bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Randomly Spiking Dynamic Neural Fields
Authors: Chappet De Vangel Benoît , Torres-huitzil Cesar , Girau Bernard
Published: April 2015

Bio-inspired neural computation attracts a lot of attention as a possible solution for the future challenges in designing computational resources. Dynamic neural fields (DNF) provide cortically inspired models of neural populations to which computation can be applied for a wide variety of tasks, such as perception and sensorimotor control. DNFs are often derived from continuous neural field theory (CNFT). In spite of the parallel structure and regularity of CNFT models, few studies of hardware implementations have been carried out targeting embedded real-time processing. In this article, a hardware-friendly model adapted from the CNFT is introduced, namely the RSDNF model (randomly spiking dynamic neural fields). Thanks to their simplified 2D structure, RSDNFs achieve scalable parallel implementations on digital hardware while maintaining the behavioral properties of CNFT models. Spike-based computations within neurons in the field are introduced to reduce interneuron connection bandwidth. Additionally, local stochastic spike propagation ensures inhibition and excitation broadcast without a fully connected network. The behavioral soundness and robustness of the model in the presence of noise and distracters is fully validated through software and hardware. A field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation shows how the RSDNF model ensures a level of density and scalability out of reach for previous hardware implementations of dynamic neural field models.
An Event-Driven QoI-Aware Participatory Sensing Framework with Energy and Budget Constraints
Authors: Zhang Bo , Song Zheng , Liu Chi Harold , Ma Jian , Wang Wendong
Published: April 2015

Participatory sensing systems can be used for concurrent event monitoring applications, like noise levels, fire, and pollutant concentrations. However, they are facing new challenges as to how to accurately detect the exact boundaries of these events, and further, to select the most
appropriate
participants to collect the sensing data. On the one hand, participants’ handheld smart devices are constrained with different energy conditions and sensing capabilities, and they move around with uncontrollable mobility patterns in their daily life. On the other hand, these sensing tasks are within time-varying quality-of-information (QoI) requirements and budget to afford the users’ incentive expectations. Toward this end, this article proposes an event-driven QoI-aware participatory sensing framework with energy and budget constraints. The main method of this framework is event boundary detection. For the former, a two-step heuristic solution is proposed where the coarse-grained detection step finds its approximation and the fine-grained detection step identifies the exact location. Participants are selected by explicitly considering their mobility pattern, required QoI of multiple tasks, and users’ incentive requirements, under the constraint of an aggregated task budget. Extensive experimental results, based on a real trace in Beijing, show the effectiveness and robustness of our approach, while comparing with existing schemes.
Toward a Sparse Self-Organizing Map for Neuromorphic Architectures
Authors: Rodriguez Laurent , Miramond Benoît , Granado Bertrand
Published: April 2015

Neurobiological systems have often been a source of inspiration for computational science and engineering, but in the past their impact has also been limited by the understanding of biological models. Today, new technologies lead to an equilibrium situation where powerful and complex computers bring new biological knowledge of the brain behavior. At this point, we possess sufficient understanding to both imagine new brain-inspired computing paradigms and to sustain a classical paradigm which reaches its end programming and intellectual limitations.

In this context, we propose to reconsider the computation problem first in the specific domain of mobile robotics. Our main proposal consists in considering computation as part of a global adaptive system, composed of sensors, actuators, a source of energy and a controlling unit. During the adaptation process, the proposed brain-inspired computing structure does not only execute the tasks of the application but also reacts to the external stimulation and acts on the emergent behavior of the system. This approach is inspired by cortical plasticity in mammalian brains and suggests developing the computation architecture along the system's experience.

This article proposes modeling this plasticity as a problem of estimating a probability density function. This function would correspond to the nature and the richness of the environment perceived through multiple modalities. We define and develop a novel neural model solving the problem in a distributed and sparse manner. And we integrate this neural map into a bio-inspired hardware substrate that brings the plasticity property into parallel many-core architectures. The approach is then called Hardware Plasticity. The results show that the self-organization properties of our model solve the problem of multimodal sensory data clusterization. The properties of the proposed model allow envisaging the deployment of this adaptation layer into hardware architectures embedded into the robot's body in order to build intelligent controllers.
Privacy behaviors after Snowden
Authors: Preibusch Sören
Published: April 2015

Despite continuing media coverage, the public's privacy behaviors have hardly changed.
Improving Performance in Sub-Block Caches with Optimized Replacement Policies
Authors: Olorode Oluleye , Nourani Mehrdad
Published: April 2015

