bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hypoglycemia-Associated EEG Changes in Prepubertal Children With Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Hansen Grith Lærkholm , Foli-Andersen Pia , Fredheim Siri , Juhl Claus , Remvig Line Sofie , Rose Martin H. , Rosenzweig Ivana , Beniczky Sándor , Olsen Birthe , Pilgaard Kasper , Johannesen Jesper
Published: February 2016

Background:

The purpose of this study was to explore the possible difference in the electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern between euglycemia and hypoglycemia in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) during daytime and during sleep. The aim is to develop a hypoglycemia alarm based on continuous EEG measurement and real-time signal processing.

Method:

Eight T1D patients aged 6-12 years were included. A hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemic clamp was performed to induce hypoglycemia both during daytime and during sleep. Continuous EEG monitoring was performed. For each patient, quantitative EEG (qEEG) measures were calculated. A within-patient analysis was conducted comparing hypoglycemia versus euglycemia changes in the qEEG. The nonparametric Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed. A real-time analyzing algorithm developed for adults was applied.

Results:

The qEEG showed significant differences in specific bands comparing hypoglycemia to euglycemia both during daytime and during sleep. In daytime the EEG-based algorithm identified hypoglycemia in all children on average at a blood glucose (BG) level of 2.5 ± 0.5 mmol/l and 18.4 (ranging from 0 to 55) minutes prior to blood glucose nadir. During sleep the nighttime algorithm did not perform.

Conclusions:

We found significant differences in the qEEG in euglycemia and hypoglycemia both during daytime and during sleep. The algorithm developed for adults detected hypoglycemia in all children during daytime. The algorithm had too many false alarms during the night because it was more sensitive to deep sleep EEG patterns than hypoglycemia-related EEG changes. An algorithm for nighttime EEG is needed for accurate detection of nocturnal hypoglycemic episodes in children. This study indicates that a hypoglycemia alarm may be developed using real-time continuous EEG monitoring.
Pediatric Return to Sports After Spinal Surgery
Authors: Christman Tyler , Li Ying
Published: February 2016

Context:

Pediatric patients who undergo spinal surgery are frequently involved in sporting activities. Return to play is often an important postoperative concern for the patient and family.

Evidence Acquisition:

A PubMed search was conducted for articles in the English language on return to play after treatment of pediatric acute disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, and scoliosis from 1980 to 2015. Reference lists were reviewed for additional pertinent articles. We included articles that focused on return to sports after surgical treatment of these conditions in this review.

Study Design:

Clinical review.

Level of Evidence:

Level 4.

Results:

There are no published guidelines, and most of the literature in this area has focused on return to play after spinal injury rather than after spinal surgery. Most children and adolescents have excellent outcomes with minimal pain at 1 year after lumbar discectomy. The majority of surgeons allow return to full activity once pain-free range of motion and strength are regained, typically at 8 to 12 weeks postoperatively. Pediatric patients with spondylolysis have good outcomes after direct pars repair. Satisfactory outcomes have been demonstrated after fusion for low- and high-grade spondylolisthesis. Most surgeons allow return to noncontact sports by 6 months after surgical treatment of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. Return to contact and collision sports is controversial. After posterior spinal fusion for scoliosis, most surgeons allow return to noncontact sports by 3 months and return to contact sports between 6 months and 1 year. Return to collision sports is controversial.

Conclusion:

There is little evidence to guide practitioners on return to sports after pediatric spinal surgery. Ultimately, the decision to allow any young athlete to resume sports participation after spinal injury or surgery must be individualized.
Medullary sponge kidney: A treatment conundrum
Authors: Kass-Iliyya Antoine , Young J Graham
Published: February 2016

Medullary sponge kidney (MSK) is a congenital kidney malformation that is characterized by dilatation of the collecting tubules in the medullary pyramids. Cyst-like areas then form which predispose to nephrocalcinosis, stone formation and recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI). There is an association with defective distal renal tubular acidification and concentration abnormalities such as hypocitraturia. MSK is generally believed to be a sporadic disorder, but an autosomal dominant inheritance is also reported. More recently genetic mutations have been recognised as a possible contributor to the aetiology of the condition. In this article we summarize the available English language literature on the subject of MSK, including its pathogenesis, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.
Third Way Parenting and the Creation of the “Named Person” in Scotland
Authors: Waiton Stuart
Published: February 2016

This article has been developed through the experience of working with the various organizations and individuals who have been part of the No to Named Person campaign. The aim of the article is to understand the emergence of the Named Person in Scotland and to explain the significant distance between legislators and policy makers and those who have opposed the Named Person initiative. We propose that the key to understanding these divergent views is predicated upon profoundly different views of the family, the collapse of the ideal of family autonomy, and its replacement with what can be described as “third way parenting.” Here, the meaning of the “Named Person” as laid out in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, and the opposing views that have been made against this act are explained. The “Named Person” provision in the legislation, it is argued, has developed with the rise of micro-managerial politics, the construction of the “at risk” child and the anxiety expressed about the early years of children, seen most clearly in the significance of early intervention policies. Within this context, parenting has become problematized and increasingly understood as a skills activity requiring training, support, and surveillance.
Capability to Paint and Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Miller Emelie , Johansson Boo
Published: February 2016

