bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
APPLICATION OF ADAPTIVE NEURO FUZZY INFERENCE SYSTEM IN THE PROCESS OF TRANSPORTATION SUPPORT
Authors: PAMUČAR DRAGAN , LUKOVAC VESKO , PEJČIĆ-TARLE SNEŽANA
Published: January 2013

The possibility for more confidential predictions, leaning on scientific methods and accomplishments of information technology leaves more time for the realization of logistic needs. Longstanding ambitions to acquire desired levels of efficiency within the system with minimal costs of resources, materials, energy and money are the features of executive structures of logistic systems. A successful logistic process is based on validation of technological development, indicating the need for a faster and more confidential integration of logistic systems and "instilling confidence" with military units that provide critical support (supply, transport and maintenance) will be reliably realized according to relevance and priority. Conclusions like these impose the necessity that the decision-making process of logistic organs is accessed carefully and systematically, since any wrong decision leads to a reduced state of readiness for military units. To facilitate the day-to-day operation of the Army of Serbia and the completion of both scheduled and unscheduled tasks it is necessary to satisfy the wide range of transport requirements. In this paper, the Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is described, thus making possible a strategy of coordination of transport assets to formulate an automatic control strategy. This model successfully imitates the decision-making process of the chiefs of logistic support. As a result of the research, it is shown that the suggested ANFIS, which has the ability to learn, has a possibility to imitate the decision-making process of the transport support officers and show the level of competence that is comparable with the level of their competence.
AN ADAPTIVE FUZZY FUSION FRAMEWORK FOR FACE RECOGNITION UNDER ILLUMINATION VARIATION BASED ON LOCAL MULTIPLE PATTERNS
Authors: ZHOU LIFANG , FANG BIN , LI WEISHENG , CHEN HENGXIN , WANG LIDOU
Published: January 2013

Local binary pattern (LBP) operator offers an efficient way to recognize face under varying illumination, while it has the drawback of abandoning some important texture features. Local multiple patterns (LMP) has alleviated the problem by a hierarchical model. However, the LMP method can bring out the rapid expansion of feature dimension, so a special feature encoding method is adopted by this paper. Meanwhile, we find that the LMP features of different layers can be used to recognize face independently so that it would preserve more abundant recognition information. Most importantly, the contribution of the LMP features from different layers is blurry under varying illumination. We propose a fuzzy framework to fuse the recognition result of different layers and use adaptive weights to calculate contribution rates of different layers under varying illumination. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms other state-of-the-art methods on four databases such as Yale B, Extended Yale B, CMU PIE and Outdoor.
AUTOMATIC MULTI-SCALE SEGMENTATION OF INTRAHEPATIC VESSEL IN CT IMAGES FOR LIVER SURGERY PLANNING
Authors: WANG YI , FANG BIN , PI JINGRUI , WU LEI , WANG PATRICK S. P. , WANG HONGGUANG
Published: January 2013

The processing of blood vessels is an indispensable part in complicated surgeries of livers and hearts as the development of medical image technologies, which requires an automatic segmentation system over CT images of organs. However, the vascular pattern of livers in CT images suffers from low contrast to background so that the existing segmentation technologies are not able to extract the blood vessels completely. In the paper, we propose a new algorithm to extract the blood vessels of livers based on the adaptive multi-scale segmentation. First, we prove that the background histogram of normal scale blood vessels obeys the Gaussian distribution in CT images, and obtain the vascular distribution function from the vascular signal segmented from the background with a local optimal threshold. Second, Hessian matrix is employed to enhance the thin blood vessels before the extraction, and a complete and clear segmentation system for blood vessels is constructed by combining the major and thin blood vessels via filtering. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method, which is able to extract more complete blood vessels for 3D system, and assist the clinical liver surgeries efficiently.
EVERY GROUP IS A MAXIMAL SUBGROUP OF THE FREE IDEMPOTENT GENERATED SEMIGROUP OVER A BAND
Authors: DOLINKA IGOR , RUŠKUC NIK
Published: January 2013

Given an arbitrary group G we construct a semigroup of idempotents (band) BGwith the property that the free idempotent generated semigroup over BGhas a maximal subgroup isomorphic to G. If G is finitely presented then BGis finite. This answers several questions from recent papers in the area.
Understanding the Knowledge Sharing Barriers in Organisation: A Fuzzy AHP Approach
Authors: Jeenger Praveen , Kant Ravi
Published: January 2013

The need for successful knowledge sharing is critical for knowledge management (KM). The objective of this study is to identify and measure the perceived importance of knowledge sharing barriers (KSBs) in organisation. These KSBs have been categorised into the six different levels namely strategic, organisational, financial, technological, individual and social-cultural. A fuzzy AHP approach has been used for rankings of these KSBs in organisation. The expert interview was conducted to identify perceptions of the most significant KSBs. This research is an attempt to identify the KSBs that significantly affect knowledge sharing in organisations so that management may effectively deal with these KSBs. The findings of this research can be used for developing an evidence based ranking of KSBs in organisation.
IMPROVEMENT OF ONE QUANTUM ENCRYPTION SCHEME
Authors: CAO ZHENGJUN , LIU LIHUA
Published: January 2013

