viewed in an ecological context rather than as abstract, disease-causing agents. This shift is exemplified by an increasing tendency to refer to viruses as living organisms instead of inert particles. In recent years, researchers have recognized the critical contributions of viruses to fundamental ecological processes such as biogeochemical cycling, competition, community structuring, and horizontal gene transfer. This review describes virus ecology from a virus's perspective. If we are, like Jonas Salk, to imagine ourselves as a virus, what kind of world would we experience?
Structure-Function of CD36 and Importance of Fatty Acid Signal Transduction in Fat Metabolism
Authors: Pepino Marta Yanina , Kuda Ondrej , Samovski Dmitri , Abumrad Nada A.
Published: May 2014

CD36 (cluster of differentiation 36) is a scavenger receptor that functions in high-affinity tissue uptake of long-chain fatty acids (FAs) and contributes under excessive fat supply to lipid accumulation and metabolic dysfunction. This review describes recent evidence regarding the CD36 FA binding site and a potential mechanism for FA transfer. It also presents the view that CD36 and FA signaling coordinate fat utilization, a view that is based on newly identified CD36 actions that involve oral fat perception, intestinal fat absorption, secretion of the peptides cholecystokinin and secretin, regulation of hepatic lipoprotein output, activation of beta oxidation by muscle, and regulation of the production of the FA-derived bioactive eicosanoids. Thus abnormalities of fat metabolism and the associated pathology might involve dysfunction of CD36-mediated signal transduction in addition to the changes in FA uptake.
Mechanisms of Nutrient Acquisition and Utilization During Fungal Infections of Leaves
Authors: Fernandez Jessie , Marroquin-Guzman Margarita , Wilson Richard A.
Published: May 2014

Foliar fungal pathogens challenge global food security, but how they optimize growth and development during infection is understudied. Despite adopting several lifestyles to facilitate nutrient acquisition from colonized cells, little is known about the genetic underpinnings governing pathogen adaption to host-derived nutrients. Homologs of common global and pathway-specific gene regulatory elements are likely to be involved, but their contribution to pathogenicity, and how they are connected to broader genetic networks, is largely unspecified. Here, we focus on carbon and nitrogen metabolism in foliar pathogens and consider what is known, and what is not known, about fungal exploitation of host nutrient and ask how common metabolic regulators have been co-opted to the plant-pathogenic lifestyle as well as how nutrients are utilized to drive infection.
Regime Shifts in Resource Management
Authors: de Zeeuw Aart
Published: May 2014

Resource management has to take account of the possibility of tipping points and regime shifts in ecological systems that provide the resources. This article focuses on the typical model of regime shifts in the ecological literature and analyzes optimal management and common-property issues when trade-offs occur between the loss of ecosystem services and the benefits of the activities that may lead to a regime shift. Regime shifts are uncertain. This article also analyzes optimal management in the case of a potential future regime shift. Research on regime shifts is rapidly developing, and the issue is studied from many different angles. This article is restricted to some standard economic analyses, but in the presence of regime shifts. It focuses on examples like lakes, fisheries, and climate change but provides a framework of analysis that can be used for many environmental issues facing us today.
Hispanics in Metropolitan America: New Realities and Old Debates
Authors: Tienda Marta , Fuentes Norma
Published: May 2014

Since 1980, Latinos have participated in an unprecedented geographic dispersal that altered the ethno-racial contours of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas throughout the nation. After summarizing recent trends in spatial distribution, we review scholarship about trends in residential segregation, the rise of multiethnic neighborhoods, and residential mobility. New trends, notably the emergence of hypersegregation and rising segregation levels in several places, call into question earlier views about the inevitability of Hispanics' spatial assimilation, as do studies that examine direct links between individual mobility and locational attainment. The growing support for the tenets of the place stratification model suggests that Hispanic origin is becoming a racial marker. Following a brief review of social and economic correlates of Hispanics' residential makeover, we conclude by discussing opportunities for future research, emphasizing the importance of dynamic assessments that consider the new contours of racialization in the context of multiethnic places.
Integrative RNA-seq and microarray data analysis reveals GC content and gene length biases in the psoriasis transcriptome
Authors: Swindell William R. , Xing Xianying , Voorhees John J. , Elder James T. , Johnston Andrew , Gudjonsson Johann E.
Published: May 2014

