bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preserving Patient Privacy When Sharing Same-Disease Data
Authors: Liu Xiaoping , Li Xiao-Bai , Motiwalla Luvai , Li Wenjun , Zheng Hua , Franklin Patricia D.
Published: October 2016

Medical and health data are often collected for studying a specific disease. For such same-disease microdata, a privacy disclosure occurs as long as an individual is known to be in the microdata. Individuals in same-disease microdata are thus subject to higher disclosure risk than those in microdata with different diseases. This important problem has been overlooked in data-privacy research and practice, and no prior study has addressed this problem. In this study, we analyze the disclosure risk for the individuals in same-disease microdata and propose a new metric that is appropriate for measuring disclosure risk in this situation. An efficient algorithm is designed and implemented for anonymizing same-disease data to minimize the disclosure risk while keeping data utility as good as possible. An experimental study was conducted on real patient and population data. Experimental results show that traditional reidentification risk measures underestimate the actual disclosure risk for the individuals in same-disease microdata and demonstrate that the proposed approach is very effective in reducing the actual risk for same-disease data. This study suggests that privacy protection policy and practice for sharing medical and health data should consider not only the individuals’ identifying attributes but also the health and disease information contained in the data. It is recommended that data-sharing entities employ a statistical approach, instead of the HIPAA's Safe Harbor policy, when sharing same-disease microdata.
On the Limitations of Greedy Mechanism Design for Truthful Combinatorial Auctions
Authors: Borodin Allan , Lucier Brendan
Published: October 2016

We study mechanisms for the combinatorial auction (CA) problem, in which
m
objects are sold to rational agents and the goal is to maximize social welfare. Of particular interest is the special case of
s
-CAs, where agents are interested in sets of size at most
s
, for which a simple greedy algorithm obtains an
s
+ 1 approximation, but no polynomial time deterministic truthful mechanism is known to attain an approximation ratio better than
O
(
m
/√log
m
). We view this not only as an extreme gap between the power of greedy auctions and truthful greedy auctions, but also as exemplifying the gap between the known power of truthful and non-truthful polynomial time deterministic algorithms. We associate the notion of greediness with a broad class of algorithms, known as priority algorithms, which encapsulate many natural auction methods. This motivates us to ask: how well can a truthful greedy algorithm approximate the optimal social welfare for CA problems? We show that no truthful greedy priority algorithm can obtain an approximation to the CA problem that is sublinear in
m
, even for
s
-CAs with
s
≥ 2. Our inapproximations are independent of any time constraints on the mechanism and are purely a consequence of the greedy-type restriction. We conclude that any truthful combinatorial auction mechanism with a non-trivial approximation factor must fall outside the scope of many natural auction methods.
Social Influence-Aware Reverse Nearest Neighbor Search
Authors: Hung Hui-Ju , Yang De-Nian , Lee Wang-Chien
Published: October 2016

Business-location planning, critical to the success of many businesses, can be addressed by the reverse nearest neighbors (RNN) query using geographical proximity to the customers as the main metric to find a store location close to many customers. Nevertheless, we argue that other marketing factors, such as social influence, could be considered in the process of business-location planning. In this article, we propose a framework for business-location planning that takes into account both factors of
geographical proximity
and
social influence
. An essential task in this framework is to compute the “influence spread” of RNNs for candidate locations. Here, the influence spread refers to the number of people influenced via the word-of-mouth effect. To alleviate the excessive computational overhead and long latency in the framework, we trade storage overhead for processing speed by precomputing and storing the social influence between pairs of customers. Based on
Targeted Region (TR)-Oriented
and
RNN-Oriented
processing strategies, we develop two suites of algorithms that incorporate various efficient pruning and segmentation techniques to enhance our framework. Experiments validate our ideas and evaluate the efficiency of the proposed algorithms over various parameter settings. The experimental results show that (a) TR-oriented and RNN-oriented processing are feasible for supporting the task of location planning; (b) RNN-oriented processing is more efficient than TR-oriented processing; and (c) the optimization technique that we developed significantly improves the efficiency of RNN-oriented and TR-oriented processing.
Sparse Fault-Tolerant BFS Structures
Authors: Parter Merav , Peleg David
Published: October 2016

A
fault-tolerant
structure for a network is required for continued functioning following the failure of some of the network’s edges or vertices. This article considers
breadth-first search (BFS)
spanning trees and addresses the problem of designing a sparse
fault-tolerant
BFS structure (FT-BFS structure), namely, a sparse subgraph
T
of the given network
G
such that subsequent to the failure of a single edge or vertex, the surviving part
T
′ of
T
still contains a BFS spanning tree for (the surviving part of)
G
. For a source node
s
, a target node
t
, and an edge
e
∈
G
, the shortest
s
−
t
path
P

s
,
t
,
e

that does not go through
e
is known as a
replacement path
. Thus, our FT-BFS structure contains the collection of all replacement paths
P