Zhou et al. proposed a quantum encryption scheme based on quantum computation in 2006 [N. Zhou et al., Physica A362 (2006) 305]. Each qubit of the ciphertext is constrained to two pairs of conjugate states. So, its implementation is feasible with the existing technology. But it is inefficient since it entails six key bits to encrypt one message bit, and the resulting ciphertext for one message bit consists of three qubits. In addition, its security cannot be directly reduced to the well-known BB84 protocol. In this paper, we improve it using the technique developed in BB84 protocol. The new scheme entails only two key bits to encrypt one message bit. The resulting ciphertext is just composed of two qubits. It saves about a half cost without the loss of security. Moreover, the new scheme is probabilistic instead of deterministic.
NONLINEAR OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE WURTZITE InGaN/AlGaN PARABOLIC QUANTUM DOT
Authors: CHEN TAIRONG , XIE WENFANG , LIANG SHIJUN
Published: January 2013

The linear and nonlinear optical properties in a wurtzite In x Ga 1-x N / Al y Ga 1-y N strained spherical quantum dot (QD) subjected to a uniform external electric field with a direction opposite to that of the built-in electric (BEF) within the framework of effective-mass approximation have been investigated. The results show that the BEF has great effects on the linear and nonlinear optical absorption coefficients (ACs) and refractive index (RI) changes. Moreover, the dependence of the linear and nonlinear optical properties on the In composition, on the Al composition and on the inner sphere radius has been studied in detail. It is indicated that the ACs and RI changes of the Wurtzite spherical QD have strongly affected by these factors. The results may make a significant contribution to designing some important photodetectors and photonic crystal devices.
EIGEN-TEMPERATURE MODEL FOR THE ANNUAL AIR TEMPERATURE MOVEMENT EVALUATION AND FORECAST
Authors: YANG ZONG-CHANG
Published: January 2013

Climate variability and its changes are issues of broader global concern. This study addresses the annual air temperature movement evaluation and forecasting based on principal component analysis (PCA). An Eigen-temperature model for describing the annual air temperature movement by employing PCA is introduced. Subspace for evaluation is generated by selecting principal orthogonal eigenvectors of covariance matrix of temperature data. The principal eigenvectors are called "Eigen-temperatures", since they are eigenvectors and each temperature movement is described by them. Each temperature movement is projected onto the subspace of eigenspace, and described by a linear combination of the Eigen-temperatures. Then, a forecast method for the temperature movement by employing the Eigen-temperatures is proposed. Forecast is implemented with polynomial curve fitting algorithm to estimate subsequent representation weights for the subsequent temperature movement with respect to the "Eigen-temperatures" generated by its previous temperature movements. The proposed Eigen-temperature model is applied to evaluation and forecasting for annual temperature movement at Tongchuan observation station of China from 1962 to 1971 and from 1994 to 2002. Experimental results agreeing well with actual observation values show workability of the proposed. Result analysis indicates its effectiveness that the proposed Eigen-temperature model is outperforming the classical AR model and the BP-ANN on the forecast tasks.
Purinergic regulation of CFTR and Ca2+-activated Cl− channels and K+ channels in human pancreatic duct epithelium
Authors: Wang Jing , Haanes Kristian A. , Novak Ivana
Published: January 2013

Purinergic agonists have been considered for the treatment of respiratory epithelia in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The pancreas, one of the most seriously affected organs in CF, expresses various purinergic receptors. Studies on the rodent pancreas show that purinergic signaling regulates pancreatic secretion. In the present study we aim to identify Cl− and K+ channels in human pancreatic ducts and their regulation by purinergic receptors. Human pancreatic duct epithelia formed by Capan-1 or CFPAC-1 cells were studied in open-circuit Ussing chambers. In Capan-1 cells, ATP/UTP effects were dependent on intracellular Ca2+. Apically applied ATP/UTP stimulated CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and Ca2+-activated Cl− (CaCC) channels, which were inhibited by CFTRinh-172 and niflumic acid, respectively. The basolaterally applied ATP stimulated CFTR. In CFPAC-1 cells, which have mutated CFTR, basolateral ATP and UTP had negligible effects. In addition to Cl− transport in Capan-1 cells, the effects of 5,6-dichloro-1-ethyl-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one (DC-EBIO) and clotrimazole indicated functional expression of the intermediate conductance K+ channels (IK, KCa3.1). The apical effects of ATP/UTP were greatly potentiated by the IK channel opener DC-EBIO. Determination of RNA and protein levels revealed that Capan-1 cells have high expression of TMEM16A (ANO1), a likely CaCC candidate. We conclude that in human pancreatic duct cells ATP/UTP regulates via purinergic receptors both Cl− channels (TMEM16A/ANO1 and CFTR) and K+ channels (IK). The K+ channels provide the driving force for Cl−-channel-dependent secretion, and luminal ATP provided locally or secreted from acini may potentiate secretory processes. Future strategies in augmenting pancreatic duct function should consider sidedness of purinergic signaling and the essential role of K+ channels.
Curcumin abates hypoxia-induced oxidative stress based-ER stress-mediated cell death in mouse hippocampal cells (HT22) by controlling Prdx6 and NF-κB regulation
Authors: Chhunchha Bhavana , Fatma Nigar , Kubo Eri , Rai Prerana , Singh Sanjay P. , Singh Dhirendra P.
Published: January 2013

Oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress are emerging as crucial events in the etiopathology of many neurodegenerative diseases. While the neuroprotective contributions of the dietary compound curcumin has been recognized, the molecular mechanisms underlying curcumin's neuroprotection under oxidative and ER stresses remains elusive. Herein, we show that curcumin protects HT22 from oxidative and ER stresses evoked by the hypoxia (1% O2 or CoCl2 treatment) by enhancing peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx6) expression. Cells exposed to CoCl2 displayed reduced expression of Prdx6 with higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) expression and activation of NF-κB with IκB phosphorylation. When NF-κB activity was blocked by using SN50, an inhibitor of NF-κB, or cells treated with curcumin, the repression of Prdx6 expression was restored, suggesting the involvement of NF-κB in modulating Prdx6 expression. These cells were enriched with an accumulation of ER stress proteins, C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), GRP/78, and calreticulin, and had activated states of caspases 12, 9, and 3. Reinforced expression of Prdx6 in HT22 cells by curcumin reestablished survival signaling by reducing propagation of ROS and blunting ER stress signaling. Intriguingly, knockdown of Prdx6 by antisense revealed that loss of Prdx6 contributed to cell death by sustaining enhanced levels of ER stress-responsive proapoptotic proteins, which was due to elevated ROS production, suggesting that Prdx6 deficiency is a cause of initiation of ROS-mediated ER stress-induced apoptosis. We propose that using curcumin to reinforce the naturally occurring Prdx6 expression and attenuate ROS-based ER stress and NF-κB-mediated aberrant signaling improves cell survival and may provide an avenue to treat and/or postpone diseases associated with ROS or ER stress.
Dietary lipids and sweeteners regulate glucagon-like peptide-2 secretion
Authors: Sato Shingo , Hokari Ryota , Kurihara Chie , Sato Hirokazu , Narimatsu Kazuyuki , Hozumi Hideaki , Ueda Toshihide , Higashiyama Masaaki , Okada Yoshikiyo , Watanabe Chikako , Komoto Shunsuke , Tomita Kengo , Kawaguchi Atsushi , Nagao Shigeaki , Miura Soichiro
Published: February 2013

Glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is a potent intestinal growth factor derived from enteroendocrine L cells. Although food intake is known to increase GLP-2 secretion, its regulatory mechanisms are largely unknown as a result of its very short half-life in venules. The aims of this study were to compare the effects of luminal nutrients on the stimulation of GLP-2 secretion in vivo using lymph samples and to clarify the involvement of the sweet taste receptor in this process in vitro. Lymph samples were collected from the thoracic duct after bolus administration of dietary lipids or sweetening agents into the duodenum of rats. Human enteroendocrine NCI-H716 cells were also used to compare the effects of various nutrients on GLP-2 secretion. GLP-2 concentrations were measured by ELISA in vivo and in vitro. GLP-2 secretion was enhanced by polyunsaturated fatty acid- and monounsaturated fatty acid-rich dietary oils, dietary carbohydrates, and some kinds of sweeteners in rats; this effect was reproduced in NCI-H716 cells using α-linolenic acid (αLA), glucose, and sweeteners. GLP-2 secretion induced by sweetening agents was inhibited by lactisole, a sweetness-antagonizing inhibitor of T1R3. In contrast, lactisole was unable to inhibit GLP-2 secretion induced by αLA alone. Our results suggested that fatty acid- and sweetener-induced GLP-2 secretion may be mediated by two different pathways, with the sweet taste receptor involved in the regulation of the latter.
Mitochondrial morphology transitions and functions: implications for retrograde signaling?
Authors: Picard Martin , Shirihai Orian S. , Gentil Benoit J. , Burelle Yan
Published: January 2013

In response to cellular and environmental stresses, mitochondria undergo morphology transitions regulated by dynamic processes of membrane fusion and fission. These events of mitochondrial dynamics are central regulators of cellular activity, but the mechanisms linking mitochondrial shape to cell function remain unclear. One possibility evaluated in this review is that mitochondrial morphological transitions (from elongated to fragmented, and vice-versa) directly modify canonical aspects of the organelle's function, including susceptibility to mitochondrial permeability transition, respiratory properties of the electron transport chain, and reactive oxygen species production. Because outputs derived from mitochondrial metabolism are linked to defined cellular signaling pathways, fusion/fission morphology transitions could regulate mitochondrial function and retrograde signaling. This is hypothesized to provide a dynamic interface between the cell, its genome, and the fluctuating metabolic environment.
Gender differences control the susceptibility to ER stress-induced acute kidney injury
Authors: Hodeify Rawad , Megyesi Judit , Tarcsafalvi Adel , Mustafa Hossam I. , Hti Lar Seng Nang San , Price Peter M.
Published: January 2013

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress contributes to acute kidney injury induced by several causes. Kidney dysfunction was shown to be influenced by gender differences. In this study we observed differences in the severity of kidney injury between male and female mice in response to tunicamycin, an ER stress agent. Tunicamycin-treated male mice showed a severe decline in kidney function and extensive kidney damage of proximal tubules in the kidney outer cortex (S1 and S2 segments). Interestingly, female tunicamycin-treated mice did not show a decline in kidney function, and their kidneys showed damage localized primarily to proximal tubules in the inner cortex (S3 segment). Protein markers of ER stress, glucose-regulated protein, and X-box binding protein 1 were also more elevated in male mice. Similarly, the induction of apoptosis was higher in tunicamycin-treated male mice, as measured by the activation of Bax and caspase-3. Testosterone administered to female mice before tunicamycin resulted in a phenotype similar to male mice with a comparable decline in renal function, tissue morphology, and induction of ER stress markers. We conclude that kidneys of male mice are much more susceptible to ER stress-induced acute kidney injury than those of females. Moreover, this sexual dimorphism could provide an interesting model to study the relation between kidney function and injury to a specific nephron segment.
Limb motion dictates how motor learning arises from arbitrary environmental dynamics
Authors: Sing Gary C. , Orozco Simon P. , Smith Maurice A.
Published: January 2013

