bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plasma kallikrein‐kinin system contributes to peripheral inflammation in temporal lobe epilepsy
Authors: Simões Priscila S.R. , Zanelatto Alexia O. , Assis Mirian C. , Varella Pedro Paulo V. , Yacubian Elza Marcia , Carrete Henrique , Centeno Ricardo , Araujo Mariana S. , Cavalheiro Esper A. , Tersariol Ivarne Luis S. , Motta Guacyara , Naffah‐Mazzacoratti Maria da Graça
Published: June 2019

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a chronic disease, characterized by severe and refractory seizures, triggered in the hippocampus and/or amygdala, disrupting the blood–brain barrier. This disruption can sustain, or aggravate, the epileptic condition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the activation of the kallikrein‐kinin system in patients with TLE, as it relates to the maintenance of blood–brain barrier. Human hippocampal sclerotic tissues removed after surgery for seizure control, plasma, and serum were used in the following assays: immunostaining for white blood cells in the TLE hippocampus, C‐reactive protein in serum, quantification of plasma kallikrein (PKal) and cathepsin B (CatB) activity in serum and plasma, quantification of C1‐inhibitor, analysis of high‐molecular‐weight kininogen (H‐kininogen) fragments, and activation of plasma prekallikrein for comparison with healthy controls. Infiltration of white blood cells in the sclerotic hippocampus and a significant increase in the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in the blood of TLE patients were observed. High levels of C‐reactive protein (TLE = 1.4 ± 0.3 µg/mL), PKal (TLE = 5.4 ± 0.4 U/mL), and CatB (TLE = 4.9 ± 0.4 U/mL) were also evident in the serum of TLE patients comparing to controls. A strong linear correlation was observed between active CatB and PKal in the serum of TLE patients (r = 0.88). High levels of cleaved H‐kininogen and free PKal, and low levels of C1‐inhibitor (TLE = 188 ± 12 µg/mL) were observed in the serum of TLE patients. Our data demonstrated that the plasma kallikrein‐kinin system is activated in patients with TLE.

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Processes of Religious and Spiritual Influence in Adolescence: A Systematic Review of 30 Years of Research
Authors: Hardy Sam A. , Nelson Jenae M. , Moore Joseph P. , King Pamela Ebstyne
Published: June 2019

This is a systematic review of 30 years (1988‐2017) of empirical research on processes of religious/spiritual influence in adolescence. We followed a multi‐step process that resulted in 241 studies organized according to eight research questions and the corresponding methods and analyses typically used to address them. We coded these studies based on the dimensions of religiosity/spirituality and the youth outcomes involved. In some cases (quantitative studies of mediation and moderation, as well as qualitative studies) we also coded a third process variable. Results of the coding process revealed a number of interesting patterns. First, religiosity/spirituality is generally adaptive for adolescents, protecting them from negative outcomes (e.g., risk behaviors and mental illness), and promoting positive youth development and flourishing. Nevertheless, in some contexts, religiosity/spirituality may be at least partially maladaptive. Second, there is some evidence, from experimental and longitudinal studies, that relations between religiosity/spirituality and adaptive outcomes are causal. Third, there are numerous complex and dynamic processes by which religiosity/spirituality relate to youth outcomes. In terms of mediation studies, the most salient mediating processes seem to involve religiosity/spirituality dimensions, peers, values/attitudes, and social control/norms. Fourth, religiosity/spirituality is multidimensional, involving various interwoven facets at the individual and ecological levels. Private or personal aspects of religiosity/spirituality (e.g., religious/spiritual importance) tend to be more salient predictors of outcomes than public aspects of religiosity/spirituality (e.g., religious worship service attendance). The results of this systematic review point to promising directions for future research. First, more research is needed studying a broader range of dimensions of religiosity/spirituality, processes of influence, and outcomes. In terms of religiosity/spirituality, much of the prior work has focused on overall religiosity/spirituality, and religious/spiritual behaviors (e.g., worship service attendance). In terms of outcomes, the emphasis has been on religiosity/spirituality protecting against maladaptive outcomes (e.g., substance use). Second, more research is needed examining the role of culture, and using more rigorous methods (e.g., experience sampling, experimental design, longitudinal design, or mixed methods). This systematic review provides a detailed analysis of what is known regarding processes of religious/spiritual influence in the lives of adolescents, and hopefully better positions researchers to move the field forward.
Sleep deprivation increases threat beliefs in human fear conditioning
Authors: Zenses Ann‐Kathrin , Lenaert Bert , Peigneux Philippe , Beckers Tom , Boddez Yannick
Published: June 2019