Although quite many qualitative studies on painting in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been conducted, there is a lack of quantitative studies, examining the ability to paint in people with AD in relation to disease stages, and to what extent instructions are associated with actual performance. The present study aimed at investigating the capability to paint among nonartist AD participants ( N = 17) in an instructed painting condition versus a noninstructed painting condition. Differences in time spent and area of canvas used in the two painting conditions were assessed and related to scores on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Clock Test. Number of colors used and color preferences were also assessed. A within-subjects experimental design was used. Analyses revealed a statistically significant difference between time and area used in the two painting conditions, where both time and area were used more in the noninstructed condition. MMSE scores and scores on the Clock Test correlated significantly with time spent in both conditions. Higher scores predicted longer painting sessions. Mean number of colors used was 5. Color preferences were bright colors in general and green in particular. Possible artistic development was noted. The overall conclusion is that people with AD have a preserved capability to paint, with and without instructions, even those in the later stages of the disease. The results also indicate that an artistic development is possible and that painting can be used as an appreciated and beneficial activity for people with AD.
From a Seafarer’s Career Management to the Management of Interwoven Sea- and Shore-Based Careers
Authors: Albert Marie-Noëlle , Lazzari Dodeler Nadia , Guy Emmanuel
Published: February 2016

This study proposes a model of interwoven careers. This topic stems from interviews that showed that although future deck officers expect their future career at sea to last from 10 to 15 years and that the rest will be spent on shore, the maritime transport industry’s only goal is to attract and retain them as seagoing officers. This ambivalent situation leads us to develop a model of interwoven careers that is new. It takes into account both the individual and the organization. This is neither a traditional career model nor a boundaryless model. We used Morin’s complexity theory to understand boundaries, which move “within” organizations when, for instance, maritime industries offer deck officers to work on shore and sometimes at sea, and “across” organizations when they develop partnerships to help their employees attain their goals as well as retaining them in their organization.
Course Setting as a Prevention Measure for Overuse Injuries of the Back in Alpine Ski Racing
Authors: Spörri Jörg , Kröll Josef , Fasel Benedikt , Aminian Kamiar , Müller Erich
Published: February 2016

Background:

A combination of frontal bending, lateral bending, and torsion in the loaded trunk has been suggested to be a mechanism leading to overuse injuries of the back in Alpine ski racing. However, there is limited knowledge about the effect of course setting on the aforementioned back-loading patterns.

Purpose:

To investigate the effect of increased gate offset on the skier’s overall trunk kinematics and the occurring ground-reaction forces and to compare these variables between the competition disciplines giant slalom (GS) and slalom (SL).

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Ten top-level athletes were divided into GS and SL groups. Both groups performed a total of 240 GS and 240 SL turns at 2 different course settings. The overall trunk movement components (frontal bending, lateral bending, and torsion angle) were measured using 2 inertial measurement units fixed on the sacrum and sternum. Total ground-reaction forces were measured by pressure insoles.

Results:

In SL, ground-reaction force peaks were significantly lower when the gate offset was increased, while in GS, no differences between course settings were observed. During the turn phase in which the highest spinal disc loading is expected to occur, the back-loading patterns in both GS and SL included a combination of frontal bending, lateral bending, and torsion in the loaded trunk. SL was characterized by shorter turns, lower frontal and lateral bending angles after gate passage, and a trend toward greater total ground-reaction force peaks compared with GS.

Conclusion:

Course setting is a reasonable measure to reduce the skier’s overall back loading in SL but not in GS. The distinct differences observed between GS and SL should be taken into account when defining discipline-specific prevention measures for back overuse injuries.

Clinical Relevance:

To reduce the magnitude of the overall back loading, in SL, minimal gate offsets should be avoided. Prevention measures in GS might particularly need to control and/or reduce the magnitude of frontal and lateral bending in the loaded trunk, whereas prevention measures in SL might especially need to mitigate the short and high total ground-reaction force peaks.
Effect of Wedge Insertion Angle on Posterior Tibial Slope in Medial Opening Wedge High Tibial Osteotomy
Authors: Ogawa Hiroyasu , Matsumoto Kazu , Ogawa Takahiro , Takeuchi Kentaro , Akiyama Haruhiko
Published: February 2016

Background:

Medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO) is a well-established surgery for medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (OA) wherein the lower extremity is realigned to shift the load distribution from the medial compartment of the knee to the lateral compartment. However, this surgery is known to affect the posterior tibial slope angle (PTSA), which could lead to abnormal knee kinematics and instability, and eventually to knee OA. Although PTSA control is as important as coronal realignment, few appropriate measurements for this parameter have been reported. The placement of a wedge spacer might have an effect on PTSA.

Purpose:

To elucidate the relationship between the PTSA and the direction of insertion of a wedge spacer.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

This study assessed 43 knees from 34 patients who underwent medial opening wedge HTO for knee OA. Pre- and postoperative lateral radiographs of the knee as well as postoperative computed tomography scans were performed to evaluate the relationship among PTSA, wedge insertion angle (WIA), and opening gap ratio (distance of the anterior opening gap/distance of the posterior opening gap at the osteotomy site).