Recent advances in computer processor design have led to the introduction of sub-blocking to cache architectures. Sub-block caches reduce the tag area and power overhead in caches without reducing the effective cache size by using fewer tags to index the full data RAM array. In spite of achieving reduced area and power overhead, sub-block caches suffer performance degradation due to cache trashing. This occurs when a wider cache line (super-block), made up of multiple valid cache lines (sub-blocks), is replaced or evicted when only a sub-block is to be allocated into the wider super-block. To address this problem, we propose cache replacement policies as they relate specifically to sub-block caches. We propose new replacement policies that are tuned for sub-block caches by adding more intelligence based on the valid state of individual sub-blocks of a super-block. We also investigate the effect of using a few level-0 registers to bypass a few level-1 cache pipe stages on sub-block cache performance. To evaluate the performance improvement offered by our proposed replacement policies and the use of level-0 registers, we developed a sub-block cache simulator based on the Simplescalar toolset for single-core evaluations and the Sniper Simulator for multicore evaluations. We show that, with minimal architectural updates to existing conventional cache replacement policies, we are able to improve level-1 cache hit rates by up to 4.17% using our proposed policies alone on SPEC2006 benchmarks and up to 14% in shared level-2 caches using multicore benchmark suites: PARSEC and SPLASH2.
A Reconfigurable Digital Neuromorphic Processor with Memristive Synaptic Crossbar for Cognitive Computing
Authors: Kim Yongtae , Zhang Yong , Li Peng
Published: April 2015

This article presents a brain-inspired reconfigurable digital neuromorphic processor (DNP) architecture for large-scale spiking neural networks. The proposed architecture integrates an arbitrary number of
N
digital leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) silicon neurons to mimic their biological counterparts and on-chip learning circuits to realize spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) learning rules. We leverage memristor nanodevices to build an
N
×
N
crossbar array to store not only multibit synaptic weight values but also network configuration data with significantly reduced area overhead. Additionally, the crossbar array is designed to be accessible both column- and row-wise to expedite the synaptic weight update process for learning. The proposed digital pulse width modulator (PWM) produces binary pulses with various durations for reading and writing the multilevel memristive crossbar. The proposed column based analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) scheme efficiently accumulates the presynaptic weights of each neuron and reduces silicon area overhead by using a shared arithmetic unit to process the LIF operations of all
N
neurons. With 256 silicon neurons, learning circuits and 64K synapses, the power dissipation and area of our DNP are 6.45 mW and 1.86 mm
2
, respectively, when implemented in a 90-nm CMOS technology. The functionality of the proposed DNP architecture is demonstrated by realizing an unsupervised-learning based character recognition system.
iConn
Authors: Li Zhongqi , Goswami Nilanjan , Li Tao
Published: April 2015

Recently, the
graphics processing unit
(GPU) has made significant progress as a general-purpose parallel processor. The CPU and GPU cooperate together to solve data-parallel and control-intensive real-world applications in an optimized fashion. For example, emerging heterogeneous computing architectures such as Intel Sandy Bridge and AMD Fusion integrate the functionality of the CPU and GPU in a single die. However, the single-die CPU-GPU heterogeneous computing architecture faces the challenge of tight budget of die area. The conventional homogenous interconnect fails to provide satisfactory performance by fully exploiting the given area budget in the heterogeneous processing era.

In this article, we aim to implement an interconnect network within an area budget for a CPU-GPU heterogeneous computing architecture. We propose iConn, a 2D mesh-style on-chip heterogeneous communication infrastructure. In iConn, a set of GPU logical units such as the stream processors, the texture units, and the rendering output units form a
computing unit
(CU). Differing from conventional homogenous router design, iConn adopts nonuniform on-chip routers in order to meet the unique communication demands from each single CPU and CU. The routers can also dynamically allocate their buffers across all
virtual channels
(VCs) to meet the latency requirements of CPUs and CUs. Moreover, the memory controller scheduling algorithm is modified from traditional load-over-store scheduling in order to prioritize the traffic. Our simulation results show that iConn improves the performance of CPUs by 23.0% and CUs by 9.4%.
Introducing young women to CS, and supporting advanced research environments
Authors: Adams Joel , Reed Daniel A.
Published: April 2015

The
Communications
Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG@CACM community. In each issue of
Communications
, we'll publish selected posts or excerpts.

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Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/blogCACM

http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm

Joel Adams talks about starting a chapter of Girls Who Code, while Daniel A. Reed considers an issue with cyberinfrastructure.
Is "good enough" computing good enough?
Authors: Kugler Logan
Published: April 2015

The energy-accuracy trade-off in approximate computing.
Life of IP
Authors: Schrage Michael , Van Alstyne Marshall
Published: April 2015

Seeking to balance intellectual property protection with incentives for investment in innovation.
Blending market research and user research activities
Authors: Kutty Pallavi
Published: April 2015

This forum is dedicated to maximizing the success of HCI practitioners within the frenetic world of product and service design. It focuses on UX strategy approaches, leadership, management techniques, and above all the challenge of bringing HCI to peer-level status with longstanding business disciplines such as marketing and engineering. ---
Daniel Rosenberg, Editor
Optimization as motion selection principle in robot action
Authors: Laumond Jean-Paul , Mansard Nicolas , Lasserre Jean Bernard
Published: April 2015

Robots move to act. While actions operate in a physical space, motions begin in a motor control space. So how do robots express actions in terms of motions?
The role of tool support in public policies and accessibility
Authors: Paternò Fabio , Schiavone Antonio Giovanni
Published: April 2015

Public policy plays an influential role in the work we do as HCI researchers, interaction designers, and practitioners.
Public policy
, a broad term, includes both government policy and policy within non-governmental organizations. This forum focuses on topics at the intersection of human-computer interaction and public policy. ---
Jonathan Lazar, Editor
The ecosystem of SpatialHadoop
Authors: Eldawy Ahmed , Mokbel Mohamed F.
Published: April 2015

