bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Five‐Year Results of 121 Consecutive Patients Treated With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation at Fu Wai Hospital
Authors: Hei Feilong , Lou Song , Li Jingwen , Yu Kun , Liu Jinping , Feng Zhengyi , Zhao Ju , Hu Shengshou , Xu Jianping , Chang Qian , Liu Yinglong , Wang Xu , Liu Ping , Long Cun
Published: February 2011

Since 2004, our institution has adopted venoarterial (VA) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for patients who otherwise could not be weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass and patients experiencing cardiogenic shock and/or pulmonary dysfunction unresponsive to conventional treatments. In this study, we reviewed our experience with ECMO support and tried to identify predictors of in‐hospital mortality. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical records of 121 consecutive patients receiving ECMO. Patients were divided into adult and pediatric groups and analyzed separately. Demographics, clinical characteristics at the time of ECMO implantation, ECMO‐related complications, and in‐hospital mortality were collected. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate predictors of mortality. A P value ≤0.05 was accepted as significant. Sixty‐eight adult patients and 53 pediatric patients were included in this study. In adult patients, 52 were weaned from ECMO and 43 survived upon discharge. After univariate analysis, ECMO setup location, receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation before ECMO, leg ischemia, hemolysis, acute renal failure (ARF), neurological dysfunction, and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome were associated with in‐hospital death. In multiple logistic regression analyses, leg ischemia (OR 14.68, 95% CI 1.67–129.1), ARF (OR 12.14, 95% CI 2.5–58.8), and neurological dysfunction (OR 49.0, 95% CI 2.28–1051.96) were risk factors associated with in‐hospital mortality. Patients put on ECMO in the operating room had a better chance of survival (OR 0.078, 95% CI 0.013–0.417). In pediatric patients, 30 were weaned from ECMO and 26 survived upon discharge. After univariate analysis, age, weight, and eight ECMO complications were associated with in‐hospital death. In multiple logistic regression analyses, ARF (OR 24.0, 95% CI 4.2–137.3) was a risk factor associated with in‐hospital mortality. A P value of 0.921 and >0.99 was obtained by the Hosmer–Lemeshow test, and the area under the curve was 0.863 and 0.867 for adult and pediatric patients, respectively. The overall survival rate was 57%. ECMO is a justifiable alternative treatment for refractory cardiac and/or pulmonary dysfunction which could rescue more than 50% of carefully selected patients. Higher survival rates could be achieved by preventing ECMO complications.
Clinical Effectiveness of Centrifugal Pump to Produce Pulsatile Flow During Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Gu Y. John , van Oeveren Willem , Mungroop Hubert E. , Epema Anne H. , den Hamer Inez J. , Keizer Jorrit J. , Leuvenink Ron P. , Mariani Massimo A. , Rakhorst Gerhard
Published: February 2011

Although the centrifugal pump has been widely used as a nonpulsatile pump for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), little is known about its performance as a pulsatile pump for CPB, especially on its efficacy in producing hemodynamic energy and its clinical effectiveness. We performed a study to evaluate whether the Rotaflow centrifugal pump produces effective pulsatile flow during CPB and whether the pulsatile flow in this setting is clinically effective in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Thirty‐two patients undergoing CPB for elective coronary artery bypass grafting were randomly allocated to a pulsatile perfusion group (n = 16) or a nonpulsatile perfusion group (n = 16). All patients were perfused with the Rotaflow centrifugal pump. In the pulsatile group, the centrifugal pump was adjusted to the pulsatile mode (60 cycles/min) during aortic cross‐clamping, whereas in the nonpulsatile group, the pump was kept in its nonpulsatile mode during the same period of time. Compared with the nonpulsatile group, the pulsatile group had a higher pulse pressure (P < 0.01) and a fraction higher energy equivalent pressure (EEP, P = 0.058). The net gain of pulsatile flow, represented by the surplus hemodynamic energy (SHE), was found much higher in the CPB circuit than in patients (P < 0.01). Clinically, there was no difference between the pulsatile and nonpulsatile groups with regard to postoperative acute kidney injury, endothelial activation, or inflammatory response. Postoperative organ function and the duration of hospital stay were similar in the two patient groups. In conclusion, pulsatile CPB with the Rotaflow centrifugal pump is associated with a small gain of EEP and SHE, which does not seem to be clinically effective in adult cardiac surgical patients.
Cesare Lombroso and epilepsy 100 years later: An unabridged report of his original transactions
Authors: Monaco Francesco , Mula Marco
Published: February 2011

Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909) still represents one of the most famous and, at the same time, controversial figures of neuropsychiatry. His idea of the “atavist” criminal, prisoner of his/her biologic inheritance, became extremely popular in Western countries. Unfortunately, Lombroso’s theory of a strict connection between epilepsy and the criminal personality exerted a long‐lasting negative influence on both medical and public opinion, and strongly contributed to the stigmatization of patients with epilepsy. In this report, we aim to present the complete and unabridged series of passages of Cesare Lombroso’s works, published only in the Italian language, discussing the issue of epilepsy and crime. All original Italian quotations are offered and an English translation is provided. Although we believe that the medical profession must be well aware of the “evil” distortions generated by Lombrosian theories, which clearly emerge from his original transactions, any comment is deliberately avoided because, in our opinion, people and their ideas must be judged in accordance with the historical period to which they belonged.
Early postnatal exposure of rats to lamotrigine, but not phenytoin, reduces seizure threshold in adulthood
Authors: Forcelli Patrick A. , Gale Karen , Kondratyev Alexei
Published: February 2011

