bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Father-Child Activation Relationship, Sex Differences, and Attachment Disorganization in Toddlerhood
Authors: Paquette Daniel , Dumont Caroline
Published: March 2013

The activation relationship theory serves as a complement to Bowlby’s attachment theory to better understand the impact of fathering on child development, focusing primarily on parental stimulation of risk taking and control during children’s exploration. The first aim of this study was to confirm that the activation relationship as assessed with the observational procedure, the Risky Situation, is primarily determined by paternal stimulation of risk taking as assessed by questionnaire. The second aim was to verify the link between the activation relationship and attachment disorganization. The third aim was to verify the existence of a sex difference in father-toddler dyad activation relationships. The Strange Situation procedure and the Risky Situation procedure were conducted with 58 father-toddler dyads. Fathers completed questionnaires on child temperament and parental behavior. Paternal stimulation of risk taking explains activation once child sex and temperament, the attachment relationship, and emotional support are taken into account. Moreover, there is no relation between the father-child activation relationship and attachment disorganization. Finally, data confirm the existence of a sex difference in the activation relationship in toddlers: fathers activate their sons more than their daughters.
Automated Detection of Healthy and Diseased Aortae from Images Obtained by Contrast-Enhanced CT Scan
Authors: Gayhart Michael , Arisawa Hiroshi
Published: March 2013

Purpose. We developed the next stage of our computer assisted diagnosis (CAD) system to aid radiologists in evaluating CT images for aortic disease by removing innocuous images and highlighting signs of aortic disease.Materials and Methods. Segmented data of patient’s contrast-enhanced CT scan was analyzed for aortic dissection and penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU). Aortic dissection was detected by checking for an abnormal shape of the aorta using edge oriented methods. PAU was recognized through abnormally high intensities with interest point operators.Results. The aortic dissection detection process had a sensitivity of 0.8218 and a specificity of 0.9907. The PAU detection process scored a sensitivity of 0.7587 and a specificity of 0.9700.Conclusion. The aortic dissection detection process and the PAU detection process were successful in removing innocuous images, but additional methods are necessary for improving recognition of images with aortic disease.
Simultaneous Determination of Benzene and Toluene in Pesticide Emulsifiable Concentrate by Headspace GC-MS
Authors: Cao Lidong , Jiang Hua , Yang Jing , Fan Li , Li Fengmin , Huang Qiliang
Published: March 2013

The toxic inert ingredients in pesticide formulations are strictly regulated in many countries. In this paper, a simple and efficient headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HSGC-MS) method using fluorobenzene as an internal standard (IS) for rapid simultaneous determination of benzene and toluene in pesticide emulsifiable concentrate (EC) was established. The headspace and GC-MS conditions were investigated and developed. A nonpolar fused silica Rtx-5 capillary column (30 m×0.20 mmi.d. and 0.25 μm film thickness) with temperature programming was used. Under optimized headspace conditions, equilibration temperature of 120°C, equilibration time of 5 min, and sample size of 50 μL, the regression of the peak area ratios of benzene and toluene to IS on the concentrations of analytes fitted a linear relationship well at the concentration levels ranging from 3.2 g/L to 16.0 g/L. Standard additions of benzene and toluene to blank different matrix solutions 1ead to recoveries of 100.1%–109.5% with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.3%–8.1%. The method presented here stands out as simple and easily applicable, which provides a way for the determination of toxic volatile adjuvant in liquid pesticide formulations.
Exponential Stability of Impulsive Delayed Reaction-Diffusion Cellular Neural Networks via Poincaré Integral Inequality
Authors: Lai Xianghong , Yao Tianxiang
Published: March 2013

This work is devoted to the stability study of impulsive cellular neural networks with time-varying delays and reaction-diffusion terms. By means of new Poincaré integral inequality and Gronwall-Bellman-type impulsive integral inequality, we summarize some novel and concise sufficient conditions ensuring the global exponential stability of equilibrium point. The provided stability criteria are applicable to Dirichlet boundary condition and show that not only the reaction-diffusion coefficients but also the regional features including the boundary and dimension of spatial variable can influence the stability. Two examples are finally illustrated to demonstrate the effectiveness of our obtained results.
The Role of Daytime Sleepiness in Psychosocial Outcomes after Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Authors: Lau Esther Yuet Ying , Eskes Gail A. , Morrison Debra L. , Rajda Malgorzata , Spurr Kathleen F.
Published: March 2013

We investigated the role of daytime sleepiness and sleep quality in psychosocial outcomes of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Thirty-seven individuals with moderate to severe OSA and compliant with CPAP treatment for at least 3 months were compared to 27 age- and education-matched healthy controls. The OSA group and the control group were studied with overnight polysomnography (PSG) and compared on measures of daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), sleep quality (Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index), mood (Beck Depression Inventory, Profile of Mood States), and functional outcomes (Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire). After CPAP treatment, the OSA group improved on sleep quality and sleepiness. As a group, they did not differ from controls on sleep architecture after CPAP. The OSA group also showed significant improvements in functional outcomes and was comparable to controls on mood and functional outcomes. Persistent difficulties included lowered activity level and residual sleepiness in some individuals. Sleepiness was found to be a significant predictor of mood and affective states, while both sleepiness and sleep quality predicted functional outcomes. These results highlight the importance of assessment and intervention targeting psychosocial functioning and sleepiness in individuals with OSA after treatment.
Energy-Efficient Adaptive Geosource Multicast Routing for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Kim Daehee , Song Sejun , Choi Baek-Young
Published: March 2013