There is a recent outbreak in the amounts of spatial data generated by different sources, e.g., smart phones, space telescopes, and medical devices, which urged researchers to exploit the existing distributed systems to process such amounts of spatial data. However, as these systems are not designed for spatial data, they cannot fully utilize its spatial properties to achieve high performance. In this paper, we describe SpatialHadoop, a full-fledged MapReduce framework which extends Hadoop to support spatial data efficiently. SpatialHadoop consists of four main layers, namely,
language, indexing, query processing
, and
visualization.
The
language
layer provides a high level language with standard spatial data types and operations to make the system accessible to non-technical users. The
indexing
layer supports standard spatial indexes, such as grid, R-tree and R+-tree, inside Hadoop file system in order to speed up spatial operations. The
query processing
layer encapsulates the spatial operations supported by SpatialHadoop such as range query,
k
nearest neighbor, spatial join and computational geometry operations. Finally, the
visualization
layer allows users to produce images that describe very large datasets to make it easier to explore and understand big spatial data. SpatialHadoop is already used as a main component in several real systems such as MNTG, TAREEG, TAGHREED, and SHAHED.
The First Named Data Networking Community Meeting
Authors: claffy kc , Polterock Josh , Afanasyev Alexander , Burke Jeff , Zhang Lixia
Published: April 2015

This report is a brief summary of the first NDN Community Meeting held at UCLA in Los Angeles, California on September 4-5, 2014. The meeting provided a platform for the attendees from 39 institutions across seven countries to exchange their recent NDN research and development results, to debate existing and proposed functionality in security support, and to provide feedback into the NDN architecture design evolution.
Data Transparency Lab Kick Off Workshop (DTL 2014) Report
Authors: Gross-Brown Rafael , Ficek Michal , Agundez Jose Luis , Dressler Patrick , Laoutaris Nikolaos
Published: April 2015

On November 20 and 21 2014, Telefonica I+D hosted the Data Transparency Lab ("DTL") Kickoff Workshop on Personal Data Transparency and Online Privacy at its headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. This workshop provided a forum for technologists, researchers, policymakers and industry representatives to share and discuss current and emerging issues around privacy and transparency on the Internet. The objective of this workshop was to kick-start the creation of a community of research, industry, and public interest parties that will work together towards the following objectives: -The development of methodologies and user-friendly tools to promote transparency and empower users to understand online privacy issues and consequences; -The sharing of datasets and research results, and; -The support of research through grants and the provision of infrastructure to deploy tools. With the above activities, the DTL community aims to improve our understanding of technical, ethical, economic and regulatory issues related to the use of personal data by online services. It is hoped that successful execution of such activities will help sustain a fair and transparent exchange of personal data online. This report summarizes the presentations, discussions and questions that resulted from the workshop.
Changes in Allometric Attributes and Biomass of Forests and Woodlands across an Altitudinal and Rainfall Gradient: What Are the Implications of Increasing Seasonality due to Anthropogenic Climate Change?
Authors: Hunter John T.
Published: April 2015

Canonical correspondence analysis and linear regressions were used to relate height, diameter, and dispersion measurements of 36,380 stems from 197 species recorded in 2,341 plots against both climatic and landscape variables. Above ground biomass increased in wetter and cooler locations that ameliorate the seasonal rainfall deficits. Taller and greater diameter trees with lower wood densities occur at higher altitudes. Differences between locations are based on a change in the composition of species rather than a change in the allometric properties within a species. The results support the hydraulic limitation and species packing hypotheses. These interrelationships may be affected by the interactions of fire frequency and drought which are a common feature of much of the study area. Under current climate change scenarios it is likely that there will be a reduction in above ground biomass, the number of stems per hectare, average height, average diameter, and basal area due to increasing seasonality of rainfall, temperatures, and the intensity and frequency of fires. The largest of trees are likely to be removed early due to their inability to cope with increased drought stress. The results suggest a marked reduction in carbon storage will occur across the study region in eastern Australia.
Slum Sanitation and the Social Determinants of Women’s Health in Nairobi, Kenya
Authors: Corburn Jason , Hildebrand Chantal
Published: April 2015

Inadequate urban sanitation disproportionately impacts the social determinants of women’s health in informal settlements or slums. The impacts on women’s health include infectious and chronic illnesses, violence, food contamination and malnutrition, economic and educational attainment, and indignity. We used household survey data to report on self-rated health and sociodemographic, housing, and infrastructure conditions in the Mathare informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. We combined quantitative survey and mapping data with qualitative focus group information to better understand the relationships between environmental sanitation and the social determinants of women and girls’ health in the Mathare slum. We find that an average of eighty-five households in Mathare share one toilet, only 15% of households have access to a private toilet, and the average distance to a public toilet is over 52 meters. Eighty-three percent of households without a private toilet report poor health. Mathare women report violence (68%), respiratory illness/cough (46%), diabetes (33%), and diarrhea (30%) as the most frequent physical burdens. Inadequate, unsafe, and unhygienic sanitation results in multiple and overlapping health, economic, and social impacts that disproportionately impact women and girls living in urban informal settlements.
A Survey on the Computational Approaches to Identify Drug Targets in the Postgenomic Era
Authors: Dai Yan-Fen , Zhao Xing-Ming
Published: April 2015