In view of previous reports of changes in seizure susceptibility in adult rats exposed to phenobarbital or diazepam as pups, we examined the effects of early life exposure to lamotrigine and phenytoin, two commonly used antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), for their effect on seizure threshold in adult rats. We found that pups exposed to lamotrigine for 6 days during the second postnatal week had a significantly lower threshold for pentylenetetrazole‐evoked seizures when tested as adults. In contrast, phenytoin exposure during the second postnatal week was without a significant effect on seizure threshold in adults. Seizure scores at threshold were comparable across all groups tested. The dose of lamotrigine used in our study (20 mg/kg) was below that required to cause developmental neuronal apoptosis, whereas the dose of phenytoin used (50 mg/kg) was above that required for developmental neurotoxicity. Therefore, our findings suggest that neurodevelopmental alterations in seizure susceptibility may occur via mechanisms that are independent of those responsible for neural injury or teratogenesis. Our findings support the possibility that therapy with certain AEDs during pregnancy or infancy may alter seizure susceptibility later in life, a possibility that should be taken into account when examining early life factors that contribute to seizure susceptibility in adulthood.
The treatment of ictal asystole with cardiac pacing
Authors: Moseley Brian D. , Ghearing Gena R. , Munger Thomas M. , Britton Jeffrey W.
Published: February 2011

Ictal asystole may contribute to seizure‐related injury and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of cardiac pacing on seizure‐related injury rates in ictal asystole patients. A survey was conducted to determine seizure‐related fall rate and other morbidity in all seven patients with ictal asystole who underwent cardiac pacing at our institution between 1990 and 2004. The rate of seizure‐related falls and other morbidities before and after pacing were compared using the Wilcoxon rank‐sum test. The mean fall rate was 3.28 falls/month pre‐pacemaker implantation. Following pacemaker implantation, this was reduced to 0.005 falls/month (p = 0.001). Seizure‐related fractures and motor vehicle accidents were also reduced following cardiac pacing. These findings may have implications in mitigating the potential morbidity associated with ictal asystole.
The clinical spectrum of nodular heterotopias in children: Report of 31 patients
Authors: Srour Myriam , Rioux Marie‐France , Varga Caroline , Lortie Anne , Major Philippe , Robitaille Yves , Décarie Jean‐Claude , Michaud Jacques , Carmant Lionel
Published: February 2011

Purpose:  The phenotypic and etiologic spectrum in adults with nodular heterotopias (NHs) has been well characterized. However, there are no large pediatric case series. We, therefore, wanted to review the clinical features of NHs in our population.

Methods:  Hospital records of 31 patients with pathology or imaging‐confirmed NHs were reviewed. Two‐sided Fisher's exact t‐test was used to assess associations between distribution of NHs and specific clinical features.

Key Findings:  NHs were distributed as follows: 8 (26%) unilateral focal subependymal, 3 (10%) unilateral diffuse subependymal, 5 (16%) bilateral focal subependymal, 12 (39%) bilateral diffuse subependymal, and 3 (10%) isolated subcortical. The phenotypic spectrum in our population differs from that described in adults. Significant morbidity and mortality are associated with presentation in childhood. Twenty‐two of 31 patients (71%) died in the neonatal period or in childhood. Additional cerebral malformations were found in 80% and systemic malformations in 74%. The majority of patients had developmental delay, intellectual deficit, and intractable epilepsy. Patients with unilateral focal NHs were more likely to have ventriculomegaly (p = 0.027), and those with bilateral diffuse NHs more likely to have cerebellar abnormalities (p = 0.007). Isolated subcortical NHs were associated with multiple malformations (p = 0.049) and cardiac abnormalities (p = 0.027). Underlying etiology was heterogeneous and determined in only six cases (19%): del chr 1p36, del chr 15q11, pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency, sialic acidosis type 1, Aicardi syndrome, and FLNA mutation.

Significance:  NHs are present in childhood as part of multiple cerebral and systemic malformations; developmental delay and refractory seizures are the rule rather than the exception. Milder forms go unrecognized until seizure onset in adulthood.
A multicenter, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of levetiracetam in children and adolescents with newly diagnosed absence epilepsy
Authors: Fattore Cinzia , Boniver Clementina , Capovilla Giuseppe , Cerminara Caterina , Citterio Antonietta , Coppola Giangennaro , Costa Paola , Darra Francesca , Vecchi Marilena , Perucca Emilio
Published: February 2011

Purpose: To evaluate the potential efficacy of levetiracetam as an antiabsence agent in children and adolescents with newly diagnosed childhood or juvenile absence epilepsy.

Methods: Patients were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive de novo monotherapy with levetiracetam (up to 30 mg/kg/day) or placebo for 2 weeks under double‐blind conditions. Responder status (primary end point) was defined as freedom from clinical seizures on days 13 and 14 and from electroencephalographic (EEG) seizures during a standard EEG recording with hyperventilation and intermittent photic stimulation on day 14. The double‐blind phase was followed by an open‐label follow‐up.

