bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MicroRNA-873 is a Potential Serum Biomarker for the Detection of Ectopic Pregnancy
Authors: Lu Qi , Yan Qi , Xu Fengying , Li Yuhong , Zhao Wenxia , Wu Chunzhu , Wang Yudong , Lang Xiao
Published: May 2017

Background: Ectopic pregnancy (EP) refers to the implantation of the zygote outside the uterine cavity. In clinical practice, the diagnosis of EP relies on a combination of ultrasound findings and serum human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) measurements. However, the need for serial hCG measurements increases the risk of tubal rupture and death, underscoring the need to identify biomarkers for the early detection of EP. Methods: The serum concentrations of 21 microRNAs (miRNAs) associated with pregnancy or with known placental expression, as well as serum hCG and progesterone levels were analyzed 36 patients with viable intrauterine pregnancy (VIP), 30 patients with spontaneous abortion (SA), and 34 patients with EP using specific assay kits and reverse transcription PCR. The diagnostic performance of the different serum markers for detecting EP was analyzed by ROC curve analysis. Results: Five miRNAs were differentially expressed between the three groups, of which miR-873 and miR-223 were significantly lower in EP than in VIP and SA patients and did not change significantly according to gestational age, and miR-323 was significantly higher in EP than in VIP and SA. As a single marker, miR-873 had the highest sensitivity for detecting EP at 61.76% (at a fixed specificity of 90%). In comparison, the combination of hCG, progesterone and miR-873 had the highest sensitivity for detecting EP at 79.41% (at a fixed specificity of 90%). Conclusion: Although further validation in large-scale prospective studies is necessary, our results suggest that miR-873 could be a valuable noninvasive and stable biomarker for the early detection of EP.
Glutathione S-Transferase T1 Null Genotype is Associated with Susceptibility to Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Qian Jun , Song Zhangfa , Lv Yinxiang , Huang Xuefeng , Mao Binliang
Published: May 2017

Background: The published literature contains conflicting results regarding the impact of the glutathione S-transferase T1 (GSTT1) null genotype on the susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of observational studies to assess the association. Methods: We searched four online databases for eligible studies. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI was used to assess the gene-disease association. We also performed subgroup analyses by type of inflammatory bowel disease and ethnicity. Results: There were 16 individual studies from 11 publications included in the analysis. There were 3366 cases with inflammatory bowel disease and 6013 controls. The meta-analysis of all 16 studies showed the GSTT1 null genotype was associated with increased susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease (OR = 1.98, 95%CI 1.39-2.84, P < 0.001). The subgroup analysis by ethnicity further identified an association between the GSTT1 null genotype and inflammatory bowel disease in Caucasians, Asians, and Africans. The GSTT1 null genotype was associated with both ulcerative colitis (OR = 1.96, P = 0.004) and Crohn’s disease (OR = 2.01, P = 0.022). The GSTT1 null genotype was still significantly associated with ulcerative colitis (OR = 1.63, P < 0.0001) and Crohn’s disease (OR = 1.40, P = 0.023) after adjusting for study heterogeneity. Conclusion: The GSTT1 null genotype is significantly associated with an increased susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease and is a risk factor for both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Virtual Laboratory of Unbalanced Transient Condition in Synchronous Generator
Authors: Kadiman Sugiarto , Basuki Arif , Suwarti Diah
Published: May 2017

The electrical engineering department at the Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Nasional (STTNAS), Yogyakarta has recently reconnoitered virtual laboratories for its undergraduate synchronous generator course to complement existing full-scale laboratory equipment. This study explores virtual laboratory development to be treated as an accessorial tool for enhancing instruction. The focus of this synchronous generator course is the dynamic transient behavior of the system after small disturbances as affected by the unbalanced load. The work is mainly carried out through nonlinear simulations under Matlab-Simulink. Results of the first version of the synchronous generator virtual laboratory and details of its development are provided.
Packet Delay Distribution Model for Investigating Delay of Network Speech Recognition
Authors: Jarin Asril , Suryadi Suryadi , Ramli Kalamullah
Published: May 2017

Unlike multimedia streaming applications that require a smooth playback at the client, application of network speech recognition (NSR) that recognizes speech signal in a sentence-by-sentence manner might tolerate an acceptable delay. The acceptable delay is a user-defined time in which the entire sentence data should be received by the server. We proposed a calculation method to investigate the acceptable delay of network speech recognition that employs a speech segmenter to send speech signal sentence-by-sentence over TCP channel to the server. The calculation multiplies the mean packet delay of TCP flow at steady-state with the number of created packets. For validation we implemented a MATLAB program and solved it using 2500 Indonesian speech sentences. The results were then compared with the results of our previous model that used a transient analysis method. It was found that this calculation method is not appropriate due to the transient behavior of the streaming sentences.
Speech Processing for Text Independent Amharic Language Dialect Recognition
Authors: Mengistu Abrham Debasu , Alemayehu Dagnachew Melesew
Published: May 2017

