bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Winning Public Opinion Online: China's Internet Content Control
Authors: SHAN Wei
Published: November 2014

The Chinese authorities have demonstrated great capability in putting online activities under strict surveillance. A comprehensive and complex system of internet monitoring and censorship has been established, consisting of the Great Firewall, online content control and targeted suppression, as well as an army of online commentators. Since Xi assumed leadership in late 2012, Beijing has shown considerable determination to win “public opinion” in the cyber world.
Competition and Partnership in the Solar Photovoltaic Industry between China and the European Union
Authors: WU Dan
Published: November 2014

The European Union's (EU) demand for clean energy has been boosting Chinese exports of green products, while the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations of imports of Chinese solar panels by the EU in 2012 had dampened Chinese exports. The two parties are committed to resolving their trade disagreements instead of applying protectionist measures. A July 2013 agreement was reached for Chinese PV exporters to take a price undertaking and be subject to an export quota.
CEO Turnover and Compensation: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Graefe-Anderson Rachel
Published: November 2014

Because CEO turnover events provide the board of directors with a unique opportunity to potentially completely restructure CEO compensation packages, changes to CEO compensation following a turnover event could prove to inform the ongoing debate regarding CEO compensation. This paper investigates what happens to CEO compensation when a turnover event occurs. Specifically, I examine CEO compensation levels and pay-performance sensitivity for incoming and outgoing CEOs involved in turnover events at public companies in the United States. My main findings are as follows: (1) incoming CEOs are paid as much as or more than those they replace, (2) outsider replacements are paid more than their predecessors even after controlling for education and skills, and (3) CEOs who are forced out are not paid differently from those who replace them, while CEOs who leave voluntarily are paid significantly less than their replacements. Further analysis reveals that proxies for managerial power including CEO tenure, CEO centrality, founder status, and high CEO ownership cannot explain these results. Overall, these findings are difficult to reconcile with the view that managerial power is the primary determinant of CEO compensation.
Feature Selection for Social Media Data
Authors: Tang Jiliang , Liu Huan
Published: November 2014

Feature selection is widely used in preparing high-dimensional data for effective data mining. The explosive popularity of social media produces massive and high-dimensional data at an unprecedented rate, presenting new challenges to feature selection. Social media data consists of (1) traditional high-dimensional, attribute-value data such as posts, tweets, comments, and images, and (2) linked data that provides social context for posts and describes the relationships between social media users as well as who generates the posts, and so on. The nature of social media also determines that its data is massive, noisy, and incomplete, which exacerbates the already challenging problem of feature selection. In this article, we study a novel feature selection problem of selecting features for social media data with its social context. In detail, we illustrate the differences between attribute-value data and social media data, investigate if linked data can be exploited in a new feature selection framework by taking advantage of social science theories. We design and conduct experiments on datasets from real-world social media Web sites, and the empirical results demonstrate that the proposed framework can significantly improve the performance of feature selection. Further experiments are conducted to evaluate the effects of user--user and user--post relationships manifested in linked data on feature selection, and research issues for future work will be discussed.
Agility and Performance in Elastic Distributed Storage
Authors: Xu Lianghong , Cipar James , Krevat Elie , Tumanov Alexey , Gupta Nitin , Kozuch Michael A. , Ganger Gregory R.
Published: November 2014

Elastic storage systems can be expanded or contracted to meet current demand, allowing servers to be turned off or used for other tasks. However, the usefulness of an elastic distributed storage system is limited by its agility: how quickly it can increase or decrease its number of servers. Due to the large amount of data they must migrate during elastic resizing, state of the art designs usually have to make painful trade-offs among performance, elasticity, and agility.

This article describes the state of the art in elastic storage and a new system, called SpringFS, that can quickly change its number of active servers, while retaining elasticity and performance goals. SpringFS uses a novel technique, termed
bounded write offloading
, that restricts the set of servers where writes to overloaded servers are redirected. This technique, combined with the read offloading and passive migration policies used in SpringFS, minimizes the work needed before deactivation or activation of servers. Analysis of real-world traces from Hadoop deployments at Facebook and various Cloudera customers and experiments with the SpringFS prototype confirm SpringFS’s agility, show that it reduces the amount of data migrated for elastic resizing by up to two orders of magnitude, and show that it cuts the percentage of active servers required by 67--82%, outdoing state-of-the-art designs by 6--120%.
Low Back Pain in Primary Care: A Description of 1250 Patients with Low Back Pain in Danish General and Chiropractic Practice
Authors: Hestbaek Lise , Munck Anders , Hartvigsen Lisbeth , Jarbøl Dorte Ejg , Søndergaard Jens , Kongsted Alice
Published: November 2014