s
,
t
,
e

for every
t
∈
V
(
G
) and every failed edge
e
∈
E
(
G
). Our main results are as follows. We present an algorithm that for every
n
-vertex graph
G
and source node
s
constructs a (single edge failure) FT-BFS structure rooted at
s
with
O
(
n
ċ min {Depth(
s
), √n{) edges, where Depth(
s
) is the depth of the BFS tree rooted at
s
. This result is complemented by a matching lower bound, showing that there exist
n
-vertex graphs with a source node
s
for which any edge (or vertex) FT-BFS structure rooted at
s
has Ω(
n
3/2
) edges. We then consider
fault-tolerant multi-source BFS structures
(FT-MBFS structures), aiming to provide (following a failure) a BFS tree rooted at each source
s
∈
S
for some subset of sources
S
⊆
V
. Again, tight bounds are provided, showing that there exists a poly-time algorithm that for every
n
-vertex graph and source set
S
⊆
V
of size σ constructs a (single failure) FT-MBFS structure
T
*(
S
) from each source

s
i

∈
S
, with
O
(√σ ċ
n
3/2) edges, and, on the other hand, there exist
n
-vertex graphs with source sets
S
⊆
V
of cardinality σ, on which any FT-MBFS structure from
S
has Ω(√σ ċ
n
3/2
) edges. Finally, we propose an
O
(log 
n
) approximation algorithm for constructing FT-BFS and FT-MBFS structures. The latter is complemented by a hardness result stating that there exists no Ω(log 
n
) approximation algorithm for these problems under standard complexity assumptions. In comparison with previous constructions, our algorithm is deterministic and may improve the number of edges by a factor of up to √
n
for some instances. All our algorithms can be extended to deal with one
vertex
failure as well, with the same performance.
Resource Management for Business Process Scheduling in the Presence of Availability Constraints
Authors: Xu Jiajie , Liu Chengfei , Zhao Xiaohui , Yongchareon Sira , Ding Zhiming
Published: October 2016

In the context of business process management, the resources required by business processes, such as workshop staff, manufacturing machines, etc., tend to follow certain availability patterns, due to maintenance cycles, work shifts and other factors. Such availability patterns heavily influence the efficiency and effectiveness of enterprise resource management. Most existing process scheduling and resource management approaches tend to tune the process structure to seek better resource utilisation, yet neglect the constraints on resource availability. In this article, we investigate the scheduling of business process instances in accordance with resource availability patterns, to find out how enterprise resources can be rationally and sufficiently used. Three heuristic-based planning strategies are proposed to maximise the process instance throughput together with another strategy based on a genetic algorithm. The performance of these strategies has been evaluated by conducting experiments of different settings and analysing the strategy characteristics.
Ultrarelativistic Spinning Particle and a Rotating Body in External Fields
Authors: Deriglazov Alexei A. , Ramírez Walberto Guzmán
Published: October 2016

We use the vector model of spinning particle to analyze the influence of spin-field coupling on the particle’s trajectory in ultrarelativistic regime. The Lagrangian with minimal spin-gravity interaction yields the equations equivalent to the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Tulczyjew-Dixon (MPTD) equations of a rotating body. We show that they have unsatisfactory behavior in the ultrarelativistic limit. In particular, three-dimensional acceleration of the particle becomes infinite in the limit. Therefore, we examine the nonminimal interaction through the gravimagnetic momentκand show that the theory withκ=1is free of the problems detected in MPTD equations. Hence, the nonminimally interacting theory seems a more promising candidate for description of a relativistic rotating body in general relativity. Vector model in an arbitrary electromagnetic field leads to generalized Frenkel and BMT equations. If we use the usual special-relativity notions for time and distance, the maximum speed of the particle with anomalous magnetic moment in an electromagnetic field is different from the speed of light. This can be corrected assuming that the three-dimensional geometry should be defined with respect to an effective metric induced by spin-field interaction.
Specific Aspects of Breast Cancer Therapy of Elderly Women
Authors: Tesarova Petra
Published: October 2016

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women, and its incidence increases with age. The average age at diagnosis is 61 years, and the majority of deaths occurs after the age of 65 years. Optimal approach to elderly women with breast cancer is still a major challenge. Elderly patients with cancer should have at least a brief geriatric assessment to detect potentially treatable problems not always adequately evaluated by the oncologists. Therapeutic nihilism should be avoided and effective treatment provided, unless there are compelling reasons against it. Sharing the care for the patient with geriatricians or primary care physicians trained in geriatrics should be considered for all vulnerable and frail elderly patients.
Treatment of an Erratic Extraction Socket for Implant Therapy in a Patient with Chronic Periodontitis
Authors: Hamada Yusuke , Prabhu Srividya , John Vanchit
Published: October 2016

As implant therapy becomes more commonplace in daily practice, preservation and preparation of edentulous sites are key. Many times, however, implant therapy may not be considered at the time of tooth extraction and additional measures are not taken to conserve the edentulous site. While the healing process in extraction sockets has been well investigated and bone fill can be expected, there are cases where even when clinicians perform thorough debridement of the sockets, connective tissue infiltration into the socket can occur. This phenomenon, known as “erratic healing,” may be associated with factors that lead to peri-implant disease and should be appropriately managed and treated prior to surgical implant placement. This case report describes the successful management of an erratic healing extraction socket in a 62-year-old Caucasian male patient with chronic periodontitis and the outcomes of an evidence-based treatment protocol performed prior to implant therapy. Careful preoperative analysis and cone beam computed tomography imaging can help detect signs of impaired healing in future implant sites and prevent surgical complications.
Co-Digestion of Sugar Beet Silage Increases Biogas Yield from Fibrous Substrates
Authors: Ahmed Sharif , Einfalt Daniel , Kazda Marian
Published: October 2016