Identifying drug targets plays essential roles in designing new drugs and combating diseases. Unfortunately, our current knowledge about drug targets is far from comprehensive. Screening drug targets in the lab is an expensive and time-consuming procedure. In the past decade, the accumulation of various types of omics data makes it possible to develop computational approaches to predict drug targets. In this paper, we make a survey on the recent progress being made on computational methodologies that have been developed to predict drug targets based on different kinds of omics data and drug property data.
Short-Term Wind Speed Forecast Based on B-Spline Neural Network Optimized by PSO
Authors: Wu Zhongqiang , Jia Wenjing , Zhao Liru , Wu Changhan
Published: April 2015

Considering the randomness and volatility of wind, a method based on B-spline neural network optimized by particle swarm optimization is proposed to predict the short-term wind speed. The B-spline neural network can change the division of input space and the definition of basis function flexibly. For any input, only a few outputs of hidden layers are nonzero, the outputs are simple, and the convergence speed is fast, but it is easy to fall into local minimum. The traditional method to divide the input space is thoughtless and it will influence the final prediction accuracy. Particle swarm optimization is adopted to solve the problem by optimizing the nodes. Simulated results show that it has higher prediction accuracy than traditional B-spline neural network and BP neural network.
Mechanisms of Mining Seismicity under Large Scale Exploitation with Multikey Strata
Authors: He Hu , Dou Linming , Cao Anye , Fan Jun
Published: April 2015

The dynamic disasters are aggravating with the increase of exploitation scale and intensity in Chinese coal mines, to further understand this problem, we studied the mechanisms of mining tremors induced by key strata movement and instability under large scale exploitation. First the mechanisms were categorized into two groups that is main key strata fracture and movement as well as subkey strata instability again under adjacent mining activities. Based on the key strata theory in ground control we revealed three basic mechanisms of key strata destabilization that are rotary and sliding of low subkey strata, shear sliding of the high subkey strata, and the main key strata rupture and cave at limit span, respectively. The microseismic observing systems were applied to monitor the mining tremor events and verify the theoretical analysis in different coal mines. The characteristics of time-space evolution of tremors show that low inferior key strata causing the most, followed by the high inferior key strata and the main key strata least, however the released energy was just opposite.
Iterative Methods for Nonconvex Equilibrium Problems in Uniformly Convex and Uniformly Smooth Banach Spaces
Authors: Bounkhel Messaoud
Published: April 2015

We suggest and study the convergence of some new iterative schemes for solving nonconvex equilibrium problems in Banach spaces. Many existing results have been obtained as particular cases.
A Broken Toothbrush in the Retropharyngeal Space in a Toddler of Sixteen Months
Authors: Goswami Saileswar , Goswami Choitali
Published: April 2015

A toddler of sixteen months fell while brushing his teeth and his mouth hit the ground. The toothbrush broke and one-third of it including the head got impacted in his throat. The attempt of his mother to remove it with her fingers further complicated the case and the toothbrush was ultimately lodged in the retropharyngeal space at the level from C1 to C5 vertebrae. It was strongly impacted due to the presence of the bristles. The broken end of the handle was just protruding into the nasopharynx and was very difficult to locate. The first attempt of its removal was unsuccessful. The toothbrush was removed safely in the second attempt without any complication.
CYP2A6 Polymorphisms May Strengthen Individualized Treatment for Nicotine Dependence
Authors: Akrodou Yawo Mawuli
Published: April 2015

EachCYP2A6gene variant metabolizes nicotine differently depending on its enzymatic activities. The normal nicotine metabolizerCYP2A6*1Ais associated with high scores of nicotine dependence (5–10) on the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) scale because it encodes for enzymes that catalyze nicotine 100%. Slow nicotine metabolizers (i.e.,CYP2A6*1H,CYP2A6*4A,CYP2A6*9, andCYP2A6*12A) are associated with underrated nicotine metabolizing activity (50%–75%), linking them to low scores for nicotine dependence (0–4) on the FTND scale. In a clinical trial involving the use of bupropion, people who were carriers of slow nicotine metabolizers were found to have a tendency to maintain abstinence 1.7 times longer than people with normal nicotine metabolizers. An overview of CYP2A6 polymorphism enzymatic activities in nicotine dependence etiology and treatment revealed that slow nicotine metabolizers may strengthen the individualized treatment of nicotine dependence.
Synchronous Bilateral Testicular Tumors with Different Histopathology
Authors: Anastasiou Ioannis , Deligiannis Dimitrios , Katafigiotis Ioannis , Skarmoutsos Ioannis , Karaolanis Georgios , Palla Viktoria-Varvara , Nonni Afrodite , Mitropoulos Dionysios , Constantinides Constantinos A.
Published: April 2015