Study Design. Baseline description of a multicenter cohort study. Objective. To describe patients with low back pain (LBP) in both chiropractic and general practice in Denmark. Background. To optimize standards of care in the primary healthcare sector, detailed knowledge of the patient populations in different settings is needed. In Denmark, most LBP-patients access primary healthcare through chiropractic or general practice. Methods. Chiropractors and general practitioners recruited adult patients seeking care for LBP. Extensive baseline questionnaires were obtained and descriptive analyses presented separately for general and chiropractic practice patients, Mann-Whitney rank sum test and Pearson’s chi-square test, were used to test for differences between the two populations. Results. Questionnaires were returned from 934 patients in chiropractic practice and 319 patients from general practice. Four out of five patients had had previous episodes, one-fourth were on sick leave, and the LBP considerably limited daily activities. The general practice patients were slightly older and less educated, more often females, and generally worse on all disease-related parameters than chiropractic patients. All differences were statistically significant. Conclusions. LBP in primary care was recurrent, causing sick leave and activity limitations. There were clear differences between the chiropractic and general practice populations in this study.
Dermoglandular Rotation Flaps for Breast-Conserving Therapy: Aesthetic Results, Patient Satisfaction, and Morbidity in Comparison to Standard Segmentectomy
Authors: Hille-Betz Ursula , Vaske Bernhard , Henseler Helga , Soergel Philipp , Kundu Sudip , Makowski Lars , Schelcher Sophia , Wojcinski Sebastian , Hillemanns Peter
Published: November 2014

We compared a dermoglandular rotation flap (DGR) in the upper inner, lower inner, and upper outer quadrant regarding similar aesthetic results, patient satisfaction, and comfort after breast-conserving therapy with standard segmentectomy (SE). Between 2003 and 2011, 69 patients were treated with breast-conserving surgery using DGR for cancers with high tumor-to-breast volume ratios or skin resection in the three above mentioned quadrants; 161 patients with tumors in the same quadrants were treated with SE. The outcome of the procedures was assessed at least 7 months after completed radiation therapy using a patient and breast surgeon questionnaire and the BCCT.core software. Symmetry, visibility of the scars, the position of the nipple-areola complex, and the appearance of the treated breast were each assessed on a scale from 1 to 4 by an expert panel and by the patients. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to evaluate the relationship between patient-, tumor-, and treatment-dependent factors and patient satisfaction. 94.2% of the patients with rotation flaps and 83.5% of the patients with lumpectomy were very satisfied with the cosmetic appearance of their breast. Younger patient age was significantly associated with a lower degree of satisfaction. DGR provides good cosmetic results compared with SE and shows high patient satisfaction despite longer scarring and higher median resection volume.
Integrating SOMs and a Bayesian Classifier for Segmenting Diseased Plants in Uncontrolled Environments
Authors: Hernández-Rabadán Deny Lizbeth , Ramos-Quintana Fernando , Guerrero Juk Julian
Published: November 2014

This work presents a methodology that integrates a nonsupervised learning approach (self-organizing map (SOM)) and a supervised one (a Bayesian classifier) for segmenting diseased plants that grow in uncontrolled environments such as greenhouses, wherein the lack of control of illumination and presence of background bring about serious drawbacks. During the training phase two SOMs are used: one that creates color groups of images, which are classified into two groups usingK-means and labeled as vegetation and nonvegetation by using rules, and a second SOM that corrects classification errors made by the first SOM. Two color histograms are generated from the two color classes and used to estimate the conditional probabilities of the Bayesian classifier. During the testing phase an input image is segmented by the Bayesian classifier and then it is converted into a binary image, wherein contours are extracted and analyzed to recover diseased areas that were incorrectly classified as nonvegetation. The experimental results using the proposed methodology showed better performance than two of the most used color index methods.
SVM Based Event Detection and Identification: Exploiting Temporal Attribute Correlations Using SensGru
Authors: Shahid Nauman , Naqvi Ijaz Haider , Bin Qaisar Saad
Published: November 2014

In the context of anomaly detection in cyber physical systems (CPS), spatiotemporal correlations are crucial for
high detection rate. This work presents a new quarter sphere support vector machine (QS‐SVM) formulation based
on the novel concept of attribute correlations. Our event detection approach, SensGru, groups multiple sensors on
a single node and thus eliminates communication between sensor nodes without compromising the advantages of
spatial correlation. It makes use of temporal‐attribute (TA) correlations and is thus a TA‐QS‐SVM formulation.
We show analytically that SensGru (or interchangeably TA‐QS‐SVM) results in a reduced node density and gives
the same event detection performance as more dense Spatiotemporal-Attribute Quarter-Sphere SVM (STA-QS-SVM)
formulation which exploits both spatiotemporal and attribute correlations. Moreover, this paper develops theoretical bounds on the internode distance, the optimal number of sensors, and the sensing range with SensGru so that the performance difference with SensGru and STA‐QS‐SVM is negligibly small. Both schemes achieve event detection
rates as high as 100% and an extremely low false positive rate.
What Happens in a 5-Year Follow-Up of Benign Thyroid Nodules
Authors: Negro Roberto
Published: November 2014

To determine an optimal time for follow-up of benign thyroid nodules, we retrospectively evaluated 249 euthyroid patients with uni-multinodular goiter, who underwent annual visit, and significant events that occurred in 5 years’ time were registered. A significant event (appearance of new nodule, increase of nodule diameter >50%, appearance of compressive symptoms, thyroidectomy, repetition of FNA on the same nodule, and execution of FNA on new nodule) occurred in 26.1% of patients, with more than one event occurring in the same patient in 27.7% of cases. The majority of events (71.9%) were observed at 24- and 36-month follow-up visit. These results suggest that a patient diagnosed with benign nodular goiter may be safely followed-up at a 2-3-year interval time.
Ultrasound Thickness of Bladder Wall in Continent and Incontinent Women and Its Correlation with Cystometry
Authors: Otsuki Edney Norio , Araujo Júnior Edward , Oliveira Emerson , Sartori Marair Gracio Ferreira , Girão Manoel João Batista Castelo , Jármy-Di Bella Zsuzsanna Ilona Katalin
Published: November 2014