<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; display: inline !important; float: none;">Dialect is a difference of verbal communication spoken by people from a particular society or geographic area so the paper focuses on Amharic language dialect recognition. In this paper,  the authors have used backpropagation artificial neural network, VQ(vector quantization), (Gaussian Mixture Models) and a combination of GMM and backpropagation artificial neural network for classifying dialects of Amharic language speakers. In this research, a total of 100 speakers for each group of dialects are considered each having about 10 seconds duration is collected. The feature vectors of Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) had been used to recognize the dialects of speakers. In this research paper the recognition model that uses a tanh activation function have a better result instead of using the Logistic Sigmoid activation function in backpropagation artificial neural network. After conducting the above experiments 95.7% accuracy achieved when GMM and backpropagation artificial neural network with tanh activation function are combined.
Optimal Design of PID Controller for Load Frequency Control using Harmony Search Algorithm
Authors: Sambariya D. K. , Shrangi Seema
Published: May 2017

This paper deals with soft computing technique, used for tuning PID controller. Controller tuned with a harmony search algorithm is used for controlling the frequency and Tie-line power responses of a non reheat two area power system. Step load perturbation has been given in both areas simultaneously. The dynamic results obtained by the proposed controller are compared with PID controller of recent published paper. The performance of the controllers is simulated using MATLAB/Simulation software. The results of tuned PID are compared with conventional controller on the basis of settling-time, peak over-shoot and peak under-shoot. Proposed PID gives better results than the conventional controller. The comparative results
also tabulated as a comparative performance.
Early Test Effort Prediction using UML Diagrams
Authors: Sahoo Pulak , Mohanty J R
Published: May 2017

Software Testing is essential for delivering quality software products. Accurate test effort estimation is an important part of project planning. Prediction of test effort at early phases of Software Developmen Life Cycle enables managers to plan ahead for the testing phase. This increases the chances of the project meeting its timeline while achieving required quality. Unified Modeling Language is a widely-used standard for representing Object Oriented Systems. Use Case and Class Diagrams are two of the most important models of the system created during early phases of software development. This work proposed that the initial test effort is predicted early using Use Case Diagram during the requirement stage and is refined during design stage when Class Diagrams are available. The predicted test efforts in both stages are functions of parameters derived from Use Case and Class Diagrams. Estimations can be revised when rest of the UML diagrams are created.
Physicians’ and Users’ Perceptions towards Wearable Health Devices
Authors: Seshadri Narassima M , P Anbuudayasankar S , Vasudevan Shriram Kris , J Abhinavaram
Published: May 2017

Healthcare plays a vital role in economic development of a country, and has a major impact on the entire wellness of humankind. One of the biggest issues of all times, Blood Pressure is prevailing in patients of all countries.  In developing countries like India, it is prevalent among people of diverse age groups, which somehow permeates into their wellness, reflecting and slowing down the growth of the country as well as that of an individual. As Blood Pressure is identified as one of the major contributors to Cardio Vascular Diseases, there is an urge to educate people about the consequences. The research focuses on various factors and their levels of impact on acceptance of Mobile Health Management Services. Appropriate tests have been carried out for validating this hypothesis. All the details are presented in the results’ section with clear discussion and description.
A Neuro-Fuzzy Controller for Compensation of Voltage Disturbance in SMIB System
Authors: Srinivasarao Budi , Sreenivasan G. , Sharma Swathi
Published: May 2017

Since last decade, due to advancement in technology and increasing in the electrical loads and also due to complexity of the devices the quality of power distribution is decreases. A Power quality issue is nothing but distortions in current, voltage and frequency that affect the end user equipment or disoperation; these are main problems of power quality so compensation for these problems by DPFC is presented in this paper. The control circuits for DPFC are designed by using line currents, series reference voltages and these are controlled by conventional Neuro-Fuzzy controllers. The results are observed by MATLAB/SIMULINK model.
Optical Properties of Cadmium Oxide (CdO) Thin Films
Authors: Ullah Hadaate , Rahaman Ridoanur , Mahmud Shahin
Published: May 2017

Cadmium (Cd) is a soft, silver-white or blue lustrous metal typically found in mineral deposits with lead, zinc and copper. Cadmium Oxide thin films have been prepared on a glass substrate at 3500C temperature by implementing the Spray Pyrolysis method. The direct and indirect band gap energies are determined using spectral data. The direct and indirect band gap energies decrease with the increasing film thickness. It is noted that for the same film thickness the direct band gap energy is greater than indirect band gap energy. The transmittance increases with the increasing wavelength for annealed and deposited films. It is also noted that for the same wavelength the transmittance for deposited films is greater than the transmittance for annealed films.
An Embedded Iris Image Acquisition Research
Authors: Chen Dangui , Qin Guojun
Published: May 2017