We propose an energy-efficient adaptive geosource multicast routing (EAGER) for WSNs. It addresses the energy and scalability issues of previous location based stateless multicast protocols in WSNs. EAGER is a novel stateless multicast protocol that optimizes location-based and source-based multicast approaches in various ways. First, it uses the receiver's geographic location information to save the cost of building a multicast tree. The information can be obtained during the receiver's membership establishment stage without flooding. Second, it reduces packet overhead, and in turn, energy usage by encoding with a small sized node ID instead of potentially large bytes of location information and by dynamically using branch geographic information for common source routing path segments. Third, it decreases computation overhead at each forwarding node by determining the multicast routing paths at a multicast node (or rendezvous point (RP)). Our extensive simulation results validate that EAGER outperforms existing stateless multicast protocols in computation time, packet overhead, and energy consumption while maintaining the advantages of stateless protocols.
The Distribution of the Ratio of the Products of Two Independentα-μVariates and Its Application in the Performance Analysis of Relaying Communication Systems
Authors: Matović Ana , Mekić Edis , Sekulović Nikola , Stefanović Mihajlo , Matović Marija , Stefanović Časlav
Published: March 2013

We present novel general, simple, exact, and closed-form expressions for the probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the ratio of the products of two independentα-μvariates, where all variates have identical values of alpha parameter. Obtained results are applied in analysis of multihop wireless communication systems in different fading transmission environments. The proposed theoretical analysis is also complemented by various graphically presented numerical results.
Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using Whole Cells of Geotrichum candidum
Authors: Mittal Amit Kumar , Kaler Abhishek , Mulay Aparna Vasant , Banerjee Uttam Chand
Published: March 2013

The synthesis of nanoparticles with desired size and shape is an important area of research in nanotechnology. Use of biological system is an alternative approach to chemical and physical procedures for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles. An efficient environment-friendly approach for the biosynthesis of rapid and stable Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using whole cells of Geotrichum candidum is discussed in this paper. The enzymes/proteins present in the microorganism might be responsible for the reduction of metal salts to nanoparticles. Various reaction parameters such as culture age, temperature, pH, metal salt, and cell mass concentrations were optimized. The AuNPs were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Nanoparticles were isolated by sonicating the whole cells after treatment with Tween 80. The whole cell mediated process showed the simplistic, feasible, easy to scale up, and low-cost approach for the synthesis of AuNPs.
Antioxidant Capacity, Cytoprotection, and Healing Actions of the Leaf Aqueous Extract ofOcimum suavein Rats Subjected to Chronic and Cold-Restraint Stress Ulcers
Authors: Tan Paul V. , Mezui C. , Enow-Orock G. E. , Agbor G.
Published: March 2013

We evaluated the qualitative chemical composition and tested the antiulcer actions on cold/restraint stress ulcers, the healing effect on chronic acetic acid-induced gastric ulcers, and thein vivoandin vitroantioxidant capacity ofOcimum suaveextract. Triterpenes, flavonoids, sugars, phenols, sterols, and multiple bonds were among the phytochemicals detected. The extract (250–500 mg/kg) dose-dependently inhibited the formation of gastric ulcers induced by cold/restraint stress (52.30%–83.10%). The prophylactic actions were associated with significant increases in gastric mucus production. There was significant histological healing of chronic ulcers following 14-day treatment withO. suaveextract (250–500 mg/kg). We also evaluated the efficacy ofO. suaveextract in cold/restraint-induced oxidative stress in rat stomach tissue.O. suave(500 mg/kg) ameliorated the decreased levels of reduced glutathione from 0.85 (control group) to 2.08 nmol/g tissue. The levels of SOD and catalase were also improved in rats treated withO. suaveextract. The extract had a high phenol content (899.87 mg phenol/g catechin equivalent),in vitroDPPH radical scavenging activity (89.29%), and FRAP (antioxidant capacity) (212.64 mg/g catechin equivalent). The cytoprotective and ulcer healing effects of the extract are attributed to enhanced mucus production and the antioxidant properties which may likely be associated with the high presence of flavonoids and polyphenols.
Effect ofWithania somniferaExtracts on Some Selective Biochemical, Hematological, and Immunological Parameters in Guinea Pigs Experimental Infected withE. coli
Authors: El-Boshy Mohamed El-Sayed , Abdalla Osama Mohamed , Risha Angy , Moustafa Fatma
Published: March 2013