Objective. To compare bladder wall thickness in two kinds of urinary incontinent women—stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and overactive bladder (OAB) with urodynamic detrusor overactivity (DO), and to compare them with continent patients by ultrasound, also, correlate with cystometric results in incontinent women.Methods. 91 women were divided into the following groups: continent(n=31), SUI(n=30), and DO(n=30)groups after clinical evaluation and urodynamic test (only in incontinent women). Transvaginal ultrasound was performed to the bladder wall thickness (BWT) measurement. The mean of BWT was calculated and data were analyzed with ANOVA and Turkey’s multiple comparison tests. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) was used to compare two variables. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to study BWT as a diagnostic parameter.Results. BWT in DO group was significantly higher than that in the other groups(P<0.005). A moderate positive correlation was found between BWT and maximum bladder pressure during involuntary bladder contraction. There was no difference in BWT between SUI and continent groups. DO group had lower first desire to void and cystometric capacity. Maximum bladder pressure at detrusor contraction had a moderate positive correlation with BWT. The ROC revealed an area under the curve of 0.962 (95% CI, 0.90–1.01).Conclusions. DO patients have increased bladder wall thickness, lower first desire to void, and lower cystometric capacity. There was a moderate correlation between BWT and maximum bladder pressure during involuntary bladder contraction.
A Copula‐Based Method for Estimating Shear Strength Parameters of Rock Mass
Authors: Huang Da , Yang Chao , Zeng Bin , Fu Guoyang
Published: November 2014

The shear strength parameters (i.e., the internal friction coefficient f and cohesion c) are very important in rock engineering, especially for the stability analysis and reinforcement design of slopes and underground caverns. In this paper, a probabilistic method, Copula‐based method, is proposed for estimating the shear strength parameters of rock mass. The optimal Copula functions between rock mass quality Q and f, Q and c for the marbles are established based on the correlation analyses of the results of 12 sets of in situ tests in the exploration adits of Jinping I‐Stage Hydropower Station. Although the Copula functions are derived from the in situ tests for the marbles, they can be extended to be applied to other types of rock mass with similar geological and mechanical properties. For another 9 sets of in situ tests as an extensional application, by comparison with the results from Hoek‐Brown criterion, the estimated values of f and c from the Copula‐based method achieve better accuracy. Therefore, the proposed Copula‐based method is an effective tool in estimating rock strength parameters.
High Accuracy Attitude Control System Design for Satellite with Flexible Appendages
Authors: Zhou Wenya , Wang Haixu , Ruan Zhengwei , Wu Zhigang , Wang Enmei
Published: November 2014

In order to realize the high accuracy attitude control of satellite with flexible appendages, attitude control system consisting of the controller and structural filter was designed. When the low order vibration frequency of flexible appendages is approximating the bandwidth of attitude control system, the vibration signal will enter the control system through measurement device to bring impact on the accuracy or even the stability. In order to reduce the impact of vibration of appendages on the attitude control system, the structural filter is designed in terms of rejecting the vibration of flexible appendages. Considering the potential problem of in‐orbit frequency variation of the flexible appendages, the design method for the adaptive notch filter is proposed based on the in‐orbit identification technology. Finally, the simulation results are given to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed design techniques.
Cadmium and Lead in Blood Cockle (Anadara granosa) from Asajaya, Sarawak, Malaysia
Authors: Hossen Md. Faruk , Hamdan Sinin , Rahman Md. Rezaur
Published: November 2014

The concentrations were ranged from1.35±0.16to2.22±0.34 µg/g (dry weight) and2.65±0.34to4.36±0.53 µg/g (dry weight) for Cd and Pb, respectively, in blood cockleAnadara granosafrom four sites of Sabang River, namely, Kampung Sambir, Kampung Tambirat, Beliong Temple, and Kampung Tanjung Apong, which are located at Asajaya, Sarawak, Malaysia. All values exceeded safety limits set by Malaysian Food Regulation (1985). It may be the cause of serious human health problems after long term consumption. Thus, consumer should have consciousness about such type of seafood from mentioned sites and need further investigation.
Some Aggregation Operators Based on Einstein Operations under Interval‐Valued Dual Hesitant Fuzzy Setting and Their Application
Authors: Zhang Wenkai , Li Xia , Ju Yanbing
Published: November 2014

We investigate the multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problems in which attribute values take the form of interval‐valued dual hesitant fuzzy information. Firstly, some operational laws for interval‐valued dual hesitation fuzzy elements (IVDHFEs) based on Einstein operations are developed. Then we develop some aggregation operators based on Einstein operations: the interval‐valued dual hesitant fuzzy Einstein weighted averaging (IVDHFEWA) operator, interval‐valued dual hesitant fuzzy Einstein ordered weighted averaging (IVDHFEOWA) operator, interval‐valued dual hesitant fuzzy Einstein hybrid averaging (IVDHFEHA) operator, interval‐valued dual hesitant fuzzy Einstein weighted geometric (IVDHFEWG) operator, interval‐valued dual hesitant fuzzy Einstein ordered weighted geometric (IVDHFEOWG) operator, and interval‐valued dual hesitant fuzzy Einstein hybrid geometric (IVDHFEHG) operator. Furthermore, we discuss some desirable properties of these operators, and investigate the relationship between the developed operators and the existing ones. Based on the IVDHFEWA operator, an approach to MADM problems is proposed under the interval‐valued dual hesitant fuzzy environment. Finally, a numerical example is given to show the application of the developed method, and a comparison analysis is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Psychiatric Symptoms due to Thyroid Disease in a Female Adolescent
Authors: Capetillo-Ventura Nelly , Baeza Inmaculada
Published: November 2014

The hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis is involved in the production of thyroid hormone which is needed to maintain the normal functioning of various organs and systems, including the central nervous system. This study reports a case of hypothyroidism in a fifteen-year-old female adolescent who was attended for psychiatric symptoms. This case reveals the importance of evaluating thyroid function in children and adolescents with neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Effect of Suction/Injection on Unsteady Hydromagnetic Convective Flow of Reactive Viscous Fluid between Vertical Porous Plates with Thermal Diffusion
Authors: Uwanta I. J. , Hamza M. M.
Published: November 2014

An investigation is performed to study the effect of suction/injection on unsteady hydromagnetic natural convection flow of viscous reactive fluid between two vertical porous plates in the presence of thermal diffusion. The partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using semi-implicit finite-difference scheme. For steady case, analytical solutions have been derived using perturbation series method. Suction/injection is used to control the fluid flow in the channel, and an exothermic chemical reaction of Arrhenius kinetic is considered. Numerical results are presented graphically and discussed quantitatively with respect to various parameters embedded in the problem.
Twist1 Is a Key Regulator of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts
Authors: Lee Keun-Woo , Yeo So-Young , Sung Chang Ohk , Kim Seok-Hyung
Published: November 2014

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are key contributors to malignant progression, but their critical regulators remain largely unknown. In this study, we examined the role of Twist1, a central regulator of epithelial–mesenchymal transition in carcinoma cells, in the transdifferentiation of normal quiescent fibroblasts to CAF and we defined its upstream controls and downstream effectors. Primary human gastric fibroblast and CAF cultures were established from gastrectomy specimens and validated as nontumor cells by somatic mutation analyses. In these cultures, exposure to the proinflammatory cytokine IL6 commonly expressed in tumors was sufficient to induce Twist1 expression in normal fibroblasts and transdifferentiate them into CAFs via STAT3 phosphorylation. In xenograft models, tumor infiltration of Twist1-expressing CAFs was enhanced strongly by ectopic IL6 expression in gastric or breast cancer cells. We found that Twist1 expression was necessary and sufficient for CAF transdifferentiation. Enforced expression of Twist1 in normal fibroblasts was also sufficient to drive CAF marker expression and malignant character in gastric cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, silencing the expression of Twist1 in CAFs abrogated their tumor-promoting properties. Downstream of Twist1, we defined the chemokine CXCL12 as a transcriptional target. Clinically, CXCL12 and Twist1 expression were correlated in CAFs present in gastric tumor specimens. Finally, ectopic expression of Twist1 in normal fibroblasts suppressed premature senescence, whereas Twist1 attenuation accelerated senescence in CAFs. Our findings define Twist1 as a compelling target to deprogram the tumor-supporting features of the cancer microenvironment. Cancer Res; 75(1); 73–85. ©2014 AACR.
Targeting of miR34a–NOTCH1 Axis Reduced Breast Cancer Stemness and Chemoresistance
Authors: Park Eun Young , Chang EunSun , Lee Eun Ji , Lee Hyun-Woo , Kang Hyeok-Gu , Chun Kyung-Hee , Woo Yu Mi , Kong Hyun Kyung , Ko Je Yeong , Suzuki Hiromu , Song Erwei , Park Jong Hoon
Published: November 2014

Human breast cancers include cancer stem cell populations as well as nontumorigenic cancer cells. Breast cancer stem cells have self-renewal capability and are resistant to conventional chemotherapy. miRNAs regulate the expression of many target genes; therefore, dysregulation of miRNAs has been associated with the pathogenesis of human diseases, including cancer. However, a role for miRNA dysregulation in stemness and drug resistance has yet to be identified. Members of the miR34 family are reportedly tumor-suppressor miRNAs and are associated with various human cancers. Our results confirm that miR34a expression was downregulated in MCF7/ADR cells compared with MCF7 cells. We hypothesized that this reduction was due to the p53 (TP53) mutation in MCF7/ADR cells. In this study, we found that primary and mature miR34a were suppressed by treatment with p53 RNAi or the dominant-negative p53 mutant in MCF7 cells. Ectopic miR34a expression reduced cancer stem cell properties and increased sensitivity to doxorubicin treatment by directly targeting NOTCH1. Furthermore, tumors from nude mice treated with miR34a were significantly smaller compared with those of mice treated with control lentivirus. Our research suggests that the ectopic expression of miR34a represents a novel therapeutic approach in chemoresistant breast cancer treatment. Cancer Res; 74(24); 7573–82. ©2014 AACR.
The Tyrosine Kinase Adaptor Protein FRS2 Is Oncogenic and Amplified in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Luo Leo Y. , Kim Eejung , Cheung Hiu Wing , Weir Barbara A. , Dunn Gavin P. , Shen Rhine R. , Hahn William C.
Published: November 2014

High-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGSOC) are characterized by widespread recurrent regions of copy-number gain and loss. Here, we interrogated 50 genes that are recurrently amplified in HGSOC and essential for cancer proliferation and survival in ovarian cancer cell lines. FRS2 is one of the 50 genes located on chromosomal region 12q15 that is focally amplified in 12.5% of HGSOC. We found that FRS2-amplified cancer cell lines are dependent on FRS2 expression, and that FRS2 overexpression in immortalized human cell lines conferred the ability to grow in an anchorage-independent manner and as tumors in immunodeficient mice. FRS2, an adaptor protein in the FGFR pathway, induces downstream activation of the Ras–MAPK pathway. These observations identify FRS2 as an oncogene in a subset of HGSOC that harbor FRS2 amplifications.