Results:

The PTSA significantly increased from 9.0° ± 2.8° preoperatively to 13.2° ± 4.1° postoperatively ( P < .001), resulting in a mean ΔPTSA of 4.7° ± 4.5°. The mean opening gap ratio was 0.86 ± 0.11, and the mean WIA was 25.9° ± 8.4°. The WIA and opening gap ratio were both highly correlated with ΔPTSA ( r = 0.71 and 0.72, respectively), implying that a smaller WIA or smaller gap ratio leads to less increase in posterior slope.

Conclusion:

The direction of wedge insertion is highly correlated with PTSA increase, which suggests that the PTSA can be controlled for by adjusting the direction of wedge insertion during surgery.

Clinical Relevance:

Study results suggest that it is possible to adjust the PTSA by controlling the WIA during surgery. Proper attention to WIA can avoid an iatrogenic increase in posterior tibial slope.
Assessment of Intraoperative Intra-articular Morphine and Clonidine Injection in the Acute Postoperative Period After Hip Arthroscopy
Authors: Cogan Charles J. , Knesek Michael , Tjong Vehniah K. , Nair Rueben , Kahlenberg Cynthia , Dunne Kevin F. , Kendall Mark C. , Terry Michael A.
Published: February 2016

Background:

Previous authors have suggested that intra-articular morphine and clonidine injections after knee arthroscopy have demonstrated equivocal analgesic effect in comparison with bupivacaine while circumventing the issue of chondrotoxicity. There have been no studies evaluating the effect of intra-articular morphine after hip arthroscopy.

Purpose:

To evaluate the efficacy of intra-articular morphine in combination with clonidine on postoperative pain and narcotic consumption after hip arthroscopy surgery for femoroacetabular impingement.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

A retrospective chart review was performed on 43 patients that underwent hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement at a single institution between September 2014 and May 2015. All patients received preoperative celecoxib and acetaminophen, and 22 patients received an additional intra-articular injection of 10 mg morphine and 100 μg of clonidine at the conclusion of the procedure. Narcotic consumption, duration of anesthesia recovery, and perioperative pain scores were compared between the 2 groups.

Results:

Patients who received intra-articular morphine and clonidine used significantly less opioid analgesic (mEq) in the postanesthesia recovery (median difference, 17 mEq [95% CI, –32 to –2 mEq]; P = .02) compared with the control group. There were no differences in time spent in recovery before hospital discharge or in visual analog pain scores recorded immediately postoperatively and at 1 hour after surgery.

Conclusion:

Intraoperative intra-articular injection of morphine and clonidine significantly reduced the narcotic requirement during the postsurgical recovery period after hip arthroscopy. The reduction in postsurgical opioids may decrease adverse effects, improve overall pain management, and lead to better quality of recovery and improved patient satisfaction.
Enhancing “Gero-Interest” Among Health Education Graduate Students
Authors: Sudha S. , Morrison Sharon
Published: February 2016

With the proportions and numbers of older adults increasing rapidly in the United States and worldwide, there is acute need for professionals with “gero-competency” and “gero-interest” in the spectrum of health and human service fields. We examine whether adding on gerontology content to an existing international health-focused service learning course would suffice to spark interest in gerontology and gero-focused careers among Master’s in Public Health students in Community Health Education. Currently, comparatively few graduate programs in public health education in the United States offer aging concentrations. We thus explore this alternative strategy. We used case study methodology to guide our assessment, which included content and thematic analyses of “artifacts of learning” and transcripts of in-depth interviews with five graduate students. Despite little prior exposure to gerontology and limited preparation with gerontology content, the students were able to competently analyze community aging issues. They recommended that aging-related courses with experiential opportunities be offered in health education curricula. Of the five students, three were not interested in a gero-focused career, one was open to the idea, and the other had found her niche in an aging-related position and enjoyed working in that environment. As the population ages, there is great need to spark students’ interest in aging-related careers. Adding on gerontology content to an existing health education course appeared less effective in sparking gero-interest, despite proven pedagogical approaches such as service learning. Encouraging students to take aging-focused courses with experiential learning components and offering more gerontology concentrations in Master’s in Public Health–level community health education programs may be more effective.
Bench, Boundaries, and Benefits
Authors: Kau C.H.
Published: February 2016

Knowledge Transfer Statement:

The information in this commentary will allow clinicians and inventors to better translate ideas in the commercial realm. It has a direct impact to improving clinical care and the patient experience.
Vibration assisted welding processes and their influence on quality of welds
Authors: Jose M. J. , Kumar S. S. , Sharma A.
Published: February 2016

