bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Doping in sport and exercise: anabolic, ergogenic, health and clinical issues
Authors: Bird Stephen R , Goebel Catrin , Burke Louise M , Greaves Ronda F
Published: September 2015

The use of doping agents is evident within competitive sport in senior and junior age groups, where they are taken by non-elite as well as elite participants. They are also taken in non-sporting contexts by individuals seeking to ‘improve’ their physique through an increase in muscle and/or decrease in fat mass. While attaining accurate data on the prevalence of their use has limitations, studies suggest the illicit use of doping agents by athletes and non-athletes may be 1–5% in the population and greater than 50% in some groups; with the prevalence being higher in males. There is conclusive evidence that some doping agents are anabolic and ergogenic. There is also evidence that the use of doping agents such as anabolic androgenic steroids, growth hormone and other anabolic agents, erythropoietin and stimulants conveys considerable health risks that include, but are not limited to: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, mental health issues, virilisation in females and the suppression of naturally produced androgens in males. This review will outline the anabolic, ergogenic and health impacts of selected doping agents and methods that may be used in both the sporting and physique development contexts. It also provides a brief tabulated overview of the history of doping and how doping agents may impact upon the analyses of clinical samples.
Sex-dependent alterations in resting-state cerebral blood flow, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and their coupling relationship in schizophrenia
Authors: Ma Xiaomei , Wang Di , Zhou Yujing , Zhuo Chuanjun , Qin Wen , Zhu Jiajia , Yu Chunshui
Published: September 2015

Objective:

We aimed to investigate sex-dependent alterations in resting-state relative cerebral blood flow, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and relative cerebral blood flow–amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations coupling in patients with schizophrenia.

Method:

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and three-dimensional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling imaging were performed to obtain resting-state amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and relative cerebral blood flow in 95 schizophrenia patients and 99 healthy controls. Sex differences in relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations were compared in both groups. Diagnostic group differences in relative cerebral blood flow, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and relative cerebral blood flow–amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations coupling were compared in male and female subjects, respectively.

Results:

In both healthy controls and schizophrenia patients, the males had higher relative cerebral blood flow in anterior brain regions and lower relative cerebral blood flow in posterior brain regions than did the females. Compared with multiple regions exhibiting sex differences in relative cerebral blood flow, only the left middle frontal gyrus had a significant sex difference in amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations. In the females, schizophrenia patients exhibited increased relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the basal ganglia, thalamus and hippocampus and reduced relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the frontal, parietal and occipital regions compared with those of healthy controls. However, there were fewer brain regions with diagnostic group differences in the males than in the females. Brain regions with diagnostic group differences in relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations only partially overlapped. Only the female patients exhibited increased relative cerebral blood flow–amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations couplings compared with those of healthy females.

Conclusion:

The alterations in the relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in schizophrenia are sex-specific, which should be considered in future neuroimaging studies. The relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations have different sensitivity in detecting changes in neuronal activity in schizophrenia and can provide complementary information.
Performance evaluation of redundant OPC UA architecture for process control
Authors: Cupek Rafal , Folkert Kamil , Fojcik Marcin , Klopot Tomasz , Polaków Grzegorz
Published: September 2015

Classical control applications with a centralized logic and distributed input/output system are being replaced by dynamic environments of cooperating components. Thus, the OPC (Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control) UA (Unified Architecture) is becoming more popular, because the OPC Data Access substandard is not well suited for distributed systems. Moreover, in many production systems, redundant data servers are preferred, for financial and legal reasons. Providing performance evaluation gives an estimate of the time required (and data samples lost) to switch to a backup data source for redundant OPC UA architecture, depending on the failure detection method, number of variables and redundancy mode.
Modified Volterra model-based non-linear model predictive control of IC engines with real-time simulations
Authors: Shi Yiran , Yu Ding-Li , Tian Yantao , Shi Yaowu
Published: September 2015

Modelling of non-linear dynamics of an air manifold and fuel injection in an internal combustion (IC) engine is investigated in this paper using the Volterra series model. Volterra model-based non-linear model predictive control (NMPC) is then developed to regulate the air–fuel ratio (AFR) at the stoichiometric value. Due to the significant difference between the time constants of the air manifold dynamics and fuel injection dynamics, the traditional Volterra model is unable to achieve a proper compromise between model accuracy and complexity. A novel method is therefore developed in this paper by using different sampling periods, to reduce the input terms significantly while maintaining the accuracy of the model. The developed NMPC system is applied to a widely used IC engine benchmark, the mean value engine model. The performance of the controlled engine under real-time simulation in the environment of dSPACE was evaluated. The simulation results show a significant improvement of the controlled performance compared with a feed-forward plus PI feedback control.
Iconic Gestures Facilitate Discourse Comprehension in Individuals With Superior Immediate Memory for Body Configurations
Authors: Wu Ying Choon , Coulson Seana
Published: September 2015