Fifty 1-2-month-old Guinea pigs were divided into 5 equal groups, 10 each. Control (Gp1) did receive neither viable bacteria nor treatment. Each animal from the other groups (Gp2–5) was challenged with (1-2 × 108) viableE. coliin 200 μL normal saline (0.9%) through IP route. GP2 infected group was treated with 200 μL saline IP and kept as positive control group. Gp3-4 are infected and treated withWithania somnifera(ethanol root extract) with doses 50 and 100 mg/kg. BW, respectively. Gp5 infected treated group was treated with cefoperazone antibiotic at dose 35 mg/Kg BW. The treatment by drug or the extracted medicinal plant was started 72 h after infection for 7 successive days. Serum and whole blood sample were collected from all groups 14 days after treatment to evaluate some hematological and biochemical changes as well as immunomodulatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Oral treatment of the plant extract caused significant benefit results in infected Guinea pig appeared in the correction of some hematological and biochemical parameters also try to suppressed inflammatory cytokine response represent in TNF-α. It could be concluded thatW. somniferaextract has potent antibacterial activity, and this appears in the correction with hematological, biochemical, and immunological results.
Pulmonary Hypertension due to a Pulmonary Artery Leiomyosarcoma: A Case Report
Authors: Adeli Seyyed Hassan , Nemati Bardia , Jandaghi Mahboubeh , Riahi Mohammad Mahdi , Hosseinzadeh Fatemeh , Salarvand Fatemeh
Published: March 2013

Background. Primary pulmonary artery sarcomas are very rare and their histologic type, called leiomyosarcoma, is even rarer.Case Report. A 64-year-old woman presented with progressive weakness, fatigue, malaise, and dyspnea, and a marked elevation of pulmonary artery pressure was admitted. She was initially diagnosed with chronic pulmonary thromboembolism and chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed that lobulated heterogeneous left hilar mass extended to precarinal and subcarinal space. MRI demonstrated a polypoid lesion at trunk with extension to left main pulmonary artery and its first branch. She was operated, a yellowish-shiny solid mass in pulmonary trunk was seen intraoperatively, and pulmonary endarterectomy was performed. Her tumor was pathologically diagnosed as pulmonary artery leiomyosarcoma. She died 3 months later after one chemotherapy course.Conclusion. Initially, the patient underwent surgery due to pulmonary embolism but, during the operation, the observed mass increased the probability of pulmonary artery neoplasm. Clinicians must consider pulmonary artery sarcoma when making the differential diagnosis for patients with pulmonary arteries masses. In addition to clinical prediction scores and CT and MRI findings to identify the patients with pulmonary artery sarcoma, PET scanning is the diagnosis of choice in differentiating embolism and neoplasm and is strongly recommended in these patients.
Missing Value Estimation for Microarray Data by Bayesian Principal Component Analysis and Iterative Local Least Squares
Authors: Shi Fuxi , Zhang Dan , Chen Jun , Karimi Hamid Reza
Published: March 2013

Missing values are prevalent in microarray data, they course negative influence on downstream microarray analyses, and thus they should be estimated from known values. We propose a BPCA-iLLS method, which is an integration of two commonly used missing value estimation methods—Bayesian principal component analysis (BPCA) and local least squares (LLS). The inferior row-average procedure in LLS is replaced with BPCA, and the least squares method is put into an iterative framework. Comparative result shows that the proposed method has obtained the highest estimation accuracy across all missing rates on different types of testing datasets.
Traffic Volume Data Outlier Recovery via Tensor Model
Authors: Tan Huachun , Feng Jianshuai , Feng Guangdong , Wang Wuhong , Zhang Yu-Jin
Published: March 2013

Traffic volume data is already collected and used for a variety of purposes in intelligent transportation system (ITS). However, the collected data might be abnormal due to the problem of outlier data caused by malfunctions in data collection and record systems. To fully analyze and operate the collected data, it is necessary to develop a validate method for addressing the outlier data. Many existing algorithms have studied the problem of outlier recovery based on the time series methods. In this paper, a multiway tensor model is proposed for constructing the traffic volume data based on the intrinsic multilinear correlations, such as day to day and hour to hour. Then, a novel tensor recovery method, called ADMM-TR, is proposed for recovering outlier data of traffic volume data. The proposed method is evaluated on synthetic data and real world traffic volume data. Experimental results demonstrate the practicability, effectiveness, and advantage of the proposed method, especially for the real world traffic volume data.
Potential Use of Bisphosphonates in Invasive Extramammary Paget’s Disease: An Immunohistochemical Investigation
Authors: Fujimura Taku , Furudate Sadanori , Kambayashi Yumi , Aiba Setsuya
Published: March 2013

Invasive extramammary Paget’s disease (EMPD) is relatively rare and is reported to be highly metastatic to lymph nodes or even other organs, including bone. Histologically, EMPD shows significant numbers of lymphocytes around the tumor mass, suggesting the possible development of novel immunomodulatory therapy for EMPD by targeting these infiltrating lymphocytes. Previously, bisphosphonates (BPs) were administered for the treatment of malignancy, especially osteolytic bone disease. Recent reports also suggested that BPs might have a direct antitumor effect through several pathways beyond their beneficial effect on bone metastasis. Among them, the abrogation of immunosuppressive cells, myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC), by BPs might be one of the optimal methods to induce an antitumor immune response both locally and at sites remote from the tumor. In this study, we employed immunohistochemical staining for immunosuppressive macrophages and cytotoxic T cells in the lesional skin of patients with noninvasive EMPD and those with invasive EMPD.
On the Existence and Stability of Periodic Solutions for a Nonlinear Neutral Functional Differential Equation
Authors: Yuan Yueding , Guo Zhiming
Published: March 2013