Vibration assisted welding (VAW) has emerged as a successful replacement for heat treatments and post-weld vibration treatments of arc welds to reduce residual stresses and distortions and thus to improve its mechanical properties. This review paper tries to create a knowledge platform for such a next generation research by consolidating the findings, merits, demerits and shortfalls identified hitherto in the field of VAW. This paper presents a review on the various techniques and processes of applying vibration to the welding system and their effects on microstructure, mechanical properties and residual stress of welds, and the directions for future research are presented. Vibration of workpiece during welding, oscillation of weld pool, oscillation of molten droplet, oscillation of welding arc and vibration of welding electrode were identified from the literature as the possible ways of imparting vibration. The advancement in the direction of computational work is also observed.
Fibrin deposition following bile duct injury limits fibrosis through an αMβ2-dependent mechanism
Authors: Joshi Nikita , Kopec Anna K. , Ray Jessica L. , Cline-Fedewa Holly , Nawabi Atta , Schmitt Timothy , Nault Rance , Zacharewski Timothy R. , Rockwell Cheryl E. , Flick Matthew J. , Luyendyk James P.
Published: February 2016

Key Points

Fibrin engagement of leukocyte integrin-αMβ2 restricts bile duct hyperplasia and inhibits periductal fibrosis. Periductal fibrosis following bile duct injury is inhibited by leukadherin-1, an allosteric activator of integrin-αMβ2 fibrin binding.
CUDAMPF: a multi-tiered parallel framework for accelerating protein sequence search in HMMER on CUDA-enabled GPU
Authors: Jiang Hanyu , Ganesan Narayan
Published: February 2016

Background

HMMER software suite is widely used for analysis of homologous protein and nucleotide sequences with high sensitivity. The latest version of hmmsearch in HMMER 3.x, utilizes heuristic-pipeline which consists of MSV/SSV (Multiple/Single ungapped Segment Viterbi) stage, P7Viterbi stage and the Forward scoring stage to accelerate homology detection. Since the latest version is highly optimized for performance on modern multi-core CPUs with SSE capabilities, only a few acceleration attempts report speedup. However, the most compute intensive tasks within the pipeline (viz., MSV/SSV and P7Viterbi stages) still stand to benefit from the computational capabilities of massively parallel processors.

Results

A Multi-Tiered Parallel Framework (CUDAMPF) implemented on CUDA-enabled GPUs presented here, offers a finer-grained parallelism for MSV/SSV and Viterbi algorithms. We couple SIMT (Single Instruction Multiple Threads) mechanism with SIMD (Single Instructions Multiple Data) video instructions with warp-synchronism to achieve high-throughput processing and eliminate thread idling. We also propose a hardware-aware optimal allocation scheme of scarce resources like on-chip memory and caches in order to boost performance and scalability of CUDAMPF. In addition, runtime compilation via NVRTC available with CUDA 7.0 is incorporated into the presented framework that not only helps unroll innermost loop to yield upto 2 to 3-fold speedup than static compilation but also enables dynamic loading and switching of kernels depending on the query model size, in order to achieve optimal performance.

Conclusions

CUDAMPF is designed as a hardware-aware parallel framework for accelerating computational hotspots within the hmmsearch pipeline as well as other sequence alignment applications. It achieves significant speedup by exploiting hierarchical parallelism on single GPU and takes full advantage of limited resources based on their own performance features. In addition to exceeding performance of other acceleration attempts, comprehensive evaluations against high-end CPUs (Intel i5, i7 and Xeon) shows that CUDAMPF yields upto 440 GCUPS for SSV, 277 GCUPS for MSV and 14.3 GCUPS for P7Viterbi all with 100 % accuracy, which translates to a maximum speedup of 37.5, 23.1 and 11.6-fold for MSV, SSV and P7Viterbi respectively. The source code is available at https://github.com/Super-Hippo/CUDAMPF.
Regularized logistic regression with network-based pairwise interaction for biomarker identification in breast cancer
Authors: Wu Meng-Yun , Zhang Xiao-Fei , Dai Dao-Qing , Ou-Yang Le , Zhu Yuan , Yan Hong
Published: February 2016

Backgroud

To facilitate advances in personalized medicine, it is important to detect predictive, stable and interpretable biomarkers related with different clinical characteristics. These clinical characteristics may be heterogeneous with respect to underlying interactions between genes. Usually, traditional methods just focus on detection of differentially expressed genes without taking the interactions between genes into account. Moreover, due to the typical low reproducibility of the selected biomarkers, it is difficult to give a clear biological interpretation for a specific disease. Therefore, it is necessary to design a robust biomarker identification method that can predict disease-associated interactions with high reproducibility.

Results

In this article, we propose a regularized logistic regression model. Different from previous methods which focus on individual genes or modules, our model takes gene pairs, which are connected in a protein-protein interaction network, into account. A line graph is constructed to represent the adjacencies between pairwise interactions. Based on this line graph, we incorporate the degree information in the model via an adaptive elastic net, which makes our model less dependent on the expression data. Experimental results on six publicly available breast cancer datasets show that our method can not only achieve competitive performance in classification, but also retain great stability in variable selection. Therefore, our model is able to identify the diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in a more robust way. Moreover, most of the biomarkers discovered by our model have been verified in biochemical or biomedical researches.