A 40-year-old male presented to our outpatient department with the chief complaint of a painless mass on his right testis with gradual size increase over the past two months. Physical examination and ultrasound revealed a firm and nontender mass both on the right and on the left testis. The only elevated biomarker was b-hcG (24,7 mIU/mL) and computer tomography (CT) did not reveal any pathology. Bilateral high orchiectomies were performed, without previous frozen storage of the sperm. Histology proved typical seminoma of the left testis and embryonal carcinoma of the right testis. He received two cycles of adjuvant combination chemotherapy with bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin. Six months after the operation no residual tumor or recurrence was observed.
A Novel Method of Adaptive Traffic Image Enhancement for Complex Environments
Authors: Liu Cao , Zheng Hong , Yu Dian , Xu Xiaohang
Published: April 2015

There exist two main drawbacks for traffic images in classic image enhancement methods. First is the performance degradation that occurs under frontlight, backlight, and extremely dark conditions. The second drawback is complicated manual settings, such as transform functions and multiple parameter selection mechanisms. Thus, this paper proposes an effective and adaptive parameter optimization enhancement algorithm based on adaptive brightness baseline drift (ABBD) for color traffic images under different luminance conditions. This method consists of two parts: brightness baseline model acquisition and adaptive color image compensation. The brightness baseline model can be attained by analyzing changes in light along a timeline. The adaptive color image compensation involves color space remapping and adaptive compensation specific color components. Our experiments were tested on various traffic images under frontlight, backlight, and during nighttime. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieved better effects compared with other available methods under different luminance conditions, which also effectively reduced the influence of the weather.
Antineutrophilic Cytoplasmic Antibody Positive Vasculitis Associated with Methimazole Use
Authors: Shikha Deep , Harris Jonathan , Resta Christine , Park Patricia
Published: April 2015

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a rare and potentially life threatening complication associated with antithyroid drug use. It is more commonly reported with propylthiouracil, with fewer cases reported with methimazole use. We present the case of a 55-year-old man with toxic multinodular goiter which was treated with methimazole for 6 months. He developed ANCA positive leukocytoclastic vasculitis with hemorrhagic and necrotic bullous lesions of lower extremities. The vasculitis was initially thought to be secondary to recent cephalosporin use; however, the skin lesions progressed despite stopping the cephalosporin and treatment with steroids, and he developed osteomyelitis. His vasculitis resolved after cessation of methimazole use. This case highlights the importance of careful monitoring for variable manifestations of AAV in patients treated with methimazole.
Identification and Characterization ofChlamydia abortusIsolates from Yaks in Qinghai, China
Authors: Li Zhaocai , Cao Xiaoan , Fu Baoquan , Chao Yilin , Cai Jinshan , Zhou Jizhang
Published: April 2015

Recently, the yak population has exhibited reproductive disorders, which are considered to be associated withChlamydia abortus(C. abortus) in Qinghai, China. In this study, a total of 9 aborted fetuses (each from a different herd) and 126 vaginal swab samples from the 9 herds were collected and analyzed.C. abortusDNA was detected from all of the 9 aborted fetuses and 30 of the 126 vaginal swab samples (23.81%) from yak cows in the selected herds. FourC. abortusstrains were isolated from embryonated egg yolk sacs inoculated with foetal organ suspensions. The isolatedC. abortusstrains were further identified, which showed identical restriction profiles with theC. abortusreference strain usingAluI restriction enzyme in the RFLP test. Moreover, the isolatedC. abortusstrains andC. abortus-positive vaginal swab samples were genotyped by multiple loci variable number tandem repeat analysis and all belonged to the genotype 2 group. These findings suggested thatC. abortusplayed a substantial role in yak abortion in Qinghai, China.
Redesigning Protein Cavities as a Strategy for Increasing Affinity in Protein-Protein Interaction: Interferon-γReceptor 1 as a Model
Authors: Černý Jiří , Biedermannová Lada , Mikulecký Pavel , Zahradník Jiří , Charnavets Tatsiana , Šebo Peter , Schneider Bohdan
Published: April 2015

Combining computational and experimental tools, we present a new strategy for designing high affinity variants of a binding protein. The affinity is increased by mutating residues not at the interface, but at positions lining internal cavities of one of the interacting molecules. Filling the cavities lowers flexibility of the binding protein, possibly reducing entropic penalty of binding. The approach was tested using the interferon-γreceptor 1 (IFNγR1) complex with IFNγas a model. Mutations were selected from 52 amino acid positions lining the IFNγR1 internal cavities by using a protocol based on FoldX prediction of free energy changes. The final four mutations filling the IFNγR1 cavities and potentially improving the affinity to IFNγwere expressed, purified, and refolded, and their affinity towards IFNγwas measured by SPR. While individual cavity mutations yielded receptor constructs exhibiting only slight increase of affinity compared to WT, combinations of these mutations with previously characterized variant N96W led to a significant sevenfold increase. The affinity increase in the high affinity receptor variant N96W+V35L is linked to the restriction of its molecular fluctuations in the unbound state. The results demonstrate that mutating cavity residues is a viable strategy for designing protein variants with increased affinity.
The Effect of Nicotine Dependence on Psychopathology in Patients with Schizophrenia
Authors: Yee Anne , Bt Nek Mohamed Nik Nasyrah , Binti Hashim Aili Hanim , Loh Huai Seng , Harbajan Singh Manveen Kaur , Ng Chong Guan , Jambunathan S. T.
Published: April 2015