This paper deals with the existence and stability of periodic solutions for the following nonlinear neutral functional differential equation(d/dt)Dut=p(t)-au(t)-aqu(t-r)-h(u(t),u(t-r)).By using Schauder-fixed-point theorem and Krasnoselskii-fixed-point theorem, some sufficient conditions are obtained for the existence of asymptotic periodic solutions. Main results in this paper extend the related results due to Ding (2010) and Lopes (1976).
Integral and Series Representations of Riemann's Zeta Function and Dirichlet's Eta Function and a Medley of Related Results
Authors: Milgram Michael S.
Published: March 2013

Contour integral representations of Riemann's Zeta function and Dirichlet's Eta (alternating Zeta) function are presented and investigated. These representations flow naturally from methods developed in the 1800s, but somehow they do not appear in the standard reference summaries, textbooks, or literature. Using these representations as a basis, alternate derivations of known series and integral representations for the Zeta and Eta function are obtained on a unified basis that differs from the textbook approach, and results are developed that appear to be new.
Clarifying Cutting and Sewing Processes with Due Windows Using an Effective Ant Colony Optimization
Authors: Huang Rong-Hwa , Yu Shun-Chi
Published: March 2013

The cutting and sewing process is a traditional flow shop scheduling problem in the real world. This two-stage flexible flow shop is often commonly associated with manufacturing in the fashion and textiles industry. Many investigations have demonstrated that the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is effective and efficient for solving scheduling problems. This work applies a novel effective ant colony optimization (EACO) algorithm to solve two-stage flexible flow shop scheduling problems and thereby minimize earliness, tardiness, and makespan. Computational results reveal that for both small and large problems, EACO is more effective and robust than both the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and the ACO algorithm. Importantly, this work demonstrates that EACO can solve complex scheduling problems in an acceptable period of time.
Testosterone-Induced Effects on Lipids and Inflammation
Authors: Vodo Stella , Bechi Nicoletta , Petroni Anna , Muscoli Carolina , Aloisi Anna Maria
Published: March 2013

Chronic pain has to be considered in all respects a debilitating disease and 10–20% of the world's adult population is affected by this disease. In the most general terms, pain is symptomatic of some form of dysfunction and (often) the resulting inflammatory processes in the body. In the study of pain, great attention has been paid to the possible involvement of gonadal hormones, especially in recent years. In particular, testosterone, the main androgen, is thought to play a beneficial, protective role in the body. Other important elements to be related to pain, inflammation, and hormones are lipids, heterogenic molecules whose altered metabolism is often accompanied by the release of interleukins, and lipid-derived proinflammatory mediators. Here we report data on interactions often not considered in chronic pain mechanisms.
A Counterattack-Detection Scheme in Transmission Time-Based Wormhole Detection Methods
Authors: Kim Dong-uk , Kim Hyo-won , Kim Gisung , Kim Sehun
Published: March 2013

In recent years, the Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) is getting more important and is being utilized in various fields. However, routing-disruption attacks have become a serious problem for MANET. In various routing-disruption attack detection methods, transmission time-based methods can detect wormhole attacks efficiently. Attackers might fabricate a time stamp for a Route Request Packet (RREQ) or Route Reply Packet (RREP) to evade wormhole detection methods. To resolve this weakness, we propose a counterattack-detection scheme in transmission time-based wormhole detection methods. In this paper, we show that it is possible for an attacker to find an effective counterattack against wormhole detection methods, so we provide a counterattack-detection scheme. In the first phase, our proposed method uses the transmission time per hop extracted from a RREQ. If the attackers fabricate the RREQ's starting time to evade our proposed method, we can detect this counterattack using the RREQ's transmission time in the second phase, because the fabricated starting time makes the transmission time shorter than the original transmission time. The simulation shows that our proposed method has high reliability for detecting both wormhole attacks and the attacker's counterattack.
Protective Effects of Resveratrol on TNF-α-Induced Endothelial Cytotoxicity in Baboon Femoral Arterial Endothelial Cells
Authors: Xiao Juan , Song Jun , Hodara Vida , Ford Allen , Wang Xing Li , Shi Qiang , Chen Li , VandeBerg John L.
Published: March 2013