Implications: These studies identify FRS2 as an amplified oncogene in a subset of HGSOC. FRS2 expression is essential to ovarian cancer cells that harbor 12q15 amplification. Mol Cancer Res; 13(3); 502–9. ©2014 AACR.
The Effects of Tympanomastoid Paragangliomas on Hearing and the Audiological Outcomes after Surgery over a Long-Term Follow-Up
Authors: Medina Marimar , Prasad Sampath Chandra , Patnaik Uma , Lauda Lorenzo , Di Lella Filippo , De Donato Giuseppe , Russo Alessandra , Sanna Mario
Published: November 2014

The primary goals of surgery of tympanomastoid paragangliomas (TMPs) are tumor eradication and hearing preservation. Though the surgical management of TMPs has been dealt with widely in the literature, the effects of TMPs themselves on preoperative hearing and the audiological outcomes after surgery have not been analyzed in detail. This article comprehensively evaluates the preoperative hearing and the long-term hearing outcomes after surgery of TMPs. This study is based on a study population of 145 patients which is the largest reported in the literature. The surgical approaches for all patients with TMPs were formulated according to an algorithm developed by the authors. Complete tumor removal with excellent hearing results can be achieved by approaching the tumor classes by the right surgical technique. TMPs could possibly induce sensorineural hearing loss in higher frequencies, and future studies could be directed towards this.
Combined Chelation Therapy with Daily Oral Deferiprone and Twice-Weekly Subcutaneous Infusion of Desferrioxamine in Children with β-Thalassemia: 3-Year Experience
Authors: Songdej Duantida , Sirachainan Nongnuch , Wongwerawattanakoon Pakawan , Sasanakul Werasak , Kadegasem Praguywan , Sungkarat Witaya , Chuansumrit Ampaiwan
Published: November 2014

Objective: To study the efficacy of combined treatment with oral and subcutaneous iron chelators. Material and Methods: 50-100 mg/kg/day of oral deferiprone (DFP) combined with 40 mg/kg/dose s.c. desferrioxamine (DFO) twice weekly were given to transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia children. Results: Enrolled patients (9 with β-thalassemia major and 33 with β-thalassemia hemoglobin E), ranging from 3 to 18 years in age, were divided into 3 groups; group 1 ferritin ≥1,000-2,500 ng/ml (n = 10), group 2 ferritin >2,500-4,000 ng/ml (n = 23) and group 3 ferritin >4,000 ng/ml (n = 9). Of the 42 patients, 28 reached the 36-month follow-up. Ten patients whose ferritin declined <15% while receiving 100 mg/kg/day of DFP were considered nonresponders. The median age and previous transfusion duration before enrollment were significantly higher in nonresponders than responders (p = 0.04 and 0.003, respectively). The responders exhibited a significant fall in median ferritin levels from 2,954.6 to 936.6 ng/ml (p < 0.001). Time to a significant decrease in serum ferritin among responders was 6 months. In 13 patients, 16 episodes of adverse events occurred: hemophagocytosis with cytopenia (n = 1), neutropenia (n = 2), thrombocytopenia (n = 2), elevated alanine aminotransferase (n = 5), elevated serum creatinine (n = 1), proteinuria (n = 1) and gastrointestinal discomfort (n = 4). Conclusion: Combination therapy with daily oral DFP and subcutaneous DFO twice weekly is a safe and effective alternative to chelation monotherapy in β-thalassemia children. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel
Sleepiness and Performance Is Disproportionate in Patients with Non-Organic Hypersomnia in Comparison to Patients with Narcolepsy and Mild to Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Authors: Kofmel Nicole C. , Schmitt Wolfgang J. , Hess Christian W. , Gugger Matthias , Mathis Johannes
Published: November 2014

Background/Aims: Clinical differentiation between organic hypersomnia and non-organic hypersomnia (NOH) is challenging. We aimed to determine the diagnostic value of sleepiness and performance tests in patients with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) of organic and non-organic origin. Methods: We conducted a retrospective comparison of the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), pupillography, and the Steer Clear performance test in three patient groups complaining of EDS: 19 patients with NOH, 23 patients with narcolepsy (NAR), and 46 patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). Results: As required by the inclusion criteria, all patients had Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) scores >10. The mean sleep latency in the MSLT indicated mild objective sleepiness in NOH (8.1 ± 4.0 min) and OSAS (7.2 ± 4.1 min), but more severe sleepiness in NAR (2.5 ± 2.0 min). The difference between NAR and the other two groups was significant; the difference between NOH and OSAS was not. In the Steer Clear performance test, NOH patients performed worst (error rate = 10.4%) followed by NAR (8.0%) and OSAS patients (5.9%; p = 0.008). The difference between OSAS and the other two groups was significant, but not between NOH and NAR. The pupillary unrest index was found to be highest in NAR (11.5) followed by NOH (9.2) and OSAS (7.4; n.s.). Conclusion: A high error rate in the Steer Clear performance test along with mild sleepiness in an objective sleepiness test (MSLT) in a patient with subjective sleepiness (ESS) is suggestive of NOH. This disproportionately high error rate in NOH may be caused by factors unrelated to sleep pressure, such as anergia, reduced attention and motivation affecting performance, but not conventional sleepiness measurements.
Role of the MAPKs/TGF-β1/TRAF6 Signaling Pathway in Atrial Fibrosis of Patients with Chronic Atrial Fibrillation and Rheumatic Mitral Valve Disease
Authors: Zhang Daoliang , Liu Xu , Chen Xiaoqing , Gu Jun , Li Feng , Zhang Wei , Zheng Yue
Published: November 2014