To understand a speaker’s gestures, people may draw on kinesthetic working memory (KWM)—a system for temporarily remembering body movements. The present study explored whether sensitivity to gesture meaning was related to differences in KWM capacity. KWM was evaluated through sequences of novel movements that participants viewed and reproduced with their own bodies. Gesture sensitivity was assessed through a priming paradigm. Participants judged whether multimodal utterances containing congruent, incongruent, or no gestures were related to subsequent picture probes depicting the referents of those utterances. Individuals with low KWM were primarily inhibited by incongruent speech-gesture primes, whereas those with high KWM showed facilitation—that is, they were able to identify picture probes more quickly when preceded by congruent speech and gestures than by speech alone. Group differences were most apparent for discourse with weakly congruent speech and gestures. Overall, speech-gesture congruency effects were positively correlated with KWM abilities, which may help listeners match spatial properties of gestures to concepts evoked by speech.
The Eloquent Language: Hindustani in 1940s Indian Cinema
Authors: Lunn David
Published: September 2015

The Hindi–Urdu debate that raged in pre-independence India was to find a new medium for articulation in the arrival of the talkies—or sound in cinema—in the 1930s. Yet the inclusive register of language most commonly employed in films—both historically and currently—suggests that cinema largely sidestepped the vitriol and bright-line divisions that characterized the literary and publishing worlds. This article investigates some of the linguistic strategies employed by scriptwriters, lyricists, and producers in Hindi–Urdu–Hindustani cinema of the 1940s. It examines scripts, lyrics, and poetry to explore the (de-)linking of linguistic and religious or class identities; the relationship between poetry and filmic lyrics in the person of the poet-lyricist and in the texture of their presentation; and the potential and limits of this oral/aural medium in the context of its written paratexts. Ultimately, it suggests that cinema afforded an inclusivity with respect to language, allowing for a “crystallization” of filmi Hindustani, though this was far from a foreordained process.
Meena Shorey: The Droll Queen of Partition
Authors: Siddique Salma
Published: September 2015

This article is a star study of actress Meena Shorey, whose career navigated the tortuous itinerary of a divisive decolonization, travelling amongst cities and nations, identities and communities, and refugees and citizens. Becoming famous as the “droll queen,” Meena appeared in a number of romantic comedies in post-Partition Bombay, which were directed by her husband and refugee filmmaker Roop K. Shorey, and loosely modeled on the Hollywood screwball. With unconventional gender dynamics and Meena as the ultimate star of these comedies, I argue that the Shorey films were sublime renderings of Partition social relations fissured along community and gender. Ek Thi Ladki (1949), in particular, is a Partition screwball that carries the historic imprint through a cynical humor, the nostalgia for Lahore and the reorientations of national perspectives. As the interfaith romance and marriage between a Muslim Meena and a Hindu Roop constituted a utopian alliance that informed the circulation of these films, it also served as a discursive site for communal and national tensions. Using archival sources accessed in both India and Pakistan, including Meena’s memoir, the article recovers the productive cosmopolitanism that characterized the short-lived Meena–Roop collaboration, which ended with the actress’s migration to Pakistan.
Predicting the Probability of Default for Municipal Water Utilities in Indonesia
Authors: Wibowo Andreas , Alfen Hans Wilhelm
Published: September 2015

We developed a model to predict the probability that Indonesian municipal water utilities would default on their payments to the central government. This model was based on 126 real cases (57 non-default and 69 default cases). We used two indicators, financial strength and technical efficiency. The former was based on linear combinations of operating ratio, cash ratio, overhead-to-revenue ratio, operation–maintenance cost recovery ratio, and solvency; the latter was based on linear combinations of service coverage, production efficiency, operating hours, and ratio of staff to 1,000 connections. Our logistic-regression-based model was accurate in classifying 85% of cases correctly (Type I error = 13.0%, Type II error = 17.5%). Furthermore, the regression coefficients indicate that a one-unit increase in the financial strength score and the technical efficiency score for a water utility could reduce the odds of default by 81.4% and 41.4%, respectively.
Shared Attention
Authors: Shteynberg Garriy
Published: September 2015

Shared attention is extremely common. In stadiums, public squares, and private living rooms, people attend to the world with others. Humans do so across all sensory modalities—sharing the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and textures of everyday life with one another. The potential for attending with others has grown considerably with the emergence of mass media technologies, which allow for the sharing of attention in the absence of physical co-presence. In the last several years, studies have begun to outline the conditions under which attending together is consequential for human memory, motivation, judgment, emotion, and behavior. Here, I advance a psychological theory of shared attention, defining its properties as a mental state and outlining its cognitive, affective, and behavioral consequences. I review empirical findings that are uniquely predicted by shared-attention theory and discuss the possibility of integrating shared-attention, social-facilitation, and social-loafing perspectives. Finally, I reflect on what shared-attention theory implies for living in the digital world.
Video Games Do Indeed Influence Children and Adolescents’ Aggression, Prosocial Behavior, and Academic Performance
Authors: Boxer Paul , Groves Christopher L. , Docherty Meagan
Published: September 2015

