bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Isolation of Circulating Tumor Cells of Ovarian Cancer by Transferrin Immunolipid Magnetic Spheres and Its Preliminary Clinical Application
Authors: Zuo Li , Niu Wei , Li Anqi
Published: March 2019

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play an important role in cancer prognosis, treatment monitoring and metastasis diagnosis. However, due to the extremely low concentration of CTC in the peripheral blood, its isolation and enrichment are critical steps for early diagnosis. Herein, we used the transferrin modified lipid magnetic spheres for the isolation of ovarian cancer CTCs, and studied the relationship between the CTCs count and the clinical case parameters, prognosis of ovarian cancer. The result showed that no CTC was found in the peripheral blood of 30 patients with benign cysts, and 34 out of 46 patients with ovarian cancer were positive for CTC, with a positive rate of 73.9%. Analysis of the parameters of the clinical cases showed that the positive rate of CTC was related to the clinical stages, and that it was not significantly related to the age, histopathological types and pathological grades of patients. Of the 34 CTC-positive patients, 18 had progression-free survival, with a survival rate of 52.9%, and of the 11 CTC-negative patients, 9 had progression-free survival, with a survival rate of 81.8%. The results showed that the transferrin lipid magnetic spheres prepared in this study, could effectively isolate the CTCs in the peripheral blood of patients with ovarian cancer, that the level of CTC in ovarian cancer patients was related to its clinical stage, and that the progression-free survival of the patients with a high level of CTCs was relatively short. Therefore, this study shows that the transferrin lipid magnetic sphere can achieve effective isolation of ovarian cancer CTC, which can be used as an auxiliary diagnostic method in comprehensive diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Flutter Performance of the Emergency Bridge with New‐Type Cable‐Girder
Authors: Yang Lei , Shao Fei , Xu Qian , Jiang Ke-bin
Published: March 2019

Based on the proposed emergency bridge scheme, the flutter performance of the emergency bridge with the new‐type cable‐girder has been investigated through wind tunnel tests and numerical simulation analyses. Four aerodynamic optimization schemes have been developed in consideration of structure characteristics of the emergency bridge. The flutter performances of the aerodynamic optimization schemes have been investigated. The flutter derivatives of four aerodynamic optimization schemes have been analyzed. According to the results, the optimal scheme has been determined. Based on flutter theory of bridge, the differential equations of flutter of the emergency bridge with new‐type cable‐girder have been established. Iterative method has been used for solving the differential equations. The flutter analysis program has been compiled using the APDL language in ANSYS, and the bridge flutter critical wind speed of the optimal scheme has been determined by the program. The flutter analysis program has also been used to determine the bridge flutter critical wind speed of different wind‐resistance cable schemes. The results indicate that the bridge flutter critical wind speed of the original emergency bridge scheme is lower than the flutter checking wind speed. The aerodynamic combined measurements of central‐slotted and wind fairing are the optimal scheme, with the safety coefficients larger than 1.2 at the wind attack angles of −3°, 0°, and +3°. The bridge flutter critical wind speed of the optimal scheme has been determined using the flutter analysis program, and the numerical results agree well with the wind tunnel test results. The wind‐resistance cable scheme of 90° is the optimal wind cable scheme, and the bridge flutter critical wind speed increased 31.4%. However, in consideration of the convenience in construction and the effectiveness in erection, the scheme of wind‐resistance cable in the horizontal direction has been selected to be used in the emergency bridge with new‐type cable‐girder.
Effect of Propofol on the Production of Inflammatory Cytokines by Human Polarized Macrophages
Authors: Kochiyama Tsukasa , Li Xiaojia , Nakayama Hitoshi , Kage Madoka , Yamane Yui , Takamori Kenji , Iwabuchi Kazuhisa , Inada Eiichi
Published: March 2019

Macrophages are key immune system cells involved in inflammatory processes. Classically activated (M1) macrophages are characterized by strong antimicrobicidal properties, whereas alternatively activated (M2) macrophages are involved in wound healing. Severe inflammation can induce postoperative complications during the perioperative period. Invasive surgical procedures induce polarization to M1 macrophages and associated complications. As perioperative management, it is an important strategy to regulate polarization and functions of macrophages during inflammatory processes. Although propofol has been found to exhibit anti-inflammatory activities in monocytes and macrophages, it is unclear whether propofol regulates the functions of M1 and M2 macrophages during inflammatory processes. This study therefore investigated the effects of propofol on human macrophage polarization. During M1 polarization, propofol suppressed the production of IL-6 and IL-1β but did not affect TNF-α production. In contrast, propofol did not affect the gene expression of M2 markers, such as IL-10, TGF-β, and CD206, during M2 polarization. Propofol was similar to the GABAA agonist muscimol in inducing nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and inhibiting IL-6 and IL-1β, but not TNF-α, production. Knockdown of Nrf2 using siRNA significantly reduced the effect of propofol on IL-6 and IL-1β production. These results suggest that propofol prevents inflammatory responses during polarization of human M1 macrophages by suppressing the expression of IL-6 and IL-1β through the GABAA receptor and the Nrf2-mediated signal transduction pathway.
A Multi‐GPU Parallel Algorithm in Hypersonic Flow Computations
Authors: Lai Jianqi , Li Hua , Tian Zhengyu , Zhang Ye
Published: March 2019