Sleep disturbances and anxiety disorders exhibit high comorbidity levels, but it remains unclear whether sleep problems are causes or consequences of increased anxiety. To experimentally probe the aetiological role of sleep disturbances in anxiety, we investigated in healthy participants how total sleep deprivation influences fear expression in a conditioning paradigm. In a fear conditioning procedure, one face stimulus (conditioned stimulus [CS+]) was paired with electric shock, whereas another face stimulus was not (unpaired stimulus [CS−]). Fear expression was tested the next morning using the two face stimuli from the training phase and a generalization stimulus (i.e. a morph between the CS+ and CS− stimuli). Between fear conditioning and test, participants were either kept awake in the laboratory for 12 hr (n = 20) or had a night of sleep at home (n = 20). Irrespective of stimulus type, subjective threat expectancies, but not skin conductance responses, were enhanced after sleep deprivation, relative to regular sleep. These results suggest that sleep disturbances may play a role in anxiety disorders by increasing perceived threat.
Growth phase‐dependent changes in the size and infectivity of SDS‐resistant Sup35p assemblies associated with the [PSI+] prion in yeast
Authors: Wang Kai , Melki Ronald , Kabani Mehdi
Published: June 2019

The translation termination factor Sup35p can form self‐replicating fibrillar aggregates responsible for the [PSI+] prion state. Sup35p aggregation yields detergent‐resistant assemblies detectable on agarose gels under semi‐denaturant conditions and fluorescent puncta within the yeast cytosol when the protein is fused to GFP. It is still unclear whether any of these manifestations of [PSI+] truly correspond to the Sup35p assemblies that faithfully transmit the [PSI+] prion from mother to daughter cells. The infectious titer of prions in cells can be indirectly assessed by the ability of [PSI+] cells lysates to induce the prion state when introduced into naïve cells. Here, we report that the dramatic changes in the size and amounts of SDS‐resistant Sup35p that occur during growth do not correlate with the infectious titer. Our results suggest that fluorescent Sup35‐GFP puncta and detergent‐resistant Sup35p assemblies are good indicators of Sup35p conversion to the prion state but not of infectious particles number.
Traceable Tasks and Complex Policies: When Politics Matter for Policy Implementation
Authors: Manna Paul , Moffitt Susan L.
Published: June 2019

Implementation represents a key venue for the expression of political conflict. The challenge of illusory implementation, implementing the law's letter but not its spirit, has long vexed scholars and architects of public policy. We develop a political model of policy implementation to predict the kinds of politics—electoral, group, administrative—that different parts of complicated laws activate during implementation. Using original state‐level data on landmark education policy, we assess whether and how these politics render illusory implementation more or less likely for specific policy tasks embedded in complex laws. Consistent with our model, we find electoral politics render illusory implementation less likely for a narrow set of tasks. Group‐based politics and administrative politics bear on illusory implementation for a broader set of tasks in diverse ways. Overall, how policy activates politics during implementation depends on the features of the policy lever, where it is put into practice, and how traceable it is to the bureaucrats who do the implementing. Further, the results underscore how nuanced insights about implementation emerge when one considers individual components of complex laws, rather than treating the laws themselves whole cloth.
Correlative single‐molecule localization microscopy and electron tomography reveals endosome nanoscale domains
Authors: Franke Christian , Repnik Urska , Segeletz Sandra , Brouilly Nicolas , Kalaidzidis Yannis , Verbavatz Jean‐Marc , Zerial Marino
Published: June 2019

Many cellular organelles, including endosomes, show compartmentalization into distinct functional domains, which, however, cannot be resolved by diffraction‐limited light microscopy. Single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) offers nanoscale resolution but data interpretation is often inconclusive when the ultrastructural context is missing. Correlative light electron microscopy (CLEM) combining SMLM with electron microscopy (EM) enables correlation of functional subdomains of organelles in relation to their underlying ultrastructure at nanometer resolution. However, the specific demands for EM sample preparation and the requirements for fluorescent single‐molecule photo‐switching are opposed. Here, we developed a novel superCLEM workflow that combines triple‐color SMLM (dSTORM & PALM) and electron tomography using semi‐thin Tokuyasu thawed cryosections. We applied the superCLEM approach to directly visualize nanoscale compartmentalization of endosomes in HeLa cells. Internalized, fluorescently labeled Transferrin and EGF were resolved into morphologically distinct domains within the same endosome. We found that the small GTPase Rab5 is organized in nanodomains on the globular part of early endosomes. The simultaneous visualization of several proteins in functionally distinct endosomal sub‐compartments demonstrates the potential of superCLEM to link the ultrastructure of organelles with their molecular organization at nanoscale resolution.
Integration of Fungus-Specific CandA-C1 into a Trimeric CandA Complex Allowed Splitting of the Gene for the Conserved Receptor Exchange Factor of CullinA E3 Ubiquitin Ligases in Aspergilli
Authors: Köhler Anna M. , Harting Rebekka , Langeneckert Annika E. , Valerius Oliver , Gerke Jennifer , Meister Cindy , Strohdiek Anja , Braus Gerhard H.
Published: June 2019

Aspergillus
species are important for biotechnological applications, like the production of citric acid or antibacterial agents. Aspergilli can cause food contamination or invasive aspergillosis to immunocompromised humans or animals. Specific treatment is difficult due to limited drug targets and emerging resistances. The CandA complex regulates, as a receptor exchange factor, the activity and substrate variability of the ubiquitin labeling machinery for 26S proteasome-mediated protein degradation. Only
Aspergillus
species encode at least two proteins that form a CandA complex. This study shows that
Aspergillus
species had to integrate a third component into the CandA receptor exchange factor complex that is unique to aspergilli and required for vegetative growth, sexual reproduction, and activation of the ubiquitin labeling machinery. These features have interesting implications for the evolution of protein complexes and could make CandA-C1 an interesting candidate for target-specific drug design to control fungal growth without affecting the human ubiquitin-proteasome system.
Early life socioeconomic position and mortality from cardiovascular diseases: an application of causal mediation analysis in the Stockholm Public Health Cohort
Authors: Hossin Muhammad Zakir , Koupil Ilona , Falkstedt Daniel
Published: June 2019

Objective

We aimed to quantify the mediating impact of adult social and behavioural mechanisms in the association between childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality by employing a weighting approach to mediation analysis.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Stockholm County, Sweden.

