bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ENTANGLEMENT BETWEEN CHARGE AND FLUX QUBITS
Authors: LIAO QINGHONG , LIU XIN , AHMAD MUHAMAD ASHFAQ
Published: December 2013

Following the scheme proposed by X. L. He et al. [Phys. Rev. B76 (2007) 024517], we investigate the generation of a maximally entangled state between the charge and flux qubits. It is shown that macroscopic Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) pairs can be created and the entanglement can be long-lived. Since the large Josephson junction is only virtually excited, no quantum information will be transferred from the charge and flux qubits to the large Josephson junction. Based on the strong inductive coupling, a fast entanglement operation can be achieved.
FOLDING MODEL ANALYSIS OF 6He+120Sn ELASTIC SCATTERING
Authors: MAHMOUD ZAKARIA M. M. , IBRAHEEM AWAD A. , MOKHTAR SHERIF R.
Published: December 2013

In this study, the elastic scattering of 6 He projectile from 120 Sn nucleus has been analyzed in terms of optical model (OM). Microscopic double folding (DF) model has been used to generate the real central part of the OM potential. The imaginary part has been restricted to Woods–Saxon phenomenological form. Skyrme–Hartree–Fock, Symmetrized Fermi and Gaussian-Exponential densities for 6 He nucleus while Hartree–Fock–Bogolyubov (HFB) density of 120 Sn nucleus have been used to construct the real DF potential. For the effective interaction, the widely used M3Y has been adopted in the DF procedure. The results of DF have been compared with both literature experimental data and phenomenological analysis.
Social Link Prediction in Online Social Tagging Systems
Authors: Chelmis Charalampos , Prasanna Viktor K.
Published: December 2013

Social networks have become a popular medium for people to communicate and distribute ideas, content, news, and advertisements. Social content annotation has naturally emerged as a method of categorization and filtering of online information. The unrestricted vocabulary users choose from to annotate content has often lead to an explosion of the size of space in which search is performed. In this article, we propose latent topic models as a principled way of reducing the dimensionality of such data and capturing the dynamics of collaborative annotation process. We propose three generative processes to model latent user tastes with respect to resources they annotate with metadata. We show that latent user interests combined with social clues from the immediate neighborhood of users can significantly improve social link prediction in the online music social media site Last.fm. Most link prediction methods suffer from the high class imbalance problem, resulting in low precision and/or recall. In contrast, our proposed classification schemes for social link recommendation achieve high precision and recall with respect to not only the dominant class (nonexistence of a link), but also with respect to sparse positive instances, which are the most vital in social tie prediction.
Enumeration of monadic second-order queries on trees
Authors: Kazana Wojciech , Segoufin Luc
Published: December 2013

We consider the enumeration problem of Monadic Second-Order (MSO) queries with first-order free variables over trees. In Bagan [2006] it was shown that this problem is in CONSTANT-DELAY

lin

. An enumeration problem belongs to CONSTANT-DELAY
lin
if for an input structure of size
n
it can be solved by:

—an
O
(
n
) precomputation phase building an index structure,

—followed by a phase enumerating the answers with no repetition and a constant delay between two consecutive outputs.

In this article we give a different proof of this result based on the deterministic factorization forest decomposition theorem of Colcombet [2007].
Logical foundations for more expressive declarative temporal logic programming languages
Authors: Gaintzarain Jose , Lucio Paqui
Published: December 2013

In this article, we present a declarative propositional temporal logic programming language called TeDiLog that is a combination of the temporal and disjunctive paradigms in logic programming. TeDiLog is, syntactically, a sublanguage of the well-known Propositional Linear-time Temporal Logic (PLTL). TeDiLog allows both eventualities and always-formulas to occur in clause heads and also in clause bodies. To the best of our knowledge, TeDiLog is the first declarative temporal logic programming language that achieves this high degree of expressiveness. We establish the logical foundations of our proposal by formally defining operational and logical semantics for TeDiLog and by proving their equivalence. The operational semantics of TeDiLog relies on a restriction of the
invariant-free temporal resolution
procedure for PLTL that was introduced by Gaintzarain et al. in [2013]. We define a fixpoint semantics that captures the reverse (bottom-up) operational mechanism and prove its equivalence with the logical semantics. We also provide illustrative examples and comparison with other proposals.
A Multimedia Recommender System
Authors: Albanese Massimiliano , d’Acierno Antonio , Moscato Vincenzo , Persia Fabio , Picariello Antonio
Published: December 2013

The extraordinary technological progress we have witnessed in recent years has made it possible to generate and exchange multimedia content at an unprecedented rate. As a consequence, massive collections of multimedia objects are now widely available to a large population of users. As the task of browsing such large collections could be daunting,
Recommender Systems
are being developed to assist users in finding items that match their needs and preferences. In this article, we present a novel approach to recommendation in multimedia browsing systems, based on modeling recommendation as a social choice problem. In social choice theory, a set of voters is called to rank a set of alternatives, and individual rankings are aggregated into a global ranking. In our formulation, the set of voters and the set of alternatives both coincide with the set of objects in the data collection. We first define what constitutes a choice in the browsing domain and then define a mechanism to aggregate individual choices into a global ranking. The result is a framework for computing customized recommendations by originally combining intrinsic features of multimedia objects, past behavior of individual users, and overall behavior of the entire community of users. Recommendations are ranked using an importance ranking algorithm that resembles the well-known
PageRank
strategy. Experiments conducted on a prototype of the proposed system confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach.
GLP-1 increases microvascular recruitment but not glucose uptake in human and rat skeletal muscle
Authors: Sjøberg Kim A. , Holst Jens J. , Rattigan Stephen , Richter Erik A. , Kiens Bente
Published: December 2013