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) plays an important role in the optimal design of aircraft and the analysis of complex flow mechanisms in the aerospace domain. The graphics processing unit (GPU) has a strong floating‐point operation capability and a high memory bandwidth in data parallelism, which brings great opportunities for CFD. A cell‐centred finite volume method is applied to solve three‐dimensional compressible Navier–Stokes equations on structured meshes with an upwind AUSM+UP numerical scheme for space discretization, and four‐stage Runge–Kutta method is used for time discretization. Compute unified device architecture (CUDA) is used as a parallel computing platform and programming model for GPUs, which reduces the complexity of programming. The main purpose of this paper is to design an extremely efficient multi‐GPU parallel algorithm based on MPI+CUDA to study the hypersonic flow characteristics. Solutions of hypersonic flow over an aerospace plane model are provided at different Mach numbers. The agreement between numerical computations and experimental measurements is favourable. Acceleration performance of the parallel platform is studied with single GPU, two GPUs, and four GPUs. For single GPU implementation, the speedup reaches 63 for the coarser mesh and 78 for the finest mesh. GPUs are better suited for compute‐intensive tasks than traditional CPUs. For multi‐GPU parallelization, the speedup of four GPUs reaches 77 for the coarser mesh and 147 for the finest mesh; this is far greater than the acceleration achieved by single GPU and two GPUs. It is prospective to apply the multi‐GPU parallel algorithm to hypersonic flow computations.
The Difference of Chemical Components and Biological Activities of the Raw Products slices and the Wine Steam-Processed Product from Cistanche deserticola
Authors: Zhang Ying , Wang Yuewu , Yang Song , Xiao Yunfeng , Guan Haibin , Yue Xin , Wang Xiaoqin , Li Xiangri
Published: March 2019

As a well-known Chinese herb medicine, the Cistanche deserticola has been used for the treatment of kidney deficiency syndrome in China for thousands of years. Both the raw product of Cistanche deserticola slices (RCD) and its Wine Steam-Processed Product (WSCD) are used clinically for different effects. In this study, the influences of steaming process with wine (SPW) from Cistanche deserticola on chemical compositions and biological effects were investigated. The principal component analysis (PCA) and quantitative analysis were used to study the differences of the chemical compositions. The effects of nourishing kidney were also investigated to compare the differences between the RCD and the WSCD. The PCA results indicated that the obvious separation was achieved in the RCD and WSCD. The results of quantitative analysis showed that the WSCD has higher amounts of total polysaccharides, total PhGs, isoacteoside, and osmanthuside B than RCD, while the content of 2′-acetylacteoside and acteoside decreased after the SPW. The comparison of RCD and WSCD on biological activities showed that both could restore the level of sex hormone in the model of kidney-yang deficiency and improve the antioxidant effect. The WSCD were much better in increasing the viscera weight of kidney and seminal vesicle. The results indicated that SPW changed its chemical components and enhanced its biological activities.
Attribute-Sentiment Pair Correlation Model Based on Online User Reviews
Authors: Fu Xiang Ling , Wu Ji , Chen Jinpeng , Liu Shaohui
Published: March 2019

With the popularization of Internet applications and the rapid development of e-commerce, online shopping has become a widespread and important pattern of consumption. Online user comments are an important data asset on e-commerce sites and have a great potential value for online users and merchants. However, accurate and effective extraction of the characteristics of products and users’ sentiment evaluation from a tremendous amount of comments is a significant challenge. Based on the concept of the LinLog energy model, this paper proposes an online review attribute-sentiment pair correlation model that evaluates user comments. After preprocessing the comment data of mobile phones and constructing an attribute dictionary, the proposed model conducts a clustering analysis of attributes and sentiment pairs to gain accurate assessment of attributes in order to explore potential information from user comments. Experiments conducted on one real-world dataset with comprehensive measurements verify the efficacy of the proposed model.
Nonperturbative Uncertainties on the Transverse Momentum Distribution of Electroweak Bosons and on the Determination of the W Boson Mass at the LHC
Authors: Bozzi Giuseppe , Signori Andrea
Published: March 2019

In this contribution we present an overview of recent results concerning the impact of a possible flavour dependence of the intrinsic quark transverse momentum on electroweak observables. In particular, we focus on the qT spectrum of electroweak gauge bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at the LHC and on the direct determination of the W boson mass. We show that these effects are comparable in size to other nonperturbative effects commonly included in phenomenological analyses and should thus be included in precise theoretical predictions for present and future hadron colliders.
An Areal Assessment of Subseafloor Carbon Cycling in Cold Seeps and Hydrate-Bearing Areas in the Northern South China Sea
Authors: Zhang Yanping , Luo Min , Hu Yu , Wang Hongbin , Chen Duofu
Published: March 2019