This study tested the hypothesis that the easily degradable carbohydrates of the sugar beet silage (S) will improve the anaerobic digestion of grass silage (G) more profoundly compared to co-digestion of sugar beet silage with maize silage (M). M : S and G : S mixtures were tested in two continuous laboratory-scale AD experiments at volatile solid ratios of 1 : 0, 6 : 1, 3 : 1, and 1 : 3 at organic loading rates of 1.5 kgVS m−3 day−1. While the sugar beet effects in mixtures with maize silage were negligible, co-digestion with grass silage showed a beneficial performance. There, the specific methane production rate was 0.27 lN kg−1VS h−1at G : S ratio of 6 : 1 compared to G : S 1 : 0 with 0.14 lN kg−1VS h−1. In comparison to G : S 1 : 0, about 44% and 62% higher biogas yields were obtained at G : S 6 : 1 and 3 : 1, respectively. Also, the highest methane concentration was found in G : S at ratio of 1 : 3. Synergistic increase of methane yield was found in co-digestion in both experiments, but higher effect was realized in G : S, independently of the amount of sugar beet silage. The findings of this study emphasize the improvement of AD of grass silage by even low addition of sugar beet silage.
Novel Brentuximab Vedotin Combination Therapies Show Promising Activity in Highly Refractory CD30+ Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Case Series and Review of the Literature
Authors: Delacruz Wilfred , Setlik Robert , Hassantoufighi Arash , Daya Shyam , Cooper Susannah , Selby Dale , Brown Alexander
Published: October 2016

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are a heterogeneous group of hematologic malignancies which typically respond to standard first-line chemoimmunotherapy regimens. Unfortunately, patients with refractory NHL face a poor prognosis and represent an unmet need for improved therapeutics. We present two cases of refractory CD30+ NHL who responded to novel brentuximab vedotin- (BV-) based regimens. The first is a patient with stage IV anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) with cranial nerve involvement who failed front-line treatment with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, etoposide, and prednisone (CHOEP) and second line cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, dexamethasone alternating with high-dose methotrexate (MTX), and cytarabine (hyperCVAD) with intrathecal- (IT-) MTX and IT-cytarabine, but responded when BV was substituted for vincristine (hyperCBAD). The second patient was a man with stage IV diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with leptomeningeal involvement whose disease progressed during first-line rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) and progressed despite salvage therapy with rituximab, dexamethasone, cytarabine, and cisplatin (R-DHAP) in whom addition of BV to topotecan resulted in a significant response. This report describes the first successful salvage treatments of highly aggressive, double refractory CD30+ NHL using two unreported BV-based chemoimmunotherapy regimens. Both regimens appear effective and have manageable toxicities. Further clinical trials assessing novel BV combinations are warranted.
Peripheral Calcifying Epithelial Odontogenic Tumour Mimicking a Gingival Inflammation: A Diagnostic Dilemma
Authors: Carvalho Danielle Lima Corrêa de , Canto Alan Motta do , Eduardo Fernanda de Paula , Bezinelli Letícia Mello , Costa André Luiz Ferreira , Braz-Silva Paulo Henrique
Published: October 2016

The calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumour (CEOT) is an extremely rare benign neoplasia, accounting for approximately 1% of all odontogenic tumours. CEOT can have two clinical manifestations: central or intraosseous (94% of the cases) and peripheral or extraosseous (6% of the cases). Although the latter is less common, the peripheral variant has been described as an insidious lesion, since it is usually asymptomatic and may be erroneously mistaken with gingival hyperplasia, hamartomas, or even metastasis of malignant neoplasia. We report a case of a young male patient presenting with a peripheral CEOT in the mandibular posterior region, mimicking a located gingival inflammation.
On Accuracy and Stability Analysis of the Reproducing Kernel Space Method for the Forced Duffing Equation
Authors: Asadi Bahram , Lotfi Taher
Published: October 2016

It is attempted to provide the stability and convergence analysis of the reproducing kernel space method for solving the Duffing equation with with boundary integral conditions. We will prove that the reproducing space method is stable. Moreover, after introducing the method, it is shown that it has convergence order two.
Phospholipid Adsorption Polymeric Materials for Detection of Xylazine and Metabolite in Blood and Urine
Authors: Gao Xue , Guo Hao , Gu Chaokang
Published: October 2016