Participants

19 720 individuals who participated in the Stockholm Public Health Cohort survey in 2002 and were older than 40 years.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The primary outcome was CVD mortality. Non-CVD mortality was additionally analysed for comparison.

Methods

Study subjects were followed in routine registers from 2002 to 2011 for mortality. Data on father’s SEP and adult social and behavioural factors came from questionnaire survey. The inverse odds weighting method was used to estimate the total effect, the natural direct effect and the natural indirect effect (NIE) in Poisson regression models. All results were adjusted for gender, age, country of birth and marital status. Multiple imputation was used to handle missing data.

Results

The total effect of manual versus non-manual father’s SEP on CVD mortality was estimated as an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 1.24 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.41). When the social and behavioural factors were accounted for, the IRR for the NIE was 1.09 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.14), suggesting a mediation of 44% of the total effect. As for non-CVD mortality, father’s manual SEP was associated with 1.15 fold excess risk (IRR: 1.15; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.27) of which the effect represented by the whole set of mediators was 1.06 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.10).

Conclusion

Adult social and behavioural factors had a considerable mediating effect on the early life social origin of mortality from CVDs and other causes. Future research employing causal mediation analysis may nevertheless have to consider additional factors for a fuller understanding of the mechanisms.
The impact of the Luton social prescribing programme on energy expenditure: a quantitative before-and-after study
Authors: Pescheny Julia Vera , Gunn Laura H , Randhawa Gurch , Pappas Yannis
Published: June 2019

Objectives

The objective of this study was to assess the change in energy expenditure levels of service users after participation in the Luton social prescribing programme.

Design

Uncontrolled before-and-after study.

Setting

This study was set in the East of England (Luton).

Participants

Service users with complete covariate information and baseline measurements (n=146) were included in the analysis.

Intervention

Social prescribing, which is an initiative that aims to link patients in primary care with sources of support within the community sector to improve their health, well-being and care experience. Service users were referred to 12 sessions (free of charge), usually provided by third sector organisations.

Primary outcome measure

Energy expenditure measured as metabolic equivalent (MET) minutes per week.

Results

Using a Bayesian zero-inflated negative binomial model to account for a large number of observed zeros in the data, 95% posterior intervals show that energy expenditure from all levels of physical activities increased post intervention (walking 41.7% (40.31%, 43.11%); moderate 5.0% (2.94%, 7.09%); vigorous 107.3% (98.19%, 116.20%) and total 56.3% (54.77%, 57.69%)). The probability of engaging in physical activity post intervention increased, in three of four MET physical activity levels, for those individuals who were inactive at the start of the programme. Age has a negative effect on energy expenditure from any physical activity level. Similarly, working status has a negative effect on energy expenditure in all but one MET physical activity level. No consistent pattern was observed across physical activity levels in the association between gender and energy expenditure.

Conclusion

This study shows that social prescribing may have the potential to increase the physical activity levels of service users and promote the uptake of physical activity in inactive patient groups. Results of this study can inform future research in the field, which could be of use for commissioners and policy makers.
Study protocol of a multicentre cohort pilot study implementing an expanded preconception carrier-screening programme in metropolitan and regional Western Australia
Authors: Ong Royston , Edwards Samantha , Howting Denise , Kamien Benjamin , Harrop Karen , Ravenscroft Gianina , Davis Mark , Fietz Michael , Pachter Nicholas , Beilby John , Laing Nigel
Published: June 2019

Introduction

Preconception carrier screening (PCS) identifies couples at risk of having children with recessive genetic conditions. New technologies have enabled affordable sequencing for multiple disorders simultaneously, including identifying carrier status for many recessive diseases. The aim of the study was to identify the most effective way of delivering PCS in Western Australia (WA) through the public health system.

Methods and analysis

This is a multicentre cohort pilot study of 250 couples who have used PCS, conducted at three sites: (1) Genetic Services of Western Australia, (2) a private genetic counselling practice in Perth and (3) participating general practice group practices in the Busselton region of WA. The primary outcome of the pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the comprehensive PCS programme in the WA healthcare system. Secondary outcome measures included evaluation of the psychosocial impact of couples, such as reproductive autonomy; identification of areas within the health system that had difficulties in implementing the programme and evaluation of tools developed during the study.