Objective: Atrial remodeling is involved in atrial fibrillation (AF), and atrial fibrosis is an important marker of atrial remodeling. On the basis of our previous animal studies of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs)/transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1)/tumor necrosis factor pathway in atrial fibrosis, we undertook investigation of this signaling pathway in atrial fibrosis of patients with chronic AF (CAF) and rheumatic mitral valve disease. Methods: Fifty-six rheumatic mitral valve disease patients were divided into CAF (course of AF >12 months) and sinus rhythm (SR) groups. Left atrial appendage tissue was collected during heart surgery, and pathological examination was done to evaluate atrial fibrosis. Protein and mRNA expression of TGF-β1, TRAF6 and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and protein expression of phosphorylated MAPKs and TGF-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) were measured. Results: Histological examination revealed that the severity of atrial fibrosis in CAF patients was significantly higher, mRNA and protein expression of TGF-β1, TRAF6 and CTGF in CAF were significantly increased, and the protein expression of phosphorylated MAPKs and TAK1 was significantly increased in CAF compared to SR patients. Conclusion: The MAPKs/TGF-β1/TRAF6 signaling pathway is involved in atrial fibrosis of CAF patients, and TRAF6 may become a new target for the treatment of atrial fibrosis.
Neural Stem Cells in the Immature, but Not the Mature, Subventricular Zone Respond Robustly to Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Goodus Matthew T. , Guzman Alanna M. , Calderon Frances , Jiang Yuhui , Levison Steven W.
Published: November 2014

Pediatric traumatic brain injury is a significant problem that affects many children each year. Progress is being made in developing neuroprotective strategies to combat these injuries. However, investigators are a long way from therapies to fully preserve injured neurons and glia. To restore neurological function, regenerative strategies will be required. Given the importance of stem cells in repairing damaged tissues and the known persistence of neural precursors in the subventricular zone (SVZ), we evaluated regenerative responses of the SVZ to a focal brain lesion. As tissues repair more slowly with aging, injury responses of male Sprague Dawley rats at 6, 11, 17, and 60 days of age and C57Bl/6 mice at 14 days of age were compared. In the injured immature animals, cell proliferation in the dorsolateral SVZ more than doubled by 48 h. By contrast, the proliferative response was almost undetectable in the adult brain. Three approaches were used to assess the relative numbers of bona fide neural stem cells, as follows: the neurosphere assay (on rats injured at postnatal day 11, P11), flow cytometry using a novel 4-marker panel (on mice injured at P14) and staining for stem/progenitor cell markers in the niche (on rats injured at P17). Precursors from the injured immature SVZ formed almost twice as many spheres as precursors from uninjured age-matched brains. Furthermore, spheres formed from the injured brain were larger, indicating that the neural precursors that formed these spheres divided more rapidly. Flow cytometry revealed a 2-fold increase in the percentage of stem cells, a 4-fold increase in multipotential progenitor-3 cells and a 2.5-fold increase in glial-restricted progenitor-2/multipotential-3 cells. Analogously, there was a 2-fold increase in the mitotic index of nestin+/Mash1- immunoreactive cells within the immediately subependymal region. As the early postnatal SVZ is predominantly generating glial cells, an expansion of precursors might not necessarily lead to the production of many new neurons. On the contrary, many BrdU+/doublecortin+ cells were observed streaming out of the SVZ into the neocortex 2 weeks after injuries to P11 rats. However, very few new mature neurons were seen adjacent to the lesion 28 days after injury. Altogether, these data indicate that immature SVZ cells mount a more robust proliferative response to a focal brain injury than adult cells, which includes an expansion of stem cells, primitive progenitors and neuroblasts. Nonetheless, this regenerative response does not result in significant neuronal replacement, indicating that new strategies need to be implemented to retain the regenerated neurons and glia that are being produced.
17-Hydroxyprogesterone Caproate Significantly Improves Clinical Characteristics of Preeclampsia in the Reduced Uterine Perfusion Pressure Rat Model
Authors: Amaral Lorena M. , Cornelius Denise C. , Harmon Ashlyn , Moseley Janae , Martin James N. , LaMarca Babbette
Published: November 2014