Key Findings: Nine of 38 patients (23.7%) were responders in the levetiracetam group, compared with one of 21 (4.8%) in the placebo group (p = 0.08). Seven of 38 patients (18.4%) were free from clinical and EEG seizures during the last 4 days of the trial (including 24‐h EEG monitoring on day 14) compared with none of the patients treated with placebo (p = 0.04). Seventeen patients remained seizure‐free on levetiracetam after 1 year follow‐up. Of the 41 patients who discontinued levetiracetam due to lack of efficacy (n = 39) or adverse events (n = 2), 34 became seizure‐free on other treatments.

Significance: Although superiority to placebo just failed to reach statistical significance for the primary end point, the overall findings are consistent with levetiracetam having modest efficacy against absence seizures. Further controlled trials exploring larger doses and an active comparator are required to determine the role of levetiracetam in the treatment of absence epilepsy.
Elongated Eustachian Valve Dividing the Right Atrium
Authors: Wessman Dylan E. , Blanchard Daniel G. , Kahn Andrew M.
Published: February 2011

A 64‐year‐old man underwent transthoracic echocardiography after a syncopal event. Two‐dimensional imaging demonstrated a linear density that appeared to divide the right atrium. Color doppler imaging demonstrated that inflow from the inferior vena cava, but not from the superior vena cava, was obstructed by this density. Injection of agitated saline through an upper extremity vein demonstrated that the linear density did create a functional separation of the right atrium. The contrast material also crossed the interatrial septum within two cardiac cycles. This constellation of findings is consistent with an elongated eustachian valve and a patent foramen ovale. (Echocardiography 2011;28:E53‐E55)
Seasonal migrations of adult and sub‐adult redband trout in a high desert basin of Eastern Oregon, USA
Authors: Anderson Matthew , Giannico Guillermo , Jacobs Steve
Published: February 2011

Abstract –  Redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) migrations were tracked between March 2007 and June 2009 in the Donner und Blitzen River, Oregon, USA, using radio telemetry and PIT tags. We investigated the upstream extent and timing of spawning migrations for two groups of trout, considered the factors that influenced the rate of trout migration and explored the seasonal patterns of redband trout migration related to temperature and flow conditions. We found that trout made long‐distance migrations (up to 91 km) to spawn. Spawning trout from the lower river and middle river migrated to the same reaches, but lower river trout reached spawning habitats later than individuals from the middle river. Migration rate had a positive relationship with fork length and mean river discharge. We also found that redband trout made upstream spring migrations as sub‐adults and as adults. Whereas adult trout migrated to spawn, immature individuals migrated to river segments with more favourable thermal conditions. In both cases, migrations occurred where seasonally appropriate or life‐stage‐specific habitat patches for growth, survival, or reproduction were spatially segregated.
WT1 mutation as a cause of 46 XY DSD and Wilm’s tumour: a case report and literature review
Authors: Dai Yang‐li , Fu Jun‐Fen , Hong Fang , Xu Shan , Shen Zheng
Published: February 2011

Aim:  The Wilms’ Tumour gene is thought to have tumour suppressor activity and to play an important role in nephrogenesis, genitourinary development, haematopoiesis and sex determination. WT1 mutations will impair gonadal and urinary tract development and have been demonstrated to cause syndromes of WAGR, Denys–Drash and Fraiser.

Methods:  To elucidate the role of constitutional mutations of WT1, in the expression of the different clinical feature, we describe a 14‐year‐9‐month nonmosaic XY sex‐reversed woman with pure gonadal dysgenesis (46, XY karyotype, completely female external genitalia, normal Mullerian ducts, absence of Wolffian ducts, streak gonads) who had right kidney removed at 7 months of age because of Wilms’ tumour and was diagnosed as secondary thrombocytopenia (Plt 60–80 × 109/L) since she was 4 years old. We sequenced the genomic DNA of all the 10 exons of the WT1 in which mutations may occur in proposita.

Results:  A new de novo insertion mutation in the first exon was found. A ‘GCCGCCTCACTCC’ is inserted between codon 138 and 139, resulting in the creation of a stop codon and a truncated protein.

Conclusion:  The present data provide further evidence to support the role of WT1 in diverse cellular functions.
Current Italian practices regarding the management of hyperbilirubinaemia in preterm infants
Authors: Dani Carlo , Poggi Chiara , Barp Jacopo , Romagnoli Costantino , Buonocore Giuseppe
Published: February 2011

Aim:  To assess the current practices existing in Italy for the management of jaundice in preterm infants as preliminary achievement to a call for national guidelines and establishment of a kernicterus registry.

Methods:  A questionnaire (in Supporting Information online) was sent to the 109 level III neonatal units in Italy to ascertain existing guidelines for total bilirubin monitoring and treatment of hyperbilirubinaemia in preterm infants and occurrence of kernicterus.

Results:  There was a 61% (67/109) response rate. Eighty‐five per cent of responding units had either written guidelines coming from different literature sources or locally developed. The monitoring of bilirubin varied greatly in timing before, during and after jaundice development. Phototherapy and exchange transfusion were given to 56.0 ± 21.0% and 0.2 ± 0.4% of admitted preterm infants in participating centres. Five cases of kernicterus in preterm infants and eleven cases in term infants were documented over the last 10 years.