Ethics and dissemination

Approval was provided by the Women and Newborn Health Service Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) at King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women (RGS0000000946) and the University of Western Australia (UWA) HREC (RA/4/20/4258). Participants may choose to withdraw at any time. Withdrawal will in no way affect participating couples' medical care. Study couples will be redirected to another participating health professional for consultation or counselling in the event of a health professional withdrawing. All evaluation data will be deidentified and stored in a password-protected database in UWA. In addition, all hard copy data collected will be kept in a locked cabinet within a secure building. All electronic data will be stored in a password-protected, backed-up location in the UWA Institutional Research Data Store. All evaluative results will be published as separate manuscripts, and selected results will be presented at conferences.
Effect of do-not-resuscitate orders on patients with sepsis in the medical intensive care unit: a retrospective, observational and propensity score-matched study in a tertiary referral hospital in Taiwan
Authors: Chang Ya-Chun , Fang Ying-Tang , Chen Hung-Cheng , Lin Chiung-Yu , Chang Yu-Ping , Chen Yu-Mu , Huang Chi-Han , Huang Kuo-Tung , Chang Huang-Chih , Su Mao-Chang , Wang Yi-Hsi , Wang Chin-Chou , Lin Meng-Chih , Fang Wen-Feng
Published: June 2019

Objective

The aim of this study was to determine whether do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders affect outcomes in patients with sepsis admitted to intensive care unit (ICU).

Design

This is a retrospective observational study.

Participants

We enrolled 796 consecutive adult intensive care patients at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, a 2700-bed tertiary teaching hospital in southern Taiwan. A total of 717 patients were included.

Main measures

Clinical factors such as age, gender and other clinical factors possibly related to DNR orders and hospital mortality were recorded.

Key results

There were 455 patients in the group without DNR orders and 262 patients in the group with DNR orders. Within the DNR group, patients were further grouped into early (orders signed on intensive care day 1, n=126) and late (signed after day 1, n=136). Patients in the DNR group were older and more likely to have malignancy than the group without DNR orders. Mortality at days 7, 14 and 28, as well as intensive care and hospital mortality, were all worse in these patients even after propensity-score matching. There were higher Charlson Comorbidity Index in the emergency room, but better outcomes in those with early-DNR orders compared with late-DNR orders.

Conclusions

DNR orders may predict worse outcomes for patients with sepsis admitted to medical ICUs. The survival rate in the early-DNR order group was not inferior to the late-DNR order group.
Flatness of minima in random inflationary landscapes
Authors: He Yang-Hui , Jejjala Vishnu , Pontiggia Luca , Xiao Yan , Zhou Da
Published: June 2019

We study the likelihood for relative minima of random polynomial potentials to support the slow-roll conditions for inflation. Consistent with renormalizability and boundedness, the coefficients that appear in the potential are chosen to be order one with respect to the energy scale at which inflation transpires. Investigation of the single field case illustrates a window in which the potentials satisfy the slow-roll conditions. When there are two scalar fields, we find that the probability depends mildly on the choice of distribution for the coefficients. A uniform distribution yields a 0.05% probability of finding a suitable minimum in the random potential, whereas a maximum entropy distribution yields a 0.1% probability.
Attitudes Toward Technologies of the Near Future: The Role of Technology Readiness in a Hungarian Adult Sample
Authors: Csuka Sára Imola , Martos Tamás , Kapornaky Mihály , Sallay Viola , Lewis Christopher Alan
Published: June 2019

Past decades’ rapid development of technological innovations can ease individual’s everyday lives, but they can also convey a sense of frustration. The aim of the present study was to investigate attitudes toward technologies that are expected to become widespread in the near future. The Technology Readiness Index was administered to a sample of Hungarian respondents to measure the capacity to adopt technologies. The results add significant novelties about the specific patterns related to perceptions of considerably different future technologies, emphasizing the unique role of optimism. Derivations are further specified by demographic characteristics, future directions and practical implications are also discussed.
On the cohomology of the classifying spaces of projective unitary groups
Authors: Gu Xing
Published: June 2019

Let [Formula: see text] be the classifying space of [Formula: see text], the projective unitary group of order [Formula: see text], for [Formula: see text]. We use a Serre spectral sequence to determine the ring structure of [Formula: see text] up to degree [Formula: see text], as well as a family of distinguished elements of [Formula: see text], for each prime divisor [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text]. We also study the primitive elements of [Formula: see text] as a comodule over [Formula: see text], where the comodule structure is given by an action of [Formula: see text] on [Formula: see text] corresponding to the action of taking the tensor product of a complex line bundle and an [Formula: see text]-dimensional complex vector bundle.
A novel prediction model of traffic accidents based on big data
Authors: Song Minglei , Li Rongrong , Wu Binghua
Published: June 2019