The insulinotropic gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) has been proposed to have effects on vascular function and glucose disposal. However, whether GLP-1 is able to increase microvascular recruitment (MVR) in humans has not been investigated. GLP-1 was infused in the femoral artery in overnight-fasted, healthy young men. Microvascular recruitment was measured with real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasound and leg glucose uptake by the leg balance technique with and without inhibition of the insulinotropic response of GLP-1 by coinfusion of octreotide. As a positive control, MVR and leg glucose uptake were measured during a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Infusion of GLP-1 caused a rapid increase ( P < 0.05) of 20 ± 12% (mean ± SE) in MVR in the vastus lateralis muscle of the infused leg after 5 min, and MVR further increased to 60 ± 8% above preinfusion levels by 60 min infusion. The effect was slightly slower but similar in magnitude in the noninfused contralateral leg, in which GLP-1 concentration was within the physiological range. Octreotide infusion did not prevent the GLP-1-induced increase in MVR. GLP-1 infusion did not increase leg glucose uptake with or without octreotide coinfusion. GLP-1 infusion in rats increased MVR by 28% ( P < 0.05) but did not increase muscle glucose uptake. During the hyperinsulinemic clamp, MVR increased ∼40%, and leg glucose uptake increased 35-fold. It is concluded that GLP-1 in physiological concentrations causes a rapid insulin-independent increase in muscle MVR but does not affect muscle glucose uptake.
Hepatocyte growth factor regulates neovascularization in developing fat pads
Authors: White Heather M. , Acton Anthony J. , Kamocka Malgorzata M. , Considine Robert V.
Published: December 2013

In this study, we used lentiviral-delivered shRNA to generate a clonal line of 3T3-F442A preadipocytes with stable silencing of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) expression and examined the long-term consequence of this modification on fat pad development. HGF mRNA expression was reduced 94%, and HGF secretion 79% ( P < 0.01), compared with preadipocytes treated with nontargeting shRNA. Fat pads derived from HGF knockdown preadipocytes were significantly smaller ( P < 0.01) than control pads beginning at 3 days postinjection (0.022 ± 0.003 vs. 0.037 ± 0.004 g), and further decreased in size at day 7 (0.015 ± 0.004 vs. 0.037 ± 0.003 g) and day 14 (0.008 ± 0.002 vs. 0.045 ± 0.007 g). Expression of the endothelial cell genes TIE1 and PECAM1 increased over time in control fat pads (1.6 ± 0.4 vs. 11.4 ± 1.7 relative units at day 3 and 14, respectively; P < 0.05) but not in HGF knockdown fat pads (1.1 ± 0.5 vs. 5.9 ± 2.2 relative units at day 3 and 14). Contiguous vascular structures were observed in control fat pads but were much less developed in HGF knockdown fat pads. Differentiation of preadipocytes to mature adipocytes was significantly attenuated in HGF knockdown fat pads. Fat pads derived from preadipocytes with knockdown of the HGF receptor c-MET were smaller than control pads at day 3 postinjection (0.034 ± 0.002 vs. 0.049 ± 0.004 g; P < 0.05), and remained the same size through day 14. c-MET knockdown fat pads developed a robust vasculature, and preadipocytes differentiated to mature adipocytes. Overall these data suggest that preadipocyte-secreted HGF is an important regulator of neovascularization in developing fat pads.
Effects of stretch and shortening on gene expression in intact myocardium
Authors: Haggart Charles R. , Ames Elizabeth G. , Lee Jae K. , Holmes Jeffrey W.
Published: December 2013

Multiple cues have been suggested as the mechanical stimulus for the heart's hypertrophic response. Our work has previously suggested that the amount of cyclic shortening in cardiomyocytes controls myocyte shape and the amount of stretch controls myocyte size. To identify gene expression changes that occur in response to these mechanical perturbations, we used microarray analysis of papillary muscles cultured for 12 h at physiological or reduced levels of cyclic shortening and physiological or reduced mean stretch. Overall, genes related to extracellular matrix (ECM) were surprisingly prominent in our analysis. Connective tissue growth factor was among a small group of genes regulated by the amount of cyclic shortening regardless of the level of mean stretch, and many more ECM genes were regulated by shortening with reduced amounts of stretch. When we compared our results to gene expression data from an in vivo model of pressure overload (PO), which also decreases myocyte shortening, we found the genes that were commonly regulated in PO and our decreased shortening groups were most significantly enriched for ontology terms related to the ECM, followed by genes associated with mechanosensing and the cytoskeleton. The list of genes regulated in PO and our decreased shortening groups also includes genes known to change early in hypertrophy, such as myosin heavy chain 7, brain natriuretic peptide, and myosin binding protein C. We conclude that in intact myocardium, the amount of cyclic shortening may be an important regulator not only of myocyte genes classically associated with hypertrophy but also of ECM genes.
A Case Report of Puffer Fish Poisoning in Singapore
Authors: Yong Y. S. , Quek L. S. , Lim E. K. , Ngo A.
Published: December 2013

