bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Guiding follow-up of paediatric idiopathic intracranial hypertension with optical coherence tomography
Authors: Loo Kai Guo Benny , Lim Su Ann , Lim I-Linn Zena , Chan Derrick Wei Shih
Published: March 2016

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is uncommon in the paediatric population. Papilloedema is the hallmark sign and patients can suffer permanent vision loss as a consequence. We describe the role of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the follow-up of two paediatric patients with newly diagnosed IIH. Patient A presented with vomiting and examination showed ophthalmoplaegia and papilloedema. She was treated with acetazolamide, furosemide and therapeutic lumbar punctures. Patient B presented with incidental papilloedema and was treated with acetazolamide and she reported intermittent headache during follow-up. Fundoscopic examinations for both patients showed persistent blurred disc margins but OCT examinations documented improvement of average retinal nerve fibre layers. OCT may be of value in monitoring for recurrence in paediatric IIH.
Air column beside the trachea
Authors: Hadda Vijay , Kumar Rohit , Madan Karan , Mohan Anant
Published: March 2016

A 60-year-old man, a non-smoker, was referred to us for evaluation of an abnormal chest radiograph that had been taken 2 months earlier when the patient had fever and cough. The fever and cough had subsided after treatment with antibiotics. The patient was asymptomatic at the time of presentation to us. Examination was unremarkable. The chest radiograph showed an air pocket in the right paratracheal region. The diagnosis and differential diagnoses are discussed in this case report.
Adaptation and validation of the Distress Scale for Mexican patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension: a cross-sectional survey
Authors: Martinez-Vega Ingrid Patricia , Doubova Svetlana V , Aguirre-Hernandez Rebeca , Infante-Castañeda Claudia
Published: March 2016

Objectives

The aim of this study was to adapt and validate the Distress Scale for Mexican patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension (DSDH17M).

Setting

Two family medicine clinics affiliated with the Mexican Institute of Social Security.

Participants

722 patients with type 2 diabetes and/or hypertension (235 patients with diabetes, 233 patients with hypertension and 254 patients with both diseases).

Design

A cross-sectional survey.

Methods

The validation procedures included: (1) content validity using a group of experts, (2) construct validity from exploratory factor analysis, (3) internal consistency using Cronbach's α, (4) convergent validity between DSDH17M and anxiety and depression using the Spearman correlation coefficient, (5) discriminative validity through the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and (6) test–retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficient.

Results

The DSDH17M has 17 items and three factors explaining 67% of the total variance. Cronbach α ranged from 0.83 to 0.91 among factors. The first factor of ‘Regime-related Distress and Emotional Burden’ moderately correlated with anxiety and depression scores. Discriminative validity revealed that patients with obesity, those with stressful events and those who did not adhere to pharmacological treatment had significantly higher distress scores in all DSDH17M domains. Test–retest intraclass correlation coefficient for DSDH17M ranged from 0.92 to 0.97 among factors.

Conclusions

DSDH17M is a valid and reliable tool to identify distress of patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
Discovering untapped relationship potential with patients in telehealth: a qualitative interview study
Authors: Heckemann Birgit , Wolf Axel , Ali Lilas , Sonntag Steffen Mark , Ekman Inger
Published: March 2016

Objectives

To explore factors that influence relationship building between telehealth professionals and patients with chronic illness over a distance, from a telehealth professional's perspective.

Design

4 focus group interviews were conducted in June 2014. Digital recordings were transcribed verbatim and qualitative content analysis was performed using an iterative process of 3 coding rounds.

Participants

20 telehealth professionals.

Setting

A telehealth service centre in the south of Germany that provided care for 12 000 patients with chronic heart failure across Germany.

Results

Non-video telehealth technology creates an atmosphere that fosters sharing of personal information and a non-judgemental attitude. This facilitates the delivery of fair and equal healthcare. A combination of a protocol-driven service structure along with shared team and organisational values provide a basis for establishing long-term healthcare relationships. However, each contact between a telehealth professional and a patient has an uncertain outcome and requires skilful negotiation of the relationship. Although care provision was personalised, there was scope to include the patients as ‘experts on their own illness’ to a greater extent as advocated by person-centred care. Currently, provision of person-centred care is not sufficiently addressed in telehealth professional training.

Conclusions

Telehealth offers a viable environment for the delivery of person-centred care for patients with long-standing disease. Current telehealth training programmes may be enhanced by teaching person-centred care skills.
Socioeconomic deprivation and barriers to live-donor kidney transplantation: a qualitative study of deceased-donor kidney transplant recipients
Authors: Bailey Phillippa K , Ben-Shlomo Yoav , Tomson Charles R V , Owen-Smith Amanda
Published: March 2016

Objectives

Socioeconomically deprived individuals with renal disease are less likely to receive a live-donor kidney transplant than less-deprived individuals. This qualitative study aimed to identify reasons for the observed socioeconomic disparity in live-donor kidney transplantation.