Conclusion:  The management of hyperbilirubinaemia in preterm infants is not uniform in Italy and would benefit from shared national guidance together with establishment of a kernicterus registry to guide therapy.
Dopamine D4 receptor oligomerization – contribution to receptor biogenesis
Authors: Van Craenenbroeck Kathleen , Borroto‐Escuela Dasiel O. , Romero‐Fernandez Wilber , Skieterska Kamila , Rondou Pieter , Lintermans Béatrice , Vanhoenacker Peter , Fuxe Kjell , Ciruela Francisco , Haegeman Guy
Published: February 2011

Dopamine D4 receptors (D4Rs) are G protein‐coupled receptors that play a role in attention and cognition. In the present study, we investigated the dimerization properties of this receptor. Western blot analysis of the human D4.2R, D4.4R and D4.7R revealed the presence of higher molecular weight immunoreactive bands, which might indicate the formation of receptor dimers and multimers. Homo‐ and heterodimerization of the receptors was confirmed by co‐immunoprecipitation and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer studies. Although dimerization of a large number of G protein‐coupled receptors has been described, the functional importance often remains to be elucidated. Folding efficiency is rate‐limiting for D4R biogenesis and quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum plays an important role for D4R maturation. Co‐immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence microscopy studies using wild‐type and a nonfunctional D4.4R folding mutant show that oligomerization occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum and that this plays a role in the biogenesis and cell surface targeting of the D4R. The different polymorphic repeat variants of the D4R display differential sensitivity to the chaperone effect. In the present study, we show that this is also reflected by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer saturation assays, suggesting that the polymorphic repeat variants have different relative affinities to form homo‐ and heterodimers. In summary, we conclude that D4Rs form oligomers with different affinities and that dimerization plays a role in receptor biogenesis.

Structured digital abstract

D4.4R
 physically interacts with D4.2R by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (View interaction)

D4.xR
 physically interacts with D4.4R by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (View interaction)

D4.xR
and D4.xR physically interact by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (View interaction)
Genetics and epigenetics of the X chromosome
Authors: Morey Céline , Avner Philip
Published: February 2011

A consequence of Mendelian inheritance of X‐linked traits is that women are more than equal to men in the face of X‐linked diseases, protected as they are by the presence of two X chromosomes in their genome. This potentially beneficial inequality is diminished by the molecular mechanism known as X‐chromosome inactivation (XCI), which triggers the transcriptional silencing of one of the X chromosomes in each female cell. The determination of which X to inactivate, a process that occurs during early embryogenesis, is random and clonally inherited. As a result, females are mosaic for the expression of X‐linked genes. XCI is a highly regulated process involving large noncoding RNAs, chromatin remodeling, and nuclear reorganization of the X chromosome. It is a paradigm for epigenetic regulation and is frequently used as a biomarker for monitoring long‐range gene reprogramming during cell differentiation and dedifferentiation. Our review analyses how XCI affects the expression of X‐linked mutations, describes some of the most recent discoveries on the molecular mechanisms triggering XCI, and explores the therapeutic potentialities of the XCI process per se.
The pace and shape of ageing
Authors: Baudisch Annette
Published: February 2011

1. Humans age, but how much more or less do we age compared with other species? Do humans age more than chimps, birds more than fish or sheep more than buffalos? In this article, I argue that current methods to compare patterns of ageing across species are limited because they confound two dimensions of age‐specific change – the pace and the shape of ageing.

2. Based on the two axes of pace and shape, I introduce a new conceptual framework to classify how species age.

3. With this method, I rank species according to how strongly they age (shape) and how fast they age (pace). Depending on whether they are ranked by pace or by shape, species are ordered differently.

4. Alternative pace measures turn out to be highly correlated. Alternative shape measures are also highly correlated. The correlation between pace and shape ranking is negative but weak. Among the examples here, no species is long lived yet exhibits negligible ageing – contrary to the commonly held view that long‐lived species are good candidates for negligible ageing.

5. Analysis of species in pace–shape space provides a tool to identify key determinants of the evolution of ageing for species across the tree of life.
Disability and cost for diabetic patients at a public district hospital in Thailand
Authors: Riewpaiboon Arthorn , Chatterjee Susmita , Riewpaiboon Wachara , Piyauthakit Piyanuch
Published: February 2011

Objective

The study determined the rate of disability among diabetic patients at a public district hospital in Thailand and compared the costs of illness among different levels of severity of disability. This was the first such study carried out in Thailand.

Methods

The study was conducted at Waritchaphum Hospital in northeastern Thailand. Data were collected from 475 randomly selected diabetic patients identified by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10 codes E10 – E14) who received treatment from the study hospital during the fiscal year of 2008. The disability levels were determined by using Thailand ministerial guidelines as well as the Barthel index score. Cost-of-illness estimates followed the prevalence-based approach and it presented the societal perspective of cost-of-illness of diabetes in 2008.

Key findings

The study results showed that 9.68% of the study participants had physical impairment while 9.26% had impairment in eyesight. The Barthel index score showed that 13.5% of the study participants were disabled. When comparing costs between independent and disabled persons, considering the Barthel index score, average costs for the disabled diabetic persons were significantly higher than for those who were independent (US$2700.29 versus 598.24; P < 0.001).

Conclusions

The study concluded that the presence of complications and disability among diabetic patients impacts severely on Thai society. At present, the Thai government allocates US$187.5 per annum to registered disabled persons as a disability living allowance. The study found a large difference between the direct economic outlay of the patients and the allowance provided, which suggests that there is probably a need to revise the welfare payment upwards.
Job satisfaction and the association with involvement in clinical activities among hospital pharmacists in Hong Kong
Authors: Lau Wai-Man , Pang Janet , Chui William
Published: February 2011

Objectives

To describe the relationship between job satisfaction of hospital pharmacists and the extent of their involvement in clinical pharmacy activities, and to examine if demographics and practice characteristics are associated with the extent of involvement in clinical pharmacy activities and job satisfaction.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted by surveying with a self-administered questionnaire mailed to all full-time pharmacists employed by the Hospital Authority, Hong Kong.