Endothelial injury induced by inflammatory factors plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Endothelial cell (EC) apoptosis, proliferation, migration, and cellular adhesion molecule (CAM) expression contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. We investigated the effects of resveratrol (0.1–100 μM) on the proliferation, migration, and CAM expression of primary cultures of baboon arterial endothelial cells (BAECs). In addition, we tested its effects under normal conditions as well as under inflammatory conditions induced by tumour necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) administered either by cotreatment, pretreatment, or posttreatment. Immunocytochemistry, MTT, wound-healing, and flow cytometry assays were performed. The resveratrol treatment significantly enhanced BAEC proliferation and attenuated TNF-α-induced impairment of proliferation at the optimal doses of 1–50 µM. Resveratrol at a high dose (100 μM) and TNF-αimpaired BAEC migration, while low doses of resveratrol (1–50 μM) attenuated TNF-α-induced impairment of BAEC migration. Moreover, resveratrol inhibited TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression. Taken together, our results suggest that the resveratrol protects BAECs after inflammatory stimulation as well as ameliorates inflammatory effects at low concentrations. Consequently, resveratrol should be considered as a candidate drug for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory vascular diseases.
North-South Corridor Demonstration Project: Ethical and Logistical Challenges in the Design of a Demonstration Study of Early Antiretroviral Treatment for Long Distance Truck Drivers along a Transport Corridor through South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia
Authors: Gomez G. B. , Venter W. D. F. , Lange J. M. A. , Rees H. , Hankins C.
Published: March 2013

Background. Long-distance truck drivers are at risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV and have suboptimal access to care. New HIV prevention strategies using antiretroviral drugs to reduce transmission risk (early antiretroviral therapy (ART) at CD4 count >350 cells/μL) have shown efficacy in clinical trials. Demonstration projects are needed to evaluate “real world” programme effectiveness. We present the protocol for a demonstration study to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of an early ART intervention for HIV-positive truck drivers along a transport corridor across South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, as part of an enhanced strategy to improve treatment adherence and retention in care.Methods and Analysis. This demonstration study would follow an observational cohort of truck drivers receiving early treatment. Our mixed methods approach includes quantitative, qualitative, and economic analyses. Key ethical and logistical issues are discussed (i.e., choice of drug regimen, recruitment of participants, and monitoring of adherence, behavioural changes, and adverse events).Conclusion. Questions specific to the design of tailored early ART programmes are amenable to operational research approaches but present substantial ethical and logistical challenges. Addressing these in demonstration projects can inform policy decisions regarding strategies to reduce health inequalities in access to HIV prevention and treatment programmes.
Mathematical Models for the Novel Cathode Convexes in a Reduction Cell
Authors: He Z. , Xia T. , Xiong W. , Shen Q. , Li B.
Published: March 2013

A less magnitude of liquid aluminum deformation is required to shorten the anode-cathode distance so as to lower the electric energy consumption of the aluminum reduction cell. A mathematical model aimed to describe the electrolyte/aluminum two-phase flow in reduction cells, based on the computational fluid dynamics method, was developed to study the impacts of the cathode convexes on the electrolyte/aluminum interface deformation. The results showed that the magnitude of the two-phase interface deformation was reduced for about 17.2% with the novel cathode convexes; while at the same time, the washout of the melt on the ledge was also enhanced.
Vortex-Induced Vibrations of a Square Cylinder with Damped Free-End Conditions
Authors: Manzoor S. , Khawar J. , Sheikh N. A.
Published: March 2013

The authors report the results of vortex-induced vibrations of a square cylinder in a wind tunnel. This constitutes a high mass ratio environment. The square cylinder is mounted in the wind tunnel in such a fashion that it only performs rigid body oscillations perpendicular to the flow direction with damped free-end conditions. This physical situation allows a direct evaluation for analytical models relying on simplified 2D assumptions. The results are also compared with two-dimensional fluid-structure (CFD-CSD) numerical simulations. The comparison shows that despite having one-dimensional motion, the analytical model does not predict the VIV region with correctness. Results show that the numerical simulations and experimental results differ from the analytical model for the prediction of reduced velocity corresponding to peak amplitude. Also the analytical reduced velocity envelope is underpredicted compared to both numerical simulations and experimental data despite the structure being lightly damped. The findings are significant as the experimental results for freely oscillating high mass ratio body show differences from the low mass ratio especially in the transition between VIV and galloping regions. However the numerical simulations show comparatively close agreement.
Total Body Fat Content versus BMI in 4-Year-Old Healthy Swedish Children
Authors: Forsum Elisabet , Flinke Carlsson Eva , Henriksson Hanna , Henriksson Pontus , Löf Marie
Published: March 2013

Childhood overweight and obesity, a worldwide problem, is generally identified using BMI (body mass index). However, this application of BMI has been little investigated in children below 5 years of age due to a lack of appropriate methods to assess body composition. Therefore, we used air displacement plethysmography (ADP) to study 4.4-year old boys and girls since this method is accurate in young children if they accept the requirements of the measurement. The purpose was to analyze the relationship between BMI and body fat in these children. Body composition was assessed in 76 (43 boys, 33 girls) of the 84 children brought to the measurement session. Boys and girls contained25.2±4.7and26.8±4.0% body fat, respectively. BMI-based cut-offs for overweight could not effectively identify children with a high body fat content. There was a significant (P<0.001) but weak (r=0.39) correlation between BMI and body fat (%). In conclusion, requirements associated with a successful assessment of body composition by means of ADP were accepted by most 4-year-olds. Furthermore, BMI-based cut-offs for overweight did not effectively identify children with a high body fatness and BMI explained only a small proportion of the variation in body fat (%) in this age group.
Photoluminescence of Hexagonal ZnO Nanorods Hydrothermally Grown on Zn Foils in KOH Solutions with Different Values of Basicity
Authors: Ekthammathat Nuengruethai , Thongtem Titipun , Phuruangrat Anukorn , Thongtem Somchai
Published: March 2013