Conclusions

The proposed method shows promise in the diagnosis of disease pathogenesis with different clinical characteristics. These advances lead to more accurate and stable biomarker discovery, which can monitor the functional changes that are perturbed by diseases. Based on these predictions, researchers may be able to provide suggestions for new therapeutic approaches.
HPG pore: an efficient and scalable framework for nanopore sequencing data
Authors: Tarraga Joaquin , Gallego Asunción , Arnau Vicente , Medina Ignacio , Dopazo Joaquin
Published: February 2016

Background

The use of nanopore technologies is expected to spread in the future because they are portable and can sequence long fragments of DNA molecules without prior amplification. The first nanopore sequencer available, the MinION™ from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, is a USB-connected, portable device that allows real-time DNA analysis. In addition, other new instruments are expected to be released soon, which promise to outperform the current short-read technologies in terms of throughput. Despite the flood of data expected from this technology, the data analysis solutions currently available are only designed to manage small projects and are not scalable.

Results

Here we present HPG Pore, a toolkit for exploring and analysing nanopore sequencing data. HPG Pore can run on both individual computers and in the Hadoop distributed computing framework, which allows easy scale-up to manage the large amounts of data expected to result from extensive use of nanopore technologies in the future.

Conclusions

HPG Pore allows for virtually unlimited sequencing data scalability, thus guaranteeing its continued management in near future scenarios. HPG Pore is available in GitHub at http://github.com/opencb/hpg-pore.
Hepatitis C virus-cross-reactive TCR gene-modified T cells: a model for immunotherapy against diseases with genomic instability
Authors: Spear Timothy T , Riley Timothy P , Lyons Gretchen E , Callender Glenda G , Roszkowski Jeffrey J , Wang Yuan , Simms Patricia E , Scurti Gina M , Foley Kendra C , Murray David C , Hellman Lance M , McMahan Rachel H , Iwashima Makio , Garrett-Mayer Elizabeth , Rosen Hugo R , Baker Brian M , Nishimura Michael I
Published: February 2016

A major obstacle hindering the development of effective immunity against viral infections, their associated disease, and certain cancers is their inherent genomic instability. Accumulation of mutations can alter processing and presentation of antigens recognized by antibodies and T cells that can lead to immune escape variants. Use of an agent that can intrinsically combat rapidly mutating viral or cancer-associated antigens would be quite advantageous in developing effective immunity against such disease. We propose that T cells harboring cross-reactive TCRs could serve as a therapeutic agent in these instances. With the use of hepatitis C virus, known for its genomic instability as a model for mutated antigen recognition, we demonstrate cross-reactivity against immunogenic and mutagenic nonstructural protein 3:1406-1415 and nonstructural protein 3:1073-1081 epitopes in PBL-derived, TCR-gene-modified T cells. These single TCR-engineered T cells can CD8-independently recognize naturally occurring and epidemiologically relevant mutant variants. TCR-peptide MHC modeling data allow us to rationalize how TCR structural properties accommodate recognition of certain mutated epitopes and how these substitutions impact the requirement of CD8 affinity enhancement for recognition. A better understanding of such TCRs’ promiscuous behavior may allow for exploitation of these properties to develop novel, adoptive T cell-based therapies for viral infections and cancers exhibiting similar genomic instability.
IFN-α promotes rapid human Treg contraction and late Th1-like Treg decrease
Authors: Pacella Ilenia , Timperi Eleonora , Accapezzato Daniele , Martire Carmela , Labbadia Giancarlo , Cavallari Eugenio N , D’Ettorre Gabriella , Calvo Ludovica , Rizzo Fabiana , Severa Martina , Coccia Eliana M , Vullo Vincenzo , Barnaba Vincenzo , Piconese Silvia
Published: February 2016

Type I IFNs are pleiotropic cytokines that exert concerted activities in the development of antiviral responses. Regulatory T cells represent a physiologic checkpoint in the balance between immunity and tolerance, requiring fine and rapid controls. Here, we show that human regulatory T cells are particularly sensitive to the sequential effects of IFN-α. First, IFN-α exerts a rapid, antiproliferative and proapoptotic effect in vitro and in vivo, as early as after 2 d of pegylated IFN/ribavirin therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Such activities result in the decline, at d 2, in circulating regulatory T cell frequency and specifically of the activated regulatory T cell subset. Later, IFN-based therapy restrains the fraction of regulatory T cells that can be polarized into IFN-γ-producing Th1-like regulatory T cells known to contribute to chronic immune activation in type 1 inflammation. Indeed, Th1-like regulatory T cell frequency significantly declines after 30 d of therapy in vivo in relation to the persistent decline of relevant IL-12 sources, namely, myeloid and 6-sulfo LacNAc-expressing dendritic cells. This event is recapitulated by experiments in vitro, providing evidence that it may be attributable to the inhibitory effect of IFN-α on IL-12-induced, Th1-like regulatory T cell polarization. In summary, our results suggest that IFN-α-driven, early regulatory T cell depletion contributes to the development of antiviral immunity, ultimately resulting in the resolution of type 1 inflammation.
Analysis of Transpulmonary Thermodilution Data Confirms the Influence of Renal Replacement Therapy on Thermodilution Hemodynamic Measurements
Authors: Schmidt Sven , Westhoff Timm , Schlattmann Peter , Zidek Walter , Compton Friederike
Published: February 2016

BACKGROUND:

Transpulmonary thermodilution (TPTD) is used frequently in the intensive care unit to determine cardiac index (CI), intrathoracic blood volume index (ITBVI), and extravascular lung volume index (EVLWI). Renal replacement therapy (RRT) influences TPTD results, but the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. We hypothesized that RRT blood flow induces errors in TPTD measurements.