Design

A qualitative study using face-to-face in-depth semistructured interviews.

Setting

A UK tertiary renal referral hospital and transplant centre.

Participants

Purposive sampling was used to select deceased-donor transplant recipients from areas of high socioeconomic deprivation (SED) (19 participants), followed by a low SED comparison group (13 participants), aiming for maximum diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, primary renal disease and previous renal replacement therapy.

Methods

Participants were interviewed following their routine transplant clinic review. Interviews were digitally audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded using NVivo software and analysed using the constant comparison method described in Grounded Theory.

Results

Themes common and distinct to each socioeconomic group emerged. 6 themes appeared to distinguish between individuals from areas of high and low SED. 4 themes were distinct to participants from areas of high SED: (1) Passivity, (2) Disempowerment, (3) Lack of social support and (4) Short-term focus. 2 themes were distinct to the low SED group: (1) Financial concerns and (2) Location of donor.

Conclusions

Several of the emerging themes from the high SED individuals relate to an individual's lack of confidence and skill in managing their health and healthcare; themes that are in keeping with low levels of patient activation. Inadequate empowerment of socioeconomically deprived individuals by healthcare practitioners was also described. Financial concerns did not emerge as a barrier from interviews with the high SED group. Interventions aiming to redress the observed socioeconomic inequity should be targeted at both patients and clinical teams to increase empowerment and ensure shared decision-making.
Teamwork evaluation during emergency medicine residents’ high-fidelity simulation
Authors: Innocenti Francesca , Angeli Elena , Alesi Andrea , Scorpiniti Margherita , Pini Riccardo
Published: March 2016

Background

Teamwork training has been included in several emergency medicine (EM) curricula; the aim of this study was to compare different scales’ performance in teamwork evaluation during simulation for EM residents.

Methods

In the period October 2013–June 2014, we performed bimonthly high-fidelity simulation sessions, with novice (I–III year, group 1 (G1)) and senior (IV–V year, group 2 (G2)) EM residents; scenarios were designed to simulate management of critical patients. Videos were assessed by three independent raters with the following scales: Emergency Team Dynamics (ETD), Clinical Teamwork Scale (CTS) and Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM). In the period March–June, after each scenario, participants completed the CTS and ETD.

Results

The analysis based on 18 sessions showed good internal consistency and good to fair inter-rater reliability for the three scales (TEAM, CTS, ETD: Cronbach's α 0.954, 0.954, 0.921; Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC), 0.921, 0.917, 0.608). Single CTS items achieved highly significant ICC results, with 12 of the total 13 comparisons achieving ICC results ≥0.70; a similar result was confirmed for 4 of the total 11 TEAM items and 1 of the 8 total ETD items. Spearman's r was 0.585 between ETD and CTS, 0.694 between ETD and TEAM, and 0.634 between TEAM and CTS (scales converted to percentages, all p<0.0001). Participants gave themselves a better evaluation compared with external raters (CTS: 101±9 vs 90±9; ETD: 25±3 vs 20±5, all p<0.0001).

Conclusions

All examined scales demonstrated good internal consistency, with a slightly better inter-rater reliability for CTS compared with the other tools.
Determining the paleoclimate and elevation of the late Eocene Florissant flora: support from the coexistence approach
Authors: Zaborac-Reed Stephanie J. , Leopold Estella B.
Published: March 2016

Published estimates on the paleoclimate of the Florissant fossil beds site of Colorado (34.1 Ma) have led to extremely different estimates of paleoelevation. The purpose of this paper is to review the paleoclimate methods used and to add the coexistence approach (CA) method to estimate paleotemperature for the Florissant site. The basis of the CA method is the dependence on overlapping climatic requirements for different taxa in the flora and their nearest living relatives. These relationships tie the fossil identities to the actual plant habitats and climatic requirements of close relatives. Based on the CA method, we conclude that the mean annual temperature ranged between 14.3 and 18.2 °C. These results support the conclusions offered by several other studies that the Florissant was a warm temperate to subtropical flora, and they are consistent with recent conclusions by structural geologists as well as other studies, indicating that the Florissant site was deposited at a relatively low elevation, probably between 1 and 1.5 km.
Quark ACM with topologically generated gluon mass
Authors: Choudhury Ishita Dutta , Lahiri Amitabha
Published: March 2016

We investigate the effect of a small, gauge-invariant mass of the gluon on the anomalous chromomagnetic moment (ACM) of quarks by perturbative calculations at one-loop level. The mass of the gluon is taken to have been generated via a topological mass generation mechanism, in which the gluon acquires a mass through its interaction with an antisymmetric tensor field [Formula: see text]. For a small gluon mass ([Formula: see text] 10 MeV), we calculate the ACM at momentum transfer [Formula: see text]. We compare those with the ACM calculated for the gluon mass arising from a Proca mass term. We find that the ACM of up, down, strange and charm quarks vary significantly with the gluon mass, while the ACM of top and bottom quarks show negligible gluon mass dependence. The mechanism of gluon mass generation is most important for the strange quarks ACM, but not so much for the other quarks. We also show the results at [Formula: see text]. We find that the dependence on gluon mass at [Formula: see text] is much less than at [Formula: see text] for all quarks.
Temperature variation in the dark cosmic fluid in the late universe
Authors: Brevik Iver
Published: March 2016