Aligned hexagonal ZnO nanorods on pure Zn foils were hydrothermally synthesized in 30 mL solutions containing 0.05–0.50 g KOH. The products were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. In this research, wurtzite hexagonal ZnO nanorods grown along the [002] direction with green light emission at 541 nm caused by singly ionized oxygen vacancies inside were detected.
Estimation of True Serum Thyroglobulin Concentration Using Simultaneous Measurement of Serum Antithyroglobulin Antibody
Authors: Ahn Byeong-Cheol , Lee Won Kee , Jeong Shin Young , Lee Sang-Woo , Lee Jaetae
Published: March 2013

We investigated the analytical interference of antithyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) to thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement and tried to convert measured Tg concentration to true Tg concentration using a mathematical equation which includes a concentration of TgAb.Methods.Tg was measured by immunoradiometric assay and TgAb by radioimmunoassy. Experimental samples were produced by mixing Tg and TgAb standard solutions or mixing patients’ serum with high Tg or high TgAb. Mathematical equations for prediction of expected Tg concentration with measured Tg and TgAb concentrations were deduced. The Tg concentration calculated using the equations was compared with the expected Tg concentration.Results.Measured Tg concentrations of samples having high TgAb were significantly lower than their expected Tg concentration. Magnitude of TgAb interference with the Tg assay showed a positive correlation with concentration of TgAb. Mathematical equations for estimation of expected Tg concentration using measured Tg and TgAb concentrations were successfully deduced and the calculated Tg concentration showed excellent correlation with expected Tg concentration.Conclusions.A mathematic equation for estimation of true Tg concentration using measured Tg and TgAb concentration was deduced. Tg concentration calculated by use of the equation might be more valuable than measured Tg concentration in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer.
Clinical Trial on the Characteristics of Zheng Classification of Pulmonary Diseases Based on Infrared Thermal Imaging Technology
Authors: Ni Jin-xia , Gao Si-hua , Li Yu-hang , Ma Shi-lei , Tian Tian , Mo Fang-fang , Wang Liu-qing , Zhu Wen-zeng
Published: March 2013

Zheng classification study based on infrared thermal imaging technology has not been reported before. To detect the relative temperature of viscera and bowels of different syndromes patients with pulmonary disease and to summarize the characteristics of different Zheng classifications, the infrared thermal imaging technology was used in the clinical trial. The results showed that the infrared thermal images characteristics of different Zheng classifications of pulmonary disease were distinctly different. The influence on viscera and bowels was deeper in phlegm-heat obstructing lung syndrome group than in cold-phlegm obstructing lung syndrome group. It is helpful to diagnose Zheng classification and to improve the diagnosis rate by analyzing the infrared thermal images of patients. The application of infrared thermal imaging technology provided objective measures for medical diagnosis and treatment in the field of Zheng studies and provided a new methodology for Zheng classification.
A Fuzzy Collaborative Sensor Network for Semiconductor Manufacturing Cycle Time Forecasting
Authors: Lin Yu-Cheng , Chen Toly , Wang Yu-Cheng
Published: March 2013

Network based sensing has become an important field of research, and it is expected that new applications of remote sensing will be developed. A fuzzy collaborative sensor network is developed in this study to predict the cycle time of a job in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, which is an important task for the factory. In the fuzzy collaborative sensor network, each sensor detects the status of a particular job as well as various environmental conditions present in the factory and uses a fuzzy neural network to analyze the received information. Each sensor communicates its settings and forecasting results to other sensors with the aid of a central control unit. According to the experimental results, the aggregate forecasting performance was considerably improved through the sensors' collaboration.
Permeability Models for Magma Flow through the Earth's Mantle: A Lie Group Analysis
Authors: Mindu N. , Mason D. P.
Published: March 2013

The migration of melt through the mantle of the Earth is governed by a third-order nonlinear partial differential equation for the voidage or volume fraction of melt. The partial differential equation depends on the permeability of the medium which is assumed to be a function of the voidage. It is shown that the partial differential equation admits, as well as translations in time and space, other Lie point symmetries provided the permeability is either a power law or an exponential law of the voidage or is a constant. A rarefactive solitary wave solution of the partial differential equation is derived in the form of a quadrature for the exponential law for the permeability.
Metabolomic Analysis of Complex Chinese Remedies: Examples of Induced Nephrotoxicity in the Mouse from a Series of Remedies Containing Aristolochic Acid
Authors: Tsai Dong-Ming , Kang Jaw-Jou , Lee Shoei-Sheng , Wang San-Yuan , Tsai I-Lin , Chen Guan-Yuan , Liao Hsiao-Wei , Wei-Chu Li , Kuo Ching-Hua , Tseng Y. Jane
Published: March 2013