Psychological scientists have long sought to determine the relative impact of environmental influences over development and behavior in comparison with the impact of personal, dispositional, or genetic influences. This has included significant interest in the role played by media in children’s development with a good deal of emphasis on how violent media spark and shape aggressive behavior in children and adolescents. Despite a variety of methodological weaknesses in his meta-analysis, Ferguson (2015, this issue) presents evidence to support the positive association between violent media consumption and a number of poor developmental outcomes. In this Commentary we discuss this meta-analytic work and how it fits into a broader understanding of human development.
Why Forget? On the Adaptive Value of Memory Loss
Authors: Nørby Simon
Published: September 2015

Is forgetting mostly a positive force in human life? On the surface, this seems to not be the case, and people often associate memory loss with frustration in their everyday lives. Yet, forgetting does not have exclusively negative consequences; it also serves valuable, indeed vital, functions. In this article, I review and reflect on evidence from various areas of research, and I argue that forgetting serves at least three broad purposes. First, it is part of emotion regulation, and it promotes subjective well-being by limiting access to negative memories and by reducing unpleasant affect. Forgetting thereby allows for positivity and painlessness. Second, it is involved in knowledge acquisition, and it provides a basis for obtaining semantic and procedural knowledge by allowing for abstraction and automatization. Third, forgetting is part of context attunement, and it orients information processing for the present and the future by facilitating environmental sensitivity and by ensuring that knowledge is current, which enables timeliness and updating. Overall, I suggest that forgetting helps people to be happy, well-structured, and context sensitive, and thereby that it serves fundamentally adaptive functions.
How I treat posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders
Authors: Dierickx Daan , Tousseyn Thomas , Gheysens Olivier
Published: September 2015

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a potentially fatal disorder arising after solid organ transplant (SOT) or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Iatrogenically impaired immune surveillance and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) primary infection/reactivation are key factors in the pathogenesis. However, current knowledge on all aspects of PTLD is limited due to its rarity, morphologic heterogeneity, and the lack of prospective trials. Furthermore, the broad spectrum of underlying immune disorders and the type of graft represent important confounding factors. Despite these limitations, several reviews have been written aimed at offering a guide for pathologists and clinicians in diagnosing and treating PTLD. Rather than providing another classical review on PTLD, this “How I Treat” article, based on 2 case reports, focuses on specific challenges, different perspectives, and novel insights regarding the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of PTLD. These challenges include the wide variety of PTLD presentation (making treatment optimization difficult), the impact of EBV on pathogenesis and clinical behavior, and the controversial treatment of Burkitt lymphoma (BL)-PTLD.
Progressive ventilation inhomogeneity in infants with cystic fibrosis after pulmonary infection
Authors: Simpson Shannon J. , Ranganathan Sarath , Park Judy , Turkovic Lidija , Robins-Browne Roy M. , Skoric Billy , Ramsey Kathryn A. , Rosenow Tim , Banton Georgia L. , Berry Luke , Stick Stephen M. , Hall Graham L.
Published: September 2015

Measures of ventilation distribution are promising for monitoring early lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF). This study describes the cross-sectional and longitudinal impacts of pulmonary inflammation and infection on ventilation homogeneity in infants with CF.

Infants diagnosed with CF underwent multiple breath washout (MBW) testing and bronchoalveolar lavage at three time points during the first 2 years of life.

Measures were obtained for 108 infants on 156 occasions. Infants with a significant pulmonary infection at the time of MBW showed increases in lung clearance index (LCI) of 0.400 units (95% CI 0.150–0.648; p=0.002). The impact was long lasting, with previous pulmonary infection leading to increased ventilation inhomogeneity over time compared to those who remained free of infection (p<0.05). Infection withHaemophilus influenzaewas particularly detrimental to the longitudinal lung function in young children with CF where LCI was increased by 1.069 units for each year of life (95% CI 0.484–1.612; p<0.001).

Pulmonary infection during the first year of life is detrimental to later lung function. Therefore, strategies aimed at prevention, surveillance and eradication of pulmonary pathogens are paramount to preserve lung function in infants with CF.
Wolbachia pseudogenes and low prevalence infections in tropical but not temperate Australian tephritid fruit flies: manifestations of lateral gene transfer and endosymbiont spillover?
Authors: Morrow Jennifer L. , Frommer Marianne , Royer Jane E. , Shearman Deborah C. A. , Riegler Markus
Published: September 2015

Background

Maternally inheritedWolbachiabacteria infect many insect species. They can also be transferred horizontally into uninfected host lineages. AWolbachiaspillover from an infected source population must occur prior to the establishment of heritable infections, but this spillover may be transient. In a previous study of tephritid fruit fly species of tropical Australia we detected a high incidence of identicalWolbachiastrains in several species as well asWolbachiapseudogenes. Here, we have investigated this further by analysing field specimens of 24 species collected along a 3,000 km climate gradient of eastern Australia.

Results

Wolbachiasequences were detected in individuals of nine of the 24 (37 %) species. Seven (29 %) species displayed four distinctWolbachiastrains based on characterisation of full multi locus sequencing (MLST) profiles; the strains occurred as single and double infections in a small number of individuals (2–17 %). For the two remaining species all individuals had incomplete MLST profiles andWolbachiapseudogenes that may be indicative of lateral gene transfer into host genomes. The detection ofWolbachiawas restricted to northern Australia, including in five species that only occur in the tropics. Within the more widely distributedBactrocera tryoniandBactrocera neohumeralis,Wolbachiaalso only occurred in the north, and was not linked to any particular mitochondrial haplotypes.