In view of the limitation of traditional identification, it is easy to lose and copy keys, cards or ID cards, and it is easy to forget the password. Here, an embedded application system was designed based on the iris identification technology, the functions of gathering, inputing, and registering the iris information and identification can be realized. The system architecture was designed by using the embedded microprocessor of advanced RISC machines (ARM), which is used as the core. The iris sensor was used to gather the iris information, and the development of software was accomplished with the embedded OS Windows CE. The system can be used on the company entrance guard system, customs security of airport and criminal identification.
Design of Automatic Number Plate Recognition on Android Smartphone Platform
Authors: Gunawan Teddy Surya , Mutholib Abdul , Kartiwi Mira
Published: May 2017

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is an intelligent system which has the capability to recognize the character on vehicle number plate. It is a combination of hardware and software designed to offer the optimum reliability. Since the past decades, many researchers have been proposed to recognize the vehicle number plate and implemented it in various access control, law enforcement and security, including parking management system, toll gate access, border access, tracking of stolen vehicles and traffic violations (speed trap, illegal parking, etc). However, previous researches implemented ANPR system on personal computer (PC) with high resolution camera and high computational capability. On the other hand, not many researches have been conducted on the design of ANPR in Android smartphone platform which has limited camera resolution and limited computational power. The main challenges of implementation ANPR algorithm on smartphone are higher coding efficiency, lower computational complexity, and higher the scalability. The objectives of this research is to design ANPR on Android smartphone, including graphical user interface (GUI) design, process design, and database design. First, a comprehensive survey on the pre-processing, segmentation, and optical character recognition is conducted. Secondly, proposed system development and algorithm implementation is explained in more details. Results show that our proposed design can be implemented effectively in Android smartphone platform.
Comparative Study on the Effectiveness of UPFC and TCSC for Increasing Power Transfer Capability Applied to Non-linear Load Models
Authors: Al-Mawsawi S.Ali Abbas
Published: May 2017

In recent years, studies have been investigated the effectiveness of UPFC and TCSC in increasing power transfer capability. However, the effectiveness of these FACTS devices in increasing power transfer capability when the load is non-linear has not been established in a comparative study yet. This paper will explore the steady-state performance of the UPFC and TCSC as impedance compensation models. The effectiveness of both FACTS devices are investigated when they are installed in multi-machine systems with different non-linear load models. Simulation results demonstrate that, upon installing UPFC, more active and reactive powers are received at the sending end bus for different types of non-linear load models. In addition, both active and reactive powers are more sensitive in changing the modulation index of the converters. Furthermore, both the active and reactive powers are less sensitive to the non-linearity of the load model type. However, active and reactive powers in case of installing TCSC are only sensitive in changing the firing angle (α) when it is between 90º to 110º. Therefore, results from this study clearly encourage the effectiveness of UPFC in comparison to TSCS in terms of increasing power transfer capability applied to non-linear load models. 
Notification of Data Congestion Intimation [NDCI] for IEEE 802.11 Adhoc Network with Power Save Mode
Authors: Mohammed Abdul Azeem , Umar Syed
Published: May 2017

IEEE 802.11-power save mode (PSM) independent basic service set (IBSS) Save, the time is divided into intervals of the signals. At the beginning of each interval signal and power saving alarm periodically all open windows (vocals). The station will be in competition with the rest of the frame window frame sent voice data leakage range. Element depends frame transmission IEEE CSMA / CA as defined in 802.11 DCF. A chance of transmit voice frames type of collision energy IBSS success. This article gives an analysis model with a chance of success output transmission window fixed size element. The results of the simulation analysis of the accuracy of the analysis.
Video Watermarking Scheme Based on Candidates I-frames for Copyright Protection
Authors: Ahuja Rakesh , Bedi Dr. Sarabjeet Singh
Published: May 2017

This paper focuses on moving picture expert group ( MPEG) based digital video watermarking scheme for copyright protection services. The present work implemented the video watermarking technique in which discrete cosine transform (DCT) intermediate frequency coefficients from instantaneous decoder refresh (IDR) frames are utilized. The subset of IDR frames as candidate frames are chosen to reduces the probability of temporal synchronization attacks to achieve better robustness and high visual perceptual quality.  A secret key based cryptographic technique is used to enhance the security of embedded watermark. The proposed scheme embedded the watermark directly during the differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) process and extracting through decoding the entropy details. Three keys are required to extract the watermark whereas one of the key is used to stop the extraction process and the remaining two are used to display the watermark. The robustness is evaluated by testing spatial synchronization attacks, temporal synchronization attacks and re-encoding attacks. The present work calculates the simulation results that shows the watermarking scheme achieved high robustness against video processing attacks frequently occur in the real world and perceptibility also obtained without changing the motion vectors during the DPCM process of MPEG-2 encoding scheme.
A Numerical Design of Marine Current for Predicting Velocity and Kinetic Energy
Authors: Rompas Parabelem Tinno Dolf , Taunaumang Heindrich , Sangari Ferry Johnny
Published: May 2017