The occurrence of traffic accidents is regular in probability distribution. Using big data mining method to predict traffic accidents is conducive to taking measures to prevent or reduce traffic accidents in advance. In recent years, prediction methods of traffic accidents used by researchers have some problems, such as low calculation accuracy. Therefore, a prediction model of traffic accidents based on joint probability density feature extraction of big data is proposed in this paper. First, a function of big data joint probability distribution for traffic accidents is established. Second, establishing big data distributed database model of traffic accidents with the statistical analysis method in order to mine the association rules characteristic quantity reflecting the law of traffic accidents, and then extracting the joint probability density feature of big data for traffic accident probability distribution. According to the result of feature extraction, adaptive functional and directivity are predicted, and then the regularity prediction of traffic accidents is realized based on the result of association directional clustering, so as to optimize the design of the prediction model of traffic accidents based on big data. Simulation results show that in predicting traffic accidents, the model in this paper has advantages of relatively high accuracy, relatively good confidence and stable prediction result.
Cytotoxic and Antitumor Activity of Lactaptin in Combination with Autophagy Inducers and Inhibitors
Authors: Bagamanshina Anastasia V. , Troitskaya Olga S. , Nushtaeva Anna A. , Yunusova Anastasia Yu , Starykovych Marina O. , Kuligina Elena V. , Kit Yuri Ya , Richter Max , Wohlfromm Fabian , Kähne Thilo , Lavrik Inna N. , Richter Vladimir A. , Koval Olga A.
Published: June 2019

Autophagy is a degradative process in which cellular organelles and proteins are recycled to restore homeostasis and cellular metabolism. Autophagy can be either a prosurvival or a prodeath process and remains one of the most fundamental processes for cell vitality. Thus autophagy modulation is an important approach for reinforcement anticancer therapeutics. Earlier we have demonstrated that recombinant analog of human milk protein lactaptin (RL2) induced apoptosis of various cultured cancer cells and activated lipidation of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3). In this study we investigated whether autophagy inhibitors—chloroquine (CQ), Ku55933 (Ku), and 3-methyladenine (3MA)—or inducer—rapamycin (Rap)—can enhance cytotoxic activity of lactaptin analog in cancer cells and its anticancer activity in the mice model. Western Blot analysis revealed that RL2 induced short-term autophagy in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells at early stages of incubation and that these data were confirmed by the transmission electron microscopy of autophagosome/autophagolysosome formation. RL2 stimulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, autophagosomes accumulation, upregulation of ATG5 with processing of LC3I to LC3II, and downregulation of p62/sequestosome 1 (p62). We have shown that autophagy modulators, CQ, Ku, and Rap, synergistically increased cytotoxicity of RL2, and RL2 with CQ induced autophagic cell death. In addition, CQ, Ku, and Rap in combination with RL2 decreased activity of lysosomal protease Cathepsin D. More importantly, combining RL2 with CQ, we improved antitumor effect in mice. Detected synergistic cytotoxic effects of both types of autophagy regulators, inhibitors, and inducers with RL2 against cancer cells allow us to believe that these combinations can be a basis for the new anticancer approach. Finally, we suppose that CQ and Rap promoting of short-term RL2-induced autophagy interlinks with final autophagic cell death.
Gallium-68-Labelled Indocyanine Green as a Potential Liver Reserve Imaging Agent
Authors: Xia Yuxiao , Zhang Li , Zhao Yanhong , Liu Xiangdong , Cai Liang , Liu Lin , Chen Yue , Zhang Wei
Published: June 2019

Objective. This work evaluated the potential of 68Ga-labelledNOTA-ICG (1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetic acid indocyanine green) for liver reserve imaging. Methods. To determine the optimal conditions for generating 68Ga-NOTA-ICG, various reaction parameters were implemented. Quality control analysis was performed using different chromatography techniques. The in vitro and in vivo stability was also measured at specific time points. The radioactivity ratio between n-octanol and water was determined to evaluate the water solubility of 68Ga-NOTA-ICG. The plasma-protein binding rate of the labelled compound was determined by the methanol method. The biodistribution and imaging findings were evaluated in normal animals at different time points after injection. A preliminary imaging evaluation was performed using an animal model of hepatic ischaemia-reperfusion injury, which was confirmed by pathology. Results. 68Ga-NOTA-ICG was prepared with very high radiochemical purity (>98%) by reacting at 90°C for 10 min at pH = 3.5∼4.0, with excellent stability in vivo and in vitro (>95% 3 h postpreparation). The in vitro plasma-protein binding rate of 68Ga-NOTA-ICG was 13.01 ± 0.7%, and it showed strong water solubility log P=−2.01±0.04. We found that in addition to excretion through the biliary tract and intestines, 68Ga-NOTA-ICG can be excreted through the urinary tract. The image quality of 68Ga-NOTA-ICG was very high; imaging agent retained in the area of liver injury could clearly be observed. Conclusion. This is the first report on a 68Ga-labelled NOTA-ICG fragment for liver reserve function studies. This complex has promise as a candidate agent for liver reserve imaging.
Predictive Value of Fissured Tongue in Functional Dyspepsia Combined with Depression
Authors: Song Jizhong , Wang Qiaomin , Xu Xuemei , Lv Chaolan
Published: June 2019