Although many Asians regard puffer fish as a delicacy since ancient times, puffer fish (Lageocephalus scitalleratus) is also a well-known source of possibly lethal food poisoning. The fish is gaining popularity in Singapore and can be found in quite a few restaurants now. Puffer fish contains tetrodotoxin (TTX), a potent poison affecting the neural pathway. Puffer fish poisoning may cause a constellation of symptoms, such as giddiness, numbness and tingling sensation of the mouth, paresthesia, and muscle weakness. Severe cases may present with respiratory depression, circulatory failure, and death. TTX poisonings have been reported in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and the United States (Haque et al. 2008). We report a case of mild poisoning and suggest observation for such cases.
Elimination Kinetics of Ethanol in a 5-Week-Old Infant and a Literature Review of Infant Ethanol Pharmacokinetics
Authors: Ford Jonathan B. , Wayment Mac T. , Albertson Timothy E. , Owen Kelly P. , Radke Joshua B. , Sutter Mark E.
Published: December 2013

Primary ethanol metabolism occurs through alcohol dehydrogenase, but minor metabolic pathways such as the P450 enzymes CYP2E1 and CYP1A2 and the enzyme catalase exist. These enzymes have distinct developmental stages. Elimination kinetics of ethanol in the infant is limited. We report the elimination kinetics of ethanol in a 5-week-old African-American male who had a serum ethanol level of 270 mg/dL on admission. A previously healthy 5-week-old African-American male was brought to the ED with a decreased level of consciousness. His initial blood ethanol level was 270 mg/dL. Serial blood ethanol levels were obtained. The elimination rate of ethanol was calculated to be in a range from 17.1 to 21.2 mg/dL/hr and appeared to follow zero-order elimination kinetics with aR2=0.9787. Elimination kinetics for ethanol in the young infant has been reported in only four previously published reports. After reviewing these reports, there appears to be variability in the elimination rates of ethanol in infants. Very young infants may not eliminate ethanol as quickly as previously described. Given that there are different stages of enzyme development in children, caution should be used when generalizing the elimination kinetics in young infants and children.
Asymptotic Bounds for the Time‐Periodic Solutions to the Singularly Perturbed Ordinary Differential Equations
Authors: Amiraliyev Gabil M. , Ucar Aysenur
Published: December 2013

The periodical in time problem for singularly perturbed second order linear ordinary differential equation is considered. The boundary layer behavior of the solution and its first and second derivatives have been established. An example supporting the theoretical analysis is presented.
Acute Liver Failure Occurring during the First Trimester of Pregnancy Successfully Treated with Living Donor Liver Transplantation
Authors: Kanogawa Naoya , Kanda Tatsuo , Ohtsuka Masayuki , Nakamura Masato , Miyamura Tatsuo , Yasui Shin , Arai Makoto , Maruyama Hitoshi , Fujiwara Keiichi , Shozu Makio , Oda Shigeto , Miyazaki Masaru , Yokosuka Osamu
Published: December 2013

Acute liver failure (ALF) during pregnancy remains difficult to treat, and despite advances in treatment, liver transplantation must be selected as treatment option in certain cases. We report a 30-year-old woman with ALF of unknown etiology, occurring during the first trimester of pregnancy. Her condition was complicated by consciousness disturbance and coagulopathy due to ALF, but she was successfully treated with living donor liver transplantation 7 days after dilatation and curettage. At 9-month followup, she was in good medical condition. Liver transplantation has been reported as one of the treatment options for ALF during pregnancy with the prognosis varying depending on the trimester, from living donor or deceased donor liver transplantation. Of importance is that clinicians always think of emergent liver transplantation as a therapeutic option in ALF even in the first trimester of pregnancy.
A Low Complexity 2D Pattern Synthesis Algorithm for Cylindrical Array
Authors: Liu Chao , Ding Zhizhong , Liu Xiaoping
Published: December 2013

This paper proposes a 2D pattern synthesis algorithm for cylindrical array. According to the geometric characteristic of cylinder, we can regard a cylindrical array as an equivalent linear array whose elements are identical circular subarrays. Therefore, the beam pattern can be obtained by the product of the array factor of linear array and beam pattern of circular subarray. Then, the 2D beamforming can be realized by two 1D beamforming processes. We can prove that the complex excitation vector of a cylindrical array is the Kronecker product of linear array’s weight vector and circular array’s weight vector. By this algorithm of decomposition and reconstruction, the computational complexity of 2D beamforming could be significantly reduced. Finally, simulation results further illustrate the validity of the proposed method.
Delayed Anticoagulation-Related Intracranial Haemorrhage after Minor Head Injury
Authors: Beynon Christopher , Orakcioglu Berk , Winkler Harald , Geis Nicolas A. , Unterberg Andreas W. , Sakowitz Oliver W.
Published: December 2013