One of marine current power plant equipment is turbine. In the design of marine current turbines required variables such as velocity and kinetic energy. This paper presents numerical study on a numerical design of marine current for predicting velocity and kinetic energy in the Bangka strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia that developed from Yaxum/3D model. This study includes the simulation of velocity and kinetic energy distributions at low and high tide current conditions by two flow rates of 0.1 and 0.3 Sv respectively.  The numerical method used to design computational program. Semi-implicit finite difference method used to 3D shallow water flow.  It found distributions of velocity and kinetic energy at high tide current condition greater than low tide current condition. The future, these results will be developed in marine current power plant project in the Bangka strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Analysis of Transistor Open Fault Diagnosis for Shunt Active Power Filters
Authors: Loutfi Benyettou , Benslimane T.
Published: May 2017

In this paper a transistor open-circuit fault diagnosis problem in two-level voltage inverter controlled shunt active power filter drives was discussed. Taking into consideration requirements of the contemporary monitoring drive systems original transistor fault diagnostic technique were proposed. Presented results were obtained by designed in PSIM software simulation model.
Aromatic Herbs Classification by using Discriminant Analysis Techniques
Authors: F.M. Radzi N. , Che Soh A. , J. Ishak A. , K. Hasan M. , K. Mohamad Yusof U.
Published: May 2017

An electronic nose was used to distinguish between selected herb samples according to their family group species. This paper aims to evaluate the potential of using the electronic nose to characterize three groups of families of twelve herb species based on the discriminant analysis approach. The feature extraction involves the use of a signal processing technique that simplifies classification and yields optimal results. Two discriminant techniques:- the principal component analysis (PCA) and the multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) were used to investigate the potential to distinguish herb species between several herbs within the same family group. The results showed that the twelve herb species can be better classified using the MDA method compared to the PCA method.
Comparison of Deposition Methods of ZnO Thin Film on Flexible Substrate
Authors: A.M. Idris A. , Arsat R. , K. Ahmad M. , Sidek F.
Published: May 2017

This paper reports the effect of the different deposition methods towards the ZnO nanostructure crystal quality and film thickness on the polyimide substrate. The ZnO film has been deposited by using the spray pyrolysis technique, sol-gel and RF Sputtering. Different methods give a different nanostructure of the ZnO thin film. Sol gel methods, results of nanoflowers ZnO thin film with the thickness of thin film is 600nm. It also produces the best of the piezoelectric effect in term of electrical performance, which is 5.0 V and 12 MHz of frequency which is higher than other frequency obtained by spray pyrolysis and RF sputtering.
Human Presence Recognition in a Closed Space by using Cost-effective CO2 Sensor and the Information Gain Processing Method
Authors: Oguchi Kimio , Ozawa Ryoya
Published: May 2017

The recent rapid progress in ICT technologies such as smart/intelligent sensor devices, broadband/ubiquitous networks, and Internet of everything (IoT) has advanced the penetration of sensor networks and their applications. The requirements of human daily life, security, energy efficiency, safety, comfort, and ecological, can be achieved with the help of these networks and applications. Traditionally, if we want some information on, for example, environment status, a variety of dedicated sensors is needed. This will increase the number of sensors installed and thus system cost, sensor data traffic loads, and installation difficulty. Therefore, we need to find redundancies in the captured information or interpret the semantics captured by non-dedicated sensors to reduce sensor network overheads. This paper clarifies the feasibility of recognizing human presence in a space by processing information captured by other than dedicated sensors. It proposes a method and implements it as a cost-effective prototype sensor network for a university library. This method processes CO2 concentration, originally designed to check environment status. In the experiment, training data is captured with none, one, or two subjects. The information gain (IG) method is applied to the resulting data, to set thresholds and thus judge the number of people. Human presence (none, one or two people) is accurately recognized from the CO2 concentration data. The experiments clarify that a CO2 sensor in set in a small room to check environment status can recognize the number of humans in the room with more than 70 % accuracy. This eliminates the need for an extra sensor, which reduces sensor network cost.
Mammography Image Segmentation: Chan-Vese Active Contour and Localised Active Contour Approach
Authors: Mustafa Mahfuzah , Najwa Omar Rashid Hana , Rul Hasma Abdullah Nor , Samad Rosdiyana , Pebrianti Dwi
Published: May 2017

Breast cancer is one of the most common diseases diagnosed among female cancer patients. Early detection of breast cancer is needed to reduce the risk of fatality of this disease as no cure has been found yet for this illness. This research is conducted to improve the Gradient Vector Flow (GVF) Snake Active Contour segmentation technique in mammography segmentation. Segmentation of the mammogram image is done to segment lesions existence using Chan-Vese Active Contour and Localized Active Contour. Besides that, the effectiveness of these both methods are then compared and chosen to be the best method. Digital Database of Screening Mammograms (DDSM) is used for the purpose of screening. First, the images undergo pre-processing process using the Gaussian Low Pass Filter to remove unwanted noise. After that, contrast enhancement applied to the images. Segmentation of mammograms is then conducted by using Chan-Vese Active Contour and Localized Active Contour method. The result shows that Chan-Vese technique outperforms Localized Active Contour with 90% accuracy.
Tapered Microchannel for Multi-particles Passive Separation Based on Hydrodynamic Resistance
Authors: Laila Ahmad Ida , Ridzuan Ahmad Mohd
Published: May 2017