METHODS:

We analyzed TPTD data available from the PiCCO® plus hemodynamic measurement device on a personal computer using a proprietary Pulsion Medical Systems software. By using the dialysis catheter to inject the thermal indicator, 20 measurement series were performed in 12 intensive care unit patients determining CI, ITBVI, and EVLWI during RRT with the blood pump stopped, and at flows of 100 and 200 mL/min, respectively.

RESULTS:

Data export was successful in 17 measurement series and showed a significant decrease in measured CI (6.5 ± 2.5 vs 5.4 ± 1.9 L/min/m2, P < 0.001) and ITBVI (1358.8 ± 274.5 vs 1132.8 ± 218.3 mL/m2, P < 0.001) with RRT and a significant increase in EVLWI (8.6 ± 4.4, 10.2 ± 4.5 mL/kg, P < 0.001). Blood temperature before and the temperature decrease after injection of the thermal indicator were unchanged by RRT. Mean transit time and downslope time of the thermodilution curve, however, were both increased with the RRT blood pump running (P ≤ 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Analysis of TPTD data shows that thermodilution curve forms are modified with RRT, resulting in an erroneous calculation of thermodilution-derived hemodynamic parameters.
Legislating Weight Loss: Are Antiobesity Public Health Policies Making an Impact?
Authors: Essington Malana , Hertelendy Attila J.
Published: February 2016

Obesity affects America's children both in childhood and into their adult years. Unfortunately, a long history of public policy has done little to effectively reduce obesity among children. Federal programs including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and the School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children have proven to be less than effective in reducing obesity rates among school-aged children. Studies find that children participating in these programs are more likely to be overweight than their brown-bag peers while nutritional targets are missed. Various iterations of school-based nutrition programs have proven to be ineffective and wasteful, yet policy leaders continue to consume tax dollars with their implementation. Although strict guidelines for evaluating scientific evidence were historically used to ensure rigorous reviews were conducted, recent relaxation of those guidelines jeopardizes the integrity of the scientific platform. Consequently, recommendations that were once rooted in science may be less reliable due to a compromise of the scientific literature review process, and the conclusions drawn by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee may be somewhat questionable. Public policy must be augmented by scientific evidence and any further obesity reduction initiatives must be well-grounded in research that has been rigorously reviewed and evaluated.
Stem-cell-specific endocytic degradation defects lead to intestinal dysplasia in Drosophila
Authors: Nagy Péter , Kovács Laura , Sándor Gyöngyvér O. , Juhász Gábor
Published: February 2016

UV radiation resistance-associated gene (UVRAG) is a tumor suppressor involved in autophagy, endocytosis and DNA damage repair, but how its loss contributes to colorectal cancer is poorly understood. Here, we show that UVRAG deficiency in Drosophila intestinal stem cells leads to uncontrolled proliferation and impaired differentiation without preventing autophagy. As a result, affected animals suffer from gut dysfunction and short lifespan. Dysplasia upon loss of UVRAG is characterized by the accumulation of endocytosed ligands and sustained activation of STAT and JNK signaling, and attenuation of these pathways suppresses stem cell hyperproliferation. Importantly, the inhibition of early (dynamin-dependent) or late (Rab7-dependent) steps of endocytosis in intestinal stem cells also induces hyperproliferation and dysplasia. Our data raise the possibility that endocytic, but not autophagic, defects contribute to UVRAG-deficient colorectal cancer development in humans.
Conditional mutation of Smc5 in mouse embryonic stem cells perturbs condensin localization and mitotic progression
Authors: Pryzhkova Marina V. , Jordan Philip W.
Published: February 2016

Correct duplication of stem cell genetic material and its appropriate segregation into daughter cells are requisites for tissue, organ and organism homeostasis. Disruption of stem cell genomic integrity can lead to developmental abnormalities and cancer. Roles of the Smc5/6 structural maintenance of chromosomes complex in pluripotent stem cell genome maintenance have not been investigated, despite its important roles in DNA synthesis, DNA repair and chromosome segregation as evaluated in other model systems. Using mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) with a conditional knockout allele of Smc5, we showed that Smc5 protein depletion resulted in destabilization of the Smc5/6 complex, accumulation of cells in G2 phase of the cell cycle and apoptosis. Detailed assessment of mitotic mESCs revealed abnormal condensin distribution and perturbed chromosome segregation, accompanied by irregular spindle morphology, lagging chromosomes and DNA bridges. Mutation of Smc5 resulted in retention of Aurora B kinase and enrichment of condensin on chromosome arms. Furthermore, we observed reduced levels of Polo-like kinase 1 at kinetochores during mitosis. Our study reveals crucial requirements of the Smc5/6 complex during cell cycle progression and for stem cell genome maintenance.
The mechanical regulation of integrin–cadherin crosstalk organizes cells, signaling and forces
Authors: Mui Keeley L. , Chen Christopher S. , Assoian Richard K.
Published: February 2016