Conclusions

The presence ofWolbachiapseudogenes at high prevalence in two species in absence of complete MLST profiles may represent footprints of historic infections that have been lost. The detection of identical low prevalence strains in a small number of individuals of seven species may question their role as reproductive manipulator and their vertical inheritance. Instead, the findings may be indicative of transient infections that result from spillover events from a yet unknown source. These spillover events appear to be restricted to northern Australia, without proliferation in host lineages further south. Our study highlights that tropical fruit fly communities containWolbachiapseudogenes and may be exposed to frequent horizontalWolbachiatransfer. It also emphasises that global estimates ofWolbachiafrequencies may need to consider lateral gene transfer andWolbachiaspillover that may be regionally restricted, transient and not inherited.
Cerebrospinal fluid VILIP-1 and YKL-40, candidate biomarkers to diagnose, predict and monitor Alzheimer’s disease in a memory clinic cohort
Authors: Kester Maartje I. , Teunissen Charlotte E. , Sutphen Courtney , Herries Elizabeth M. , Ladenson Jack H. , Xiong Chengjie , Scheltens Philip , van der Flier Wiesje M. , Morris John C. , Holtzman David M. , Fagan Anne M.
Published: September 2015

Introduction

We examined the utility of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins, Chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1 or YKL-40), a putative marker of inflammation, and Visinin-like protein-1 (VILIP-1), a marker for neuronal injury, for diagnostic classification and monitoring of disease progression in a memory clinic cohort.

Methods

CSF levels of YKL-40 and VILIP-1 were measured in 37 cognitively normal, 61 Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and 65 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients from the memory clinic-based Amsterdam Dementia Cohort who underwent two lumbar punctures, with minimum interval of 6 months and a mean(SE) interval of 2.0(0.1) years. Mean(SE) cognitive follow-up was 3.8 (0.2) years. ANOVA was used to compare baseline differences of log-transformed CSF measures. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate disease progression as a function of CSF tertiles. Linear mixed models were used to evaluate longitudinal change over time. All analyses were sex and age adjusted.

Results

Baseline levels of YKL-40, but not VILIP-1, were higher in MCI and AD patients compared to cognitively normal individuals (mean (SE) pg/mL, 304 (16) and 288 (12) vs. 231 (16), p = 0.03 and p = 0.006). Baseline levels of both YKL-40 and VILIP-1 in MCI predicted progression to AD (HR 95 % CI = 3.0 (1.1–7.9) and 4.4 (1.5–13.0), respectively, for highest vs. lowest tertile). YKL-40 increased longitudinally in patients with MCI and AD (mean (SE) pg/mL per year, 8.9 (3.0) and 7.1 (3.1), respectively), but not in cognitively normal individuals, whereas levels of VILIP-1 increased only in MCI (mean (SE), 10.7 (2.6) pg/mL per year).

Conclusions

CSF levels of YKL-40 may have utility for discriminating between cognitively normal individuals and patients with MCI or AD. Increased levels of both YKL-40 and VILIP-1 may be associated with disease progression. These CSF biomarkers should be considered for future evaluation in the characterization of the natural history of AD.
A discussion on best proximity point and coupled best proximity point in partially ordered metric spaces
Authors: Choudhury Binayak S , Metiya Nikhilesh , Postolache Mihai , Konar Pulak
Published: September 2015

In this paper we establish some best proximity point results using generalized weak contractions with discontinuous control functions. The theorems are established in metric spaces with a partial order. We view the main problem in the paper as a problem of finding an optimal approximate solution of a fixed point equation. We also discuss several corollaries and give an illustrative example. We apply our result to obtain some coupled best proximity point results.
Purinergic signaling during macrophage differentiation results in M2 alternative activated macrophages
Authors: Barberá-Cremades Maria , Baroja-Mazo Alberto , Pelegrín Pablo
Published: September 2015

Macrophages represent a highly heterogenic cell population of the innate immune system, with important roles in the initiation and resolution of the inflammatory response. Purinergic signaling regulates both M1 and M2 macrophage function at different levels by controlling the secretion of cytokines, phagocytosis, and the production of reactive oxygen species. We found that extracellular nucleotides arrest macrophage differentiation from bone marrow precursors via adenosine and P2 receptors. This results in a mature macrophage with increased expression of M2, but not M1, genes. Similar to adenosine and ATP, macrophage growth arrested with LPS treatment resulted in an increase of the M2-related marker Ym1. Recombinant Ym1 was able to affect macrophage proliferation and could, potentially, be involved in the arrest of macrophage growth during hematopoiesis.
Endogenously produced TNF-α contributes to the expression of CXCL10/IP-10 in IFN-λ3-activated plasmacytoid dendritic cells
Authors: Finotti Giulia , Tamassia Nicola , Calzetti Federica , Fattovich Giovanna , Cassatella Marco A
Published: September 2015