Gene expression profiling of psoriasis has driven research advances and may soon provide the basis for clinical applications. For expression profiling studies, RNA-seq is now a competitive technology, but RNA-seq results may differ from those obtained by microarray. We therefore compared findings obtained by RNA-seq with those from eight microarray studies of psoriasis. RNA-seq and microarray datasets identified similar numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with certain genes uniquely identified by each technology. Correspondence between platforms and the balance of increased to decreased DEGs was influenced by mRNA abundance, GC content, and gene length. Weakly expressed genes, genes with low GC content, and long genes were all biased toward decreased expression in psoriasis lesions. The strength of these trends differed among array datasets, most likely due to variations in RNA quality. Gene length bias was by far the strongest trend and was evident in all datasets regardless of the expression profiling technology. The effect was due to differences between lesional and uninvolved skin with respect to the genome-wide correlation between gene length and gene expression, which was consistently more negative in psoriasis lesions. These findings demonstrate the complementary nature of RNA-seq and microarray technology and show that integrative analysis of both data types can provide a richer view of the transcriptome than strict reliance on a single method alone. Our results also highlight factors affecting correspondence between technologies, and we have established that gene length is a major determinant of differential expression in psoriasis lesions.
Forces Applied during Transvenous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Lead Removal
Authors: Lennerz Carsten , Pavaci Herribert , Grebmer Christian , von Olshausen Gesa , Semmler Verena , Buiatti Alessandra , Reents Tilko , Ammar Sonia , Deisenhofer Isabel , Kolb Christof
Published: May 2014

Methods. 17 physicians, experienced in transvenous lead removal, performed a lead extraction manoeuvre of an ICD lead on a torso phantom. They were advised to stop traction only when further traction would be considered as harmful to the patient or when—based on their experience—a change in the extraction strategy was indicated. Traction forces were recorded with a digital precision gauge.Results. Median traction forces on the endocardium were 10.9 N (range from 3.0 N to 24.7 N and interquartile range from 7.9 to 15.3). Forces applied to the proximal end were estimated to be 10% higher than those measured at the tip of the lead due to a friction loss.Conclusion. A traction force of around 11 N is typically exerted during standard transvenous extraction of ICD leads. A traction threshold for a safe procedure derived from a pool of experienced extractionists may be helpful for the development of required adequate simulator trainings.
The Influence of Proccessing Temperature on Morphological and Tribological Properties of Injection-Moulded Microparts
Authors: Fischer Christopher , Leisen Christoph , Merken Daniel , Jungmeier Ariane , Drummer Dietmar
Published: May 2014

In conventional injection-moulding processes high flow and cooling velocities affect the morphological and tribological properties of microparts when compared to macroscopic parts. A novel mould technology with dynamic CO2-tempering is targeted with an enhanced understanding of the temperature time behaviour of morphology during the setting phase which fundamentally dominates the structure formation. The scope of this paper is to provide an understanding of the processing temperature's influence, in this context mould temperature, on the morphological and tribological properties of injection-moulded microparts. Furthermore, the characteristics of tribological testing conditions in microparts should be identified with regard to optimized testing methods. Results indicate that the tribological properties of microparts are mainly influenced by nature of the skin near layers, which can be greatly improved through the application of mould temperatures close to the crystallisation temperature. Additionally, a tribological testing method is adapted for a correct and high solution of the running-in and stationary phase in order to identify the effects of the skin layer on the wear behaviour.
The Association of HLA-Class I and Class II with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Iranian Patients
Authors: Sayad Arezou , Akbari Mohammad Taghi , Mehdizadeh Mahshid , Movafagh Abolfazl , Hajifathali Abbas
Published: May 2014