Cadherins and integrins are intrinsically linked through the actin cytoskeleton and share common signaling molecules. Although mechanosensing by the integrin–actin axis has long been appreciated, a growing body of literature now demonstrates that cadherins also transduce and respond to mechanical forces. Mounting evidence shows that mechanically driven crosstalk between integrins and cadherins regulates the spatial distribution of these receptors, their signaling intermediates, the actin cytoskeleton and intracellular forces. This interplay between integrins and cadherins can control fibronectin matrix assembly and signaling, and a fine balance between traction forces at focal adhesions and intercellular tension at adherens junctions is crucial for directional collective cell migration. In this Commentary, we discuss two central ideas: (1) how the dynamic interplay between integrins and cadherins regulates the spatial organization of intracellular signals and the extracellular matrix, and (2) the emerging consensus that intracellular force is a central mechanism that dictates cell behavior, guides tissue development and ultimately drives physiology.
Odd Cycle Zero Forcing Parameters and the Minimum Rank of Graph Blowups
Authors: Lin Jephian Chin-Hung
Published: February 2016

The minimum rank problem for a simple graph G and a given field F is to determine the smallest possible rank among symmetric matrices over F whose i, j-entry, i â  j, is nonzero whenever i is adjacent to j, and zero otherwise; the diagonal entries can be any element in F. In contrast, loop graphs \mathscr{G} go one step further to restrict the diagonal i, i-entries as nonzero whenever i has a loop, and zero otherwise. When char F â  2, the odd cycle zero forcing number and the enhanced odd cycle zero forcing number are introduced as bounds for loop graphs and simple graphs, respectively. A relation between loop graphs and simple graphs through graph blowups is developed, so that the minimum rank problem of some families of simple graphs can be reduced to that of much smaller loop graphs.
On the distance from a weakly normal matrix polynomial to matrix polynomials with a prescribed multiple eigenvalue
Authors: Kokabifar E. , Loghmani G.B. , Psarrakos Panayiotis
Published: February 2016

Consider an$n\times n matrix polynomial P(\lambda). An upper bound for a spectral norm distance from P(\lambda) to the set of n \times n matrix polynomials that have a given scalar Î¼ in C as a multiple eigenvalue was obtained by Papathanasiou and Psarrakos (2008). This paper concerns a refinement of this result for the case of weakly normal matrix polynomials. A modified method is developed and its efficiency is verified by two illustrative examples. The proposed methodology can also be applied to general matrix polynomials.
A counterexample to a question of Bapat and Sunder
Authors: Drury Stephen
Published: February 2016

We present a counterexample to a question of Bapat and Sunder.
Naseer Aruri and the Politics of Hope
Authors: Fouad Moughrabi
Published: February 2016

A comparative approach is necessary when examining the role of Palestinian scholars and activists in defense of their cause. A look at the role of Native American scholars and activists reveals some similarities. Both groups worked hard to prevent the erasure of their identity by the settler colonial invaders. Another common theme is the emphasis on a politics of hope. Professor Aruri was a man of the left which has been in retreat throughout the Arab World. A renewed critique is necessary before the left can be resurrected. This offers the only democratic hope for the region.
Bardoxolone Methyl Prevents High-Fat Diet-Induced Colon Inflammation in Mice
Authors: Dinh Chi H. L. , Yu Yinghua , Szabo Alexander , Zhang Qingsheng , Zhang Peng , Huang Xu-Feng
Published: February 2016

Obesity induces chronic, low-grade inflammation, which increases the risk of colon cancer. We investigated the preventive effects of Bardoxolone methyl (BARD) on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced inflammation in a mouse colon. Male C57BL/6J mice ( n=7) were fed a HFD (HFD group), HFD plus BARD (10 mg/kg) in drinking water (HFD/BARD group), or normal laboratory chow diet (LFD group) for 21 weeks. In HFD mice, BARD reduced colon thickness and decreased colon weight per length. This was associated with an increase in colon crypt depth and the number of goblet cells per crypt. BARD reduced the expression of F4/80 and CD11c but increased CD206 and IL-10, indicating an anti-inflammatory effect. BARD prevented an increase of the intracellular pro-inflammatory biomarkers (NF-қB, p NF-қB, IL-6, TNF-α) and cell proliferation markers (Cox2 and Ki67). BARD prevented fat deposition in the colon wall and prevented microbial population changes. Overall, we report the preventive effects of BARD on colon inflammation in HFD-fed mice through its regulation of macrophages, NF-қB, cytokines, Cox2 and Ki67, fat deposition and microflora.
A modified Adomian decomposition method for singular initial value Emden-Fowler type equations
Authors: Biazar Jafar , Hosseini Kamyar
Published: February 2016

Traditional Adomian decomposition method (ADM) usually fails to solve singular initial value problems of Emden-Fowler type. To overcome this shortcoming, a new and effective modification of ADM that only requires calculation of the first Adomian polynomial is formally proposed in the present paper. Three singular initial value problems of Emden-Fowler type with alpha=1, 2, and >2, have been selected to demonstrate the efficiency of the method.    
Effect of soil physico-chemical properties and plant type on bacterial diversity in semi- arid parts in central Sudan. Part ii. Sharq El-neel region, Khartoum state
Authors: Hassan Hayat , EL-Kamali Hatil
Published: February 2016