Polymers have been used in different areas. Recently, polymeric material is favored in analytical area due to its high performance and high consistency, which was used in sample pretreatment in this study. Xylazine poisoning is often seen in body fluid samples obtained from various accidents or suicides. However, the content of xylazine is difficult to detect precisely due to matrix effect in testing practices. In this paper, a method application for phospholipid adsorption polymeric materials to determine xylazine in blood and urine samples was proposed, developed, and validated. Compared with existing method, this method using polymeric pretreatment has a wider linear range of 2.0–2000.0 ng/mL for xylazine and its metabolite 2,6-dimethylaniline in both blood and urine and lower detection limits of 0.3 ng/mL for 2,6-dimethylaniline and xylazine in blood and 0.2 ng/mL for 2,6-dimethylaniline and xylazine in urine. Therefore, this method is suggested to be applied in testing practices by academic groups and commercial organizations.
Anomalous Localized Resonance Phenomena in the Nonmagnetic, Finite-Frequency Regime
Authors: Onofrei Daniel , Thaler Andrew E.
Published: October 2016

The phenomenon of anomalous localized resonance (ALR) is observed at the interface between materials with positive and negative material parameters and is characterized by the fact that when a given source is placed near the interface, the electric and magnetic fields start to have very fast and large oscillations around the interface as the absorption in the materials becomes very small while they remain smooth and regular away from the interface. In this paper, we discuss the phenomenon of anomalous localized resonance (ALR) in the context of an infinite slab of homogeneous, nonmagnetic material (μ=1) with permittivityϵs=-1-iδfor some small lossδ≪1surrounded by positive, nonmagnetic, homogeneous media. We explicitly characterize the limit value of the product between frequency and the width of slab beyond which the ALR phenomenon does not occur and analyze the situation when the phenomenon is observed. In addition, we also construct sources for which the ALR phenomenon never appears.
Everolimus and Malignancy after Solid Organ Transplantation: A Clinical Update
Authors: Holdaas Hallvard , De Simone Paolo , Zuckermann Andreas
Published: October 2016

Malignancy after solid organ transplantation remains a major cause of posttransplant mortality. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor class of immunosuppressants exerts various antioncogenic effects, and the mTOR inhibitor everolimus is licensed for the treatment of several solid cancers. In kidney transplantation, evidence from registry studies indicates a lower rate ofde novomalignancy under mTOR inhibition, with some potentially supportive data from randomized trials of everolimus. Case reports and small single-center series have suggested that switch to everolimus may be beneficial following diagnosis of posttransplant malignancy, particularly for Kaposi’s sarcoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer, but prospective studies are lacking. A systematic review has shown mTOR inhibition to be associated with a significantly lower rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence versus standard calcineurin inhibitor therapy. One meta-analysis has concluded that patients with nontransplant HCC experience a low but significant survival benefit under everolimus monotherapy, so far unconfirmed in a transplant population. Data are limited in heart transplantation, although observational data and case reports have indicated that introduction of everolimus is helpful in reducing the recurrence of skin cancers. Overall, it can be concluded that, in certain settings, everolimus appears a promising option to lessen the toll of posttransplant malignancy.
Weaning Induced Hepatic Oxidative Stress, Apoptosis, and Aminotransferases through MAPK Signaling Pathways in Piglets
Authors: Luo Zhen , Zhu Wei , Guo Qi , Luo Wenli , Zhang Jing , Xu Weina , Xu Jianxiong
Published: October 2016

This study investigated the effects of weaning on the hepatic redox status, apoptosis, function, and the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways during the first week after weaning in piglets. A total of 12 litters of piglets were weaned at d 21 and divided into the weaning group (WG) and the control group (CG). Six piglets from each group were slaughtered at d 0 (d 20, referred to weaning), d 1, d 4, and d 7 after weaning. Results showed that weaning significantly increased the concentrations of hepatic free radicals H2O2 and NO, malondialdehyde (MDA), and 8‐hydroxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG), while significantly decreasing the inhibitory hydroxyl ability (IHA) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px), and altered the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD). The apoptosis results showed that weaning increased the concentrations of caspase‐3, caspase‐8, caspase‐9 and the ratio of Bax/Bcl‐2. In addition, aspartate aminotransferase transaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in liver homogenates increased after weaning. The phosphorylated JNK and ERK1/2 increased, while the activated p38 initially decreased and then increased. Our results suggested that weaning increased the hepatic oxidative stress and aminotransferases and initiated apoptosis, which may be related to the activated MAPK pathways in postweaning piglets.
A Benzochalcone Derivative, (E)-1-(2-hydroxy-6-methoxyphenyl)-3-(naphthalen-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (DK-512), Inhibits Tumor Invasion through Inhibition of the TNFα-Induced NF-κB/MMP-9 Axis in MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Shin Soon Young , Kim Chang Gun , Ahn Seunghyun , Jung You Jung , Koh Dongsoo , Lee Young Han , Lim Yoongho
Published: October 2016