The interplay between IFN-λs and dendritic cells is becoming increasingly relevant, particularly in light of their key role in inducing the antiviral state, including in hepatitis C virus infection. In this work, we have analyzed extensively how human plasmacytoid dendritic cells respond to IFN-λ3. We report that plasmacytoid dendritic cells incubated with IFN-λ3 prolong their survival; alter their expression pattern of surface HLA-DRα, CD123, CD86, and CD303; and time dependently produce IFN-α, CXCL10/IFN-γ-induced protein 10, and even modest quantities of TNF-α. Nevertheless, endogenously produced TNF-α, but not IFN-α, was found to be essential for driving the expression of CXCL10/IFN-γ-induced protein 10 in IFN-λ3-treated plasmacytoid dendritic cells, as revealed by neutralizing experiments by use of adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab. We also observed that based on the kinetics and levels of IFN-α and CXCL10/IFN-γ-induced protein 10 produced by their IFN-λ3-treated plasmacytoid dendritic cells, healthy donors could be categorized into 2 and 3 groups, respectively. In particular, we identified a group of donors whose plasmacytoid dendritic cells produced modest quantities of CXCL10/IFN-γ-induced protein 10; another one whose plasmacytoid dendritic cells produced elevated CXCL10/IFN-γ-induced protein 10 levels, already after 18 h, declining thereafter; and a 3rd group characterized by plasmacytoid dendritic cells releasing very high CXCL10/IFN-γ-induced protein 10 levels after 42 h only. Finally, we report that in plasmacytoid dendritic cells, equivalent concentrations of IFN-λ3 and IFN-λ1 promote survival, antigen modulation, and cytokine production in a comparable manner and without acting additively/synergistically. Altogether, data not only extend the knowledge on the biologic effects that IFN-λs exert on plasmacytoid dendritic cells but also add novel light to the networking between IFN-λs and plasmacytoid dendritic cells in fighting viral diseases.
Exploring the quantitative nature of empathy, systemising and
autistic traits using factor mixture modelling
Authors: Grove Rachel , Baillie Andrew , Allison Carrie , Baron-Cohen Simon , Hoekstra Rosa A.
Published: September 2015

Background

Autism research has previously focused on either identifying a latent
dimension or searching for subgroups. Research assessing the concurrently
categorical and dimensional nature of autism is needed.

Aims

To investigate the latent structure of autism and identify meaningful
subgroups in a sample spanning the full spectrum of genetic
vulnerability.

Method

Factor mixture models were applied to data on empathy, systemising and
autistic traits from individuals on the autism spectrum, parents and
general population controls.

Results

A two-factor three-class model was identified, with two factors measuring
empathy and systemising. Class one had high systemising and low empathy
scores and primarily consisted of individuals with autism. Mainly
comprising controls and parents, class three displayed high empathy
scores and lower systemising scores, and class two showed balanced scores
on both measures of systemising and empathy.

Conclusions

Autism is best understood as a dimensional construct, but meaningful
subgroups can be identified based on empathy, systemising and autistic
traits.
Health-Related Quality of Life of Food-Insecure Ethnic Minority Patients With Cancer
Authors: Gany Francesca , Leng Jennifer , Ramirez Julia , Phillips Serena , Aragones Abraham , Roberts Nicole , Mujawar Mohammed Imran , Costas-Muñiz Rosario
Published: September 2015

Underserved racial/ethnic minority patients diagnosed with cancer are a vulnerable patient population, and at significant risk for inadequate food.
Improved Breast Cancer Care Quality Metrics After Implementation of a Standardized Tumor Board Documentation Template
Authors: Farrugia Daniel J. , Fischer Trevan D. , Delitto Daniel , Spiguel Lisa R.P. , Shaw Christiana M.
Published: September 2015

The addition of a documentation template to multidisciplinary breast cancer conferences resulted in increased recorded adherence rates to national guidelines.
Are Patients With Cancer Less Willing to Share Their Health Information? Privacy, Sensitivity, and Social Purpose
Authors: Grande David , Asch David A. , Wan Fei , Bradbury Angela R. , Jagsi Reshma , Mitra Nandita
Published: September 2015

Although conventional thinking suggests patients with cancer might be less willing to share their health information, the authors found that participants with cancer were more willing to share their inherited genetic information.
Variation in the Cost of Radiation Therapy Among Medicare Patients With Cancer
Authors: Paravati Anthony J. , Boero Isabel J. , Triplett Daniel P. , Hwang Lindsay , Matsuno Rayna K. , Xu Beibei , Mell Loren K. , Murphy James D.
Published: September 2015

Factors unrelated to the individual patient accounted for the majority of variation in the cost of radiation therapy, suggesting potential inefficiency in health care expenditure.
"But She’s a Thinker"
Authors: Katz Pamela
Published: September 2015