Aristolochic acid nephropathy is caused by aristolochic acid (AA) and AA-containing herbs. In traditional Chinese medicine, a principle called “Jun-Chen-Zou-Shi” may be utilized to construct a remedial herbal formula that attempts to mitigate the toxicity of the main ingredient. This study usedBu-Fei-A-Jiao-Tang(BFAJT) to test if the compound remedy based on a principle of “Jun-Chen-Zou-Shi” can decrease the toxicity of AA-containing herbs. We compared the three toxicities of AA standard,Madouling(anAristolochiaherb), and a herbal formula BFAJT. AA standard was given for BALB/c mice at a dose of 5 mg/kg bw/day or 7.5 mg/kg bw/day for 10 days.Madoulingand BFAJT were given at an equivalence of AA 0.5 mg/kg bw/day for 21 days. Nephrotoxicity was evaluated by metabolomics and histopathology. The urinary metabolomics profiles were characterized by1H NMR spectroscopy. The spectral data was analyzed with partial least squares discriminant analysis, and the significant differential metabolites between groups were identified. The result showed different degrees of acute renal tubular injuries, and metabolomics analysis found that the kidney injuries were focused in proximal renal tubules. Both metabolomics and pathological studies revealed that AA standard,Madouling, and BFAJT were all nephrotoxicants. The compositions of the compound remedy did not diminish the nephrotoxicity caused by AA.
A Numerical Study on Premixed Bluff Body Flame of Different Bluff Apex Angle
Authors: Yang Gelan , Jin Huixia , Bai Na
Published: March 2013

In order to investigate effects of apex angle (α) on chemically reacting turbulent flow and thermal fields in a channel with a bluff body V-gutter flame holder, a numerical study has been carried out in this paper. With a basic geometry used in a previous experimental study, the apex angle was varied from 45° to 150°. Eddy dissipation concept (EDC) combustion model was used for air and propane premixed flame. LES-Smagorinsky model was selected for turbulence. The gird-dependent learning and numerical model verification were done. Both nonreactive and reactive conditions were analyzed and compared. The results show that asαincreases, recirculation zone becomes bigger, and Strouhal number increases a little in nonreactive cases while decreases a little in reactive cases, and the increase ofαmakes the flame shape wider, which will increase the chamber volume heat release ratio and enhance the flame stability.
Heat Transfer Augmentation Technologies for Internal Cooling of Turbine Components of Gas Turbine Engines
Authors: Ligrani Phil
Published: March 2013

To provide an overview of the current state of the art of heat transfer augmentation schemes employed for internal cooling of turbine blades and components, results from an extensive literature review are presented with data from internal cooling channels, both with and without rotation. According to this survey, a very small number of existing investigations consider the use of combination devices for internal passage heat transfer augmentation. Examples are rib turbulators, pin fins, and dimples together, a combination of pin fins and dimples, and rib turbulators and pin fins in combination. The results of such studies are compared with data obtained prior to 2003 without rotation influences. Those data are comprised of heat transfer augmentation results for internal cooling channels, with rib turbulators, pin fins, dimpled surfaces, surfaces with protrusions, swirl chambers, or surface roughness. This comparison reveals that all of the new data, obtained since 2003, collect within the distribution of globally averaged data obtained from investigations conducted prior to 2003 (without rotation influences). The same conclusion in regard to data distributions is also reached in regard to globally averaged thermal performance parameters as they vary with friction factor ratio. These comparisons, made on the basis of such judgment criteria, lead to the conclusion that improvements in our ability to provide better spatially-averaged thermal protection have been minimal since 2003. When rotation is present, existing investigations provide little evidence of overall increases or decreases in overall thermal performance characteristics with rotation, at any value of rotation number, buoyancy parameter, density ratio, or Reynolds number. Comparisons between existing rotating channel experimental data and the results obtained prior to 2003, without rotation influences, also show that rotation has little effect on overall spatially-averaged thermal performance as a function of friction factor.
Obesity and Other Correlates of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors among US High School Students
Authors: Lowry Richard , Lee Sarah M. , Fulton Janet E. , Demissie Zewditu , Kann Laura
Published: March 2013

Understanding correlates of physical activity (PA) can help inform and improve programs that promote PA among youth. We analyzed data from the 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study, a representative sample of US students in grades 9–12. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between PA correlates (obesity, physical education classes, sports team participation, attitude toward PA, adult support for PA, and environmental support for PA) and participation in daily PA (DPA), vigorous PA (VPA), muscle-strengthening activity (MSA), viewing television (TV), and using computers or video games (C/VG). A positive attitude toward PA and adult support for PA were both associated with increased PA and decreased sedentary behavior. However, among students who lived in neighborhoods that were not safe for PA, a positive attitude toward PA was not associated with increased DPA or decreased sedentary behavior and was less strongly associated with VPA and MSA. Efforts to increase PA among youth should promote a positive attitude toward PA among youth and encourage adult family members to support their efforts to be active. Policies that promote safe neighborhoods may work synergistically with a positive attitude toward PA to increase participation in PA and decrease sedentary behaviors.
Detection of Helicobacter pylori in City Water, Dental Units′ Water, and Bottled Mineral Water in Isfahan, Iran
Authors: Bahrami Ahmad Reza , Rahimi Ebrahim , Ghasemian Safaei Hajieh
Published: March 2013