Tumor invasion is a critical step in tumor metastasis. In this study, we synthesized a novel benzochalcone derivative, (E)-1-(2-hydroxy-6-methoxyphenyl)-3-(naphthalen-2-yl) prop-2-en-1-one (DK-512), and characterized its effects on tumor invasion and its mechanism of action. We found that DK-512 strongly inhibited invasion of metastatic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells as revealed by a three-dimensional spheroid culture system. Tumor invasion and metastasis require disruption of the extracellular matrix. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is an endopeptidase that degrades extracellular matrix components. DK-512 significantly reduced tumor necrosis factor-α- (TNFα-) induced MMP-9 mRNA expression through the inhibition of RelA nuclear factor- (NF-)κB transcription factor. As our study was assessedin vitro, further works aboutin vivoefficacy of DK-512 are needed to gain further insights into whether DK-512 could be utilized as a scaffold for the development of antimetastatic agents for breast cancer.
Child Survival Strategies: Assessment of Knowledge and Practice of Rural Women of Reproductive Age in Cross River State, Nigeria
Authors: Etokidem Aniekan Jumbo , Johnson Ofonime
Published: October 2016

Introduction. Nigeria is one of the five countries that account for about 50% of under-five mortality in the world. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice of child survival strategies among rural community caregivers in Cross River State of Nigeria.Materials and Methods. This descriptive cross-sectional survey used a pretested questionnaire to obtain information from 150 women of reproductive age. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20.Results. The child survival strategy known to most of the respondents was oral rehydration therapy as indicated by 98% followed by female education by 73.3% and immunization by 67.3%. Only 20% of the respondents had adequate knowledge of frequency of weighing a child while only 32.7% knew that breastfeeding should be continued even if the child had diarrhea. More respondents with nonformal education (83.3%) practiced exclusive breastfeeding of their last children compared to respondents with primary education (77.3%), secondary education (74.2%), and tertiary education (72.2%).Conclusion. Although respondents demonstrated adequate knowledge and practice of most of the strategies, there was evidence of gaps, including myths and misconceptions that could mar efforts towards reducing child morbidity and mortality in the state.
Comparative Analysis of Households Solid Waste Management in Rural and Urban Ghana
Authors: Boateng Simon , Amoako Prince , Appiah Divine Odame , Poku Adjoa Afriyie , Garsonu Emmanuel Kofi
Published: October 2016

The comparative analysis of solid waste management between rural and urban Ghana is largely lacking. This study investigated the solid waste situation and the organisation of solid waste management in both urban and rural settings from the perspective of households. The study employed cross-sectional survey covering both rural and urban districts in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. The study systematically sampled houses from which 400 households and respondents were randomly selected. Pearson’s Chi square test was used to compare demographic and socioeconomic variables in rural and urban areas. Multivariate Test, Tests of Between-Subjects Effects, and Pair-Wise Comparisons were performed through one-way MANOVA to determine whether or not solid waste situations in rural and urban areas are significantly different. The results revealed that location significantly affects solid waste management in Ghana. Urban communities had lower mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in homes. However, urban communities had higher mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in principal streets and dumping sites. The study recommends that the local government authorities implement very comprehensive policies (sanitary inspection, infrastructure development, and community participation) that will take into consideration the specific solid waste management needs of both urban and rural areas.
A Novel Multiobjective Optimization Method Based on Sensitivity Analysis
Authors: Li Tiane , Sun Xiaoying , Lu Zhengzheng , Wu Yue
Published: October 2016

For multiobjective optimization problems, different optimization variables have different influences on objectives, which implies that attention should be paid to the variables according to their sensitivity. However, previous optimization studies have not considered the variables sensitivity or conducted sensitivity analysis independent of optimization. In this paper, an integrated algorithm is proposed, which combines the optimization method SPEA (Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm) with the sensitivity analysis method SRCC (Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient). In the proposed algorithm, the optimization variables are worked as samples of sensitivity analysis, and the consequent sensitivity result is used to guide the optimization process by changing the evolutionary parameters. Three cases including a mathematical problem, an airship envelope optimization, and a truss topology optimization are used to demonstrate the computational efficiency of the integrated algorithm. The results showed that this algorithm is able to simultaneously achieve parameter sensitivity and a well-distributed Pareto optimal set, without increasing the computational time greatly in comparison with the SPEA method.
An Architecture of IoT Service Delegation and Resource Allocation Based on Collaboration between Fog and Cloud Computing
Authors: Alsaffar Aymen Abdullah , Pham Hung Phuoc , Hong Choong-Seon , Huh Eui-Nam , Aazam Mohammad
Published: October 2016

Despite the wide utilization of cloud computing (e.g., services, applications, and resources), some of the services, applications, and smart devices are not able to fully benefit from this attractive cloud computing paradigm due to the following issues: (1) smart devices might be lacking in their capacity (e.g., processing, memory, storage, battery, and resource allocation), (2) they might be lacking in their network resources, and (3) the high network latency to centralized server in cloud might not be efficient for delay-sensitive application, services, and resource allocations requests. Fog computing is promising paradigm that can extend cloud resources to edge of network, solving the abovementioned issue. As a result, in this work, we propose an architecture of IoT service delegation and resource allocation based on collaboration between fog and cloud computing. We provide new algorithm that is decision rules of linearized decision tree based on three conditions (services size, completion time, and VMs capacity) for managing and delegating user request in order to balance workload. Moreover, we propose algorithm to allocate resources to meet service level agreement (SLA) and quality of services (QoS) as well as optimizing big data distribution in fog and cloud computing. Our simulation result shows that our proposed approach can efficiently balance workload, improve resource allocation efficiently, optimize big data distribution, and show better performance than other existing methods.
Metabolic Syndrome Increases the Risk for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Wang Huajun , Cheng Yanmei , Shao Decheng , Chen Junyuan , Sang Yuan , Gui Tao , Luo Simin , Li Jieruo , Chen Chao , Ye Yongguang , Yang Yong , Li Yikai , Zha Zhengang
Published: October 2016