Researches on separation of multi-particles utilizing microfluidic have been flourishing in recent years with the aid from advancements in microfabrication design and technology. Generally, separation is beneficial for biomedical application especially involving heterogeneous samples. Due to inherent problems of samples isolation, a simple and efficient separation device is required. Here, we present a passive tapered microchannel for multi-particles separation using hydrodynamic principle. Our emphasis is on the effect of hydrodynamic resistance coupled with tapered microchannel design. In the experiment, successful multi-particles samples separation was observed. The results were further analyzed and were in agreement with the proposed concept. This method opens the route toward robust, low-cost and high-throughput, thus it may holds potential to be integrated as one functional module in micro total analysis system.
Compact Wideband Broadside-Coupled Microstrip-Slot Bandpass Filter for Communication Applications
Authors: Seman Norhudah , Norkhairunisa Abang Zaidel Dyg , Amalina Abd. Wahid Zuhaili , Azimah Mohd Shukor Nor , Abd Rahman Tharek
Published: May 2017

This paper proposes a compact size design of wideband bandpass filter (BPF). The broad-side coupling microstrip-slot technique is used to accomplish a good passband response with very low insertion loss across a wideband frequency range. The BPF that is designed using Rogers RO4003C substrate shows a good performance with the respective maximum reflection coefficient and insertion loss of -10 dB and 1.2 dB between 0.92 GHz and 5 GHz. This type of BPF filter is useful in any communication applications.
Bandwidth Enhancement of Metamaterial Loaded Microstrip Antenna using Double Layered Substrate
Authors: Srinivasa Rao V. , Reddy K.V.V.S. , Prasad A.M.
Published: May 2017

Communication has become a key aspect of our daily life, becoming increasingly portable and mobile. This would need the use of micro strip antennas. The rapid growth has led to the need of antennas with smaller size, increased bandwidth and high gain. In this paper, a new version of micro strip patch antenna is designed by adopting double layered substrate concept and adding a layer of metamaterial structure to a square micro strip antenna. The antenna properties gain, return loss and bandwidth are studied to achieve better performance. The designed patch antenna has an improved bandwidth of 60% at a resonant frequency of 2.47 GHz. This antenna is designed and simulated by using HFSS software.
Variational Iteration Method for Solving Riccati Matrix Differential Equations
Authors: Hammood Al-jiz Khalid , Atinah Ahmad Noor , Subhi Fadhel Fadhel
Published: May 2017

Riccati matrix differential equation has long been known to be so difficult to solve analytically and/or numerically. In this connection, most of the recent studies are concerned with the derivation of the necessary conditions that ensure the existence of the solution. Therefore, in this paper, He’s Variational iteration method is used to derive the general form of the iterative approximate sequence of solutions and then proved the convergence of the obtained sequence of approximate solutions to the exact solution. This proof is based on using the mathematical induction to derive a general formula for the upper bound proved to be converge to zero under certain conditions. 
Using Neuro-Fuzzy Technique to Classify and Predict Electrical Engineering Students’ Achievement Upon Graduation Based on Mathematics Competency
Authors: Bin Mat Usamah , Buniyamin Norlida
Published: May 2017

This paper discusses the findings of a case study that uses neuro-fuzzy tool to classify and predict Electrical engineering students graduation achievement based on mathematics competency. In this study, achievement upon graduation and mathematics grades were classified as the key performance index. It's based on longitudinal progress and cross validation model on two mathematics subjects, semesters’ performance, and graduation achievement of electrical students. The outcomes indicated that there is a correlation between mathematics competency with electrical engineering performance, and it’s interesting to note that weak and satisfactory students in mathematics are not able to achieve first class upon graduation, and yet there is small percentage of excellent and good students in mathematics couldn’t graduate with high achievement. The findings conclude that the combination of statistical analysis and machine learning can help us to extract knowledge and enable university management to help low achievers at early stage. It’s hoped that the findings can help faculty management to review mathematics curriculum with respect to increasing range of engineering field.
Genome-Wide Association Studies and Meta-Analyses for Congenital Heart Defects
Authors: Agopian A. J. , Goldmuntz Elizabeth , Hakonarson Hakon , Sewda Anshuman , Taylor Deanne , Mitchell Laura E.
Published: May 2017

Background—

Maternal and inherited (ie, case) genetic factors likely contribute to the pathogenesis of congenital heart defects, but it is unclear whether individual common variants confer a large risk.