Anxiety and depression are common in functional dyspepsia (FD) patients. Although fissured tongue (FT) is often observed in FD, its clinical value in such patients is rarely reported. We analyzed clinical data of FD patients with FT with the aim of elucidating the clinical value of FT in FD. This study suggests FD patients with different types of FT with the course of disease and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) showed a significant difference. The PHQ9, course of disease, and self-rated dyspepsia symptoms (SRDS) correlated positively with the types of FT by the Spearman rank analysis. Epigastric pain, bloating, nausea, and SRDS showed a significant difference between FT-FD and nonfissured tongue- (NFT-) FD as well as between FD patients with and without symptoms of depression. Many FD patients also have FT, which may be associated with depressive symptoms. The longer the course of disease, the more serious the fissured tongue; thus, it may provide a predictive value for the diagnosis of depressive symptoms in FD patients.
Biotransformation of Cranberry Proanthocyanidins to Probiotic Metabolites byLactobacillus rhamnosusEnhances Their Anticancer Activity in HepG2 CellsIn Vitro
Authors: Rupasinghe H. P. Vasantha , Parmar Indu , Neir Sandhya V.
Published: June 2019

This study was designed to unravel the role ofLactobacillus rhamnosusin the bioconversion of cranberry proanthocyanidins and cytotoxicity of resulting metabolites to hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. Crude (CR) and flavonol+dihydrochalcone- (FL+DHC-), anthocyanin- (AN-), proanthocyanidin- (PR-), and phenolic acid+catechin- (PA+C-) rich fractions were subjected to fermentation withL. rhamnosusat 37°C for 12, 24, and 48 h under anaerobic conditions. The major metabolites produced by bioconversion of polyphenols were 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid, hydrocinnamic acid, catechol, and pyrogallol. Furthermore, cytotoxicity of the biotransformed extracts was compared to their parent extracts using human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. The results showed that PR-biotransformed extract completely inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner with IC50values of 47.8 and 20.1μg/mL at 24 and 48 h, respectively. An insight into the molecular mechanisms involved revealed that the cytotoxic effects of PR at 24 h incubation were mitochondria-controlled and not by proapoptotic caspase-3/7 dependent. The present findings suggest that the application of a bioconversion process using probiotic bacteria can enhance the pharmacological activities of cranberry proanthocyanidins by generating additional biologically active metabolites.
Low-Computational Cost Stitching Method in a Three-Eyed Endoscope
Authors: Mamone Virginia , Condino Sara , Cutolo Fabrizio , Tamadon Izadyar , Menciassi Arianna , Murzi Michele , Ferrari Mauro , Ferrari Vincenzo
Published: June 2019

Aortic valve replacement is the only definitive treatment for aortic stenosis, a highly prevalent condition in elderly population. Minimally invasive surgery brought numerous benefits to this intervention, and robotics recently provided additional improvements in terms of telemanipulation, motion scaling, and smaller incisions. Difficulties in obtaining a clear and wide field of vision is a major challenge in minimally invasive aortic valve surgery: surgeon orientates with difficulty because of lack of direct view and limited spaces. This work focuses on the development of a computer vision methodology, for a three-eyed endoscopic vision system, to ease minimally invasive instrument guidance during aortic valve surgery. Specifically, it presents an efficient image stitching method to improve spatial awareness and overcome the orientation problems which arise when cameras are decentralized with respect to the main axis of the aorta and are nonparallel oriented. The proposed approach was tested for the navigation of an innovative robotic system for minimally invasive valve surgery. Based on the specific geometry of the setup and the intrinsic parameters of the three cameras, we estimate the proper plane-induced homographic transformation that merges the views of the operatory site plane into a single stitched image. To evaluate the deviation from the image correct alignment, we performed quantitative tests by stitching a chessboard pattern. The tests showed a minimum error with respect to the image size of 0.46 ± 0.15% measured at the homography distance of 40 mm and a maximum error of 6.09 ± 0.23% at the maximum offset of 10 mm. Three experienced surgeons in aortic valve replacement by mini-sternotomy and mini-thoracotomy performed experimental tests based on the comparison of navigation and orientation capabilities in a silicone aorta with and without stitched image. The tests showed that the stitched image allows for good orientation and navigation within the aorta, and furthermore, it provides more safety while releasing the valve than driving from the three separate views. The average processing time for the stitching of three views into one image is 12.6 ms, proving that the method is not computationally expensive, thus leaving space for further real-time processing.
QT Prolongation and Associated Ventricular Tachycardia due to Cardiac Iron Load in a Patient with Thalassemia Major
Authors: Demirtas Derya , Demirtas Abdullah Orhan , Sumbul Hilmi Erdem , Koc Ayse Selcan
Published: June 2019

We report the case of a 23-year-old male with thalassemia major who developed long QT and continuous ventricular tachycardia (VT). Electrocardiography, echocardiography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used for diagnosis and risk stratification. VT causes and treatments are presented and discussed. Ventricular arrhythmia can be treated by normalizing QT interval with high-dose beta-blocker therapy. However, MRI-compatible internal cardiac defibrillator implantation was performed due to the high risk in this patient.
Intervention withα-Ketoglutarate Ameliorates Colitis-Related Colorectal Carcinoma via Modulation of the Gut Microbiome
Authors: Li Si , Fu Chenxing , Zhao Yurong , He Jianhua
Published: June 2019