Key findings

Respondents reporting job and career satisfaction averaged near the neutral point. The results indicated an unmet expectation of work balance between clinical activities and drug distribution, with the majority of responding pharmacists desiring a shift of work balance from more drug distributive roles towards more clinical activities. The results also suggested that an unmet expectation in work balance affects job and career satisfaction, particularly in younger, frontline pharmacists.

Conclusions

Younger, frontline pharmacists reported lower job satisfaction and a greater gap of unmet expectations in their work balance. This study highlights the importance of pharmacists' involvement in clinical activities, as job enrichment would improve job satisfaction and maximise benefits towards patients and healthcare organisations.
Mind the fistula
Authors: Burns Dean , Vijayasankar Dhakshinamoorthy
Published: February 2011

Thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) with aorto-oesophageal fistula formation is an uncommon but fatal cause of haematemesis. A case is presented of a previously healthy 63-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with syncope and haematemesis. He had no history of heavy alcohol intake and was previously well. Bedside portable chest x ray revealed a widened mediastinum and, while awaiting a CT angiogram, he had a further large haematemesis which led to him undergoing resuscitation and rapid sequence intubation. CT angiography of his thoracic aorta revealed a large thoracic aortic aneurysm with dissection from the arch of the aorta down to the left iliac artery. The dissection had formed an aorto-oesophageal fistula in the proximal oesophagus. He was transferred to a tertiary referral centre for repair of the dissection and aorto-oesophageal fistula.
FERROMAGNETISM IN THE BLUME–EMERY–GRIFFITHS MODEL ON FINITE-SIZE CAYLEY TREE
Authors: CHEN WEN-JUN , KONG XIANG-MU
Published: February 2011

The ferromagnetic properties of the spin-1 BEG model on finite-size Cayley tree are investigated using the exact recursion method. The spontaneous magnetization of the system is studied in detail for different values of the reduced crystal-field interaction D/J, and it is found that there is an unusual behavior (anti-Curie temperature) when D/J > 2.0. We also obtain the Curie temperature of this finite-size system. When the system size is large enough, our results will fit well with that in the thermodynamic limit.
MESOSCOPIC ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINE IN THE CHARGE–ANTICHARGE FRAMEWORK: SPECTRAL PROPERTIES AND CASIMIR FORCES
Authors: FLORES J. C.
Published: February 2011

In the charge–anticharge framework, we solve explicitly the nonlinear quantum evolution equation for the charge operator of the direct transmission line with discrete charge. The associated spectrum is completely consistent with the well-known limit of continuous charge. In the zero point charge fluctuations state, the attraction between plates is compared with the corresponding Casimir force (related to field fluctuations) which, now, could be interpreted in terms of virtual charge fluctuations. The spectrum of the dual transmission line (left-handed) is also found. Some aspects related to quantum dots (coulomb blockade), structure fine constant and thermodynamics properties are also touched upon.
BIPARTITE SQUEEZING OPERATOR FROM COHERENT ENTANGLED STATE GENERATED BY ASYMMETRIC BEAMSPLITTER
Authors: KUANG QING-QIANG , HU LI-YUN
Published: February 2011

With use of the newly proposed bipartite coherent entangled state (generated by asymmetric beamsplitter) and by projecting both the classical symplectic transform and the classical dilation one in phase space onto quantum mechanical Hilbert space, we construct a six-parameter squeezing operator, which has its own squeezing property, in a natural way. The derivation is implemented on the basis of the technique of integration within an ordered product of operators and the completeness of the bipartite coherent entangled state.
QUANTUM EFFECTS OF A DOMAIN WALL IN THE FERROMAGNETIC SYSTEM
Authors: WANG JI-SUO , YAN KE-ZHU , LIANG BAO-LONG
Published: February 2011

Starting from the classical equation of the motion of a domain wall in the ferromagnetic systems, the quantum energy levels of the wall and the corresponding eigenfunctions in the case of considering damping term are given by using the canonical quantization method and unitary transformation. The quantum fluctuations of displacement and momentum of the moving wall has also been given as well as the uncertain relation.
VALIDATING THE DIFFUSION APPROXIMATION THROUGH CONDITIONAL ENTROPIES
Authors: RIVET J.-P. , DEBBASCH F.
Published: February 2011

The diffusion approximation replaces a real transport dynamics by an approximate stochastic Markov process. It is proposed that, when both dynamics have invariant measures, the conditional entropy of the invariant measure of the real dynamics with respect to the invariant measure of the Markov process be used to assess quantitatively the validity of the approximation. This proposal is tested on particle transport; the diffusion approximation is found to be quite robust, valid for an unexpectedly large range of mass ratios between the solvent and the Brownian particle.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD ON THE DYNAMICS IN SUPERLATTICES
Authors: YANG GUI , LI WENFENG , LI YUQI , BAI CHUNXU , TIAN JUNLONG
Published: February 2011