Methods and Results—

To evaluate the relationship between individual common maternal/inherited genotypes and risk for heart defects, we conducted genome-wide association studies in 5 cohorts. Three cohorts were recruited at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: 670 conotruncal heart defect (CTD) case-parent trios, 317 left ventricular obstructive tract defect (LVOTD) case-parent trios, and 406 CTD cases (n=406) and 2976 pediatric controls. Two cohorts were recruited through the Pediatric Cardiac Genomics Consortium: 355 CTD trios and 192 LVOTD trios. We also conducted meta-analyses using the genome-wide association study results from the CTD cohorts, the LVOTD cohorts, and from the combined CTD and LVOTD cohorts. In the individual genome-wide association studies, several genome-wide significant associations (
P
≤5×10
−8
) were observed. In our meta-analyses, 1 genome-wide significant association was detected: the case genotype for rs72820264, an intragenetic single-nucleotide polymorphism associated with LVOTDs (
P
=2.1×10
−8
).

Conclusions—

We identified 1 novel candidate region associated with LVOTDs and report on several additional regions with suggestive evidence for association with CTD and LVOTD. These studies were constrained by the relatively small samples sizes and thus have limited power to detect small to moderate associations. Approaches that minimize the multiple testing burden (eg, gene or pathway based) may, therefore, be required to uncover common variants contributing to the risk of these relatively rare conditions.
Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Everolimus-Eluting Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffolds Versus Everolimus-Eluting Metallic Stents
Authors: Mahmoud Ahmed N. , Barakat Amr F. , Elgendy Akram Y. , Schneibel Erik , Mentias Amgad , Abuzaid Ahmed , Elgendy Islam Y.
Published: May 2017

Background—

Data regarding the long-term efficacy and safety of everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) compared with everolimus-eluting stents are limited. This meta-analysis aimed to compare the long-term outcomes with both devices.

Methods and Results—

Randomized trials reporting clinical outcomes beyond 1 year and comparing BVS with everolimus-eluting stents were included. Summary estimates risk ratios (RRs) were constructed. The primary efficacy outcome was target lesion failure, defined as cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, and ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization, and the primary safety outcome was definite or probable stent/scaffold thrombosis. Six trials with 5392 patients were included (mean follow-up, 25 months). BVS had a higher rate of target lesion failure (RR, 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11–1.58) driven by the higher rates of target vessel myocardial infarction (RR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.26–2.17) and target lesion revascularization (RR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.08–1.78). The risk of definite or probable stent/scaffold thrombosis (RR, 3.22; 95% CI, 1.89–5.49) and very late stent/scaffold thrombosis (>1 year; RR, 4.78; 95% CI, 1.66–13.8) was higher with BVS. The risk of cardiac and all-cause mortality was similar in both groups.

Conclusions—

Compared with everolimus-eluting stents, BVS is associated with increased risk of target lesion failure driven by the increased rates of target vessel myocardial infarction and ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization in these studies (mean follow-up, 25 months). The risk of definite or probable stent/scaffold thrombosis and very late stent/scaffold thrombosis seems to be higher with BVS. Further information from randomized trials is critical to evaluate clinical outcomes with BVS on complete resolution of the scaffold.
Circulating Levels of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 and Arterial Stiffness in a Large Population Sample: Data From the Brisighella Heart Study
Authors: Ruscica Massimiliano , Ferri Nicola , Fogacci Federica , Rosticci Martina , Botta Margherita , Marchiano Silvia , Magni Paolo , D'Addato Sergio , Giovannini Marina , Borghi Claudio , Cicero Arrigo F. G. , Morbini Martino , Bertagnin Enrico , Grandi Elisa , Palmesano Silvia , Rizzoli Elisabetta , Urso Riccardo , Derosa Giuseppe , Bacchelli Stefano
Published: May 2017

Background

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) circulating levels are significantly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between circulating levels of
PCSK
9 and arterial stiffness, an early instrumental biomarker of cardiovascular disease risk, in a large sample of overall healthy participants.

Methods and Results

From the historical cohort of the Brisighella Heart Study, after exclusion of active smokers, participants in secondary prevention for cardiovascular disease, and patients in treatment with statins or vasodilating agents, we selected 227 premenopausal women and 193 age‐matched men and 460 postmenopausal women and 416 age‐matched men. In these participants, we evaluated the correlation between
PCSK
9 plasma circulating levels and pulse wave velocity. Postmenopausal women showed higher
PCSK
9 levels (309.9±84.1 ng/mL) compared with the other groups (
P
<0.001). Older men had significant higher levels than younger men (283.2±75.6 versus 260.9±80.4 ng/mL;
P
=0.008). In the whole sample, pulse wave velocity was predicted mainly by age (B=0.116, 95%
CI
0.96–0.127,
P
<0.001),
PCSK
9 (B=0.014, 95%
CI
0.011–0.016,
P
<0.001), and serum uric acid (B=0.313, 95%
CI
0.024–0.391,
P
=0.026). Physical activity, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, and estimated glomerular filtration rate were not associated with pulse wave velocity (
P
>0.05).By considering the subgroups described, age and
PCSK
9 levels were mainly associated with pulse wave velocity, which also correlated with serum uric acid in postmenopausal women.