In “But She’s a Thinker,” Pamela Katz discusses the process by which she and director Margarethe von Trotta chose the Eichmann years as the frame for their dramatic film about Hannah Arendt. After years of research and a great deal of thought, they believed this was the best way to portray a woman whose life was defined and derailed by exile.
Arendt’s Guidelines for a Fictionalized Cinematic Portrait
Authors: Azoulay Ariella
Published: September 2015

More than once Arendt denied being a public figure and added that she did not entertain any “ambition to become one.” This poses a challenge to any filmmaker seeking to portray her character, as Margarethe von Trotta found when she contradicted Arendt’s self-perception to inquire who was this public figure at the center of one of the most important political-intellectual controversies of the twentieth century. Von Trotta’s cinematic inquiry is in some ways justified by Arendt’s insights into how the who is revealed to others. Hannah Arendt gives us an opportunity to follow Arendt while thinking and to reconfigure this activity with or against Arendt. The challenge of depicting thinking is one that Pamela Katz, the screenwriter, and Margarethe von Trotta, the director, confronted in the making of the film. Had they followed Arendt’s own arguments about herself and about the invisibility of thinking, the making of a film about her would have amounted to a dark screen most of the time. Cinematic portrayal enhances the intrusive quality inherent in human relationships: being with others is always also watching and observing them, as well as memorizing how they are revealed to us, which is often different from how they intend to appear.
OXPHOS xenobiotics alter adipogenic differentiation at concentrations found in human blood
Authors: Llobet Laura , Toivonen Janne M. , Montoya Julio , Ruiz-Pesini Eduardo , López-Gallardo Ester
Published: September 2015

Adipogenesis is accompanied by differentiation of adipose tissue-derived stem cells to adipocytes. As a part of this differentiation, biogenesis of the oxidative phosphorylation system occurs. Many chemical compounds used in medicine, agriculture, or other human activities, affect the oxidative phosphorylation function. Therefore, these xenobiotics could alter adipogenesis. We have analyzed the effects on adipocyte differentiation of some xenobiotics that act on the oxidative phosphorylation system. The tested concentrations have been previously reported in human blood. Our results show that pharmaceutical drugs that decrease mitochondrial DNA replication, such as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, or inhibitors of mitochondrial protein synthesis, like ribosomal antibiotics, diminish adipocyte differentiation and leptin secretion. On the other hand, the environmental chemical pollutant tributyltin chloride, inhibiting the ATP synthase of the oxidative phosphorylation system, can promote adipocyte differentiation and leptin secretion, leading to obesity and metabolic syndrome as the obesogen hypothesis postulates.
Infrared Multiple Photon Depletion of the Gas-phase Proton-bound Cytosine Dimer
Authors: Kwon Seulki , Oh Han Bin , Han Sang Yun
Published: September 2015

Herein, we report the infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) depletion spectroscopy results for an isolated protonated dimer of cytosine. Interestingly, in contrast to the previous IRMPD action spectroscopy results,14 strong and narrow IR absorptions at 2903 and 3455 cm−1 clearly appeared, where N–H stretching vibrations in the intermolecular hydrogen bonds, –HN–H···O=C–, were predicted. The results show that the protonated dimer of cytosine in the gas phase is indeed triply bound and possesses three intermolecular hydrogen bonds, of which one is ionic. In addition, the appearance of intermolecular hydrogen bonding may offer further opportunities to study the base pairing interactions involved in the protonated dimers of nucleic acid bases.
Selective Transport of Mercury(II) Ions across Supported Liquid Membrane with Thymine Derivative as Carrier
Authors: Kurokawa Tatsuo , Igawa Manabu , Ono Akira , Okamoto Itaru
Published: September 2015

We describe a new highly selective supported liquid membrane (SLM) system made of a polypropylene flat sheet with a thymine derivative in kerosene as the carrier, for the selective transport of mercury ion. When the carrier existed in the membrane, only mercury ions were selectively transported. This SLM selectively separated mercury ions from a mixed solution of mercury and heavy metal ions. The hydrogen ion concentration in the receiving phase is a dominant factor in the mercury ion transport across the SLM.
Fast Synthesis of K0.5Na0.5NbO3 Powders at Low Temperatures by Microwave Hydrothermal Method
Authors: Chen Liangping , Qiu Guibo , Peng Ben , Guo Min , Zhang Mei
Published: September 2015

K0.5Na0.5NbO3 powders were rapidly synthesized by microwave hydrothermal method. The effects of hydrothermal temperature, pressure, and reaction time on the phase compositions and micromorphology of the as-prepared powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction and SEM. The results showed that cubic-like KNN powders with high purity and perfect crystallinity were successfully synthesized at a low temperature (170 °C) for a short time (120 min) by microwave hydrothermal process.
Prediction of Adducts on Positive Mode Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry: Proton/Sodium Selectivity in Methanol Solutions
Authors: Sugimura Natsuhiko , Furuya Asami , Yatsu Takahiro , Shibue Toshimichi
Published: September 2015