A key idea in motor learning is that internal models of environmental dynamics are internally represented as functions of spatial variables including position, velocity, and acceleration of body motion. We refer to such a representation as motion dependent. The evidence for a motion-dependent representation is, however, primarily based on examination of the adaptation to motion-dependent dynamic environments. To more rigorously test this idea, we examined the adaptive response to perturbations that cannot be well approximated by motion-state: force-impulses—brief, high-amplitude pulses of force. The induced adaptation characterizes the impulse response of the system—a widely used technique for probing system dynamics in engineering systems identification. Here we examined the adaptive responses to two different force-impulse perturbations during human voluntary reaching movements. We found that although neither could be well approximated by motion-state ( R2< 0.18 in both cases), both perturbations induced single-trial adaptive responses that were ( R2> 0.87). Moreover, these responses were similar in shape to those induced by low-fidelity motion-based approximations of the force-impulses ( r > 0.88). Remarkably, we found that the motion dependence of the adaptive responses to force-impulses persisted, even after prolonged exposure ( R2> 0.95). During a 300-trial training period, trial-to-trial fluctuations in the position, velocity, and acceleration of motion accurately predicted trial-to-trial fluctuations in the adaptive response, and the adaptation gradually became more specific to the perturbation, but only via reorganization of the structure of the motion-dependent representation. These results indicate that internal models of environmental dynamics represent these dynamics in a motion-dependent manner, regardless of the nature of the dynamics encountered.
Neural dynamics in response to binary taste mixtures
Authors: Maier Joost X. , Katz Donald B.
Published: January 2013

Taste stimuli encountered in the natural environment are usually combinations of multiple tastants. Although a great deal is known about how neurons in the taste system respond to single taste stimuli in isolation, less is known about how the brain deals with such mixture stimuli. Here, we probe the responses of single neurons in primary gustatory cortex (GC) of awake rats to an array of taste stimuli including 100% citric acid (100 mM), 100% sodium chloride (100 mM), 100% sucrose (100 mM), and a range of binary mixtures (90/10, 70/30, 50/50, 30/70, and 10/90%). We tested for the presence of three different hypothetical response patterns: 1) responses varying monotonically as a function of concentration of sucrose (or acid) in the mixture (the “monotonic” pattern); 2) responses increasing or decreasing as a function of degree of mixture of the stimulus (the “mixture” pattern); and 3) responses that change abruptly from being similar to one pure taste to being similar the other (the “categorical” pattern). Our results demonstrate the presence of both monotonic and mixture patterns within responses of GC neurons. Specifically, further analysis (that included the presentation of 50 mM sucrose and citric acid) made it clear that mixture suppression reliably precedes a palatability-related pattern. The temporal dynamics of the emergence of the palatability-related pattern parallel the temporal dynamics of the emergence of preference behavior for the same mixtures as measured by a brief access test. We saw no evidence of categorical coding.
Gene Silencing of 4-1BB by RNA Interference Inhibits Acute Rejection in Rats with Liver Transplantation
Authors: Shi Yang , Hu Shuqun , Song Qingwei , Yu Shengcai , Zhou Xiaojun , Yin Jun , Qin Lei , Qian Haixin
Published: January 2013

The 4-1BB signal pathway plays a key role in organ transplantation tolerance. In this study, we have investigated the effect of gene silencing of 4-1BB by RNA interference (RNAi) on the acute rejection in rats with liver transplantation. The recombination vector of lentivirus that contains shRNA targeting the 4-1BB gene (LV-sh4-1BB) was constructed. The liver transplantation was performed using the two-cuff technique. Brown-Norway (BN) recipient rats were infected by the recombinant LVs. The results showed that gene silencing of 4-1BB by RNAi downregulated the 4-1BB gene expression of the splenic lymphocytesin vitro, and the splenic lymphocytes isolated from the rats with liver transplantation. LV-sh4-1BB decreased the plasma levels of liver injury markers including AST, ALT, and BIL and also decreased the level of plasma IL-2 and IFN-γin recipient rats with liver transplantation. Lentivirus-mediated delivery of shRNA targeting 4-1BB gene prolonged the survival time of recipient and alleviated the injury of liver morphology in recipient rats with liver transplantation. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that gene silencing of 4-1BB by RNA interference inhibits the acute rejection in rats with liver transplantation.
SPICE Mutator Model for Transforming Memristor into Meminductor
Authors: Wang Hui , Wang Xin , Li Chuandong , Chen Ling
Published: January 2013

The memristor (resistor with memory), as the fourth fundamental circuit element, is a nonvolatile nanoelectronic device and holds great promise for VLSI applications. It was suggested that the meminductor (ML, inductor with memory) circuit can be built by memristor emulators. This paper further addresses the transformation mechanism in terms of constitutive relation from the memristor to the meminductor and then designs an MR-ML mutator to achieve MR-ML transformation. We also present the mutator’s SPICE model and analyze the simulation results.
Layers of Socioeconomic Vulnerability in Malawi in the Context of the Millennium Development Goals
Authors: Doctor Henry V.
Published: January 2013