Introduction. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of nicotine dependence and investigate the effect of nicotine dependence on psychopathology among schizophrenia patients.Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out in an outpatient psychiatric clinic at a general hospital in Malaysia. 180 recruited subjects were administered the Malay version of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), and the Malay version of Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND-M) questionnaires.Results. The prevalence of nicotine dependence among the subjects was 38.1% (n=69) and they were mainly composed of male gender, Malay ethnicity, being treated with atypical antipsychotics, and taking other illicit drugs or alcohol. Subjects with severe nicotine dependence scored less in the negative subscale of PANSS compared with the nonsmokers (P=0.011). On performing the hierarchy multiple regressions, dependence status still significantly predicted negative scores after adjusting the confounders (t=-2.87,P=0.005).Conclusion. The rate of nicotine use disorder among schizophrenia patients in this study is higher than that of the general population in Malaysia. The significant association between nicotine dependence and negative psychopathology symptoms will help the healthcare practitioners in their management of nicotine dependence among schizophrenia patients.
Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Differentially Inhibit Cytokine Production by Peripheral Blood Monocytes Subpopulations and Myeloid Dendritic Cells
Authors: Laranjeira Paula , Gomes Joana , Pedreiro Susana , Pedrosa Monia , Martinho Antonio , Antunes Brigida , Ribeiro Tania , Santos Francisco , Domingues Rosario , Abecasis Manuel , Trindade Helder , Paiva Artur
Published: April 2015

The immunosuppressive properties of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSC) rendered them an attractive therapeutic approach for immune disorders and an increasing body of evidence demonstrated their clinical value. However, the influence of MSC on the function of specific immune cell populations, namely, monocyte subpopulations, is not well elucidated. Here, we investigated the influence of human bone marrow MSC on the cytokine and chemokine expression by peripheral blood classical, intermediate and nonclassical monocytes, and myeloid dendritic cells (mDC), stimulated with lipopolysaccharide plus interferon (IFN)γ. We found that MSC effectively inhibit tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-)αand macrophage inflammatory protein- (MIP-) 1βprotein expression in monocytes and mDC, without suppressing CCR7 and CD83 protein expression. Interestingly, mDC exhibited the highest degree of inhibition, for both TNF-αand MIP-1β, whereas the reduction of TNF-αexpression was less marked for nonclassical monocytes. Similarly, MSC decreased mRNA levels of interleukin- (IL-) 1βand IL-6 in classical monocytes, CCL3, CCL5, CXCL9, and CXCL10 in classical and nonclassical monocytes, and IL-1βand CXCL10 in mDC. MSC do not impair the expression of maturation markers in monocytes and mDC under our experimental conditions; nevertheless, they hamper the proinflammatory function of monocytes and mDC, which may impede the development of inflammatory immune responses.
Flexor Digitorum Accessorius Longus: Importance of Posterior Ankle Endoscopy
Authors: Batista Jorge Pablo , del Vecchio Jorge Javier , Golanó Pau , Vega Jordi
Published: April 2015

Endoscopy for the posterior region of the ankle through two portals is becoming more widespread for the treatment of a large number of conditions which used to be treated with open surgery years ago. The tendon of theflexor hallucis longus(FHL) travels along an osteofibrous tunnel between the posterolateral and posteromedial tubercles of the talus. Chronic inflammation of this tendon may lead to painful stenosing tenosynovitis. The aim of this report is to describe two cases depicting an accessory tendon which is an anatomical variation of theflexor hallucis longusin patients with posterior friction syndrome due to posterior ankle impingement and associated with a posteromedial osteochondral lesion of the talus. The anatomical variation (FDAL) described was a finding during an endoscopy of the posterior region of the ankle, and we have spared it by sectioning the superior flexor retinaculum only. The accessory flexor digitorum longus is an anatomical variation and should be taken into account when performing an arthroscopy of the posterior region of the ankle. We recommend this treatment on this type of injury although we admit this does not make a definite conclusion.
SILAC-Based Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patients
Authors: Rüetschi Ulla , Stenson Martin , Hasselblom Sverker , Nilsson-Ehle Herman , Hansson Ulrika , Fagman Henrik , Andersson Per-Ola
Published: April 2015

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common lymphoma, is a heterogeneous disease where the outcome for patients with early relapse or refractory disease is very poor, even in the era of immunochemotherapy. In order to describe possible differences in global protein expression and network patterns, we performed a SILAC-based shotgun (LC-MS/MS) quantitative proteomic analysis in fresh-frozen tumor tissue from two groups of DLBCL patients with totally different clinical outcome: (i) early relapsed or refractory and (ii) long-term progression-free patients. We could identify over 3,500 proteins; more than 1,300 were quantified in all patients and 87 were significantly differentially expressed. By functional annotation analysis on the 66 proteins overexpressed in the progression-free patient group, we found an enrichment of proteins involved in the regulation and organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Also, five proteins from actin cytoskeleton regulation, applied in a supervised regression analysis, could discriminate the two patient groups. In conclusion, SILAC-based shotgun quantitative proteomic analysis appears to be a powerful tool to explore the proteome in DLBCL tumor tissue. Also, as progression-free patients had a higher expression of proteins involved in the actin cytoskeleton protein network, such a pattern indicates a functional role in the sustained response to immunochemotherapy.
O poder do corpo no espaço público: o urbano como privação e o direito à cidade
Authors: Carlos Ana Fani Alessandri
Published: April 2015

 Neste artigo parte da hipótese segundo a qual, a produção do espaço é um  elemento central para a compreensão do mundo moderno, tanto do ponto de vista da realização do processo acumulativo do capital, quanto da reprodução da vida social, na medida em que a produção do espaço é condição, meio e produto da reprodução social em sua totalidade.