Gas hydrates, acting as a dynamic methane reservoir, store methane in the form of a solid phase under high-pressure and low-temperature conditions and release methane through the sediment column into seawater when they are decomposed. The seepage of methane-rich fluid (i.e., cold hydrocarbon seeps) fuels the chemosynthetic biota-inhabited surface sediments and represents the major pathway to transfer carbon from sediments to the water column. Generally, the major biogeochemical reactions related to carbon cycling in the anoxic marine sediments include organic matter degradation via sulfate reduction (OSR), anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), methanogenesis (ME), and carbonate precipitation (CP). In order to better understand the carbon turnover in the cold seeps and gas hydrate-bearing areas of the northern South China Sea (SCS), we collected geochemical data of 358 cores from published literatures and retrieved 37 cores and corresponding pore water samples from three areas of interest (i.e., Xisha, Dongsha, and Shenhu areas). Reaction-transport simulations indicate that the rates of organic matter degradation and carbonate precipitation are comparable in the three areas, while the rates of AOM vary over several orders of magnitude (AOM: 8.3-37.5 mmol·m-2·yr-1 in Dongsha, AOM: 12.4-170.6 mmol·m-2·yr-1 in Xisha, and AOM: 9.4-30.5 mmol·m-2·yr-1 in Shenhu). Both the arithmetical mean and interpolation mean of the biogeochemical processes were calculated in each area. Averaging these two mean values suggested that the rates of organic matter degradation in Dongsha (25.7 mmol·m-2·yr-1) and Xisha (25.1 mmol·m-2·yr-1) are higher than that in Shenhu (12 mmol·m-2·yr-1) and the AOM rate in Xisha (135.2 mmol·m-2·yr-1) is greater than those in Dongsha (27.8 mmol·m-2·yr-1) and Shenhu (17.5 mmol·m-2·yr-1). In addition, the rate of carbonate precipitation (32.3 mmol·m-2·yr-1) in Xisha is far higher than those of the other two regions (5.3 mmol·m-2·yr-1 in Dongsha, 5.8 mmol·m-2·yr-1 in Shenhu) due to intense AOM sustained by gas dissolution. In comparison with other cold seeps around the world, the biogeochemical rates in the northern SCS are generally lower than those in active continental margins and special environments (e.g., the Black sea) but are comparable with those in passive continental margins. Collectively, ~2.8 Gmol organic matter was buried and at least ~0.82 Gmol dissolved organic and inorganic carbon was diffused out of sediments annually. This may, to some extent, have an impact on the long-term deep ocean carbon cycle in the northern SCS.
The Primal‐Dual Active Set Method for a Class of Nonlinear Problems with T‐Monotone Operators
Authors: He Xiahui , Yang Peng
Published: March 2019

The family of primal‐dual active set methods is drawing more attention in scientific and engineering applications due to its effectiveness and robustness for variational inequality problems. In this work, we introduce and study a primal‐dual active set method for the solution of the variational inequality problems with T‐monotone operators. We show that the sequence generated by the proposed method globally and monotonously converges to the unique solution of the variational inequality problem. Moreover, the convergence rate of the proposed scheme is analyzed under the framework of the algebraic setting; i.e., the established convergence results show that the iteration number of the methods is bounded by the number of the unknowns. Finally, numerical results show that the efficiency can be achieved by the primal‐dual active set method.
Design and Development of a Large Cross-Lingual Plagiarism Corpus for Urdu-English Language Pair
Authors: Haneef Israr , Adeel Nawab Rao Muhammad , Munir Ehsan Ullah , Bajwa Imran Sarwar
Published: March 2019

Cross-lingual plagiarism occurs when the source (or original) text(s) is in one language and the plagiarized text is in another language. In recent years, cross-lingual plagiarism detection has attracted the attention of the research community because a large amount of digital text is easily accessible in many languages through online digital repositories and machine translation systems are readily available, making it easier to perform cross-lingual plagiarism and harder to detect it. To develop and evaluate cross-lingual plagiarism detection systems, standard evaluation resources are needed. The majority of earlier studies have developed cross-lingual plagiarism corpora for English and other European language pairs. However, for Urdu-English language pair, the problem of cross-lingual plagiarism detection has not been thoroughly explored although a large amount of digital text is readily available in Urdu and it is spoken in many countries of the world (particularly in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh). To fulfill this gap, this paper presents a large benchmark cross-lingual corpus for Urdu-English language pair. The proposed corpus contains 2,395 source-suspicious document pairs (540 are automatic translation, 539 are artificially paraphrased, 508 are manually paraphrased, and 808 are nonplagiarized). Furthermore, our proposed corpus contains three types of cross-lingual examples including artificial (automatic translation and artificially paraphrased), simulated (manually paraphrased), and real (nonplagiarized), which have not been previously reported in the development of cross-lingual corpora. Detailed analysis of our proposed corpus was carried out using n-gram overlap and longest common subsequence approaches. Using Word unigrams, mean similarity scores of 1.00, 0.68, 0.52, and 0.22 were obtained for automatic translation, artificially paraphrased, manually paraphrased, and nonplagiarized documents, respectively. These results show that documents in the proposed corpus are created using different obfuscation techniques, which makes the dataset more realistic and challenging. We believe that the corpus developed in this study will help to foster research in an underresourced language of Urdu and will be useful in the development, comparison, and evaluation of cross-lingual plagiarism detection systems for Urdu-English language pair. Our proposed corpus is free and publicly available for research purposes.
Danggui Shaoyao San Ameliorates Renal Fibrosis via Regulation of Hypoxia and Autophagy
Authors: Zhang Meng-yun , Chen Hui-hua , Tian Jing , Chen Hui-juan , Zhu Ling-ling , Zhao Pei , Zhang Ting
Published: March 2019