The intestinal microbiome plays a crucial role in promoting intestinal health, and perturbations to its constitution may result in chronic intestinal inflammation and lead to colorectal cancer (CRC).α-Ketoglutarate is an important intermediary in the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory pathway that maintains intestinal homeostasis and prevents initiation of intestinal inflammation, a known precursor to carcinoma development. The objective of this study was to assess the potential protective effects ofα-ketoglutarate intervention against CRC development, which may arise due to its known anti-inflammatory and antitumour effects. CRC was induced in C57BL/6 mice using azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Tumour frequency, histological rating, and colonic microbiota were assessed in colonic samples. The findings demonstrated thatα-ketoglutarate offered significant protection against CRC development in mice. Furthermore,α-ketoglutarate also exhibited immunomodulatory effects mediated via downregulation of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-22, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-1βcytokines. Finally, intervention withα-ketoglutarate tended to minimise the frequency of opportunistic pathogens (EscherichiaandEnterococcus) while increasing the populations ofAkkermansia, Butyricicoccus,Clostridium,andRuminococcus. Taken together, our findings show that dietaryα-ketoglutarate intervention may protect against inflammation-related CRC.
Nickel Enhances Zinc-Induced Neuronal Cell Death by Priming the Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response
Authors: Tanaka Ken-ichiro , Kasai Misato , Shimoda Mikako , Shimizu Ayane , Kubota Maho , Kawahara Masahiro
Published: June 2019

Trace metals such as zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and nickel (Ni) play important roles in various physiological functions such as immunity, cell division, and protein synthesis in a wide variety of species. However, excessive amounts of these trace metals cause disorders in various tissues of the central nervous system, respiratory system, and other vital organs. Our previous analysis focusing on neurotoxicity resulting from interactions between Zn and Cu revealed that Cu2+ markedly enhances Zn2+-induced neuronal cell death by activating oxidative stress and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. However, neurotoxicity arising from interactions between zinc and metals other than copper has not been examined. Thus, in the current study, we examined the effect of Ni2+ on Zn2+-induced neurotoxicity. Initially, we found that nontoxic concentrations (0–60 μM) of Ni2+ enhance Zn2+-induced neurotoxicity in an immortalized hypothalamic neuronal cell line (GT1-7) in a dose-dependent manner. Next, we analyzed the mechanism enhancing neuronal cell death, focusing on the ER stress response. Our results revealed that Ni2+ treatment significantly primed the Zn2+-induced ER stress response, especially expression of the CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP). Finally, we examined the effect of carnosine (an endogenous peptide) on Ni2+/Zn2+-induced neurotoxicity and found that carnosine attenuated Ni2+/Zn2+-induced neuronal cell death and ER stress occurring before cell death. Based on our results, Ni2+ treatment significantly enhances Zn2+-induced neuronal cell death by priming the ER stress response. Thus, compounds that decrease the ER stress response, such as carnosine, may be beneficial for neurological diseases.
Disparities in Mortality from Noncancer Causes among Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer
Authors: Anderson Chelsea , Lund Jennifer L. , Weaver Mark A. , Wood William A. , Olshan Andrew F. , Nichols Hazel B.
Published: June 2019

Background:

Few studies have examined noncancer outcomes among patients diagnosed with cancer as adolescents and young adults (AYA). We examined risk of mortality from noncancer causes after an AYA cancer diagnosis and investigated disparities according to race/ethnicity and other characteristics.

Methods:

Patients with a first primary cancer at ages 15 to 39 years diagnosed during 1987 to 2015 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (N = 242,940 women, 158,347 men). Survival months were accrued from diagnosis until death or December 2015. Multivariable-adjusted HRs were used to examine disparities in mortality from all noncancer causes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and infectious diseases (ID) according to race/ethnicity, geographic region, and county-level characteristics.

Results:

For all cancer types combined, the 10-year cumulative incidence of noncancer-related death after AYA cancer was 2% and 5% among women and men, respectively. With adjustment for cancer type, all noncancer mortality was increased among non-Hispanic Black AYAs [HR vs. non-Hispanic White: HRWomen = 2.31; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.16–2.47; HRMen = 2.17; 95% CI: 2.05–2.30] and those in the South (HR vs. Northeast: HRWomen = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.07–1.29; HRMen = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.31–1.55) or in rural counties (HR vs. metro: HRWomen = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.47–2.07; HRMen = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.33–1.86). Mortality from CVD and ID was also elevated among non-Hispanic Black AYAs.

Conclusions:

Results of this study suggest that noncancer mortality after AYA cancer is highest among survivors who are non-Hispanic Black or live in the South or in rural counties.