Treatment with anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents are well-known risk factors for an unfavourable outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Guidelines for decision making in patients who sustained mild head injury do not apply to anticoagulated patients and therefore, in these cases diagnostic and therapeutic procedures have to be tailored patient-specific. A 69-year-old patient was referred to our hospital after sustaining mild head injury. Due to anticoagulation therapy, a cranial computed tomography was carried out and was without pathologic findings. After negative workup for TBI, the patient was admitted to the ward solely because of intermittent cardiac arrhythmia. The next day, the patient developed a hemiparesis and repeated brain imaging showed a large posttraumatic intracranial haematoma which had to be evacuated surgically. In the further clinical course, the patient recovered completely and a cardiac pacemaker was implanted. Emergency physicians have to be highly alert with anticoagulated patients after head injury, even if the trauma was mild and initial diagnostic procedures demonstrate no acute pathology. Delayed traumatic intracranial haemorrhage may have fatal consequences for patients and while the threshold for admission to a hospital ward should be low, adequate observation at home has to be ensured if patients are discharged.
A Semisupervised Feature Selection with Support Vector Machine
Authors: Dai Kun , Yu Hong-Yi , Li Qing
Published: December 2013

Feature selection has proved to be a beneficial tool in learning problems with the main advantages of interpretation and generalization. Most existing feature selection methods do not achieve optimal classification performance, since they neglect the correlations among highly correlated features which all contribute to classification. In this paper, a novel semisupervised feature selection algorithm based on support vector machine (SVM) is proposed, termed SENFS. In order to solve SENFS, an efficient algorithm based on the alternating direction method of multipliers is then developed. One advantage of SENFS is that it encourages highly correlated features to be selected or removed together. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our feature selection method on simulation data and benchmark data sets.
A Sixth Order Accuracy Solution to a System of Nonlinear Differential Equations with Coupled Compact Method
Authors: Liu Don , Chen Qin , Wang Yifan
Published: December 2013

A system of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations with convective and dispersive terms was modified from Boussinesq-type equations. Through a special formulation, a system of nonlinear partial differential equations was solved alternately and explicitly in time without linearizing the nonlinearity. Coupled compact schemes of sixth order accuracy in space were developed to obtain numerical solutions. Within couple compact schemes, variables and their first and second derivatives were solved altogether. The sixth order accuracy in space is achieved with a memory-saving arrangement of state variables so that the linear system is banded instead of blocked. This facilitates solving very large systems. The efficiency, simplicity, and accuracy make this coupled compact method viable as variational and weighted residual methods. Results were compared with exact solutions which were obtained via devised forcing terms. Error analyses were carried out, and the sixth order convergence in space and second order convergence in time were demonstrated. Long time integration was also studied to show stability and error convergence rates.
Numerical Solutions of Fractional Fokker-Planck Equations Using Iterative Laplace Transform Method
Authors: Yan Limei
Published: December 2013

A relatively new iterative Laplace transform method, which combines two methods; the iterative method and the Laplace transform method, is applied to obtain the numerical solutions of fractional Fokker-Planck equations. The method gives numerical solutions in the form of convergent series with easily computable components, requiring no linearization or small perturbation. The numerical results show that the approach is easy to implement and straightforward when applied to space-time fractional Fokker-Planck equations. The method provides a promising tool for solving space-time fractional partial differential equations.
An Efficient Approximate Algorithm for Disjoint QoS Routing
Authors: Yu Zhanke , Ma Feng , Liu Jingxia , Hu Bingxin , Zhang Zhaodong
Published: December 2013

Disjoint routing is used to find the disjoint paths between a source and a destination subject to QoS requirements. Disjoint QoS routing is an effective strategy to achieve robustness, load balancing, congestion reduction, and an increased throughput in computer networks. For multiple additive constraints, disjoint QoS routing is an NP-complete class that cannot be exactly solved in polynomial time. In the paper, the disjoint QoS routing problem was formulated as a 0-1 integer linear programming. The complicating constraints were included in the objective function using an adaptive penalty function. The special model with a totally unimodular constraint coefficient matrix was constructed and could be solved rapidly as a linear programming. An efficient algorithm using an adaptive penalty function and 0-1 integer linear programming for the disjoint QoS routing problems was designed. The proposed algorithm could obtain the optimal solution, considerably reducing the computational time consumption and improving the computational efficiency. Theoretical analysis and simulation experiments were performed to evaluate the proposed algorithm performance. Through the establishment of random network topologies using Matlab, the average running time, the optimal objective value, and the success rate were evaluated based on the optimal values obtained in Cplex. The simulation experiments validated the effectiveness of the proposed heuristic algorithm.
The Analytical Transmission Electron Microscopy: A Powerful Tool for the Investigation of Low‐Dimensional Carbon Nanomaterials
Authors: Casciardi Stefano , Sisto Renata , Diociaiuti Marco
Published: December 2013