Preeclampsia is characterized by increased uterine artery resistance index, chronic immune activation, and decreased circulating nitric oxide levels. 17-α-Hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC) is a synthetic metabolite of progesterone used for the prevention of recurrent preterm birth. We hypothesized that 17-OHPC could reduce mean arterial pressure by decreasing inflammation, whereas improving vasodilation by increasing nitric oxide bioavailability and uterine artery resistance index during late gestation in the reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) rat model of preeclampsia. 17-OHPC (3.32 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally administered on gestation day 18 into RUPP rats, carotid catheters inserted, and mean arterial pressure, blood, and tissues were collected on day 19. Mean arterial pressure in normal pregnant (NP; n=13) was 92±2.0 and increased to123±2.0 in RUPP (n=18;
P
<0.0001), which was improved to 116±1.5 mm Hg in RUPP+17-OHPC (n=10;
P
<0.05). Circulating CD4+ T cells were 1.19%±1.0% of gated cells in NP (n=7), which increased to 8.52%±2.4% in RUPP rats (n=10;
P
<0.05) but was reduced to 2.72%±0.87% (n=14;
P
<0.05) in RUPP+17-OHPC. Circulating nitrate/nitrite was 26.34±3.5 µmol/L in NP (n=12) but was reduced to14.58±3.1 in RUPP rats (n=8;
P
=0.03) and increased to 22.69±1.62 in RUPP+17-OHPC (n=7;
P
=0.05). Endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression was 0.65±0.11 AU in NP (n=4), which decreased to 0.33±0.01 in RUPP rats (n=4;
P
=0.05) but increased to 0.57±0.01 in RUPP+17-OHPC (n=5;
P
=0.03). Uterine artery resistance index was 0.54±0.02 in NP (n=3), 0.78±0.03 in RUPP (n=4), and 0.63±0.038 in RUPP+17-OHPC (n=8; both
P
<0.05). Our findings demonstrate that even though modest, lowering blood pressure with 17-OHPC could be a viable treatment option for suppressing inflammation, uterine artery vasoconstriction while improving litter size.
IgG Receptor FcγRIIB Plays a Key Role in Obesity-Induced Hypertension
Authors: Sundgren Nathan C. , Vongpatanasin Wanpen , Boggan Brigid-Meghan D. , Tanigaki Keiji , Yuhanna Ivan S. , Chambliss Ken L. , Mineo Chieko , Shaul Philip W.
Published: November 2014

There is a well-recognized association between obesity, inflammation, and hypertension. Why obesity causes hypertension is poorly understood. We previously demonstrated using a C-reactive protein (CRP) transgenic mouse that CRP induces hypertension that is related to NO deficiency. Our prior work in cultured endothelial cells identified the Fcγ receptor IIB (FcγRIIB) as the receptor for CRP whereby it antagonizes endothelial NO synthase. Recognizing known associations between CRP and obesity and hypertension in humans, in the present study we tested the hypothesis that FcγRIIB plays a role in obesity-induced hypertension in mice. Using radiotelemetry, we first demonstrated that the hypertension observed in transgenic mouse-CRP is mediated by the receptor, indicating that FcγRIIB is capable of modifying blood pressure. We then discovered in a model of diet-induced obesity yielding equal adiposity in all study groups that whereas FcγRIIB
+/+
mice developed obesity-induced hypertension, FcγRIIB
−/−
mice were fully protected. Levels of CRP, the related pentraxin serum amyloid P component which is the CRP-equivalent in mice, and total IgG were unaltered by diet-induced obesity; FcγRIIB expression in endothelium was also unchanged. However, whereas IgG isolated from chow-fed mice had no effect, IgG from high-fat diet–fed mice inhibited endothelial NO synthase in cultured endothelial cells, and this was an FcγRIIB-dependent process. Thus, we have identified a novel role for FcγRIIB in the pathogenesis of obesity-induced hypertension, independent of processes regulating adiposity, and it may entail an IgG-induced attenuation of endothelial NO synthase function. Approaches targeting FcγRIIB may potentially offer new means to treat hypertension in obese individuals.
Don’t Look for the Blade: Joumana Haddad, Autobiography, and Living on the Edge
Authors: Knight Lucie
Published: November 2014

In one of her most recent publications,I Killed Scheherazadethe Lebanese writer and poet Joumana Haddad dares to put an end to one of the world’s most well-known Middle Eastern literary figures. For Haddad, this centuries-old literary figure no longer represents the reality of Arab women. At the same time, Haddad recognizes something of herself in Scheherazade. As this study demonstrates, both women tell stories in order to keep the violence of their lives at a distance. Depersonalizing her story “Living it Up (and Down) in Beirut” through multiple narrators and sources and eventually deconstructing its plausibility, Haddad manages to avoid revealing her own experience. In the process, she raises an important question about the civil war, does returning to its memory actually aid in healing its scars or just reopen old wounds?
Counter Fictions and Imaginary Topographies: Auto/Biographical Methodologies and the Construction of Group Knowledge in Evelyn Shakir’s Bint Arab: Arab and Arab American Women in the United States
Authors: LaRose Christina Najla
Published: November 2014

In this contribution, I identify two of Evelyn Shakir’s methodological contributions inBint Arab: Arab and Arab American Women in the United States: counter fictions and imaginary topographies. First, I demonstrate how Shakir’s counter fictions complicate Nancy Hartsock’s (1997) argument that group knowledge is locatable in time, space and particular cultures. Second, I explore how Shakir’s imaginary topographies which are depicted through an autobiographical narrative voice—an intergenerational interlocutor—document movements between multiple voices and various actual and imagined locations. Shakir’s methodologies make important contributions to our understanding of Arab women’s diasporic experiences, feminist standpoint theory and women of color feminisms. Moreover, Shakir’s multivocal interdisciplinary narratives establish methodological parameters for the emerging field of Arab American Women’s Studies.
Recent Framework Agreements for the Recognition and Development of Transboundary Hydrocarbon Resources
Authors: Bankes Nigel
Published: November 2014