Millennium Development Goal 1 focuses on the eradication of poverty and hunger by 2015. While progress towards achieving this goal is promising in many developing countries, it is estimated that 920 million people would still be living under the adjusted poverty threshold of US$1.25 per day. This study employed data from the Malawi 2010 Demographic and Health Survey to examine the relative ranking of women ( 23,020) across the wealth index scale by identifying the characteristics of women which influence their likelihood of belonging to “poor” or “rich” households. Results from the ordered probit model show that older women and those with some formal schooling were likely to fall within the higher categories of the wealth status index. Belonging to households headed by females was associated with lower categories of wealth status than those headed by males. We interpret these results in line with the current development strategies aimed at reducing poverty and hunger by 2015 and the need to identify and respond appropriately to the layers of socioeconomic vulnerability in Malawi.
Cardiovascular Risk in Psoriasis: A Population-Based Analysis with Assessment of the Framingham Risk Score
Authors: Myasoedova Elena , Akkara Veetil Bharath Manu , Matteson Eric L. , Kremers Hilal Maradit , McEvoy Marian T. , Crowson Cynthia S.
Published: January 2013

Objective. To examine the utility of the Framingham risk score (FRS) in estimating cardiovascular risk in psoriasis.Methods. We compared the predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular events, namely, cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, heart failure, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass grafting using the FRS, to the observed risk of cardiovascular events in a population-based cohort of patients with psoriasis. Patients with incident or prevalent adult-onset psoriasis aged 30–79 years without prior history of cardiovascular disease were included.Results. Among the 1197 patients with predicted risk scores, the median FRS was 6.0%, while the observed 10-year cardiovascular risk was 6.9% (standardized incidence ratio (SIR): 1.14; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92–1.42). The SIR was not elevated for women nor for men. The differences between observed and predicted cardiovascular risks in patients <60 years (SIR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.73–1.41) or ≥60 years (SIR: 1.26; 95% CI: 0.95–1.68) were not statistically significant.Conclusion. There was no apparent difference between observed and predicted cardiovascular risks in patients with psoriasis in our study. FRS reasonably estimated cardiovascular risk in both men and women as well as in younger and older psoriasis patients, suggesting that FRS can be used in risk stratification in psoriasis without further adjustment.
Aortic Dissection and Thrombosis Diagnosed by Emergency Ultrasound in a Patient with Leg Pain and Paralysis
Authors: Tsung Ann H. , Nickels Leslie C. , De Portu Giuliano , Flach Eike F. , Stead Latha Ganti
Published: January 2013

The authors present a case of aortic dissection and abdominal aortic aneurysm thrombosis in a 78-year-old male who presented to the emergency department (ED) complaining of lower extremity and paralysis for the past 1.5 hours. The initial vital signs in the ED were as follows: blood pressure (BP) 132/88 mmHg, heart rate (HR) 96, respiratory rate (RR) 14, and an oxygen saturation of 94% at room air. Physical exam was notable for pale and cold left leg. The ED physician was unable to palpate or detect a Doppler signal in the left femoral artery. Bedside ultrasound was performed which showed non-pulsatile left femoral artery and limited flow on color Doppler. Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening ultrasound was performed showing a 4.99 cm infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm and an intra-aortic thrombus with an intimal flap. Vascular surgery was promptly contacted and the patient underwent emergent aorto-bi-femoral bypass, bilateral four compartment fasciotomy, right common femoral artery endarterectomy with profundoplasty, and subsequent left leg amputation. Emergency physicians should utilize bedside ultrasound in patients who present with risk factors or threatening signs and symptoms that may suggest aortic dissection or aneurysm. Bedside ultrasound decreases time to definitive treatment and the mortality of the patients.
Air Pollutant Characterization in Tula Industrial Corridor, Central Mexico, during the MILAGRO Study
Authors: Sosa G. , Vega E. , González-Avalos E. , Mora V. , López-Veneroni D.
Published: January 2013

Pollutant emissions and their contribution to local and regional air quality at the industrial area of Tula were studied during a four-week period as part of theMILAGROinitiative. A recurrent shallow stable layer was observed in the morning favoring air pollutants accumulation in the lower 100 m atmospheric layer. In the afternoon the mixing layer height reached 3000 m, along with a featuring low level jet which was responsible of transporting air pollutants at regional scales. Average PM10at Jasso (JAS) and Tepeji (TEP) was 75.1 and 36.8 μg/m3, respectively while average PM2.5was 31.0 and 25.7 μg/m3. JAS was highly impacted by local limestone dust, while TEP was a receptor of major sources of combustion emissions with 70% of the PM10constituted by PM2.5. Average hourly aerosol light absorption was 22 Mm−1, while aerosol scattering (76 Mm−1) was higher compared to a rural site but much lower than at Mexico City.δ13C values in the epiphyteTillandsia recurvatashow that the emission plume directly affects the SW sector of Mezquital Valley and is then constrained by a mountain range preventing its dispersion. Air pollutants may exacerbate acute and chronic adverse health effects in this region.
Application of Calixarenes as Macrocyclic Ligands for Uranium(VI): A Review
Authors: Kiegiel Katarzyna , Steczek Lukasz , Zakrzewska-Trznadel Grazyna
Published: January 2013