Chemical and physical characterization of nanomaterials is essential to improve synthesis processes, for new technological and commercial applications, and to assess their toxicity through in vitro and in vivo studies. New nanomaterials and new synthesis processes are continuously tested and updated to exploit their innovative properties. In this paper, low‐dimensional carbon nanostructure characterization was performed using analytical transmission electron microscopy. Conventional and advanced microscopy techniques, such as acquisition of high resolution images, nanobeam electron diffraction patterns, X‐ray energy dispersion, and electron energy loss spectra, were used to determine the main physical and chemical properties of single wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes, graphene flakes, and amorphous carbon films. Through the resulting micrographs, diffraction patterns, and spectra, the main low‐dimensional carbon nanostructures properties were determined in terms of structural defects and/or the presence of metallic or heavy elements, such as those used as catalyst or to decorate nanotubes. The obtained information is of crucial importance to investigate low‐dimension nanomaterial biological activity.
A Comparative Analysis of the Flow Properties between Two Alumina-Based Dry Powders
Authors: de Campos Milene Minniti , Ferreira Maria do Carmo
Published: December 2013

We measured and compared the flow properties of two alumina-based powders. The alumina powder (AP) is irregularly shaped and has a smooth surface and moisture content of 0.16% (d.b.), and the ceramic powder (CP), obtained after atomization in a spray dryer, is spherical and has a rough surface and moisture content of 1.07%. We measured the Hausner ratio (HR), the static angle of repose (AoR), the flow index (FI), the angle of internal friction, and the wall's friction angle. The properties measured using aerated techniques (AoR and HR) demonstrated that AP presents true cohesiveness (and therefore a difficult flow), while CP presents some cohesiveness and its flow might be classified as half way between difficult and easy flow. Their FI values, which were obtained using a nonaerated technique, enable us to classify the alumina as cohesive and the ceramic powder as an easy-flow powder. The large mean diameter and morphological characteristics of CP reduce interparticle forces and improve flowability, in spite of the higher moisture content of their granules. The angles of internal friction and of wall friction were not significantly different when comparing the two powders.
Survival and Stationary Distribution in a Stochastic SIS Model
Authors: Zhou Yanli , Zhang Weiguo , Yuan Sanling
Published: December 2013

The dynamics of a stochastic SIS epidemic model is investigated. First, we show that the system admits a unique positive global solution starting from the positive initial value. Then, the long-term asymptotic behavior of the model is studied: whenR0≤1, we show how the solution spirals around the disease-free equilibrium of deterministic system under some conditions; whenR0>1, we show that the stochastic model has a stationary distribution under certain parametric restrictions. In particular, we show that random effects may lead the disease to extinction in scenarios where the deterministic model predicts persistence. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the theoretical results.
Mathematical Modeling, Computation, and Experimental Imaging of Thin-Layer Objects by Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Frollo Ivan
Published: December 2013

Imaging of thin layers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods belongs to the special procedures that serve for imaging of weak magnetic materials (weak ferromagnetic, diamagnetic, or paramagnetic). The objective of the paper is to present mathematical models appropriate for magnetic field calculations in the vicinity of thin organic or inorganic materials with defined magnetic susceptibility. Computation is similar to the double layer theory. Thin plane layers in their vicinity create a deformation of the neighboring magnetic field. Calculations with results in the form of analytic functions were derived for rectangular, circular, and general shaped samples. For experimental verification, an MRI 0.2 Tesla esaote Opera imager was used. For experiments, a homogeneous parallelepiped block (reference medium)—a container filled with doped water—was used. The resultant images correspond to the magnetic field variations in the vicinity of the samples. For data detection, classical gradient-echo (GRE) imaging methods, susceptible to magnetic field inhomogeneities, were used. Experiments proved that the proposed method was effective for thin organic and soft magnetic materials testing using magnetic resonance imaging methods.
Construction of Stiffness and Flexibility for Substructure-Based Model Updating
Authors: Weng Shun , Zhu Hong-Ping , Xia Yong , Ye Ling , Hu Xian-Yan
Published: December 2013

In substructuring methods, the substructures are independently analyzed under free-free conditions. For a free-free substructure, its stiffness matrix is singular and rank deficient due to rigid body motion. The variables associated with the inverse of the stiffness matrix are not easy to be accurately determined in the usual manner. This study expands on the previous research on the substructuring methods by taking a deeper look at the analysis of a free-free substructure. A well-conditioned stiffness matrix is constructed for the analysis of a free-free structure. Some difficulties associated with the analysis of the free-free substructures can be solved in a simple and effective way. The substructural eigensolutions and eigensensitivity are solved from the well-conditioned stiffness matrix, other than the singular stiffness matrix. The proposed well-conditioned eigenequation is accurate and efficient to calculate the substructural eigensolutions and eigensensitivity. The properties addressed in this paper are not limited to be used for the analysis of a free-free substructure in many substructuring methods, and they are promising to be generalized to a range of analysis relevant to a free-free structure.
The Potential Role ofAzadirachta indicaTreatment on Cisplatin-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Female Rats
Authors: Dkhil Mohamed A. , Al-Quraishy Saleh , Aref Ahmed M. , Othman Mohamed S. , El-Deib Kamal M. , Abdel Moneim Ahmed E.
Published: December 2013