We theoretically investigate the influence of external magnetic fields on current oscillations in weakly coupled GaAs / Al x Ga 1-x As superlattices when the system is driven by a pure DC voltage. The formation of unstable electric-field domains under the action of a small magnetic field indicates the current oscillation occurs in superlattices. Increasing magnetic fields, the stationary electric-field domain is created and current oscillations disappear. Thus, the system state is transferred from dynamic to stationary by the control of magnetic fields. When the system is subject to an AC voltage in the presence of small magnetic fields, a variety of nonlinear behaviors are obtained due to the coupling between the internal oscillations and external signals.
UNIVERSAL SPIN-HALL CONDUCTANCE FLUCTUATIONS IN TWO-DIMENSIONAL MESOSCOPIC SYSTEMS
Authors: QIAO ZHENHUA , REN WEI , WANG JIAN
Published: February 2011

The mesoscopic transport physics of spin Hall effect and quantized spin Hall effect is briefly reviewed. This paper concentrates on the universal spin Hall conductance fluctuations discovered in both effects. We present various model Hamiltonians corresponding to different physical problems arising recently in condensed matter physics, ranging from two-dimensional electron gas to topological insulators. Green's function formalism within a tight-binding model and the random matrix theory are introduced to study the same electron transport mechanism. The calculated spin Hall conductance results are discussed and some excellent agreement has been found from different approaches. A short summary and our perspectives are provided at the end of paper.
NONLINEAR BEHAVIOR OF TUNED ROTOR-AMB SYSTEM WITH TIME VARYING STIFFNESS
Authors: EISSA M. , KAMEL M. , BAUOMY H. S.
Published: February 2011

A rotor-active magnetic bearing (AMB) system with a periodically time-varying stiffness subjected to tuned and external excitations is studied and solved. The tuned excitation represents an imposed noise on the external excitation to simulate the practical case. The method of multiple scales is applied to analyze the response of the system two modes near the simultaneous combined and primary resonance cases. The stability of the steady state solution near this resonance case is studied applying Lyapunov's first method. The system exhibits many typical nonlinear behaviors including multiple-valued solutions, jump phenomenon, softening nonlinearity and saturation. The presence of the tuned excitation increased the steady state amplitudes and produced a chaotic system. The effects of the different parameters on the steady state solutions are investigated and discussed. Comparison with previous work is reported.
INVESTIGATION OF MICRO SPIRAL WAVES AT CELLULAR LEVEL USING A MICROELECTRODE ARRAYS TECHNOLOGY
Authors: JACQUIR S. , BINCZAK S. , XU B. , LAURENT G. , VANDROUX D. , ATHIAS P. , BILBAULT J. M.
Published: February 2011

During cardiac arrhythmia, functional reentries may take the form of spiral waves. The purpose of this study was to induce spiral waves by an electrical stimulation of cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes using a microelectrode arrays technology. In basal conditions, cardiac muscle cells in monolayer culture displayed a planar wavefront propagation. External electrical impulse trains induced severe arrhythmia and spiral waves appeared. This in vitro generation of spiral wave opens a new way to test the anti-arrhythmic drugs and for strategies at microscopically scale.
SYNTHESIZING THE LÜ ATTRACTOR BY PARAMETER-SWITCHING
Authors: DANCA MARIUS-F.
Published: February 2011

In this letter we synthesize numerically the Lü attractor starting from the generalized Lorenz and Chen systems, by switching the control parameter inside a chosen finite set of values on every successive adjacent finite time intervals. A numerical method with fixed step size for ODEs is used to integrate the underlying initial value problem. As numerically and computationally proved in this work, the utilized attractors synthesis algorithm introduced by the present author before, allows to synthesize the Lü attractor starting from any finite set of parameter values.
DYNAMICS AT INFINITY OF A CUBIC CHUA'S SYSTEM
Authors: MESSIAS MARCELO
Published: February 2011

We use the Poincaré compactification for a polynomial vector field in ℝ3 to study the dynamics near and at infinity of the classical Chua's system with a cubic nonlinearity. We give a complete description of the phase portrait of this system at infinity, which is identified with the sphere 𝕊2 in ℝ3 after compactification, and perform a numerical study on how the solutions reach infinity, depending on the parameter values. With this global study we intend to give a contribution in the understanding of this well known and extensively studied complex three-dimensional dynamical system.
A COMPARISON OF THE STRENGTH OF THE ABDUCTION OF THE LITTLE AND INDEX FINGERS AND PALMAR ABDUCTION AND OPPOSITION OF THE THUMB BETWEEN COLLEGE BASEBALL PLAYERS AND INEXPERIENCED SPORTS PLAYERS
Authors: Chikenji Takako , Toda Hajime , Gyoku Chin , Oikawa Naoki , Katayose Masaki , Tsubota Sadako
Published: February 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the strengths of four intrinsic muscles of the hand of college baseball players. The strengths of four intrinsic muscle groups were measured by the Rotterdam Intrinsic Hand Myometer (RIHM) which has been developed to assess the abduction of the little finger and index finger, and palmar abduction and opposition of the thumb. The strengths of these four intrinsic muscle groups were compared between baseball players and inexperienced sports players.