Danggui Shaoyao San (DSS), a traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, was widely used to reinforce earth to activate collaterals in ancient times. Recently, many clinical studies found that DSS had a renoprotection. In this study, we evaluated the effect of DSS on unilateral ureteral obstruction- (UUO-) induced renal fibrosis in rats and investigated the mechanisms underlying the effect. Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomized to UUO or Sham operation. After 1 day, the rats that underwent UUO were randomized to treatment for four experimental groups (n=10 each group): Sham, UUO only, UUO+ benazepril (Bena), and UUO+DSS. After 4 weeks, we demonstrated that DSS significantly suppressed UUO-induced renal hypertrophy by gravimetric. In addition, DSS obviously prevented UUO-induced disorder in renal structure and renal function by HE and biochemistry test. We also found that DSS abrogated UUO-induced renal fibrosis by Masson’s staining and collagen volume fraction (CVF) analysis; this is consistent with the western blot analysis that showed DSS abrogated the UUO-induced enhanced TGF-β1 and weakened BMP-7. Compared with the UUO only group, rats treated with DSS exhibited significant increase in vascular density, followed by decrease in hypoxia and HIF-1α protein level through western blot and immunofluorescence analysis. Furthermore, we also determined proteins of autophagy and DSS enhanced autophagy to prevent the damage-induced by UUO. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that DSS had a renoprotection effect in ameliorating renal fibrosis possibly via attenuating tissue hypoxia and regulating autophagy.
Curcumin and Curcumol Inhibit NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smads Signaling Pathways in CSE-Treated RAW246.7 Cells
Authors: Li Ning , Liu Tian-Hao , Yu Jing-Ze , Li Chen-Xi , Liu Yang , Wu Yue-Ying , Yang Zhong-Shan , Yuan Jia-Li
Published: March 2019

E-Zhu (Curcuma zedoaria) is known as a classical traditional Chinese medicine and widely used in the treatment of cancers, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and other diseases. Its main components include curcumol and curcumin, which have anti-inflammatory and antifibrosis effects. Here we established an in vitro inflammatory injury model by stimulating RAW246.7 cells with cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and detected the intervention effects of curcumin and curcumol on CSE-treated Raw246.7 macrophage cells to explore whether the two compounds inhibited the expression of inflammatory cytokines by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. We detected the antifibrosis effects of curcumin and curcumol via TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathways. The model of macrophage damage group was established by CSE stimulation. Curcumol and curcumin were administered to Raw246.7 macrophage cells. The efficacy of curcumol and curcumin was evaluated by comparing the activation of proinflammatory factors, profibrotic factors, and NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway. In addition, CSE-treated group was employed to detect whether the efficacy of curcumol and curcumin was dependent on the NF-κB signaling via the pretreatment with the inhibitor of NF-κB. Our findings demonstrated that curcumol and curcumin could reduce the release of intracellular ROS from macrophages, inhibit the NF-κB signaling pathway, and downregulate the release of proinflammatory factor. Curcumol and curcumin inhibited the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway and downregulated the release of fibrotic factors. Curcumin showed no anti-inflammatory effect in CSE-treated cells after the inhibition of NF-κB. Curcumol and curcumin showed an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway.
Relative Contributions of Intracranial Pressure and Intraocular Pressure on Lamina Cribrosa Behavior
Authors: Tong Junfei , Ghate Deepta , Kedar Sachin , Gu Linxia
Published: March 2019

Purpose. To characterize the relative contributions of intraocular pressure (IOP) and intracranial pressure (ICP) on lamina cribrosa (LC) behavior, specifically LC depth (LCD) and LC peak strain. Methods. An axially symmetric finite element model of the posterior eye was constructed with an elongated optic nerve and retro-orbital subarachnoid space ensheathed by pia and dura mater. The mechanical environment in LC was evaluated with ICP ranging from 5 to 15 mmHg and IOP from 10 to 45 mmHg. LCD and LC peak strains at various ICP and IOP levels were estimated using full factorial experiments. Multiple linear regression analyses were then applied to estimate LCD and LC peak strain using ICP and IOP as independent variables. Results. Both increased ICP and decreased IOP led to a smaller LCD and LC peak strain. The regression correlation coefficient for LCD was −1.047 for ICP and 1.049 for IOP, and the ratio of the two regression coefficients was −1.0. The regression correlation coefficient for LC peak strain was −0.025 for ICP and 0.106 for IOP, and the ratio of the two regression coefficients was −0.24. A stiffer sclera increased LCD but decreased LC peak strain; besides, it increased the relative contribution of ICP on the LCD but decreased that on the LC peak strain. Conclusions. ICP and IOP have opposing effects on LCD and LC peak strain. While their effects on LCD are equivalent, the effect of IOP on LC peak strain is 3 times larger than that of ICP. The influences of these pressure are dependent on sclera material properties, which might explain the pathogenesis of ocular hypertension and normal-tension glaucoma.
Characterization of Self-Adjoint Domains for Two-Interval Even Order Singular C-Symmetric Differential Operators in Direct Sum Spaces
Authors: Bao Qinglan , Hao Xiaoling , Sun Jiong
Published: March 2019

This paper is concerned with the characterization of all self-adjoint domains associated with two-interval even order singular C-symmetric differential operators in terms of boundary conditions. The previously known characterizations of Lagrange symmetric differential operators are a special case of this one.
Suppression of Gut Bacterial Translocation Ameliorates Vascular Calcification through Inhibiting Toll-Like Receptor 9-Mediated BMP-2 Expression
Authors: Zhao Yang , Cai Yan , Cui Li-Yan , Tang Wen , Liu Bo , Zheng Jia-Jia , Si Wen-Zhe , Wang Xian , Xu Ming-Jiang
Published: March 2019