Conclusions

In the Brisighella Heart Study cohort, circulating
PCSK
9 is significantly related to arterial stiffness, independent of sex and menopausal status in women.
Intracoronary Administration of Allogeneic Adipose Tissue–Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Improves Myocardial Perfusion But Not Left Ventricle Function, in a Translational Model of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Bobi Joaquim , Solanes Núria , Fernández‐Jiménez Rodrigo , Galán‐Arriola Carlos , Dantas Ana Paula , Fernández‐Friera Leticia , Gálvez‐Montón Carolina , Rigol‐Monzó Elisabet , Agüero Jaume , Ramírez José , Roqué Mercè , Bayés‐Genís Antoni , Sánchez‐González Javier , García‐Álvarez Ana , Sabaté Manel , Roura Santiago , Ibáñez Borja , Rigol Montserrat
Published: May 2017

Background

Autologous adipose tissue–derived mesenchymal stem cells (
ATMSC
s) therapy is a promising strategy to improve post–myocardial infarction outcomes. In a porcine model of acute myocardial infarction, we studied the long‐term effects and the mechanisms involved in allogeneic
ATMSC
s administration on myocardial performance.

Methods and Results

Thirty‐eight pigs underwent 50 minutes of coronary occlusion; the study was completed in 33 pigs. After reperfusion, allogeneic
ATMSC
s or culture medium (vehicle) were intracoronarily administered. Follow‐ups were performed at short (2 days after acute myocardial infarction vehicle‐treated, n=10;
ATMSC
s‐treated, n=9) or long term (60 days after acute myocardial infarction vehicle‐treated, n=7;
ATMSC
s‐treated, n=7). At short term, infarcted myocardium analysis showed reduced apoptosis in the
ATMSC
s‐treated animals (48.6±6% versus 55.9±5.7% in vehicle;
P
=0.017); enhancement of the reparative process with up‐regulated vascular endothelial growth factor, granulocyte macrophage colony‐stimulating factor, and stromal‐derived factor‐1α gene expression; and increased M2 macrophages (67.2±10% versus 54.7±10.2% in vehicle;
P
=0.016). In long‐term groups, increase in myocardial perfusion at the anterior infarct border was observed both on day‐7 and day‐60 cardiac magnetic resonance studies in
ATMSC
s‐treated animals, compared to vehicle (87.9±28.7 versus 57.4±17.7 mL/min per gram at 7 days;
P
=0.034 and 99±22.6 versus 43.3±14.7 22.6 mL/min per gram at 60 days;
P
=0.0001, respectively). At day 60, higher vascular density was detected at the border zone in the 
ATMSC
s‐treated animals (118±18 versus 92.4±24.3 vessels/mm
2
in vehicle;
P
=0.045). Cardiac magnetic resonance–measured left ventricular ejection fraction of left ventricular volumes was not different between groups at any time point.

Conclusions

In this porcine acute myocardial infarction model, allogeneic
ATMSC
s‐based therapy was associated with increased cardioprotective and reparative mechanisms and with better cardiac magnetic resonance–measured perfusion. No effect on left ventricular volumes or ejection fraction was observed.
The Role of Paradigmatic Morphology in Historical, Areal and Genealogical Linguistics
Authors: Georg Stefan
Published: May 2017

Paradigmatic morphology is a central and crucial concept for several branches of comparative linguistics. The observation of shared paradigms in languages which were not suspected of having a common ancestry stands at the cradle of modern genealogical linguistics and dominates the discussion(s) about not firmly established or merely putative language families or phyla to this day, the very different morphological techniques different languages use for the formation of paradigms mark the beginning of language typology, now a major pillar of the language sciences, and the question, to which degree languages—closely, distantly, or not at all related with each other—may borrow morphological paradigms (part or whole) from each other or might have done so in the past (which, if true and not properly detected, might lead to superficially persuasive, but factually erroneous, claims and hypotheses of genealogical relatedness) continues to be an important theoretical and practical issue in comparative linguistics.

The contributions to this volume address, i. a., all of these questions and areas and offer much food for thought about historical morphology, areal linguistics and, above all, language classification—going far beyond the “Altaic hypothesis” , which figures prominently in some of them.
Applying Multivariate Adaptive Splines to Identify Genes With Expressions Varying After Diagnosis in Microarray Experiments
Authors: Duan Fenghai , Xu Ye
Published: May 2017

Purpose:

To analyze a microarray experiment to identify the genes with expressions varying after the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Methods:

A total of 44 928 probe sets in an Affymetrix microarray data publicly available on Gene Expression Omnibus from 249 patients with breast cancer were analyzed by the nonparametric multivariate adaptive splines. Then, the identified genes with turning points were grouped by K-means clustering, and their network relationship was subsequently analyzed by the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis.