Total viable counts of bacteria and bacterial diversity of the different soil samples from three different localities in Sharq EL-Neel region: Soba, AL-Aelafoon and Um Dawan Ban sub-regions were carried out. Soil physical and chemical characteristics (pH, EC,SP,solublecations: Na, K, Ca, Mg and anion P, organic carbon, total nitrogen and soil texture)in each studied sub-regions were measured. Qualitative analysis of microorganisms isolated from the studied soil samples reveal a total of thirteendifferent species of bacteria, of which two are unidentified. The ten species are classified under Bacillus genus. In Sharq EL-Neel regionsoil samples, total bacterial counts ranged from 9.5 × 104 cfu g-1 to 1×103 with a mean of 4×103 cfu g-1. The quantitative data on microbial population recorded in the present study was analysed using two diversity indices. High Shannon-Weiner diversity Index value for bacteria was obtained in AL-Aelfoon sub-region (1.79361), whereas high Simpson's index value was obtained in Um Dawan Ban sub-region (2.80).ActinomycesActinomyces spp. and Streptomyces spp. Where the most abundant microorganisms identified in the three sub-regions. Total bacterial count in Soba soil was positively correlated with pH (r= 0.0194) and sand (r= 0.3205); the total bacterial count in AL-Aelafoon soilwas positively correlated with EC (r= 0.1062), clay (r= 0.3816), silt (r= 0.1936), SP (r= 0.9302), K (r= 0.6252), Ca (r= 0.0015) and Mg (r= 0.1556), whereas the total bacterial count in Um Dawan Ban soil was positively correlated with clay (r= 0.2614), silt (r= 0.0216), SP (r= 0.565), K (r= 0.9645), P (r= 0.0197), Ca (r= 0.7377), Mg (r= 0.0267), N (r= 0.5215) and O.C (r= 0.3214). There were obvious differences in correlation coefficients among the selected criteria (46 % from the total number of correlation coefficients were positively correlated between bacterial counts and soil physico-chemical properties whereas 54% from the total number were positively correlated between plant type and bacterial counts).
Letter to the editor in response to “Türkiye örnekleminde meta analiz çalışmalarının içerik analizi ve metodolojik değerlendirilmesi”
“Türkiye örnekleminde meta analiz çalışmalarının içerik analizi ve metodolojik değerlendirilmesi” çalışmasına yanıt: Editöre mektup
Authors: Dinçer Serkan
Published: February 2016

This letter was written in response to the paper by Başol, Doğuyurt and Demir (2016) to the section of model selection on International Journal of Human Sciences. The first part of letter includes model selection for meta-analysis, the second part of letter includes rule of ethics.ÖzetBu mektup, International Journal of Human Sciences süreli yayınında yayımlanan Başol, Doğuyurt ve Demir’e (2016) ait çalışmanın, meta-analiz çalışmalarında model seçimi bölümüne cevap niteliğinde yazılmıştır. Mektubun birinci bölümünde meta-analiz için model seçimi, ikinci bölümünde ise etik kurallara yer verilmiştir.
σ2-Adaptin Facilitates Basal Synaptic Transmission and Is Required for Regenerating Endo-Exo Cycling Pool Under High-Frequency Nerve Stimulation in Drosophila
Authors: Choudhury Saumitra Dey , Mushtaq Zeeshan , Reddy-Alla Suneel , Balakrishnan Sruthi S , Thakur Rajan S , Krishnan Kozhalmannom S , Raghu Padinjat , Ramaswami Mani , Kumar Vimlesh
Published: February 2016

The functional requirement of adapter protein 2 (AP2) complex in synaptic membrane retrieval by clathrin-mediated endocytosis is not fully understood. Here we isolated and functionally characterized a mutation that dramatically altered synaptic development. Based on the aberrant neuromuscular junction (NMJ) synapse, we named this mutation angur (a Hindi word meaning “grapes”). Loss-of-function alleles of angur show more than twofold overgrowth in bouton numbers and a dramatic decrease in bouton size. We mapped the angur mutation to σ2-adaptin, the smallest subunit of the AP2 complex. Reducing the neuronal level of any of the subunits of the AP2 complex or disrupting AP2 complex assembly in neurons phenocopied the σ2-adaptin mutation. Genetic perturbation of σ2-adaptin in neurons leads to a reversible temperature-sensitive paralysis at 38°. Electrophysiological analysis of the mutants revealed reduced evoked junction potentials and quantal content. Interestingly, high-frequency nerve stimulation caused prolonged synaptic fatigue at the NMJs. The synaptic levels of subunits of the AP2 complex and clathrin, but not other endocytic proteins, were reduced in the mutants. Moreover, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)/transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling was altered in these mutants and was restored by normalizing σ2-adaptin in neurons. Thus, our data suggest that (1) while σ2-adaptin facilitates synaptic vesicle (SV) recycling for basal synaptic transmission, its activity is also required for regenerating SVs during high-frequency nerve stimulation, and (2) σ2-adaptin regulates NMJ morphology by attenuating TGFβ signaling.