Aims. Vascular calcification (VC) is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular mortality in chronic renal failure (CRF) patients; thus, effective therapeutic targets are urgently needed to be explored. Here, we identified the role of intestinal bacterial translocation in CRF-related VC. Methods and Results. Antibiotic supplementation by oral gavage significantly suppressed intestinal bacterial translocation, CRF-related VC, and aortic osteogenic gene and Toll-like receptor (TLR) gene expression in CRF rats. Furthermore, TLR4 and TLR9 activation in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) aggravated inorganic phosphate- (Pi-) induced calcification. TLR9 inhibition, but not TLR4 inhibition, by both a pharmacological inhibitor and genetic methods could significantly reduce CRF rats’ serum or CRF-induced VC. Interestingly, bone morphogenic protein-2 (BMP-2) levels were increased in the aorta and sera from CRF rats. Increased BMP-2 levels were also observed in VSMCs treated with TLR9 agonist, which was blocked by NF-κB inhibition. Both siRNA knockdown of BMP-2 and NF-κB inhibitor significantly blocked TLR9 agonist-induced VSMC calcification. Conclusions. Gut bacterial translocation inhibited by oral antibiotic significantly reduces CRF-related VC through inhibition of TLR9/NF-κB/BMP-2 signaling.
Electrophoretic Deposition of Chitosan Films Doped with Nd2Ti2O7Nanoparticles as Protective Coatings against Corrosion in Saline Solutions
Authors: Martinez-Gomez M. , Quinto-Hernandez A. , Flores-Garcia N. S. , Mayén Jan , Dominguez-Diaz M. , Martinez H. , Porcayo-Calderon J. , Gonzalez-Rodriguez J. G. , Martinez-Gomez L.
Published: March 2019

In this study, the electrophoretic deposition of chitosan films doped with Nd2Ti2O7nanoparticles was carried out as corrosion protection systems for exposed materials in aqueous environments rich in chlorides. Completely crystalline Nd2Ti2O7nanoparticles with an average size of 100-200 nm were obtained. Electrophoretic deposition of chitosan films with Nd2Ti2O7nanoparticles was possible. With a working voltage of 5 V and 20 minutes of deposition, homogenous chitosan films with a thickness of 4 microns were obtained. According to the FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), Raman, and XRD (X-ray diffraction) analyses, it was observed that the presence of the nanoparticles modified the properties of the chitosan films, that is, their crystallinity was increased and their moisture absorption capacity was reduced. These modifications caused a better performance against the corrosion of chitosan films deposited on 1018 carbon steel. Its electrochemical evaluation showed that the chitosan films perform as cathodic coatings by affecting the oxygen reduction reaction. This was possible due to the barrier effect of the Nd2Ti2O7nanoparticles, by blocking the effective area for the diffusion of the aggressive electrolyte species.
Do Statins Have a Positive Impact on Patients with Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction on Long-Term Clinical Outcome? A Large Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Luo Wen-hao , Guo Yang , Huang Jie-wu , Zhang Pei-dong
Published: March 2019

Objectives. To investigate the influence of statins on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMVD). Participants. 23,494 patients who received coronary angiography (CAG) were included. Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction, Myocardial Perfusion Grading (TMPG), a useful angiographic method, was used to evaluate CMVD. Results. Using multivariate analysis, NYHA III/IV (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.03-2.01; P=0.031), PCI history (HR, 3.69; 95% CI, 2.57-5.31; P<0.001), TG (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.06-1.26; P=0.001), creatinine (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01; P<0.001), cTnT (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99; P<0.001), heart rate (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.97-0.99; P=0.001), β-blocker (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.51-0.91; P=0.008), aspirin (HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.24-0.61; P<0.001), and statins (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.19-0.60; P<0.001) significantly correlated with reduced MACE in CMVD patients. In subgroups analysis, statins decreased MACE overall (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.19-0.59; P<0.001) and in CMVD patients with smoking history (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.43-0.93; P=0.014), diabetes (HR,0.27; 95% CI,0.12-0.61; P=0.002), hypertension (HR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.03-0.36; P=0.001), and hypertension and diabetes (HR, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.014-0.53; P=0.008). Conclusion. Statins could reduce MACE in patients with CMVD.
Dynamics Analysis of an Avian Influenza A (H7N9) Epidemic Model with Vaccination and Seasonality
Authors: Zhang Juping , Li Yun , Jin Zhen , Zhu Huaiping
Published: March 2019

H7N9 virus in the environment plays a role in the dynamics of avian influenza A (H7N9). A nationwide poultry vaccination with H7N9 vaccine program was implemented in China in October of 2017. To analyze the effect of vaccination and environmental virus on the development of avian influenza A (H7N9), we establish an avian influenza A (H7N9) transmission model with vaccination and seasonality among human, birds, and poultry. The basic reproduction number for the prevalence of avian influenza is obtained. The global stability of the disease‐free equilibrium and the existence of positive periodic solution are proved by the comparison theorem and the asymptotic autonomous system theorem. Finally, we use numerical simulations to demonstrate the theoretical results. Simulation results indicate that the risk of H7N9 infection is higher in colder environment. Vaccinating poultry can significantly reduce human infection.
Influenza A H1N1 Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Characteristics and Risk Factors—A Case-Control Study
Authors: Abelleira Romina , Ruano-Ravina Alberto , Lama Adriana , Barbeito Gema , Toubes María E. , Domínguez-Antelo Cristina , González-Barcala Francisco J. , Rodríguez-Núñez Nuria , Marcos Pedro J. , Pérez del Molino María L. , Valdés Luis
Published: March 2019