Background. Studies revealed that metabolic factors might contribute substantially to osteoarthritis (OA) pathogenesis. There has been an increasing interest to understand the relationship between knee OA and the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The purpose of this study was to explore the association between metabolic syndrome and knee osteoarthritis using meta‐analysis. Methods. Databases, including PUBMED, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, were searched to get relevant studies. Data were extracted separately by two authors and pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. Results. The meta‐analysis was finished with 8 studies with a total of 3202 cases and 20968 controls finally retrieved from the database search. The crude pooled OR is 2.24 (95% CI = 1.38–3.64). Although there was significant heterogeneity among these studies, which was largely accounted for by a single study, the increase in risk was still significant after exclusion of that study. The pooled adjusted OR remained significant with pooled adjusted OR 1.05 (95% CI = 1.03–1.07, p < 0.00001). No publication bias was found in the present meta‐analysis. Conclusions. The synthesis of available evidence supports that metabolic syndrome increases the risk for knee osteoarthritis, even after adjustment for many risk factors.
Giant Mediastinal Germ Cell Tumour: An Enigma of Surgical Consideration
Authors: Hayati Firdaus , Ali Nurayub Mohd , Kesu Belani Levin , Azizan Nornazirah , Zakaria Andee Dzulkarnaen , Rahman Mohd Ramzisham Abdul
Published: October 2016

We present a case of 16-year-old male, who was referred from private centre for dyspnoea, fatigue, and orthopnea. The chest radiograph revealed complete opacification of left chest which was confirmed by computed tomography as a large left mediastinal mass measuring 14 × 15 × 18 cm. The diagnostic needle core biopsy revealed mixed germ cell tumour with possible combination of embryonal carcinoma, yolk sac, and teratoma. After 4 cycles of neoadjuvant BEP regime, there was initial response of tumour markers but not tumour bulk. Instead of classic median sternotomy or clamshell incision, posterolateral approach with piecemeal manner was chosen. Histology confirmed mixed germ cell tumour with residual teratomatous component without yolk sac or embryonal carcinoma component. Weighing 3.5 kg, it is one of the largest mediastinal germ cell tumours ever reported. We describe this rare and gigantic intrathoracic tumour and discuss the spectrum of surgical approach and treatment of this exceptional tumour.
Influence of the Initial Fiber Orientation on the Weld Strength in Welding of Glass Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics
Authors: Fiebig Isabel , Schoeppner Volker
Published: October 2016

The welding factors are significantly lower in welding of fiber reinforced thermoplastics than in welding of unreinforced thermoplastics due to the fiber orientation in the weld. This paper presents results from investigations on the influence of the initial fiber orientation on the weld strength in hot plate and vibration welding for glass fiber reinforced polypropylene and polyamide 6. Injection molded specimens are compared to specimens with main initial fiber orientation being longitudinal and transverse to the joining direction. The results of CT analysis of the fiber orientation in the weld show the opportunity to achieve a higher weld strength by using specimens with fibers being initially oriented longitudinally to the joining direction. The influence of the initial fiber orientation in the parts to be welded on the weld strength in hot plate welding is more distinct than in vibration welding.
Weighted Feature Gaussian Kernel SVM for Emotion Recognition
Authors: Wei Wei , Jia Qingxuan
Published: October 2016

Emotion recognition with weighted feature based on facial expression is a challenging research topic and has attracted great attention in the past few years. This paper presents a novel method, utilizing subregion recognition rate to weight kernel function. First, we divide the facial expression image into some uniform subregions and calculate corresponding recognition rate and weight. Then, we get a weighted feature Gaussian kernel function and construct a classifier based on Support Vector Machine (SVM). At last, the experimental results suggest that the approach based on weighted feature Gaussian kernel function has good performance on the correct rate in emotion recognition. The experiments on the extended Cohn-Kanade (CK+) dataset show that our method has achieved encouraging recognition results compared to the state-of-the-art methods.
Schwannomatosis of Cervical Vagus Nerve
Authors: Abdulla Faheem Ahmed , Sasi M. P.
Published: October 2016

Cervical vagal schwannoma is a rare entity among lesions presenting as a neck mass. They are usually slow-growing benign lesions closely associated with the vagus nerve. They are usually solitary and asymptomatic. Multiple schwannomas occurring in patients without neurofibromatosis (NF) are rare and have recently been referred to as schwannomatosis. Here, we present a case of a neck mass that had imaging features suggestive of vagal schwannoma and was operated upon. Intraoperatively, it was discovered to be a case of multiple vagal cervical schwannoma, all directly related to the right vagus nerve, and could be resected from the nerve in toto preserving the function of the vagus nerve. Final HPR confirmed our pre-op suspicion of vagal schwannomatosis.
A Case of Haemorrhagic Constrictive Pericarditis with Bilateral Pleural Effusions
Authors: Reyes Hans A. , Islam Julie , Talebi Soheila , Cativo Eder , Mushiyev Savi , Pekler Gerald , Visco Ferdinand
Published: October 2016