Helicobacter pylori infection in human is one of the most common infections worldwide. However, the origin and transmission of this bacterium has not been clearly explained. One of the suggested theories is transmission via water. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate of H. pylori in tap water, dental units′ water, and bottled mineral water in Iran. In the present study, totally 200 water samples were collected in Isfahan province and tested for H. pylori by cultural method and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by the detection of the ureC (glmM) gene. Using cultural method totally 5 cultures were positive. Two out of 50 tap water samples (4%), 2 out of 35 dental units′ water (5.8%) samples, and 1 out of 40 (2.5% ) from water cooler in public places were found to be contaminated with H. pylori. H. pylori ureC gene was detected in 14 (7%) of water samples including 5 tap water (10%), 4 dental units′ water (11.4%), 1 refrigerated water with filtration, and 4 (10%) water cooler in public places samples. This may be due to the coccoid form of bacteria which is detected by PCR method.
Polymorphism of Beta2-Adrenoceptor and Regular Use of Formoterol in Asthma: Preliminary Results
Authors: Fuso Leonello , Di Perna Alessandra , Longobardi Anna , Trové Andrea , Bisceglia Michela , Bibi Benedetta F. , Angelozzi Carla , Tiziano Francesco D. , Antonelli Incalzi Raffaele
Published: March 2013

Polymorphism at codon 16 of the beta2-adrenoceptor (beta2-AR) affects the responsiveness to salmeterol in asthmatics. Data concerning formoterol are more controversial in the literature. The aim of this study was to verify whether homozygous for arginine-16 (ArgArg16) and homozygous for glycine-16 (GlyGly16) genotypes differently influence the long-term responsiveness to formoterol. Twenty-nine patients with mild-to-moderate asthma, in stable clinical conditions, underwent genotyping at codon 16 of the beta2-AR by RFLP-PCR assay. The effects of a 4-week monotherapy with formoterol (12 μg BID) were tested on the peak expiratory flow (PEF) variability and the forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) slope of the dose-response curve to salbutamol. Variability in PEF significantly increased during the 4-week treatment period in 14 patients with GlyGly16, but not in 15 patients with ArgArg16 and ArgGly16(P=0.032). The FEV1 slope of the dose-response curve to salbutamol decreased after the 4-week treatment period in GlyGly16, but not in pooled ArgArg16 and ArgGly16 patients. This study provides preliminary evidence that tolerance to formoterol develops more frequently in asthmatics with GlyGly16 genotype. If confirmed in a larger population, this finding might be useful in choosing the bronchodilator therapy on the basis of genetic polymorphism of the beta2-AR.
Fractional Order Nonlinear Feedback Controller Design for PMSM Drives
Authors: Wen Jian-Ping
Published: March 2013

Fractional order integral is introduced into active disturbance rejection controller (ADRC) to establish the structure of fractional order proportional integral controller (FPI). Fractional order ADRC (FADRC) is designed by replacing the nonlinear state error feedback control law using nonlinear function combination in ADRC with FPI, which can combine the high performance of ADRC estimating disturbances with the characteristics of fractional order calculus more really describing the physical object and spreading the stable region of the system parameters. The proposed FADRC is applied to permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) speed servo system in order to improve robustness of system against the disturbances. Compared with ADRC, simulation results verify that the proposed control method has given very good robust results and fast speed tracking performance.
Surfactant‐Free Solvothermal Method for Synthesis of Mesoporous Nanocrystalline TiO2 Microspheres with Tailored Pore Size
Authors: Zhang Yajing , Zhang Sujuan , Wang Kangjun , Ding Fu , Wu Jing
Published: March 2013

TiO2 mesoporous microspheres self‐assembled from nanoparticles were synthesized by a surfactant‐free solvothermal route. The TiO2 precursors were fabricated by tetrabutyl titanate, glacial acetic acid, and urea in the ethanol solution at 140°C for 20 h, and TiO2 mesoporous microspheres were obtained by a postcalcination at temperatures of 450°C for promoting TiO2 crystallization and the removal of residual organics. The phase structure, morphology, and pore nature were characterized by XRD, SEM, and nitrogen adsorption‐desorption measurements. The as‐prepared TiO2 microspheres are in anatase phase, with 2‐3 μm in diameter, and narrow pore distribution range is 3‐4 nm. The adjustments of the synthetic parameters lead to the formation of the mesoporous TiO2 microspheres with tuned pore size distributions and morphology.
Acceleration of Early-Photon Fluorescence Molecular Tomography with Graphics Processing Units
Authors: Wang Xin , Zhang Bin , Cao Xu , Liu Fei , Luo Jianwen , Bai Jing
Published: March 2013

Fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) with early-photons can improve the spatial resolution and fidelity of the reconstructed results. However, its computing scale is always large which limits its applications. In this paper, we introduced an acceleration strategy for the early-photon FMT with graphics processing units (GPUs). According to the procedure, the whole solution of FMT was divided into several modules and the time consumption for each module is studied. In this strategy, two most time consuming modules (GdandWmodules) were accelerated with GPU, respectively, while the other modules remained coded in the Matlab. Several simulation studies with a heterogeneous digital mouse atlas were performed to confirm the performance of the acceleration strategy. The results confirmed the feasibility of the strategy and showed that the processing speed was improved significantly.