Azadirachta indicaA. Juss. (neem, family: Meliaceae) is perhaps the most commonly used traditional medicinal plant of India. In this study we investigated the protective effect of methanolic neem leaves extract (MNLE; 500 mg/Kg bwt) on rats treated with cisplatin (CDDP)-induced hepatotoxicity. Adult rats were randomly divided into four groups. CDDP was given to rats by intraperitoneal injection, while MNLE was given by oral gavage for 5 days after the CDDP injection. The injury and oxidative stress caused by CDDP on the liver and the effect of MNLE were evaluated by measuring (a) histological changes, (b) tissue biochemical oxidant and antioxidant parameters, and (c) investigating apoptosis markers immunohistochemically and by real time PCR. After treatment with MNLE, the histological damage and apoptosis induction caused by cisplatin were improved. Malondialdehyde and nitric oxide were significantly decreased; the antioxidant system, namely, glutathione content, glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase activities were significantly elevated. In conclusion, MNLE may have a potential role when combined with cisplatin in chemotherapy to alleviate cisplatin-induced damage and oxidative stress in liver.
The Time Delays’ Effects on the Qualitative Behavior of an Economic Growth Model
Authors: Bianca Carlo , Ferrara Massimiliano , Guerrini Luca
Published: December 2013

A further generalization of an economic growth model is the main topic of this paper. The paper specifically analyzes the effects on the asymptotic dynamics of the Solow model when two time delays are inserted: the time employed in order that the capital is used for production and the necessary time so that the capital is depreciated. The existence of a unique nontrivial positive steady state of the generalized model is proved and sufficient conditions for the asymptotic stability are established. Moreover, the existence of a Hopf bifurcation is proved and, by using the normal form theory and center manifold argument, the explicit formulas which determine the stability, direction, and period of bifurcating periodic solutions are obtained. Finally, numerical simulations are performed for supporting the analytical results.
An Imbalance between Frequency of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Regulatory T Cells and CCR4+ and CCR9+ Circulating Helper T Cells Is Associated with Active Perennial Allergic Conjunctivitis
Authors: Galicia-Carreón J. , Santacruz C. , Ayala-Balboa J. , Robles-Contreras A. , Perez-Tapia S. M. , Garfias Y. , Hong E. , Jiménez-Martínez M. C.
Published: December 2013

Allergic conjunctivitis (AC) is one of the most common eye disorders in ophthalmology. In mice models, it has been suggested that control of allergic conjunctivitis is a delicate balance between Tregs and inflammatory migrating effector cells. Our aim was to evaluate the frequency of Tregs and the frequency of homing receptors expressing cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with perennial allergic conjunctivitis (PAC). The analyses of phenotypic markers on CD4+ T cells and both soluble or intracellular cytokines were performed by flow cytometry. CD4+CD25+ cells were 15 times more frequent in PBMC from patients than HC; the vast majority of these CD4+CD25+ cells were FOXP3−, and most of CD4+ T cells were CCR4+ and CCR9+ cells. Upon allergen-stimulation, no significant changes were observed in frequency of Treg; however, an increased frequency of CD4+CCR4+CCR9+ cells, CD4+CD103+ cells and CD4+CD108+ cells with increased IL-5, IL-6, and IL-8 production was observed. These findings suggest an immune dysregulation in PAC, characterized by diminished frequency of Tregs and increased frequency of circulating activated CD4+ T cells; upon allergen-stimulation, these cells were expressing cell-surface molecules related to mucosa homing and were able to trigger an inflammatory microenvironment.
Evidence in Support of Potential Applications of Lipid Peroxidation Products in Cancer Treatment
Authors: Erejuwa Omotayo O. , Sulaiman Siti A. , Ab Wahab Mohd S.
Published: December 2013

Cancer cells generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) resulting from mitochondrial dysfunction, stimulation of oncogenes, abnormal metabolism, and aggravated inflammatory activities. Available evidence also suggests that cancer cells depend on intrinsic ROS level for proliferation and survival. Both physiological and pathophysiological roles have been ascribed to ROS which cause lipid peroxidation. In spite of their injurious effects, the ROS and the resulting lipid peroxidation products could be beneficial in cancer treatment. This review presents research findings suggesting that ROS and the resulting lipid peroxidation products could be utilized to inhibit cancer growth or induce cancer cell death. It also underscores the potential of lipid peroxidation products to potentiate the antitumor effect of other anticancer agents. The review also highlights evidence demonstrating other potential applications of lipid peroxidation products in cancer treatment. These include the prospect of lipid peroxidation products as a diagnostic tool to predict the chances of cancer recurrence, to monitor treatment progress or how well cancer patients respond to therapy. Further and detailed research is required on how best to successfully, effectively, and selectively target cancer cells in humans using lipid peroxidation products. This may prove to be an important strategy to complement current treatment regimens for cancer patients.
Applications of Hankel and Regular Matrices in Fourier Series
Authors: Alotaibi Abdullah , Mursaleen M.
Published: December 2013

Recently, Alghamdi and Mursaleen (2013) used the Hankel matrix to determine the necessary and suffcient condition to find the sum of the Walsh-Fourier series. In this paper, we propose to use the Hankel matrix as well as any general nonnegative regular matrix to obtain the necessary and sufficient conditions to sum the derived Fourier series and conjugate Fourier series.
Antioxidant Capacity, Cytotoxicity, and Acute Oral Toxicity ofGynura bicolor
Authors: Teoh Wuen Yew , Sim Kae Shin , Moses Richardson Jaime Stella , Abdul Wahab Norhanom , Hoe See Ziau
Published: December 2013