Results:

In total, 1640 probe sets (genes) were reliably identified to have turning points along with the age at diagnosis in their expression profiling, of which 927 expressed lower after turning points and 713 expressed higher after the turning points. K-means clustered them into 3 groups with turning points centering at 54, 62.5, and 72, respectively. The pathway analysis showed that the identified genes were actively involved in various cancer-related functions or networks.

Conclusions:

In this article, we applied the nonparametric multivariate adaptive splines method to a publicly available gene expression data and successfully identified genes with expressions varying before and after breast cancer diagnosis.
Challenges and Solutions: The Experiences of Newly Qualified Science Teachers
Authors: Boakye Cecilia , Ampiah Joseph Ghartey
Published: May 2017

We explored the challenges that five newly qualified teachers (NQTs) faced in the teaching and learning situation and how they addressed their challenges. The teachers taught integrated science at the Junior High School (JHS; ages 12-15 years). Data were collected through observation, interview, and content analysis. We used the inductive and deductive analytic methods, and we found out that the NQTs faced the following challenges among others: (a) lack of resources for teaching and learning, (b) time management, (c) deficiency in content knowledge, (d) their students’ inability to understand the lessons taught, (e) student indiscipline, (f) lack of their students’ interest in science, and (g) their inability to complete the integrated science syllabus. The challenge of lack of resources and deficiency in content knowledge cut across all the NQTs. Some of the methods that they used to solve their challenges are (a) improvising equipment, (b) modifying their teaching, and (c) talking with parents. It was recommended, among other things, that the basic schools should be supplied with equipment/materials and also that preservice training should equip prospective teachers with skills to help them face their challenges.
Older Men With Anemia Have Increased Fracture Risk Independent of Bone Mineral Density
Authors: Valderrábano Rodrigo J. , Lee Jennifer , Lui Li-Yung , Hoffman Andrew R. , Cummings Steven R. , Orwoll Eric S. , Wu Joy Y. ,   for the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study Research Group
Published: May 2017

Context:

Extremely low hemoglobin (Hgb) values have been linked to increased fracture risk at different sites. However, careful assessment of clinically defined anemia and fracture risk is lacking.

Objective:

To determine whether men with anemia were at increased risk of fracture after accounting for bone mineral density (BMD) and bone loss.

Design:

Cross-sectional analysis (at visit 3) and prospective analysis (from baseline to visit 3) in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS), a multisite, longitudinal cohort study.

Setting:

Six communities in the United States.

Participants:

A total of 3632 community-dwelling men (age ≥65 years) in MrOS at baseline (2000 through 2002) who were able to walk unassisted, did not have hip replacement or fracture, and had complete blood cell counts at visit 3 (2007 through 2009).

Outcomes:

Adjudicated spine and nonspine fractures during a median 7.2 years of follow-up.

Results:

Analytic baseline characteristics associated with fractures or anemia (defined as Hgb <12 g/dL) were included in multivariable models. Anemia was associated with increased risk of any fracture [hazard ratio (HR), 1.67; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.26 to 2.21] and nonspine fracture (HR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.25 to 2.31). A model including change in BMD slightly attenuated the association with any (HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.20 to 2.13) and nonspine fractures (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.14 to 2.15). Including absolute BMD did not significantly alter the anemia–fracture association. Anemia was not associated with spine fracture.

Conclusions:

Community-dwelling older men with anemia had a 57% to 72% increase in nonspine fracture risk independent of BMD and bone loss.
Evaluation of Preference and Purpose of Utilisation of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) Compared to Orthopantomogram (OPG) by Dental Practitioners – A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Garlapati Komali , D.B. Gandhi Babu , Chaitanya Nallan C.S.K. , Guduru Harika , Rembers Anusha , Soni Pratima
Published: May 2017

Background: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has become a reliable adjunctive tool for both diagnosis and treatment planning in the field of dentistry. There are numerous advantages of CBCT over 2D imaging techniques (OPG). There is a need to evaluate the changing trend of preference and purpose of utilisation of these imaging modalities by dental practitioners. This study was carried out to evaluate and compare the purpose and preference of utilisation of CBCT and OPG by various dental practitioners in their clinical practice.

Material/Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was carried out on CBCT and OPG data of 620 different cases treated by different dental practitioners from imaging centres in the twin cities of Telangana (Hyderabad & Secunderabad). For comparisons, we used the Mann-Whitney U test (Z test).

Results: The analysis of data showed that among the dental practitioners OPG was more commonly ordered by general dentists (31%) followed by prosthodontists (30%), whereas CBCT was more advocated by general dental practitioners (25%) followed by OMFS (23%). OPG preference was greater for fixed partial denture planning (FPD) 59%, whereas CBCT was highly preferred for implant planning 61%.

Conclusions: The present study showed that general dentists preferred OPG and CBCT compared to other dental practitioners, and OPG was advocated for FPD planning, whereas CBCT was advocated for implant planning. Moreover, and it was found that there had been a drastic increase in the preference of CBCT over OPG in recent times.