The Hodgkin’s lymphoma disease (HD) is a common malignant neoplasm with germinal centre B-cell origin. It has been suggested that the HLA class I and class II regions have susceptibility effects on HD. In different ethnic groups, different HLA class I and class II alleles affect HD. As a result, there is no consensus which of the different HLA alleles confers susceptibility to HD. In this study, we aimed to ascertain the role of HLA class I and class II alleles in association with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Iranian patients. We performed a case-control genotyping study in 85 Iranian HD patients which were selected from the Bone Marrow Transplantation Department of Taleghani Hospital and 150 controls using the SSP-PCR. Our results demonstrated that theHLA-A*68,HLA-B*51, andHLA-DRB1*15 alleles were significantly more frequent in HD patients in comparison to controls (P=0.026; OR = 6.188,P=0.00008; OR = 2.86,P=0.00006; OR = 5.315, resp.) and they have significant susceptibility effects on HD in Iranian population. There are reports of other populations with regard to consistency and inconsistency to our results. Further studies with large sample size or the meta-analysis are needed to explain the exact associations of HLA gene with HD.
The Feature of Distribution and Clonality of TCRγ/δSubfamilies T Cells in Patients with B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Authors: Wang Liang , Xu Meng , Wang Chunyan , Zhu Lihua , Hu Junyan , Chen Shaohua , Wu Xiuli , Li Bo , Li Yangqiu
Published: May 2014

Restricted T-cell receptor (TCR) Vα/Vβrepertoire expression and clonal expansion ofαβT cells especially for putative tumor-associated antigens were observed in patients with hematological malignancies. To further characterize theγδT-cell immune status in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), we investigated the distribution and clonality of TCR Vγ/Vδrepertoire in peripheral blood (PB), bone marrow (BM), and lymph node (LN) from patients with B-NHL. Four newly diagnosed B-NHL cases, including three with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and one with small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), were enrolled. The restrictive expression of TCR Vγ/Vδsubfamilies with different distribution patterns could be detected in PB, BM, or LN from all of four patients, and partial subfamily T cells showed clonal proliferation. At least one clonally expanded Vδsubfamily member was found in PB from each patient. However, the expression pattern and clonality of TCR Vγ/Vδchanged in different immune organs and showed individual feature in different patients. The clonally expanded Vδ5, Vδ6, and Vδ8 were detected only in PB but neither in BM nor LN while clonally expanded Vδ2 and Vδ3 could be detected in both PB and BM/LN. In conclusion, the results provide a preliminary profile of distribution and clonality of TCRγ/δsubfamilies T cells in PB, BM, and LN from B-NHL; similar clonally expanded Vδsubfamily T cells in PB and BM may be related to the same B-cell lymphoma-associated antigens, while the different reactive clonally expanded Vγ/VδT cells may be due to local immune response.
Analysis and Implementation of Multiple Bionic Motion Patterns for Caterpillar Robot Driven by Sinusoidal Oscillator
Authors: Zhu Yanhe , Wang Xiaolu , Fan Jizhuang , Iqbal Sajid , Bie Dongyang , Zhao Jie
Published: May 2014

Articulated caterpillar robot has various locomotion patterns—which make it adaptable to different tasks. Generally, the researchers have realized undulatory (transverse wave) and simple rolling locomotion. But many motion patterns are still unexplored. In this paper, peristaltic locomotion and various additional rolling patterns are achieved by employing sinusoidal oscillator with fixed phase difference as the joint controller. The usefulness of the proposed method is verified using simulation and experiment. The design parameters for different locomotion patterns have been calculated that they can be replicated in similar robots immediately.
Development and Validation of the Tibetan Primary Care Assessment Tool
Authors: Wang Wenhua , Shi Leiyu , Yin Aitian , Lai Youwen , Maitland Elizabeth , Nicholas Stephen
Published: May 2014