Gynura bicolor(Compositae) which is widely used by the locals as natural remedies in folk medicine has limited scientific studies to ensure its efficacy and nontoxicity. The current study reports the total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, cytotoxicity, and acute oral toxicity of crude methanol and its fractionated extracts (hexane, ethyl acetate, and water) ofG. bicolorleaves. Five human colon cancer cell lines (HT-29, HCT-15, SW480, Caco-2, and HCT 116), one human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF7), and one human normal colon cell line (CCD-18Co) were used to evaluate the cytotoxicity ofG. bicolor. The present findings had clearly demonstrated that ethyl acetate extract ofG. bicolorwith the highest total phenolic content among the extracts showed the strongest antioxidant activity (DPPH radical scavenging assay and metal chelating assay), possessed cytotoxicity, and induced apoptotic and necrotic cell death, especially towards the HCT 116 and HCT-15 colon cancer cells. The acute oral toxicity study indicated that methanol extract ofG. bicolorhas negligible level of toxicity when administered orally and has been regarded as safe in experimental rats. The findings of the current study clearly established the chemoprevention potential ofG. bicolorand thus provide scientific validation on the therapeutic claims ofG. bicolor.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens‐Mediated Transformation of Valsa mali: An Efficient Tool for Random Insertion Mutagenesis
Authors: Wang Caixia , Guan Xiangnan , Wang Hanyan , Li Guifang , Dong Xiangli , Wang Guoping , Li Baohua
Published: December 2013

Valsa mali is a causal agent of apple and pear trees canker disease, which is a destructive disease that causes serious economic losses in eastern Asia, especially in China. The lack of an efficient transformation system for Valsa mali retards its investigation, which poses difficulties to control the disease. In this research, a transformation system for this pathogen was established for the first time using A. tumefaciens‐mediated transformation (ATMT), with the optimal transformation conditions as follows: 106/mL conidia suspension, cocultivation temperature 22°C, cocultivation time 72 hours, and 200 μM acetosyringone (AS) in the inductive medium. The average transformation efficiency was 1015.00 ± 37.35 transformants per 106 recipient conidia. Thirty transformants were randomly selected for further confirmation and the results showed the presence of T‐DNA in all hygromycin B resistant transformants and also revealed random and single gene integration with genetic stability. Compared with wild‐type strain, those transformants exhibited various differences in morphology, conidia production, and conidia germination ability. In addition, pathogenicity assays revealed that 14 transformants had mitigated pathogenicity, while one had enhanced infection ability. The results suggest that ATMT of V. mali is a useful tool to gain novel insight into this economically important pathogen at molecular levels.
PPARα Activation Can Help Prevent and Treat Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Skrypnyk Nataliya , Chen Xiwu , Hu Wen , Su Yan , Mont Stacey , Yang Shilin , Gangadhariah Mahesha , Wei Shouzuo , Falck John R. , Jat Jawahar Lal , Zent Roy , Capdevila Jorge H. , Pozzi Ambra
Published: December 2013

Non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) not amenable to surgical resection has a high mortality rate, due to the ineffectiveness and toxicity of chemotherapy. Thus, there remains an urgent need of efficacious drugs that can combat this disease. In this study, we show that targeting the formation of proangiogenic epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EET) by the cytochrome P450 arachidonic acid epoxygenases (Cyp2c) represents a new and safe mechanism to treat NSCLC growth and progression. In the transgenic murine K-Ras model and human orthotopic models of NSCLC, we found that Cyp2c44 could be downregulated by activating the transcription factor PPARα with the ligands bezafibrate and Wyeth-14,643. Notably, both treatments reduced primary and metastatic NSCLC growth, tumor angiogenesis, endothelial Cyp2c44 expression, and circulating EET levels. These beneficial effects were independent of the time of administration, whether before or after the onset of primary NSCLC, and they persisted after drug withdrawal, suggesting the benefits were durable. Our findings suggest that strategies to downregulate Cyp2c expression and/or its enzymatic activity may provide a safer and effective strategy to treat NSCLC. Moreover, as bezafibrate is a well-tolerated clinically approved drug used for managing lipidemia, our findings provide an immediate cue for clinical studies to evaluate the utility of PPARα ligands as safe agents for the treatment of lung cancer in humans. Cancer Res; 74(2); 621–31. ©2013 AACR.
Adenosine-to-Inosine RNA Editing Mediated by ADARs in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Qin Yan-Ru , Qiao Jun-Jing , Chan Tim Hon Man , Zhu Ying-Hui , Li Fang-Fang , Liu Haibo , Fei Jing , Li Yan , Guan Xin-Yuan , Chen Leilei
Published: December 2013