Introduction. Influenza A H1N1 community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a quite frequent respiratory disease. Despite being considered more serious than other CAPs, there are very few studies comparing its characteristics with noninfluenza CAP. We aim to establish the differences between pneumonia due to H1N1 virus and pneumonia not caused by H1N1 influenza virus and to determine the probability that a pneumonia is due to an H1N1 virus infection based on the most relevant variables. Methods. We used a case-control study where cases were H1N1 CAP patients with confirmed microbiological diagnosis and controls were patients with CAP admitted to hospital. H1N1 and other influenza types were discarded among controls. We calculated the probability of being a case or control using multivariate logistic regression. Results. We included 99 cases and 270 controls. Cases were younger than controls (53 vs 71 years, respectively). Mortality was much higher for H1N1 patients (13% vs 0.3%), and admission to intensive care unit was more frequent for H1N1 cases. The variables most associated with presenting H1N1 CAP were bilateral affectation on chest X-rays (OR: 5.70; 95% CI 2.69–10.40), followed by presence of arthromyalgias, with cases presenting close to three times more arthromyalgias compared to controls. Low leukocytes count and high AST values were also significantly associated with H1N1 CAP. H1N1 CAPs are characterized by bilateral affectation, low leukocyte count, presence of arthromyalgias, and high AST. Conclusions. A few and easy to obtain clinical parameters might be extremely useful to distinguish H1N1 CAP from CAPs of other origin.
Evaluation of Different Stabilizers and Inactivating Compounds for the Enhancement of Vero Cell Rabies Vaccine Stability and Immunogenicity:In VitroStudy
Authors: Olayan Ebtesam , El-Khadragy Manal , Mohamed Aly Fahmy , Mohamed Amany Khalil , Shebl Rania Ibrahim , Yehia Hany M.
Published: March 2019

Inactivation of rabies virus is essential for rabies vaccine preparation where the inactivating compound that is currently recommended for rabies vaccine preparation isβ-propiolactone (β-PL). This compound is considered better than phenol and formalin but it is expensive and potentially carcinogenic. Data revealed that Ascorbic acid (AA) with cupric ions could yield complete and irreversible inactivation of rabies virus without adversely affecting its antigenicity. Additionally, the results of testing the vaccine potency with the selected inactivating compounds were comparable (P<0.05), and ED50was higher than the recommended World Health Organization (WHO) limits. The use of HemaGel (plasma substitute) for testing vaccine stabilization was compared with the currently used vaccine stabilizers (human albumin and lactose). HemaGel yielded better stability than the other tested stabilizers. Monitoring of cellular and humoral immune responses indicated that both the total IgG level against rabies vaccine and the IFN and IL5 levels obtained with the HemaGel-stabilized vaccines were higher than those obtained with human albumin- and lactose-stabilized vaccine candidates.
H2O/O2 Vapor Annealing Effect on Spin Coating Alumina Thin Films for Passivation of Silicon Solar Cells
Authors: Uzum Abdullah , Kanda Hiroyuki , Noguchi Takuma , Nakazawa Yuya , Taniwaki Shota , Hotta Yasushi , Haruyama Yuichi , Shibayama Naoyuki , Ito Seigo
Published: March 2019

Aluminum acetylacetonate-based AlOx thin films were introduced as a low-cost, high-quality passivation layers for crystalline silicon solar cells. Films were formed by a spin coating method on p-type silicon substrates at 450°C in ambient air, O2, or water vapor (H2O/O2) for 15 or 120 min. XPS analysis confirms the AlOx formation and reveals a high intensity of interfacial SiOx at the AlOx/Si interface of processed wafers. Ambient H2O/O2 was found to be more beneficial for the activation of introduced AlOx passivation films which offers high lifetime improvements with a low thermal budget. Carrier lifetime measurements provides that symmetrically coated wafers reach 119.3 μs and 248.3 μs after annealing in ambient H2O/O2 for 15 min and 120 min, respectively.
Synthesis of MWCNT Forests with Alumina-Supported Fe2O3 Catalyst by Using a Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapor Deposition Technique
Authors: Shukrullah Shazia , Naz Muhammad Y. , Mohamed Norani M. , Ibrahim Khalid A. , Ghaffar Abdul , AbdEl-Salam Nasser M.
Published: March 2019

In this study, multiwalled CNT bundles were synthesized with an alumina-supported Fe2O3 catalyst by using a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) technique. The metal catalyst was synthesized by dispersing Fe2O3 on alumina support. Ethylene molecules were decomposed over different amounts of metal nanoparticles in a FCCVD reactor. The CVD temperature was elevated from 600°C to 1000°C. The large active surface area of the metal nanobuds promoted the decomposition of a carbon precursor and the fast growth of CNT bundles. Least dense bundles of varying heights were observed at lower CVD temperatures of 600°C and 700°C. At 800°C, CVD process conditions were found suitable for the fast decomposition of hydrocarbon. The relatively better yield of well-structured CNTs was obtained with a catalyst weight of 0.3 g at 800°C. Above 800°C, CNT forests start losing alignment and height. The forest density was also decreased at temperatures above the optimum. The elemental composition of CNT bundles revealed the presence of carbon, aluminium, oxygen, and iron in percentages of 91%, 0.76%, 8.2%, and 0.04%, respectively. A very small ID to IG ratio of 0.22 was calculated for CNTs grown under optimized conditions.
Comparison of Pharyngeal Airway between Mandibular Setback Surgery Patients (Skeletal Class III) and Nonsurgery Patients (Skeletal Classes I and II)
Authors: Cheng Jung-Hsuan , Chen Chun-Ming , Chen Ping-Ho , Chou Szu-Ting , Pan Chin-Yun , Tseng Yu-Chuan
Published: March 2019