Presentation of pericardial disease is diverse, with the viral aetiology being the most common cause; however, when haemorrhagic pericardial effusion is present, these causes are narrowed to few aetiologies. We present a case of a young female of African descent who presented with diffuse abdominal pain and vomiting. Initial work-up showed pericardial effusion with impending echocardiographic findings of cardiac tamponade and bilateral pleural effusions. Procedures included a left video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) with pericardial window. We consider that it is important for all physicians to be aware of not only typical presentation but also atypical and unusual clinical picture of pericardial disease.
Synthesis ofα-MnO2Nanomaterial from a Precursorγ-MnO2: Characterization and Comparative Adsorption of Pb(II) and Fe(III)
Authors: Dinh Van-Phuc , Le Ngoc-Chung , Nguyen Thi-Phuong-Tu , Nguyen Ngoc-Tuan
Published: October 2016

α-MnO2nanostructure was successfully synthesized via hydrothermal treatment of a precursorγ-MnO2. Structure, morphology, and BET surface area were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller nitrogen adsorption (BET-N2adsorption). Thermal analysis result showed thatα-MnO2nanorods were formed fromγ-MnO2at 600°C. In addition, Pb(II) and Fe(III) adsorptive properties were investigated in an optimal condition. Results showed that equilibrium adsorption was obtained after 60 minutes for Pb(II) at pH = 4.0 and 80 minutes for Fe(III) at pH = 3.5 with 240 rpm of shaking speed overall. Experimental data was analyzed using three models: Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips. Adsorption capacities (qm) from the Langmuir isotherm models are 124.87 mg/g for Pb(II) and 30.83 mg/g for Fe(III). Along with the highest corelation coefficients, it is clear that the adsorption of Pb(II) and Fe(III) ions onα-MnO2surface followed Sips model. Kinetic studies indicated that the uptake of Pb(II) and Fe(III) occurred in the pseudo-second-order model with two stages for Pb(II) and three stages for Fe(III).
Sliding Mode Control for Bearingless Induction Motor Based on a Novel Load Torque Observer
Authors: Yang Zebin , Wan Ling , Sun Xiaodong , Chen Lin , Chen Zheng
Published: October 2016

For the problem of low control performance of Bearingless Induction Motor (BIM) control system in the presence of large load disturbance, a novel load torque sliding mode observer is proposed on the basis of establishing sliding mode speed control system. The load observer chooses the speed and load torque of the BIM control system as the observed objects, uses the speed error to design the integral sliding mode surface, and adds the low-pass filter to reduce the torque observation error. Meanwhile, the output of the load torque is used as the feedforward compensation for the control system, which can provide the required current for load changes and reduce the adverse influence of disturbance on system performance. Besides, considering that the load changes lead to the varying rotational inertia, the integral identification method is adopted to identify the rotational inertia of BIM, and the rotational inertia can be updated to the load observer in real time. The simulation and experiment results all show that the proposed method can track load torque accurately, improve the ability to resist disturbances, and ameliorate the operation quality of BIM control system. The chattering of sliding mode also is suppressed effectively.
Effects of Organomontmorillonite Content on Morphology and Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)/Polyamide-66 Nanocomposites
Authors: Yang Kunxiao , Xin Chunling , Huang Ying , Jiang Lilong , He Yadong
Published: October 2016

The nanocomposites consisting of polymer matrix and nanofiller have attracted great attention because of the improved physical properties. In this paper, organomontmorillonite (OMMT) was introduced into poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) grafted maleic anhydride (PPO-g-MA) compatibilized poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)/polyamide-66 (PPO/PA66) blends by melt extrusion. The morphology of PPO/PA66 nanocomposites with different amounts of OMMT was investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The OMMT platelets exhibited an exfoliated structure in the PA66 matrix and an intercalated structure on the surface of PPO domains at low OMMT loading (2 phr). However, the exfoliated platelets in matrix were found to transform into intercalated stacks by adding 6 phr of OMMT. The mechanical properties and thermal stability were significantly improved with the coexistence of exfoliated and intercalated OMMT at low OMMT loading (2–4 phr). The exfoliated OMMT platelets imposed a confinement effect on the macromolecular chains and thereby increased the storage modulus and complex viscosity of nanocomposites.
The Effectiveness of Myo-Inositol and D-Chiro Inositol Treatment in Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Pintaudi Basilio , Di Vieste Giacoma , Bonomo Matteo
Published: October 2016