We used positive mode electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry to examine 540 in-house high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) samples that formed an adducted positive ion. Of the 540 samples, the sodium adduct ([M + Na]+) was detected in 480 samples, and the protonated molecule ([M + H]+) was detected in 92 samples; both [M + Na]+ and [M + H]+ were detected in 32 samples. No other adduct ions were predominant. The selectivities of these adducts were evaluated by a two-dimensional plot using topological polar surface area (tPSA) and molecular weight. Two predominant trends were observed: [M + H]+ converged around tPSA (Å2) = 20 and molecular weight = 250, and the selectivity for [M + Na]+ correlated with the tPSA value. These observations were found to be related to the elemental composition of the sample compounds. From the results obtained by positive mode ESI mass spectroscopy under our experimental conditions, predominant trends were observed with respect to adduct selectivity: compounds containing oxygen atom(s) form [M + Na]+, and compounds containing nitrogen but not oxygen atom(s) form [M + H]+. Based on these trends, we developed the “Nitrogen–Oxygen rule” (NO rule) to predict the adduct formed by a given compound on positive mode ESI. This NO rule provides a guideline to estimate elemental composition using ESI-HRMS with methanol as mobile phase.
Correcting Multivariate Calibration Model for near Infrared Spectral Analysis without Using Standard Samples
Authors: Li Xiaoyong , Cai Wensheng , Shao Xueguang
Published: September 2015

Model transfer is essential for practical applications of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy because differences may exist between the spectra measured using different instruments. For correcting the calibration models in cases where standard samples are unavailable, a method is proposed based on the relationship between the prediction error and the spectral difference of the instruments. In this method, a partial least squares (PLS) model, named the primary model, was constructed using the calibration spectra measured with a primary instrument, and the model was then used to predict the spectra from a secondary instrument. Error may arise in the prediction and the predicted error is obviously caused by the difference between the spectra of the two instruments. Assuming that there is a linear relationship between the spectral difference and the prediction error, a correction PLS model can be built to predict the error using the spectral difference. The predicted error obtained with the correction model can be used to correct the error of the primary model. Two NIR datasets, of pharmaceutical tablets and tobacco leaf samples, measured with two instruments were used to test the performance of the method. The results show that, for both datasets, the prediction error for the spectra of the secondary instrument of the primary model can be satisfactorily corrected.
Integrated Optimization of Rolling Stock Rotations for Intercity Railways
Authors: Borndörfer Ralf , Reuther Markus , Schlechte Thomas , Waas Kerstin , Weider Steffen
Published: September 2015

This paper proposes a highly integrated solution approach for rolling stock planning problems in the context of long distance passenger traffic between cities. The main contributions are a generic hypergraph-based mixed-integer programming model for the considered rolling stock rotation problem and an integrated algorithm for its solution. The newly developed algorithm is able to handle a large spectrum of industrial railway requirements, such as vehicle composition, maintenance constraints, infrastructure capacities, and regularity aspects. We show that our approach has the power to produce rolling stock rotations that can be implemented in practice. In this way, the rolling stock rotations at the largest German long distance operator Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr AG could be optimized by an automated system utilizing advanced mathematical programming techniques.
Demonstration of the Pre–Emergency Use Authorization Path Using 3 Minor Groove Binder–Hydrolysis Probe Assays to Detect Escherichia coli O104:H4
Authors: Hartman Laurie J , Heinrich Megan L , Zovanyi Ashley M , Ingram Michael F , Hobson J Peyton , Kulesh David A , Craw Philip D , Jaissle James G , Norwood David A , Minogue Timothy D
Published: September 2015

BACKGROUND

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have collaboratively worked on a pre–Emergency Use Authorization (pre-EUA) process for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) devices, using FDA's regulatory flexibilities under the EUA authorities. The pre-EUA process enables FDA review of data in anticipation of a request for an EUA, advancing US government public health emergency preparedness efforts.

METHODS

The IVD device developed to detect Escherichia coli O104:H4, for which an EUA has not been issued, serves as an example to illustrate that process. Specifically, DoD designed real-time PCR assays to target the virulent E. coli strain O104:H4 (etiological agent of the 2011 German outbreak) including: fliC (flagellin), Agg3C (AAF), and rfb (wbwC) on the basis of the published sequences.

RESULTS

After development and optimization of these 3 specific assays, a defined protocol was followed to determine and document the sensitivity and specificity of each assay analytically.

CONCLUSIONS

FDA reviewed these data and returned commentary on additional required experiments to complete the pre-EUA process and expedite the use of the device should there be an emergency need for an IVD device to detect this virulent E. coli strain before such a test is cleared by FDA.
Identity and apparel consumption among Puerto Rican consumers
Authors: Martínez-Novoa Lorraine M. , Hodges Nancy N.
Published: September 2015

The purpose of this study was to explore the meanings that Puerto Ricans assign to the consumption of apparel products and how consumption is important to their identities. Puerto Ricans are the second-largest Hispanic/Latino subgroup in the United States. Research on Hispanics/Latinos demonstrate that the presence of this group is strengthening in all sectors of the US economy, yet little is known about their consumption practices, particularly the different consumer groups comprising the overall market. An interpretive approach to data collection and interpretation was employed to explore the meanings associated to the consumption of apparel products among a specific group of Hispanic/Latino consumers: Puerto Ricans. A total of 22 in-depth interviews were conducted with Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico. Data analysis revealed that Puerto Rican consumers are strongly influenced by sociocultural values when it comes to the consumption of apparel products as these products are used as tools to convey important meanings related to identity. Based on the findings, theoretical implications and future research avenues are discussed.
From ribavirin to NAD analogues and back to ribavirin in search for anticancer agents
Authors: Pankiewicz Krzysztof W. , Felczak Krzysztof
Published: September 2015