Calixarenes represent a well‐known family of macrocyclic molecules with broad range of potential applications in chemical, analytical, and engineering materials fields. This paper covers the use of calixarenes as complexing agents for uranium(VI). The high effectiveness of calix[6]arenes in comparison to other calixarenes in uranium(VI) separation process is also presented. Processes such as liquid‐liquid extraction (LLE), liquid membrane (LM) separation, and ion exchange are considered as potential fields for application of calixarenes as useful agents for binding for effective separation from aqueous solutions containing other metal components.
Analysis of DNA Repair–Related Genes in Breast Cancer Reveals CUL4A Ubiquitin Ligase as a Novel Biomarker of Trabectedin Response
Authors: García María J. , Saucedo-Cuevas Laura Paula , Muñoz-Repeto Iván , Fernández Victoria , Robles María J. , Domingo Samuel , Palacios José , Aracil Miguel , Nieto Antonio , Tercero Juan Carlos , Benítez Javier
Published: January 2013

Trabectedin is more active in nucleotide excision repair (NER)-efficient and homologous recombination repair (HRR)-deficient cells. As up to 25% of sporadic breast tumors present somatic inactivation of the HRR pathway (BRCAness phenotype), we sought to characterize trabectedin effect in BRCA1-proficient and BRCA1-null breast cancer cell lines. We evaluated whether HRR and NER gene expression correlates with trabectedin sensitivity and explored the response predictive value of the CUL4A ubiquitin ligase, which ubiquitinates NER pathway members. We characterized trabectedin cytotoxicity, cell-cycle effects, and BRCA1, BRCA2, XRCC3, XPG, ERCC1, and CUL4A expression in 10 breast cancer cell lines. Gene expression and trabectedin sensitivity association were determined in cell lines. Survival assays after trabectedin treatment were conducted in CUL4A-silenced BRCA1-proficient and -deficient cells. Because of limited phase II clinical trials evaluating trabectedin efficacy in patients with breast cancer, we assessed CUL4A immunohistochemical staining in a retrospective series of 118 sarcomas from trabectedin-treated patients to validate in vivo our in vitro observations. In cell lines, greater trabectedin sensitivity was associated with higher CUL4A expression and lower BRCA1/ERCC5, BRCA1/CUL4A, and XRCC3/CUL4A expression ratios. In agreement, BRCA1-deficient CUL4A-knockdown cells presented higher cell survival after trabectedin exposure than did scramble control cells. Lack of effect in BRCA1-proficient cells suggests that HRR impairment is key in CUL4A-mediated trabectedin sensitivity. High CUL4A expression in nontranslocation-related patients with sarcoma predicted improved progression-free survival [PFS; HR, 0.37; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.20–0.68, P = 0.001] and overall survival (OS; HR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.21–0.93, P = 0.026). Our observations support the notion of greater trabectedin activity in tumors exhibiting BRCAness and reveal CUL4A as a potential biomarker for definition of trabectedin target patients. Mol Cancer Ther; 12(4); 530–41. ©2013 AACR.
Poly(β-amino ester) Nanoparticle Delivery of TP53 Has Activity against Small Cell Lung Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo
Authors: Kamat Chandrashekhar D. , Shmueli Ron B. , Connis Nick , Rudin Charles M. , Green Jordan J. , Hann Christine L.
Published: January 2013

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive disease with one of the highest case-fatality rates among cancer. The recommended therapy for SCLCs has not changed significantly over the past 30 years; new therapeutic approaches are a critical need. TP53 is mutated in the majority of SCLC cases and its loss is required in transgenic mouse models of the disease. We synthesized an array of biodegradable poly(β-amino ester) (PBAE) polymers that self-assemble with DNA and assayed for transfection efficiency in the p53-mutant H446 SCLC cell line using high-throughput methodologies. Two of the top candidates were selected for further characterization and TP53 delivery in vitro and in vivo. Nanoparticle delivery of TP53 resulted in expression of exogenous p53, induction of p21, induction of apoptosis, and accumulation of cells in sub-G1 consistent with functional p53 activity. Intratumoral injection of subcutaneous H446 xenografts with polymers carrying TP53 caused marked tumor growth inhibition. This is the first demonstration of TP53 gene therapy in SCLC using nonviral polymeric nanoparticles. This technology may have general applicability as a novel anticancer strategy based on restoration of tumor suppressor gene function. Mol Cancer Ther; 12(4); 405–15. ©2013 AACR.
SNF5 Reexpression in Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors Regulates Transcription of Target Genes by Recruitment of SWI/SNF Complexes and RNAPII to the Transcription Start Site of Their Promoters
Authors: Kuwahara Yasumichi , Wei Darmood , Durand Joel , Weissman Bernard E.
Published: January 2013

Malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT), a highly aggressive cancer of young children, displays inactivation or loss of the hSNF5/INI1/SMARCB1 gene, a core subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex, in primary tumors and cell lines. We have previously reported that reexpression of hSNF5 in some MRT cell lines causes a G1 arrest via p21CIP1/WAF1 (p21) mRNA induction in a p53-independent manner. However, the mechanism(s) by which hSNF5 reexpression activates gene transcription remains unclear. We initially searched for other hSNF5 target genes by asking whether hSNF5 loss altered regulation of other consensus p53 target genes. Our studies show that hSNF5 regulates only a subset of p53 target genes, including p21 and NOXA, in MRT cell lines. We also show that hSNF5 reexpression modulates SWI/SNF complex levels at the transcription start site (TSS) at both loci and leads to activation of transcription initiation through recruitment of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) accompanied by H3K4 and H3K36 modifications. Furthermore, our results show lower NOXA expression in MRT cell lines compared with other human tumor cell lines, suggesting that hSNF5 loss may alter the expression of this important apoptotic gene. Thus, one mechanism for MRT development after hSNF5 loss may rely on reduced chromatin-remodeling activity of the SWI/SNF complex at the TSS of critical gene promoters. Furthermore, because we observe growth inhibition after NOXA expression in MRT cells, the NOXA pathway may provide a novel target with clinical relevancy for treatment of this aggressive disease.