The abduction of the little finger and index finger, and the opposition of the thumb in both the dominant and nondominant hands of the baseball players were notably stronger than those of the inexperienced sports players. There was no statistical difference in the strength of the palmar abduction of the thumb between the two groups. The results suggest that the specific intrinsic muscles in both the dominant and nondominant hands might be strengthened by repeated baseball practices, such as a batting performance, which requires strain in both the dominant and nondominant hands repeatedly.
AUTOMATED AND MANUAL MEASUREMENT OF THE FORCES REQUIRED TO USE RETRACTABLE INTRAMUSCULAR SYRINGES
Authors: Haiduven Donna J. , Applegarth Shawn P. , McGuire-Wolfe Christine , Tenouri Meredith
Published: February 2011

The purpose of this study is to compare the forces required to activate retractable intramuscular safety syringes using healthcare worker researchers vs. a computer-controlled system. The force required to activate three commercially available retractable safety syringes was measured using two methods: (1) a manually-operated digital force gauge (DFG) and (2) a completely automatic computer-controlled universal testing machine (UTM). To simulate the clinical setting, saline was drawn into the barrel of each syringe before testing and ejected either during or before force measurements were recorded. There was a statistically significant difference in activation force between the two researchers and the UTM (p < 0.001) for 2/3 devices tested. There was a wide discrepancy in activation forces between the three brands of devices regardless of the testing method. The results imply that a human element exists in the injection process that cannot be discounted. Future studies should explore the sum of forces involved with an injection, the notion of training HCWs to modify these forces, and the relationship between force and occupationally-acquired hand and wrist injuries. Minimizing the impact on the healthcare worker who may give hundreds of injections per day with these syringes should be a priority for those involved in the health field.
PRIMARY THORACIC INTRASPINAL HEMANGIOPERICYTOMA MIMICS MENINGEAL TUMOR: A CASE REPORT AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Authors: Chen Se-Yi , Chao Shao-Ching , Chang Wei-Chieh , Shen Chiung-Chyi , Tsou Hsi-Kai
Published: February 2011

Hemangiopericytoma (HPC) accounts for less than 1% of all central nervous system tumors and is particularly rare in the spinal canal. HPC mimics other CNS intradural tumor radiologically. We present a rare case of intraspinal HPC initially diagnosed as thoracic intraspinal meningeal tumor radiologically. The patient was treated with T8–T9 partial laminectomy and en bloc tumor removal. Radiation therapy for tumor bed was prescribed. The patient had symptom recovery postoperatively, and remained free from local recurrence in the 3 years follow-up. Literature reviews focused on tumor behavior and treatment policy.
MRI PATTERN OF VERTEBRAL FRACTURES DUE TO OSTEOPOROSIS, INFECTION, AND MALIGNANT TUMORS
Authors: Abdel-Wanis Mohamed El-Sayed , Solyman Mohamed Tharwat Mahmoud , Ali Hasan Nahla Mohamed
Published: February 2011

No previous studies discussed the significance of the MRI pattern of vertebral collapse in differentiation between vertebral compression fractures due to malignancy, osteoporosis, and infections. MRI was used in the evaluation of 152 atraumatic vertebral compression fractures in 80 patients: 85 malignant, 34 osteoporotic, and 33 infective. Central collapse of the fractured vertebral body was the commonest pattern in malignant fractures (57 vertebrae, 67%), followed by uniform collapse (21 vertebrae, 24.7%), then anterior wedging (5 vertebrae, 5.9%), and finally posterior wedging (2 vertebrae, 2.4%). In osteoporotic fractures, anterior wedging was the commonest pattern (18 vertebrae, 53%), followed by central collapse (11 vertebrae, 32.3%), then uniform collapse (4 vertebrae, 11.8%), and finally posterior wedging (1 vertebra, 2.9%). In vertebral compression fractures due to spinal infection, anterior wedging was the commonest pattern (20 vertebrae, 60.6%), followed by uniform collapse (12 vertebrae, 36.4%), while only one vertebra (3%) was centrally collapsed. Central collapse of the vertebral body is highly suggestive of malignant compression fracture while anterior vertebral wedging is highly suggestive of a benign compression fracture.
A CLT FOR THE THIRD INTEGRATED MOMENT OF BROWNIAN LOCAL TIME INCREMENTS
Authors: ROSEN JAY
Published: February 2011

Let [Formula: see text] denote the local time of Brownian motion. Our main result is to show that for each fixed t[Formula: see text] as h → 0, where η is a normal random variable with mean zero and variance one, that is independent of [Formula: see text]. This generalizes our previous result for the second moment. We also explain why our approach will not work for higher moments.
OPERATOR FRACTIONAL BROWNIAN MOTION AS LIMIT OF POLYGONAL LINES PROCESSES IN HILBERT SPACE
Authors: RAČKAUSKAS ALFREDAS , SUQUET CHARLES
Published: February 2011

In this paper, we study long memory phenomenon of functional time series. We consider an operator fractional Brownian motion with values in a Hilbert space defined via operator-valued Hurst coefficient. We prove that this process is a limiting one for polygonal lines constructed from partial sums of time series having space varying long memory.
CENTRAL LIMIT THEOREMS FOR SUPERLINEAR PROCESSES
Authors: VOLNÝ DALIBOR , WOODROOFE MICHAEL , ZHAO OU
Published: February 2011

The Central Limit Theorem is studied for stationary sequences that are sums of countable collections of linear processes. Two sets of sufficient conditions are obtained. One restricts only the coefficients and is shown to be best possible among such conditions. The other involves an interplay between the coefficients and the distribution functions of the innovations and is shown to be necessary for the Conditional Central Limit Theorem in the case of a causal process with independent innovations.
ON THE INVARIANCE PRINCIPLE UNDER MARTINGALE APPROXIMATION
Authors: PELIGRAD MAGDA , PELIGRAD COSTEL
Published: February 2011