Purpose. We investigated the pharyngeal airway dimensions and their correlations in patients who underwent mandibular setback surgery versus those who did not. Materials and Methods. One hundred and sixty cephalometric radiographs (120 patients) were obtained from patients with three skeletal malocclusion classifications: Class I and Class II in the nonsurgery group and Class III in the surgery group (preoperative and postoperative cephalograms). The following dimensions were measured: nasopharyngeal airway (NOP), uvulopharyngeal airway (UOP), shortest distance from the posterior tongue to the pharyngeal wall (TOP), and distance from the epiglottis to the pharyngeal wall (EOP). Paired t test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used for statistical analysis. Results. Preoperatively, UOP and TOP of skeletal Class III patients (15.2 mm and 16.6 mm) were significantly larger than those of skeletal Class II (11.5 mm and 12 mm) and Class II (12.3 mm and 12.9 mm) patients, respectively. No differences were observed in EOP between the three skeletal patterns. The hyoid bone of Class III patients was significantly anterior to that of Class I/II patients. Furthermore, UOP had a moderate negative correlation with soft palate length. Postoperatively, no significant difference (UOP, TOP, EOP, soft palate width, and hyoid bone) was found between the skeletal classes. Conclusion. Preoperatively, UOP and TOP of skeletal Class III patients were significantly wider than those of skeletal Class I/II patients. Pre- and postoperatively, EOP did not exhibit significant differences among the three skeletal classifications. No differences were found in all postoperative pharyngeal airway dimensions between Class III patients and nonsurgery patients (Class I and Class II).
Unlike PD-L1, PD-1 Is Downregulated on Partial Immune Cells in Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Sun Peng , Jin Qingyan , Nie Shengnan , Jia Shijie , Li Yuanyuan , Li Xiaoxue , Guo Fang
Published: March 2019

Introduction. Type 2 diabetes is a worldwide disease which is associated with chronic, low-grade inflammation. The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway has been reported to be a negative regulatory element in immune homeostasis and to be involved in many diseases. Materials and Methods. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained from type 2 diabetes patients (n=23) and healthy donors (n=20). The PD-L1 and PD-1 expressions on corresponding immune cells were evaluated by flow cytometry. Results. The PD-L1 expression on corresponding immune cells has no significant difference between these two groups. We showed the downregulated PD-1 expression in type 2 diabetes patients. The correlation analysis indicated that the PD-1 on NK cells has a positive correlation with insulin and diabetes duration. And an inverse correlation has been shown between the PD-1 expression on monocytes and BMI (body mass index). Conclusions. The results in this article suggest that PD-1, unlike PD-L1, might participate in the progression of type 2 diabetes. This investigation will provide evidence for the potential immune therapy for T2D.
Secretory Carcinoma of the Parotid: Making the Correct Diagnosis of a Rare Salivary Gland Carcinoma When Molecular Biology Testing Is Not Available
Authors: Montalvo Nelson , Galarza David , Redrobán Ligia
Published: March 2019

Secretory carcinoma (SC) is a recently described entity occurring in the salivary glands. Before its description, SC was frequently classified as acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) or adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified. Its particular histopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics are reminiscent of breast secretory carcinoma. Moreover, it displays a characteristic t(12;15) (p13;q25) translocation that results in the ETV6-NTRK3 gene fusion. This translocation has not been reported in any other salivary gland carcinoma. Identification of the t(12;15) (p13;q25) translocation is the gold standard for diagnosis, although some cases that do not present this specific translocation have already been reported. In such cases, diagnosis is challenging. In addition, some diagnostic pathology laboratories lack the resources to perform the molecular analysis to diagnose SC. In this scenario, morphology and immunohistochemistry are fundamental. Therefore, we report a case emphasizing the typical morphology of SC and its immunochemical profile to establish a final diagnosis without molecular biology tests. This case aims to demonstrate the importance of recognizing the typical presentation of a rare tumor so that clinicians will be informed or reminded of it and consider this entity among the differential diagnoses, when necessary. Moreover, in low-resource settings where molecular analysis is not available, being familiar enough with the histology of this tumor and using the immunoprofile as a key tool for differential diagnosis would be of great importance in establishing the correct diagnosis. The differential diagnosis includes, above all, acinic cell carcinoma and other salivary neoplasms such as intraductal carcinoma, low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified, which is actually a rule-out diagnosis.
Candy Closure Technique for Chronic Open Infective Lateral Malleolus Bursitis
Authors: Kim Jin Su , Kim Woo Jong , Young Ki Won , Bae Kyu Hwan , Kim Han Hoon , Lee Hong Seop
Published: March 2019