Objective. To develop a primary care assessment tool in Tibetan area and assess the primary care quality among different healthcare settings.Methods. Primary care assessment tool-Tibetan version (PCAT-T) was developed to measure seven primary care domains. Data from a cross-sectional survey of 1386 patients was used to conduct validity and reliability analysis of PCAT-T. Analysis of variance was used to conduct comparison of primary care quality among different healthcare settings.Results. A 28-item PCAT-T was constructed which included seven multi-item scales and two single-item scales. All of multi-item scales achieved good internal consistency and item-total correlations. Scaling assumptions tests were well satisfied. The full range of possible scores was observed for all scales, except first contact and continuity. Compared with prefecture hospital (77.42) and county hospital (82.01), township health center achieved highest primary care quality total score (86.64).Conclusions. PCAT-T is a valid and reliable tool to measure patients' experience of primary care in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Township health center has the best primary care performance compared with other healthcare settings, and township health center should play a key role in providing primary care in Tibet.
Paraneoplastic Internal Jugular Vein Thrombosis Leading to Diagnosis of Bilateral Ovarian Ependymoma
Authors: Madabhavi Irappa , Patel Apurva , Choudhary Mukesh , Anand Asha
Published: May 2014

Ovarian ependymomas are extremely rare tumors of the ovary. We present a case of a 67-year-old lady presented to us with swelling in the right side of neck for 2 months followed by pelvic pain, lower abdominal distention, and weight loss for 1 month. Her coagulation profile, blood chemistry, lipid profile, and tumor markers were within normal limits. Neck Doppler ultrasonography revealed thrombus in the right internal jugular vein and CT scan of the abdomen showed bilateral ovarian masses. Patient was subjected to debulking surgery for suspected ovarian cancer and microscopy revealed a highly cellular tumor composed of small cells with hyperchromatic, round-to-oval nuclei with scanty cytoplasm, and perivascular pseudorosettes. Diagnosis was confirmed by immunophenotype showing strong positivity to glial fibrillary acidic protein, estrogen receptors, and progesterone receptors. Patient was successfully managed with anticoagulants, adjuvant chemotherapy with BEP regimen, and letrozole. After ruling out other common conditions for thrombosis in this age group, this seems to be a paraneoplastic presentation of ovarian malignancy that preceded the diagnosis of ependymoma by 2 months. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case report in the world literature as “paraneoplastic internal jugular vein thrombosis leading to diagnosis of bilateral ovarian ependymoma.”
An Effective Protocol for Micropropagation of Edible Bamboo Species (Bambusa tuldaandMelocanna baccifera) through Nodal Culture
Authors: Waikhom Sayanika Devi , Louis Bengyella
Published: May 2014

High demand for edible bamboo shoots ofBambusa tuldaandMelocanna bacciferain many Asian ethnic groups has led to the need for developing intensive bamboo farming. To achieve this,in vitroregeneration of bamboo plantlets is needed due to the long and irregular bamboo flowering cycle and scarcity of bamboo seeds. An effective protocol for plantlets regeneration inB. tuldaandM. bacciferafrom nodal explants following validation of the species using the sequence of trnL-F intergenic spacer region is described. Effective axillary bud breaking was achieved at 3 mg/L of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in MS medium. Importantly, combining 2 mg/L of kinetin (Kn) with 3 mg/L of BAP produced a synergistic effect for shoot multiplication inB. tuldaandM. baccifera. Under optimized conditions in half-strength MS medium supplemented with 3 mg/L of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 10 mg/L of coumarin, and 3% sucrose, profuse production of dark-brown rhizome inB. tuldaand abundant rooting (81.67%,P<0.05,F=15.46) forM. bacciferawithin 30 days were achieved. The established protocol and the validation of the reported species at the molecular level will be of help to stakeholders in edible bamboo trade to conserve gene-pool and increase productivity.
Effect of Metformin Intervention during Pregnancy on the Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zhuo Zhihong , Wang Aiming , Yu Huimin
Published: May 2014