Inositol has been used as a supplement in treating several pathologies such as PCOS, metabolic syndrome, and gestational diabetes. Both myo-inositol and its isomer d-chiro-inositol showed insulin mimetic effects in conditions of insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a condition typically caused by insulin resistance. There is a lack of evidence of inositol use in T2DM. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of myo-inositol and d-chiro-inositol treatment in T2DM. This was a pilot study involving a consecutive sample of patients with T2DM with suboptimal glycemic control (HbA1c 7.0–10.0%) already treated with glucose-lowering agents. Patients (23.1% males, mean age of60.8±11.7years) took for three months a combination of myo-inositol (550 mg) and d-chiro-inositol (13.8 mg) orally twice a day as add-on supplement to their glucose-lowering drugs. Possible occurrence of side effects was investigated. After three months of treatment fasting blood glucose (192.6±60.2versus160.9±36.4;p=0.02) and HbA1c levels (8.6±0.9versus7.7±0.9;p=0.02) significantly decreased compared to baseline. There was no significant difference in blood pressure, lipid profile, and BMI levels. None of the participants reported side effects. In conclusion, a supplementation with a combination of myo- and d-chiro-inositol is an effective and safe strategy for improving glycemic control in T2DM.
Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin for the Treatment of Brain Tumors
Authors: Klinger Neil V. , Mittal Sandeep
Published: October 2016

Brain malignancies currently carry a poor prognosis despite the current multimodal standard of care that includes surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation. As new therapies are desperately needed, naturally occurring chemical compounds have been studied for their potential chemotherapeutic benefits and low toxicity profile. Curcumin, found in the rhizome of turmeric, has extensive therapeutic promise via its antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and antiproliferative properties. Preclinical in vitro and in vivo data have shown it to be an effective treatment for brain tumors including glioblastoma multiforme. These effects are potentiated by curcumin’s ability to induce G2/M cell cycle arrest, activation of apoptotic pathways, induction of autophagy, disruption of molecular signaling, inhibition of invasion, and metastasis and by increasing the efficacy of existing chemotherapeutics. Further, clinical data suggest that it has low toxicity in humans even at large doses. Curcumin is a promising nutraceutical compound that should be evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of human brain tumors.
Comparison of European Standard Patch Test Results of 330 Patients from an Occupational Diseases Hospital
Authors: Gündüz Özge , Aytekin Aslı , Tutkun Engin , Yılmaz Hınç
Published: October 2016

Background and Aim.Contact dermatitis (CD) is the most prevalent occupational skin disease with a significant impact on quality of life. Patch testing is used for the identification of responsible allergens which may improve protective and preventive measures in the workplace. Herein, we aim to identify the demographic characteristics and occupation of patients with early diagnosis of occupational CD and compare patch test results.Materials and Methods.The study included 330 patients referred to our clinic between April 2009 and April 2011 and who were patch-tested with 28-allergen European Standard Test.Results.126 (38%) patients were female and 204 (62%) were male with a mean age of 36.12 (±13.13) years. Positive allergic reactions were observed in 182 (55%) patients. Nickel sulphate (41/126) and potassium dichromate (39/204) were significantly the most common allergens in women and men, respectively (P<0.005). Additionally, the most common occupation in women was household activities (83/126) and in men was manufacturing (80/204).Conclusion.The allergens to which people become sensitized differ according to their working environment and occupation. Classification of occupations is important for identification of sensitization risks and monitoring of changes in allergen distribution of different occupations.
Transcription Factor ZBP-89 Drives a Feedforward Loop of β-Catenin Expression in Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Essien Bryan E. , Sundaresan Sinju , Ocadiz-Ruiz Ramon , Chavis Aaron , Tsao Amy C. , Tessier Arthur J. , Hayes Michael M. , Photenhauer Amanda , Saqui-Salces Milena , Kang Anthony J. , Shah Yatrik M. , Győrffy Balazs , Merchant Juanita L.
Published: October 2016

In colorectal cancer, APC-mediated induction of unregulated cell growth involves posttranslational mechanisms that prevent proteasomal degradation of proto-oncogene β-catenin (CTNNB1) and its eventual translocation to the nucleus. However, about 10% of colorectal tumors also exhibit increased CTNNB1 mRNA. Here, we show in colorectal cancer that increased expression of ZNF148, the gene coding for transcription factor ZBP-89, correlated with reduced patient survival. Tissue arrays showed that ZBP-89 protein was overexpressed in the early stages of colorectal cancer. Conditional deletion of Zfp148 in a mouse model of Apc-mediated intestinal polyps demonstrated that ZBP-89 was required for polyp formation due to induction of Ctnnb1 gene expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and EMSA identified a ZBP-89–binding site in the proximal promoter of CTNNB1. Reciprocally, siRNA-mediated reduction of CTNNB1 expression also decreased ZBP-89 protein. ChIP identified TCF DNA binding sites in the ZNF148 promoter through which Wnt signaling regulates ZNF148 gene expression. Suppression of either ZNF148 or CTNNB1 reduced colony formation in WNT-dependent, but not WNT-independent cell lines. Therefore, the increase in intracellular β-catenin protein initiated by APC mutations is sustained by ZBP-89–mediated feedforward induction of CTNNB1 mRNA. Cancer Res; 76(23); 6877–87. ©2016 AACR.