Ribavirin, a broad-spectrum antiviral agent is used in the clinic alone or in combination with other antivirals and/or interferons. Numerous structural analogues of ribavirin have been developed, among them tiazofurin, which is inactive against viruses but is a potent anticancer drug. Tiazofurin was found to inhibit nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) after metabolic conversion into tiazofurin adenine dinucleotide (TAD), which binds well but could not serve as IMPDH cofactor. TAD showed high selectivity against human IMPDH vs. other cellular dehydrogenases. Mycophenolic acid (MPA) was even more specific, binding at the cofactor-binding domain of IMPDH. Ribavirin adenine dinucleotide, however, did not show any significant inhibition at the enzymatic level. We synthesized numerous NAD analogues in which natural nicotinamide riboside was replaced by tiazofurin, MPA moiety, or benzamide riboside, and the adenosine moiety as well as the pyrophosphate linker were broadly modified. Some of these compounds were found to be low nanomolar inhibitors of the enzyme and sub-micromolar inhibitors of cancer cell line proliferation. The best were as potent as tyrosine kinase inhibitor gleevec heralded as a ‘magic bullet’ against chronic myelogenous leukemia. In recent years, ribavirin was rediscovered as a potential anticancer agent against number of tumors including leukemia. It was clearly established that its antitumor activity is related to the inhibition of an oncogene, the eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF4E).
Anti-hyperalgesic and anti-nociceptive potentials of standardized grape seed proanthocyanidin extract against CCI-induced neuropathic pain in rats
Authors: Kaur Gurmanpreet , Bedi Onkar , Sharma Nidhika , Singh Shamsher , Deshmukh Rahul , Kumar Puneet
Published: September 2015

Background: Neuropathic pain is associated with severe chronic sensory disturbances characterized by spontaneous pain, increased responsiveness to painful stimuli (hyperalgesia) and pain perceived in response to non-noxious stimuli (allodynia). Morphine is effective treatment for neuropathic pain but produces tolerance on chronic use. The present study was designed to explore the anti-nociceptive and anti-hyperalgesic effect of grape seed extract using sciatic nerve ligation-induced neuropathic pain in rats.

Methods: Chronic constructive injury (CCI) was performed under anesthesia, on one side leg exposed by making a skin incision, and chromic gut ligatures were tied loosely around the sciatic nerve at 1 mm intervals. The treatment with grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) was initiated on 7th day post-surgery and continued for next 14 days. Morphine (10 mg/kg, s.c.) alone and morphine in combination with GSPE (100 mg/kg, p.o.) were administered in CCI rats for 5 days starting from 7th day. On 3rd, 7th, 14th and 21st day, behavioral parameters (mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia) were assessed. Then the animals were killed on 22nd day and biochemical parameters [reduced glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation (LPO), catalase, nitrite, superoxide dismutase (SOD)] were assessed.

Results: Ligation of the sciatic nerve significantly induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia and induces oxidative stress (increase in LPO and nitrite) and decline of anti-oxidant enzyme levels (catalase, SOD, GSH) in sciatic nerve homogenate. GSPE (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) attenuated all the behavioural and biochemical parameters. Morphine also significantly reversed the symptoms of neuropathic pain but produced tolerance after 5 days. Further, co-treatment of GSPE (100 mg/kg) with morphine (10 mg/kg, s.c.) in CCI rats significantly reversed the morphine tolerance and enhanced its anti-hyperalgesic effect as compared to the morphine-alone-treated group.

Conclusions: In the present set of experiments, GSPE showed a significant anti-hyperalgesic and anti-nociceptive effect in rats.
Electro-optic Mach-Zehnder Interferometer based Optical Digital Magnitude Comparator and 1’s Complement Calculator
Authors: Kumar Ajay , Raghuwanshi Sanjeev Kumar
Published: September 2015

The optical switching activity is one of the most essential phenomena in the optical domain. The electro-optic effect-based switching phenomena are applicable to generate some effective combinational and sequential logic circuits. The processing of digital computational technique in the optical domain includes some considerable advantages of optical communication technology, e.g. immunity to electro-magnetic interferences, compact size, signal security, parallel computing and larger bandwidth. The paper describes some efficient technique to implement single bit magnitude comparator and 1’s complement calculator using the concepts of electro-optic effect. The proposed techniques are simulated on the MATLAB software. However, the suitability of the techniques is verified using the highly reliable Opti-BPM software. It is interesting to analyze the circuits in order to specify some optimized device parameter in order to optimize some performance affecting parameters, e.g. crosstalk, extinction ratio, signal losses through the curved and straight waveguide sections.