Metformin is an effective insulin sensitizer treating type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the functional consequences of metformin administration throughout pregnancy on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have not been assessed. We therefore performed a meta-analysis and system review to determine the effect of metformin on GDM in PCOS. A meta-analysis was performed on the published studies before December, 2013. Meta-analysis examined whether metformin could reduce GDM occurrence in PCOS with a fixed effect model. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was calculated to estimate the strength of association. A total of 13 studies including 5 RCTs and 8 non-RCTs were enrolled. Ultimately, effectiveness analysis demonstrated that, in total, there was no significant availability of metformin on GDM in PCOS in contrast to placebo (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.60–1.92) in RCTs and significant availability of metformin on GDM (OR = 0.19, 95% CI 0.13–0.27) was indicated in non-RCTs. In summary, according to the results of our meta-analysis, strictly, metformin did not significantly effect on GDM with PCOS, though more multicenters RCTs still need to be investigated.
Static Modeling for Commercial Braided Pneumatic Muscle Actuators
Authors: Zhong Jun , Fan Jizhuang , Zhu Yanhe , Zhao Jie , Zhai Wenjie
Published: May 2014

An enhanced model is proposed to describe static property of commercial braided pneumatic muscle actuators by including several important influencing factors. Elasticity of elastomer tube is considered and Ogden strain energy function is employed to describe its strain energy density. During pressurized process, small deformation of fiber occurs and is calculated using force balancing principle. Frictional forces within muscles are studied, which consist of friction within braid and that between bladder and braid. Isobaric experiments are performed and results verify the validity of the model.
Emission Controls Using Different Temperatures of Combustion Air
Authors: Nosek Radovan , Holubčík Michal , Papučík Štefan
Published: May 2014

The effort of many manufacturers of heat sources is to achieve the maximum efficiency of energy transformation chemically bound in the fuel to heat. Therefore, it is necessary to streamline the combustion process and minimize the formation of emission during combustion. The paper presents an analysis of the combustion air temperature to the heat performance and emission parameters of burning biomass. In the second part of the paper the impact of different dendromass on formation of emissions in small heat source is evaluated. The measured results show that the regulation of the temperature of the combustion air has an effect on concentration of emissions from the combustion of biomass.
Performance Evaluation of Four-Parameter Models of the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve
Authors: Matlan Siti Jahara , Mukhlisin Muhammad , Taha Mohd Raihan
Published: May 2014

Soil-water characteristic curves (SWCCs) are important in terms of groundwater recharge, agriculture, and soil chemistry. These relationships are also of considerable value in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. Their measurement, however, is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. Many empirical models have been developed to describe the SWCC. Statistical assessment of soil-water characteristic curve models found that exponential-based model equations were the most difficult to fit and generally provided the poorest fit to the soil-water characteristic data. In this paper, an exponential-based model is devised to describe the SWCC. The modified equation is similar to those previously reported by Gardner (1956) but includes exponential variable. Verification was performed with 24 independent data sets for a wide range of soil textures. Prediction results were compared with the most widely used models to assess the model’s performance. It was proven that the exponential-based equation of the modified model provided greater flexibility and a better fit to data on various types of soil.
Dimensionality Reduction by Supervised Neighbor Embedding Using Laplacian Search
Authors: Zheng Jianwei , Zhang Hangke , Cattani Carlo , Wang Wanliang
Published: May 2014

Dimensionality reduction is an important issue for numerous applications including biomedical images analysis and living system analysis. Neighbor embedding, those representing the global and local structure as well as dealing with multiple manifolds, such as the elastic embedding techniques, can go beyond traditional dimensionality reduction methods and find better optima. Nevertheless, existing neighbor embedding algorithms can not be directly applied in classification as suffering from several problems: (1) high computational complexity, (2) nonparametric mappings, and (3) lack of class labels information. We propose a supervised neighbor embedding called discriminative elastic embedding (DEE) which integrates linear projection matrix and class labels into the final objective function. In addition, we present the Laplacian search direction for fast convergence. DEE is evaluated in three aspects: embedding visualization, training efficiency, and classification performance. Experimental results on several benchmark databases present that the proposed DEE exhibits a supervised dimensionality reduction approach which not only has strong pattern revealing capability, but also brings computational advantages over standard gradient based methods.