As transformações da cidade são hoje marcadas pela contradição entre o que é necessário à realização da reprodução do capital e o que  necessecidade/desejo para a sociedade que faz dela o lugar dos conflitos posto que a práxis urbana repõe, continuamente a desigualdade resultado do processo de valorização que cria a cidade como segregação.

No Brasil de hoje, como em várias partes do mundo, vivemos o tempo das manifestações nas ruas e praças (como reafirmação do espaço público) tem-se  desdobrado em lutas pela cidade movidas pela necessidade de apropriação do espaço urbano para a realização de uma outra vida (que é, basicamente, urbana) aonde a privação vivida por uma parcela significativa da sociedade seja superada. As manifestações, serão entendidas como a forma que assumem os resíduos presentes no cotidiano contra o que se impõe como hegemônico. à realização da vida urbana.
Caracterização do desempenho funcional de indivíduos com síndrome de Down
Authors: Souza Aline Bernardes de , Blascovi-Assis Silvana Maria , Rezende Luciana Krauss , Cymrot Raquel
Published: April 2015

Esta pesquisa procurou caracterizar o desempenho de crianças e jovens com síndrome de Down e a interação entre o perfil funcional e a assistência prestada pelo cuidador. Participaram desta pesquisa 44 cuidadores de crianças e jovens com síndrome de Down, com idades entre 7 anos e 6 meses de idade a 15 anos incompletos que foram avaliados através do Inventário PEDI. Estas
crianças e jovens com SD apresentaram um desempenho inferior em relação ao padrão normal além de menores escores na função social. Observou-se a influência da idade sobre algumas áreas funcionais e a linearidade entre a evolução da capacidade funcional e da ajuda do cuidador. Notou-se, também, que as crianças e jovens com síndrome de Down apresentam baixo desempenho funcional nesta faixa etária sob influência da idade.
O viver com a doença falciforme: percepção de adolescentes
Authors: Marques Larissa Nascimento , Cavalcanti Alessandra , Ruzzi-Pereira Andrea
Published: April 2015

Este estudo transversal descritivo com abordagem quantitativa qualitativa teve como objetivo descrever e analisar a percepção de adolescentes sobre o viver com Doença Falciforme (DF); identificar e analisar quais os principais papéis ocupacionais destes adolescentes e a importância que atribuem aos papéis. Os dados foram obtidos pela Lista de Identificação de
Papéis Ocupacionais, por caracterização sociodemográfica dos participantes e por uma entrevista semiestruturada, junto a sete adolescentes com DF, sendo os dados da entrevista submetidos à análise de conteúdo temático categorial e os dados da Lista de Identificação de Papéis Ocupacionais analisados por frequência absoluta e relativa. Conclui-se que o viver com a DF é rodeado de privações que ocorrem em vários espaços do cotidiano do adolescente e podem levá-lo a qualidade de vida insatisfatória, e repercussões negativas no futuro.
A orientação à família de pessoas com deficiência visual como recurso de intervenção do terapeuta ocupacional
Authors: Krameck Karine , Nascimento Gabriela Cordeiro Corrêa do
Published: April 2015

A deficiência visual gera implicações à pessoa e ao sistema familiar. À medida que a família é apoiada e fortalecida, esta pode se tornar o eixo fundamental para o desenvolvimento e a participação social do membro familiar com deficiência visual. Com essa finalidade, o terapeuta ocupacional é um profissional capacitado a utilizar o recurso da orientação para intervir junto as família dessas pessoas. Este estudo buscou identificar a intervenção de terapeutas ocupacionais do município de Curitiba/PR voltada à orientação de pais e/ou cuidadores de pessoas com deficiência visual, por meio de uma pesquisa qualitativa exploratória e descritiva. Os resultados apontaram para a importância da orientação como possibilidade de intervenção do terapeuta ocupacional, evidenciando a relação dessa abordagem com a participação familiar e a contribuição para o desenvolvimento da pessoa com deficiência visual. Foram observadas dificuldades encontradas na prática profissional e restrições que os profissionais enfrentam para efetivar a realização das orientações relacionadas às regras institucionais. Os resultados obtidos corroboram com a literatura, entretanto destaca-se a necessidade de dar continuidade a pesquisas referentes à temática, visto a escassez de material teórico nessa área.
Múltiplas avaliações para aquisição de cadeiras de escritório: favorecendo a saúde no trabalho
Authors: Barroso Barbara Iansã de Lima , Galvão Cláudia Regina Cabral
Published: April 2015