Hydrocarbon accumulations straddle international boundaries and maritime zones. Historically states dealt with this reality by negotiating unity-of-deposit clauses in maritime delimitation agreements, followed by specific agreements upon the discovery of a straddling deposit. A more recent trend is to negotiate framework agreements which are designed to put in place a set of procedures for dealing with the discovery and exploitation of transboundary hydrocarbon resources. This paper examines selected aspects of five recent framework agreements.
Regulating Offshore Energy Sources in the North Sea—Reinventing the Wheel or a Need for More Coordination?
Authors: Müller Hannah Katharina , Roggenkamp Martha M.
Published: November 2014

In this article we examine the legal frameworks for developing oil, gas and wind energy in the North Sea. We discuss whether there are parallels to be seen and lessons to be learned from these different sectors and suggest that experience in the offshore petroleum sector could be used to improve the evolving legal regimes for offshore wind energy. For this purpose, we first examine the legal basis for offshore activities under the international law of the sea. Subsequently, we discuss the regulation of oil and gas exploitation and the regulation of offshore wind energy. We focus in particular on the way in which energy sources are transported to shore via pipelines and cables. We consider whether comparable decisions have been made when establishing a legal regime for offshore wind and whether lessons could still be learned. This is particularly relevant for the future when the production of offshore wind energy and the production of petroleum need to be coordinated, and when sizable amounts of offshore wind energy will be integrated into the (offshore) transmission grid.
“Forging Ahead” in Banes, Cuba
Authors: Sullivan Frances Peace
Published: November 2014

In the early 1920s, British West Indians in Banes, Cuba, built one of the world’s most successful branches of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in the heart of the world-famous United Fruit Company’s sugar-export enclave in Cuba. This article explores the day-to-day function of the UNIA in Banes in order to investigate closely the relationship between British West Indian migration and Garveysim and, in particular, between Garvey’s movement and powerful employers of mobile West Indian labor. It finds that the movement achieved great success in Banes (and in other company towns) by meeting the very specific needs of its members as black workers laboring in sites of U.S. hegemony. Crucially, the UNIA survived, and even thrived, in a company town by taking a pragmatic approach to its dealings with the company.
A new species of Mimosa (Leguminosae) from Brazil
Authors: Jordão Lucas Sá Barreto , Morim Marli Pires , Baumgratz José Fernando Andrade
Published: November 2014

A new species of Mimosa is described from the Atlantic Rainforest and ecotone with the Cerrado of southeastern Brazil, in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo: M. porrecta L. Jordão, M.P. Morim & Baumgratz (Leguminosae). Related to M. sensitiva, it shares morphological affinities with this species but differs in having porrect-stellate trichomes, a new type of trichome for the genus, on the stems, and the dendritic trichomes in the fruits. The conservation status was assessed, according to IUCN criteria, as Least Concern.
Korean species of the genus Perlomyia Banks, 1906 (Plecoptera: Leuctridae)
Authors: MURÁNYI DÁVID , JEON MI JEONG , HWANG JEONG MI , SEO HONG YUL
Published: November 2014

Eight species of the genus Perlomyia (Plecoptera: Leuctridae) are reported from Korea, six are new records for the Korean Peninsula. Two species, known only as unassociated females are described under informal unnamed designations. Previous Korean records are discussed, taxonomic characters of the Korean specimens and Korean distribution are presented for these species. Zoogeographic notes on the Asian Perlomyia are also given.
A new species of porcelain crab, Petrolisthes tuerkayi n. sp. (Crustacea: Anomura: Porcellanidae), from the Persian Gulf
Authors: NADERLOO REZA , APEL MICHAEL
Published: November 2014

A new species of porcellanid crab, Petrolisthes tuerkayi n. sp., is described from the Persian Gulf. The new species is closely related to P. rufescens Heller, 1861, but is easily distinguishable by having three or four large spines distally on the posterior margin of the carpus of chelipeds, whereas the posterior margin of the cheliped merus in P. rufescens is unarmed.
A Decadal-Scale Teleconnection between the North Atlantic Oscillation and Subtropical Eastern Australian Rainfall
Authors: Sun Cheng , Li Jianping , Feng Juan , Xie Fei
Published: November 2014

The time series of twentieth-century subtropical eastern Australian rainfall (SEAR) shows evident fluctuations over decadal to multidecadal time scales. Using observations from the period 1900–2013, it was found that SEAR is connected to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) over decadal time scales, with the NAO leading by around 15 yr. The physical mechanism underlying this relationship was investigated. The NAO can have a delayed impact on sea surface temperature (SST) fluctuations in the subpolar Southern Ocean (SO), and these SST changes could in turn contribute to the decadal variability in SEAR through their impacts on the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation. This observed lead of the NAO relative to SO SST and the interhemispheric SST seesaw mechanism are reasonably reproduced in a long-term control simulation of an ocean–atmosphere coupled model. The NAO exerts a delayed effect on the variation of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation that further induces seesaw SST anomalies in the subpolar North Atlantic and SO. With evidence that the NAO precedes SEAR decadal variability via a delayed SO bridge, a linear model for SEAR decadal variability was developed by combination of the NAO and Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO). The observed SEAR decadal variability is considerably well simulated by the linear model, and the relationship between the simulation and observation is stable. SEAR over the coming decade may increase slightly, because of the recent NAO weakening and the return of negative PDO phase.