Visual Overview: http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/content/11/3/251/F1.large.jpg.

Mol Cancer Res; 11(3); 251–60. ©2013 AACR.
Inhibition of TWIST1 Leads to Activation of Oncogene-Induced Senescence in Oncogene-Driven Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Burns Timothy F. , Dobromilskaya Irina , Murphy Sara C. , Gajula Rajendra P. , Thiyagarajan Saravanan , Chatley Sarah N.H. , Aziz Khaled , Cho Yoon-Jae , Tran Phuoc T. , Rudin Charles M.
Published: January 2013

A large fraction of non–small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) are dependent on defined oncogenic driver mutations. Although targeted agents exist for EGFR- and EML4-ALK–driven NSCLCs, no therapies target the most frequently found driver mutation, KRAS. Furthermore, acquired resistance to the currently targetable driver mutations is nearly universally observed. Clearly a novel therapeutic approach is needed to target oncogene-driven NSCLCs. We recently showed that the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Twist1 cooperates with mutant Kras to induce lung adenocarcinoma in transgenic mouse models and that inhibition of Twist1 in these models led to Kras-induced senescence. In the current study, we examine the role of TWIST1 in oncogene-driven human NSCLCs. Silencing of TWIST1 in KRAS-mutant human NSCLC cell lines resulted in dramatic growth inhibition and either activation of a latent oncogene-induced senescence program or, in some cases, apoptosis. Similar effects were observed in EGFR mutation–driven and c-Met–amplified NSCLC cell lines. Growth inhibition by silencing of TWIST1 was independent of p53 or p16 mutational status and did not require previously defined mediators of senescence, p21 and p27, nor could this phenotype be rescued by overexpression of SKP2. In xenograft models, silencing of TWIST1 resulted in significant growth inhibition of KRAS-mutant, EGFR-mutant, and c-Met–amplified NSCLCs. Remarkably, inducible silencing of TWIST1 resulted in significant growth inhibition of established KRAS-mutant tumors. Together these findings suggest that silencing of TWIST1 in oncogene driver–dependent NSCLCs represents a novel and promising therapeutic strategy. Mol Cancer Res; 11(4); 329–38. ©2013 AACR.
Diminished Origin-Licensing Capacity Specifically Sensitizes Tumor Cells to Replication Stress
Authors: Zimmerman Kristin M. , Jones Rebecca M. , Petermann Eva , Jeggo Penelope A.
Published: January 2013

Previous studies have shown that dormant licensed replication origins can be exploited to enhance recovery from replication stress. Since tumor cells express high levels of origin-licensing proteins, we examined whether depletion of such factors might specifically sensitize tumor versus nontumor cells. Consistent with previous findings, we observed that three tumor-derived cell lines overexpress ORC1, a licensing component, compared with four nontumor cell lines and that a greater level of ORC1 was required to maintain viability in the tumor cells. We determined siRNA-mediated knockdown conditions for each line that maximally reduced ORC1 but did not impact upon viability, which we considered would optimally deplete dormant origins. ORC1 depletion hypersensitized the tumor-derived cells to hydroxyurea and H202 but did not affect the sensitivity of the nontumor lines. Similar results were observed following depletion of ORC6 or CDC6. Furthermore, codepletion of p53 and ORC1 modestly impaired viability of 1BR3hTERT nontumor fibroblasts and more dramatically caused hypersensitivity to hydroxyurea. Finally, overexpression of the c-Myc oncogene combined with ORC1 depletion in nontumor BJhTERT cells diminished viability. Collectively, these findings suggest that tumor cells may have a reliance on origin-licensing capacity, suggesting that licensing factors could represent a target for drug-based cancer therapy. Mol Cancer Res; 11(4); 370–80. ©2013 AACR.
Implications of Early Aortic Stiffening in Patients With Transposition of the Great Arteries After Arterial Switch Operation
Authors: Voges Inga , Jerosch-Herold Michael , Hedderich Jürgen , Hart Christopher , Petko Colin , Scheewe Jens , Andrade Ana Cristina , Pham Minh , Gabbert Dominik , Kramer Hans-Heiner , Rickers Carsten
Published: January 2013

Background—

The elastic function of the aorta in patients with transposition of the great arteries after arterial switch operation (ASO) is suspected to be important for long-term prognosis.