Na busca para defi nir a melhor cadeira de escritório utilizada em terminais informatizados de uma autarquia do município de Manaus/AM, é descrito neste estudo, um processo metodológico de construção para identifi car a melhor cadeira para o trabalho informatizado utilizando múltiplas avaliações: entrevistas estruturadas; mapa de sensação de desconforto e dor proposto por Corlett e Wilson22; e questionários de avaliação por escala sobre a satisfação da cadeira, aplicadas com 71 trabalhadores. Neste estudo caracterizado como exploratório, aplicado, qualitativo e quantitativo, analisou-se estatisticamente dados aferidos em escala, e a opinião espontânea dos participantes na testagem de duas cadeiras. Observou-se que a escolha da cadeira apropriada para o posto de trabalho, na função dos participantes, englobou cadeiras com rodízios e regulagem do assento e encosto, o que pode contribuir para melhoria da produtividade e reduzir o efeito de doenças do trabalho associadas à postura sentada. 
Do individual ao coletivo: perfil ocupacional de usuários de um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial
Authors: Salles Mariana Moraes , Matsukura Thelma Simões
Published: April 2015

As ocupações realizadas pelas pessoas com transtorno mental podem nos informar não apenas sobre a vida cotidiana dos sujeitos, mas também sobre como a sociedade tem lidado com o transtorno mental. Assim, o objetivo do presente artigo é conhecer as ocupações das pessoas com transtornos mentais em relação à singularidade do sujeito, a sua rede social e na sua relação com o contexto social. A metodologia de pesquisa qualitativa foi escolhida para a realização da pesquisa em que foram entrevistados usuários de um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial II, da cidade de São Paulo, e pessoas de sua rede social. As entrevistas semiestruturadas foram utilizadas como um meio de investigação, e para a análise de dados foi utilizada a Análise de Discurso. Verificou-se que as ocupações são centrais para a construção da identidade dos sujeitos e que no processo de engajamento em ocupações os usuários também constroem redes sociais. Também se observou que as pessoas com transtornos mentais podem ter sua vida cotidiana profundamente e negativamente influenciada por um contexto social desfavorável, que não oferece suporte ou condições para que o sujeito se envolva em ocupações significativas. Assim, as ocupações constituem e constroem a trama que tece processos de inclusão e exclusão social desta população.
Atividades na formação do terapeuta ocupacional
Authors: Silva Carla Regina , Von Poellnitz Jéssica Cristina
Published: April 2015

As atividades são compreendidas como elementos centrais na construção complexa e contextualizada do processo terapêutico ocupacional, ressalta-se a importância do seu ensino na formação profi ssional. Este trabalho apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa que objetivou mapear e analisar a formação do terapeuta ocupacional, com enfoque no ensino de atividades e recursos oferecido nos cursos de graduação de Instituições de Ensino Superior públicas do Estado de São Paulo. Para tanto, foram utilizados os Projetos Pedagógicos; realizadas entrevistas com coordenadores e aplicados questionários com os docentes envolvidos com o ensino da temática. Foi possível traçar o perfil das instituições em relação ao ensino de atividades, docentes, laboratórios, processos avaliativos, e integração com a pesquisa e a extensão. Concluí-se que o ensino da temática apresenta um núcleo comum, mas ocorre de forma singular nos cursos a depender dos currículos adotados, assim como, da formação e perspectiva dos docentes. Referenda-se a necessidade das atividades se estruturarem como campo próprio de saber e na formação integrar conteúdos teóricos estruturantes aos relacionados à dimensão prática das experimentações e dos fazeres.
Situação de Saúde do Idoso: Ensino -Pesquisa-Extensão em um Município do Centro-Oeste Paulista
Authors: Damiance Patrícia Ribeiro Mattar , Arakawa Aline Megumi , Franco Elen Caroline , Coelho Thaísa Rino de Freitas , Santos Maristela Aparecida Dos , Lauris José Roberto Pereira , Caldana Magali de Lourdes , Bastos José Roberto De Magalhães
Published: April 2015

Poucos são os estudos nacionais acerca da saúde do idoso que privilegiam a avaliação geriátrica multidimensional e a qualidade de vida por meio de instrumentos de mensuração. Esta pesquisa busca relatar uma experiência interdisciplinar de aplicação de instrumentos de avaliação do perfil socioeconômico, da qualidade de vida, da função cognitiva e da presença/gravidade do zumbido de idosos participantes de uma atividade de ensino, pesquisa e extensão, em um município do centro-oeste paulista. Pesquisa de caráter empírico, descritivo e transversal. Para coleta de dados foram utilizados: Mini Exame do Estado Mental; Critério de Classificação Econômica Brasil; Questionário de Qualidade de Vida SF-36 e Questionário de Gravidade do Zumbido e para análise: Testes de Mann-Whitney e Correlação de Spearman. Resultados: escores elevados em relação ao estado geral de saúde e aspectos sociais e mais baixos para limitação por aspectos funcionais e gravidade do zumbido. A análise revelou que o estado de saúde de idosos participantes da feira está intrinsecamente relacionado às condições de vida e trabalho da população. Os dados encontrados podem subsidiar políticas públicas e ações de promoção da saúde, pois estão alicerçados no entendimento de que a situação de saúde dos idosos é resultado da interação de múltiplos fatores.