Impact:

Our analyses highlight disparities among AYAs with cancer and identify subgroups that may be targeted for increased medical surveillance or behavioral interventions.
Utilizing CommonKADS as Problem-Solving and Decision-Making for Supporting Dynamic Virtual Organization Creation
Authors: Yassa Morcous M. , Hassan Hesham A. , Omara Fatma A.
Published: June 2019

Business Opportunity (BO) needs business collaboration and rapid distributed solution. Legacy systems are not enough to cope with it and there is a need to create Dynamic Virtual Organizations (DVO). While ecosystems have no agree in this area of business markets, some earlier DVO work used ecosystems to handle BO. The main objective of this paper is to show how CommonKADS knowledge engineering methodology is used to model DVO; life cycle, identification, and formation. Towards this objective, different perspectives used to analyze Collaboration Network Organization (CNO) have been discussed. Also, four more perspectives (CNO boundary fixing, organizational behavior, CNO federation modeling, and external environments) have been suggested to obtain what we called a Federated CNO Model (FCNOM). We believe that according to the work in this paper, the negotiations within CNO components during its life cycle will be minimized, the DVO configuration automation will be support, and more harmonization between CNO partners will be accomplished.
Hybrid Model of Automated Anaphora Resolution
Authors: Kamune Kalyani Pradiprao , Agrawal Avinash
Published: June 2019

Anaphora resolution has proven to be a very difficult problem of natural language processing, and it is useful in discourse analysis, language understanding and processing, information exaction, machine translation and many more. This paper represents a system that instead of using a monolithic architecture for resolving anaphora, use the hybrid model which combines the constraint-based and preferences-based architectures, each uses a different source of knowledge, and proves effective on theoretical and computational basis. An algorithm identifies both inter-sentential and intra-sentential antecedents of “Third person pronoun anaphors”, “Pleonastic it”, and “Lexical noun phrase anaphora”. The algorithm use Charniak parser (parser05Aug16) as an associated tool, and it relays on the output generated by it. Salience measures derived from parse tree, in order to find out accurate antecedents from the list of potential antecedents. We have tested the system extensively on 'Reuters Newspaper corpus'.
Enhanced Camera Calibration for Machine Vision using OpenCV
Authors: Asthana Shubham Rohan
Published: June 2019

In several machine vision applications, a fundamental step is to precisely determine the relation between the image of the object and its physical dimension by performing a calibration process. The aim is to devise an enhanced mechanism for camera calibration in order to improve the already existing methods in OpenCV. A good calibration is important when we need to reconstruct a world model or interact with the world as in case of robot, hand-eye coordination. In order to meet the rising demands for higher accuracy various calibration techniques have been developed but they are unable in obtaining precise results. In this paper we propose an enhanced camera calibration procedure using a special grid pattern of concentric circles with special markers. The overall objective is to minimize the re-projection for good camera calibration.
Quantile Regression Neural Networks Based Prediction of Drug Activities
Authors: El-Telbany Mohammed E.
Published: June 2019

QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationship) modeling is one of the well developed areas in drug development through computational chemistry. Similar molecules with just a slight variation in their structure can have quit different biological activity. This kind of relationship between molecular structure and change in biological activity is center of focus for QSAR Modeling. Predictions of property and/or activity of interest have the potential to save time, money and minimize the use of expensive experimental designs, such as, for example, animal testing. Intelligent machine learning techniques are important tools for QSAR analysis, as a result, they are integrated into the drug production process. The effective learnable model can reduce the cost of drug design significantly. The quantile estimation via neural network structure technique introduced in this paper is used to predict activity of pyrimidines based on the structure–activity relationship of these compounds which assist for finding potential treatment agents for serious disease. In comparison with statistical quantile regression, the qrnn significantly reduce the prediction error.
Elastic Bunch Graph Matching Based Face Recognition Under Varying Lighting, Pose, and Expression Conditions
Authors: Bhat Farooq Ahmad , Wani M. Arif
Published: June 2019

In this paper performance of elastic bunch graph matching (EBGM) for face recognition under variation in facial expression, variation in lighting condition and variation in poses are given. In this approach faces are represented by labelled graphs. Experimental results of EBGM on ORL, Yale B and FERET datasets are provided. Strong and weak features of EBGM algorithm are discussed.
The Optimal Thresholding Technique for Image Segmentaion Using Fuzzy Otsu Method
Authors: Rambabu P. , Raju C. Naga
Published: June 2019

Image Segmentation plays a very important role in image processing. The single-mindedness of image segmentation is to partition the image into a set of disconnected regions with the homogeneous and uniform attributes like intensity, tone, color and texture. There are various methods for image segmentation but no method is suitable for low contrast images. In this paper, we are presenting an efficient and optimal thresholding image segmentation technique that can be used to separate the object and background pixels of the image to improve the quality of low contrast images. This innovative method consists of two steps. Firstly fuzzy logics are used to find optimum mean value using S-curve with automatic selection of controlled parameters to avoid the fuzziness in the image. Secondly, the fuzzy logic’s optimal threshold value used in Otsu method to improve the contrast of the image. This method, gives better results than traditional Otsu and Fuzzy logic techniques. The graphs and tables of values show that the proposed method is superior to traditional methods.
Narx Based Short Term Wind Power Forecasting Model
Authors: JYOTHI M. NANDANA , DINAKAR V. , TEJA N. S S RAVI
Published: June 2019

This paper contributes a short-term wind power forecasting through Artificial Neural Network with nonlinear autoregressive exogenous inputs (NARX) model. The meteorological parameters like wind speed, temperature, pressure, and air density are considered as input parameters collected from KL University area and the calculated generated power as output parameters of neural network to predict the wind power generation. Based on hybrid forecasting technique a code is developed in MATLAB at different hidden layers and delay times.