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the major histologic form of esophageal cancer, is a heterogeneous tumor displaying a complex variety of genetic and epigenetic changes. Aberrant RNA editing of adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I), as it is catalyzed by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADAR), represents a common posttranscriptional modification in certain human diseases. In this study, we investigated the status and role of ADARs and altered A-to-I RNA editing in ESCC tumorigenesis. Among the three ADAR enzymes expressed in human cells, only ADAR1 was overexpressed in primary ESCC tumors. ADAR1 overexpression was due to gene amplification. Patients with ESCC with tumoral overexpression of ADAR1 displayed a poor prognosis. In vitro and in vivo functional assays established that ADAR1 functions as an oncogene during ESCC progression. Differential expression of ADAR1 resulted in altered gene-specific editing activities, as reflected by hyperediting of FLNB and AZIN1 messages in primary ESCC. Notably, the edited form of AZIN1 conferred a gain-of-function phenotype associated with aggressive tumor behavior. Our findings reveal that altered gene-specific A-to-I editing events mediated by ADAR1 drive the development of ESCC, with potential implications in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of this disease. Cancer Res; 74(3); 840–51. ©2013 AACR.
CCDC62 Variant rs12817488 Is Associated with the Risk of Parkinson's Disease in a Han Chinese Population
Authors: Liu Rong-Rong , Zhou Li-Li , Cheng Xing , Sun Miao-Xuan , Hu Yan-Bing , Chen Song-Fang , Zhang Xiong , Zhu Jian-Hong
Published: December 2013

It has been recently proposed by a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis that the CCDC62 variant rs12817488 is a new risk locus associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between rs12817488 and PD in a Chinese cohort. A total of 341 PD patients and 423 matched controls were recruited in Eastern China. Our results showed that the A allele of rs12817488 was significantly associated with an aggravated risk of PD (p = 0.006) and represented a major allele in contrast to a minor one in Caucasians. Genotype distributions also differed between PD patients and controls (p = 0.011 for AA/AG/GG). Further analysis showed that the association of rs12817488 with PD only existed in females. We also investigated the protein level of CCDC62 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 41 AA or GG carriers and found an apparently higher expression in PD patients carrying the AA genotype. A potential interaction was found between two estrogen-related loci, i.e. rs12817488/CCDC62 and rs2697962/PRDM2, particularly in the female stratum. In conclusion, our study demonstrated for the first time a significant association between the rs12817488 polymorphism and PD predisposition in a Chinese population with gender variations and provides new insight regarding the variant's protein expression and estrogen-related genetic interaction.
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Recent Trials and Current Drug Therapy
Authors: Jones Mark G. , Fletcher Sophie , Richeldi Luca
Published: December 2013

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic fibrotic lung disease with increasing incidence; the median survival is only 35 months and as yet no therapy has been proven to prolong survival. Recent unexpected randomised controlled trial (RCT) results and the conflicting evaluations of drug efficacy by regulatory agencies when considering the approval of pirfenidone have emphasised that we remain in the first stages of both our understanding of disease-relevant therapeutic targets and in our ability to investigate these putative targets with well-designed RCT. Three phase III trials are, however, anticipated to report results in 2014 and there is cautious optimism that we may be entering an era of mechanism-based anti-fibrotic therapies proven by large RCT to modify disease progression. We must now address how to practically translate these therapies safely and with maximal efficacy from a homogenous RCT population to the ‘real-life' heterogeneous population of patients with IPF. The role of a formal multi-disciplinary team meeting in a specialist centre with expertise in IPF is key to this. New methodological and ethical research challenges will arise as we enter an era of potential combination therapy; standardized, robust RCT design will be central to meeting these challenges if we are to enable ongoing progress in our aim of increasing both the length and quality of life of patients with IPF.
O diálogo criativo entre o compositor da música de cena e o encenador contemporâneo à luz de uma macro-harmonia
Authors: Amalfi Marcello
Published: December 2013

O objetivo da pesquisa é identificar e propor caminhos para aprimorar o diálogo criativo entre o compositor da música de cena e o encenador dentro da realização teatral. Partiremos da premissa de que a música de cena contemporânea é constituída não somente pelos sons, mas também pelas imagens, ideias e demais elementos da encenação e que, por isso, demanda uma forma de análise atualizada, para verificar se a hipótese de uma macro-harmonia - a ideia de considerar a música como um dos elementos integrantes e modificadores da encenação ao mesmo tempo em que é também integrada e modificada por esta - constitui-se como uma possibilidade analítica e, consequentemente, se ela pode representar um possível campo, no qual o compositor e o encenador possam dialogar durante o processo de criação teatral. Este artigo tem como escopo apenas uma parte da pesquisa em andamento: a hipótese da macro-harmonia.
Um corpo sincopado: uma discussão sobre a influência do samba no trabalho do ator Grande Otelo no Teatro de Revista Brasileiro
Authors: Brito Deise
Published: December 2013

A proposta é apresentar o destaque do ator Grande Otelo no teatro de revista nas décadas de 1930 e 1940, abordando especificamente a sua reconstrução como artista desse gênero no Rio de Janeiro, as suas interpretações de tipos relacionados ao homem negro brasileiro, assim como a utilização do samba como seu material de trabalho
Gesto e Gestus: contribuições para teoria e prática do gesto em cena
Authors: Silva Carlos Alberto
Published: December 2013

A pesquisa propõe pautar gesto como operador cênico tendo como contraposição movimento e ação. Para alargar os referenciais teóricos de praxe nas artes cênicas, busca interlocução com outras áreas, em particular com os estudos da gestualidade. O intuito é verificar se a proposição pode ser um diferencial em processos formativos e criativos. O caminho para tanto implica exame bibliográfico sobre poéticas teatrais estabelecidas, estudo de caso, epistemologia dos saberes profissionais e performance.