Methods and Results—

Fifty-one patients and 34 controls were studied at 3.0 Tesla with MRI. Forty-three patients (12.8±6.9 years) underwent 1-stage ASO, 8 patients (23.8±6.9 years) had prior pulmonary artery banding (2-stage ASO). Aortic dimensions, distensibility, pulse wave velocity, aortic arch angle, left ventricular (LV) mass, LV systolic function and left atrial (LA) volumes, and LA passive emptying function as marker of LV diastolic function were assessed. Compared with controls, patients had increased aortic root areas (602.6±240.5 versus 356.8±113.4 mm
2
/m;
P
<0.01) and reduced distensibility of the thoracic aorta most pronounced at the aortic root (3.2±2.0 versus 9.1±4.7×10
−3
mm Hg
−1
;
P
<0.01). Aortic distensibility correlated negatively with the aortic areas (
P
<0.01). Pulse wave velocity was higher in adults after ASO (5.0±1.0 versus 3.8±1.3 m/s;
P
<0.01). In contrast to controls pulse wave velocity and distensibility correlated with age in patients (
P
=0.04 to <0.01), LV mass was higher in patients (
P
=0.02). LA volumes correlated negatively with aortic root and ascending aortic distensibility and positively with pulse wave velocity (
P
<0.05). In patients, LA passive emptying function was lower (27.3±8.9 versus 41.1±6.0;
P
<0.01) and correlated with aortic root distensibility (
P
=0.004).

Conclusions—

Reduced aortic bioelasticity and aortic root dilatation are present in transposition of the great artery patients post ASO and are likely to contribute to LV diastolic dysfunction. Impaired aortic bioelasticity was strongly associated with age, suggesting the usefulness of follow-up studies for early onset of degenerative cardiovascular disease.
Steps Toward Safe Cell Therapy Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Authors: Okano Hideyuki , Nakamura Masaya , Yoshida Kenji , Okada Yohei , Tsuji Osahiko , Nori Satoshi , Ikeda Eiji , Yamanaka Shinya , Miura Kyoko
Published: January 2013

The enthusiasm for producing patient-specific human embryonic stem cells using somatic nuclear transfer has somewhat abated in recent years because of ethical, technical, and political concerns. However, the interest in generating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), in which pluripotency can be obtained by transcription factor transduction of various somatic cells, has rapidly increased. Human iPSCs are anticipated to open enormous opportunities in the biomedical sciences in terms of cell therapies for regenerative medicine and stem cell modeling of human disease. On the other hand, recent reports have emphasized the pitfalls of iPSC technology, including the potential for genetic and epigenetic abnormalities, tumorigenicity, and immunogenicity of transplanted cells. These constitute serious safety-related concerns for iPSC-based cell therapy. However, preclinical data supporting the safety and efficacy of iPSCs are also accumulating. In this Review, recent achievements and future tasks for safe iPSC-based cell therapy are summarized, using regenerative medicine for repair strategies in the damaged central nervous system (CNS) as a model. Insights on safety and preclinical use of iPSCs in cardiovascular repair model are also discussed.
Learning about danger by young hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis): are antipredator strategies ontogenetically plastic?
Authors: Crane Adam L. , Mathis Alicia
Published: January 2013

Some aquatic species are able to learn to recognize chemical cues from predators through classical conditioning. In previous tests, laboratory-reared larval hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) showed weak antipredator responses to introduced predators (trout) compared to responses to their native predators, such as bass and sculpin. However, hellbender larvae that were conditioned with conspecific alarm cues at six months of age learned to recognize trout odour, but the responses of younger larvae to alarm cues have not been tested and the ontogeny of learning abilities is not known. In this study, we successfully trained younger larval hellbenders (4 months old) to recognize trout. Moreover, we found that the learned responses of younger hellbenders (decreased activity) are different from those of the older hellbenders (increased activity) in the previous study. This ontogenetic shift in behaviour may result from larvae increasing locomotor and sensory abilities and becoming more visible during the 4-6 month time period.
Color Signal Integration for Color Discrimination along a Long-range Apparent Motion Trajectory
Authors: Nagai Takehiro , Kimura Hiroto , Nakauchi Shigeki
Published: January 2013

In contrast to the classical view that fundamental visual attributes such as color and motion are independently processed in the visual system (e.g. Livingstone and Hubel, 1987; Marr, 1982), recent studies have revealed various forms of cross-attribute interactions, such as averaging of color appearance along the motion trajectory of an object (Nishida et al., 2007). In this study, we investigated whether such color signal integration along a motion trajectory can be induced only by motion mechanisms having large receptive fields, without simple integration within direction-selective neurons with small receptive fields, like those in V1. The stimulus consisted of discs with long-range apparent motion along a circular trajectory. The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between disc presentations controlled the strength of the apparent motion perception. We measured observers’ sensitivity in detecting color modulation on the discs. The results showed that the measured sensitivity was lowest at SOAs corresponding to the strongest motion perception. This can be interpreted as follows: color signals were integrated along an apparent motion path, and this integration reduced chromatic sensitivity by averaging color signals. Another experiment that controlled apparent motion perception in a different way also supported this idea. However, this integration effect seemed to be linked to responses of motion detectors for the apparent motion stimuli, not directly to perceptual motion representation in the visual system. These results suggest that the human visual system handles color information from retinal inputs regarding moving objects based not only on a retinotopic coordinate but also on object-based coordinates, even when the moving object yields only long-range apparent motion.
A new species of the genus Apatenia (Coleoptera: Anthribidae) from Madagascar with notes on female genitalia, redescription of the female of Apatenia quadristigma Frieser and list of Madagascan species
Authors: TRÝZNA MILOŠ , BAŇAŘ PETR
Published: January 2013

A new species, Apatenia stysi Trýzna & Baňař sp. nov. (Anthribidae: Anthribinae: Corrhecerini), from north-west Mad-agascar is described and the female allotype of Apatenia quadristigma Frieser, 1981 is redescribed. Female genitalia of A. stysi sp. nov. are studied and illustrated.