The aim of this study was to report the effectiveness of the Candy closure technique as a treatment for chronic open infective lateral malleolus bursitis. From June 2014 to March 2018, we performed the Candy closure technique as a treatment for chronic open infective lateral malleolus bursitis in nine patients without secondary operation. We first performed infectious tissue debridement to control infection, and if primary closure was not possible, we performed the Candy closure technique for small wounds. The duration of the wound prior to surgery varied from 4 weeks to 2 years. Seven cases were due to infection on the bursa and two cases were ulcer-type bursitis. All the wounds were small (average, 3.80 cm2; range, 2.25-4 cm2) and circular. Seven wounds showed complete healing at 4 weeks after surgery, one wound showed complete healing at 8 weeks after surgery, and one wound with infected state was lost to missing follow-up. Of the seven wounds that showed complete healing, one wound recurred 6 months after surgery. The Candy closure technique is a simple method for ensuring healing and coverage of chronic open lateral malleolus bursitis, especially for small wounds with dead space.
Visual Outcome of Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty during the Learning Curve in Initial Fifty Cases
Authors: Singh Sanjay K. , Sitaula Sanjeeta
Published: March 2019

This study was performed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of the first fifty patients who underwent Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) during the 3-month postoperative period and to describe the challenges encountered during the learning curve. In this retrospective study, we reviewed the charts of patients who underwent DMEK. All information regarding patient demographics, indication for surgery, preoperative and postoperative visual acuity at 3 months, donor age, and complications encountered intraoperatively and postoperatively was recorded. Donor endothelial cell count at the time of surgery and during the 3-month follow-up was noted. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Fifty eyes of 49 patients were included in the study with majority being female patients (male : female = 2 : 3). Mean age of patients was 56.8 ± 11.4 years with the age range of 22–78 years. The common indications for DMEK were pseudophakic bullous keratopathy –57.1%, Fuchs endothelial dystrophy-34.7%, failed grafts-6.1% (Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) and failed penetrating keratoplasty), and others. Preoperative best spectacle-corrected visual acuity was <20/400 in 88% cases. Postoperative best spectacle-corrected visual acuity at 3 months was >20/63 in 41.8% of the cases, and 93% had visual acuity of 20/200 or better. Donor size was 8 mm, and average donor endothelial cell count (ECC) was 2919 ± 253 cells/mm2. Average ECC at 3 months postoperatively was 1750 ± 664 cells/mm2, which showed a 40% decrease in ECC. The most common encountered complication was graft detachment, which occurred in 16% cases for which rebubbling was done. Regular follow-up and timely identification of graft detachment may prevent the need for retransplantation.
Loratadine, an H1 Antihistamine, Inhibits Melanogenesis in Human Melanocytes
Authors: Moon Hye-Rim , Jo Soo Youn , Kim Hak Tae , Lee Woo Jin , Won Chong Hyun , Lee Mi Woo , Choi Jee Ho , Chang Sung Eun
Published: March 2019

It has long been believed that histamine is associated with cutaneous melanogenesis. Specifically, H2-receptor antagonists reportedly inhibit melanogenesis, but H1-receptor antagonists, which are some of the most commonly prescribed medicines in dermatology, have not been studied to determine whether and how they regulate melanogenesis. Therefore, we screened H1-receptor antagonists to determine whether they inhibit melanogenesis and found that loratadine was particularly effective, in this regard without compromising cellular viability. Loratadine downregulated microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) and tyrosinase in melanocytes. To determine the intracellular signaling pathways, Akt was consistently activated by loratadine. PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitor, LY294002, restored the reduced melanin content that was induced by loratadine. In addition, phospho-GSK-3β also was found to be increased following loratadine treatment. Loratadine reduced the amount of PKC-βII in the membrane fraction, thereby decreasing its activity. Taken together, our data indicate that loratadine regulates melanogenesis via Akt/MITF and PKC-βII signaling, thereby leading to the inhibition of melanogenic proteins. The antimelanogenic effects of loratadine have potentially significant and useful roles in dermatologic practice, although further clinical studies will be required to test this.
Potentiostats for Protein Biosensing: Design Considerations and Analysis on Measurement Characteristics
Authors: Abdullah Saad , Tonello Sarah , Borghetti Michela , Sardini Emilio , Serpelloni Mauro
Published: March 2019

The demand for the development of swift, simple, and ultrasensitive biosensors has been increasing after the introduction of innovative approaches such as bioelectronics, nanotechnology, and electrochemistry. The possibility to correlate changes in electrical parameters with the concentration of protein biomarkers in biological samples is appealing to improve sensitivity, reliability, and repeatability of the biochemical assays currently available for protein investigation. Potentiostats are the required instruments to ensure the proper cell conditioning and signal processing in accurate electrochemical biosensing applications. In this light, this review is aimed at analyzing design considerations, electrical specifications, and measurement characteristics of potentiostats, specifically customized for protein detection. This review demonstrates how a proper potentiostat for protein quantification should be able to supply voltages in a range between few mV to few V, with high resolution in terms of readable current (in the order of 100 pA). To ensure a reliable quantification of clinically relevant protein concentrations (>1 ng/mL), the accuracy of the measurement (<1%) is significant and it can be ensured with proper digital-to-analog (10-16 bits) and analog-to-digital (10-24 bits) converters. Furthermore, the miniaturisation of electrochemical systems represents a key step toward portable, real-time, and fast point-of-care applications. This review is meant to serve as a guide for the design of customized potentiostats capable of a more proper and enhanced conditioning of electrochemical biosensors for protein detection.