In this paper, we establish continuous Gaussian limits for stochastic processes associated to linear combinations of partial sums. The underlying sequence of random variables is supposed to admit a martingale approximation in the square mean. The results are useful in studying averages of additive functionals of a Markov chain with normal operator.
POINTWISE ERGODIC THEOREMS WITH RATE WITH APPLICATIONS TO LIMIT THEOREMS FOR STATIONARY PROCESSES
Authors: CUNY CHRISTOPHE
Published: February 2011

We obtain pointwise ergodic theorems with rate under conditions expressed in terms of the convergence of series involving [Formula: see text], improving previous results. Then, using known results on martingale approximation, we obtain conditions for the Law of the Iterated Logarithm and for the quenched central limit theorem. The proofs are based on the use of the spectral theorem and, on a recent work of Zhao–Woodroofe extending a method of Derriennic–Lin.
ON A SUFFICIENT CONDITION FOR LARGE DEVIATIONS OF ADDITIVE FUNCTIONALS
Authors: TSUCHIDA KANEHARU
Published: February 2011

We prove the large deviation principle for continuous additive functionals under certain assumptions. The underlying symmetric Markov processes include Brownian motion and symmetric and relativistic α-stable processes.
PROBABILITY AND METRIC DISCREPANCY THEORY
Authors: AISTLEITNER CHRISTOPH , BERKES ISTVÁN
Published: February 2011

We give an overview of probabilistic phenomena in metric discrepancy theory and present several new results concerning the asymptotic behavior of discrepancies DN(nkx) and sums ∑ckf(nkx) for sequences (nk)k ≥ 1 of integers.
TERNARY QUANTUM CODES OF MINIMUM DISTANCE THREE
Authors: LIU JIAN
Published: February 2011

Based on finite field and combinatorics theory, an elementary recursive construction is used to construct Hermitian self-orthogonal codes over 𝔽9, the Galois field with nine elements, with dual distance three for all n ≥ 4. Consequently, good ternary linear quantum codes of minimum distance three for such length n are obtained. These ternary linear quantum codes are optimal or near optimal according to the quantum Singleton bound and quantum Hamming bound.
FAULT-TOLERATE QUANTUM KEY DISTRIBUTION OVER A COLLECTIVE-NOISE CHANNEL
Authors: LI CHUN-YAN , LI YAN-SONG
Published: February 2011

We present two quantum key distribution (QKD) schemes over a collective-noise channel. Each logical qubit, composed of two physical qubits with a decoherence-free subspace, is immune to a collective noise and can carry one bit of information in theory. Although the receiver should prepare entangled two-photon quantum systems, he can read out the information encoded by the sender with two unitary operations on two photons, resorting to only two single-photon measurements, not Bell-state measurements, which makes these protocols simpler than others in experiment. These two QKD protocols are deterministic, not random, which makes the classical information exchanged be reduced largely. Also, they have a high intrinsic efficiency.
ERROR-REJECTING BENNETT–BRASSARD–MERMIN QUANTUM KEY DISTRIBUTION PROTOCOL BASED ON LINEAR OPTICS OVER A COLLECTIVE-NOISE CHANNEL
Authors: LI XI-HAN , DUAN XIAO-JIAO , DENG FU-GUO , ZHOU HONG-YU
Published: February 2011

Quantum entanglement is an important element of quantum information processing. Sharing entangled quantum states between two remote parties is a precondition of most quantum communication schemes. We will show that the protocol proposed by Yamamoto et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett.95 (2005) 040503) for transmitting single quantum qubit against collective noise with linear optics is also suitable for distributing the components of entanglements with some modifications. An additional qubit is introduced to reduce the effect of collective noise, and the receiver can take advantage of the time discrimination and the measurement results of the assistant qubit to reconstruct a pure entanglement with the sender. Although the scheme succeeds probabilistically, the fidelity of the entangled state is almost unity in principle. The resource used in our protocol to get a pure entangled state is finite, which establishes entanglement more easily in practice than quantum entanglement purification. Also, we discuss its application in quantum key distribution over a collective channel in detail.
A REPRESENTATION OF SPECIALIZED BIRMAN-WENZL-MURAKAMI ALGEBRA AND BERRY PHASE IN YANG-BAXTER SYSTEM
Authors: GOU LIDAN , XUE KANG , WANG QINGYONG , WANG GANGCHENG , SUN CHUNFANG
Published: February 2011

We present an S-matrix, a solution of the braid relation. A matrix representation of specialized Birman-Wenzl-Murakami algebra is obtained. Based on which, a unitary [Formula: see text]-matrix is generated via the Yang-Baxterization approach. Then we construct a Yang-Baxter Hamiltonian through the unitary [Formula: see text]-matrix. Berry phase of this Yang-Baxter system is investigated in detail.
ENTANGLEMENT AND TELEPORTATION IN BIPARTITE SYSTEM
Authors: ADHIKARI SATYABRATA
Published: February 2011

We present a mathematical formulation of old teleportation protocol (original teleportation protocol introduced by Bennett et al.) for mixed state and study in detail the role of mixedness of the two-qubit quantum channel in a teleportation protocol. We show that maximally entangled mixed state described by the density matrix of rank-4 will be useful as a two-qubit teleportation channel to teleport a single qubit mixed state when the teleportation channel parameter p1 > 1/2. Also we discuss the case when p1 ≤ 1/2.