A one-component dark energy fluid model of the late universe is considered [Formula: see text] when the fluid, initially assumed laminar, makes a transition into a turbulent state of motion. Spatial isotropy is assumed so that only the bulk viscosities are included ([Formula: see text] in the laminar epoch and [Formula: see text] in the turbulent epoch). Both viscosities are assumed to be constants. We derive a formula, new as far as we know, for the time dependence of the temperature [Formula: see text] in the laminar case when viscosity is included. Assuming that the laminar/turbulent transition takes place at some time [Formula: see text] before the big rip is reached, we then analyze the positive temperature jump experienced by the fluid at [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text]. This is just as one would expect physically. The corresponding entropy production is also considered. A special point emphasized in the paper is the analogy that exists between the cosmic fluid and a so-called Maxwell fluid in viscoelasticity.
Counting of oscillatory modes of valence quarks forming q–q̄ mesons
Authors: Kabana Sonia , Minkowski Peter
Published: March 2016

We present the unique properties of oscillatory modes of valence quarks [Formula: see text] and antiquarks in mesons and the mass spectrum of associated mesons. The mesonic multiplets are shown to emerge from the picture of oscillating quarks and antiquarks in three space dimensions in the center of mass system of the mesons. All oscillatory modes are fully relativistic with a finite number of oscillators and this is forming the unique harmonic oscillator with these properties. The density of states as a function of masssquare is calculated. Since it is known that there are missing states of unobserved hadrons this estimate is of relevance for the accounting of the latter, as the here estimated mesonic multiplets include both the observed and the unobserved (or “missing”) hadrons. The estimate is conceptually different from Hagedorn’s model and is based on field theory of QCD.
Site preferences and effects of X (X = Mn, Fe, Co, Cu) on the properties of NiAl: A first-principles study
Authors: Li Hongshan , Cao Yong , Zhou Shenggang , Zhu Peixian , Zhu Jingchuan
Published: March 2016

The site preference of X (X = Mn, Fe, Co, Cu) in NiAl and its effects on structural, electronic and elastic properties were investigated by performing first-principles calculations using density functional theory (DFT). Formation enthalpy calculations show that adding X increases the formation enthalpy of NiAl, indicating that X addition reduces the stability of system. The site preference was investigated by calculating the transfer energy of NiAl alloys with X. The results further exhibit that Mn, Fe and Cu show no site preference, but Co tends to occupy Ni site. By analyzing electronic density of states, Mulliken population, overlap population and valence charge density, the electronic property and bond characters were discussed. The elastic property calculation shows that only substitution of Ni by Cu increased the plasticity of alloy, while in the other cases the plasticity was decreased.
Results and strategies in dark matter detection
Authors: Belli Pierluigi
Published: March 2016

The dark matter (DM) parallel session DM2 of the 14th Marcel Grossmann Meeting was enriched by several contributions about the results and the strategies in the study and in the detection of DM particles in the Galactic halo. In the following, an overview of the latest results in this field will be summarized. A particular care will be given to the results obtained by exploiting the model independent DM annual modulation signature for the presence of DM particles in the galactic halo. Results from the other experiments using different procedures, different techniques and different target materials will be shortly addressed as well as implications and experimental perspectives.
Quantum κ-deformed differential geometry and field theory
Authors: Mercati Flavio
Published: March 2016

I introduce in [Formula: see text]-Minkowski noncommutative spacetime the basic tools of quantum differential geometry, namely bicovariant differential calculus, Lie and inner derivatives, the integral, the Hodge-[Formula: see text] and the metric. I show the relevance of these tools for field theory with an application to complex scalar field, for which I am able to identify a vector-valued four-form which generalizes the energy–momentum tensor. Its closedness is proved, expressing in a covariant form the conservation of energy–momentum.
ASYMMETRIC-STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF CARBON AND ENERGY MARKETS
Authors: XU WEI , CAO GUANGXI
Published: March 2016

This study aimed to investigate the asymmetric structure between the carbon and energy markets from two aspects of different trends (up or down) and volatility-transmission direction using asymmetric detrended cross-correlation analysis (DCCA) cross-correlation coefficient test, multifractal asymmetric DCCA (MF-ADCCA) method, asymmetric volatility-constrained correlation metric and time rate of information-flow approach. We sampled 1283 observations from January 2008 to December 2012 among pairs of carbon and energy markets for analysis. Empirical results show that the (1) asymmetric characteristic from the cross-correlation between carbon and returns in the energy markets is significant, (2) asymmetric cross-correlation between carbon and energy market price returns is persistent and multifractral and (3) volatility of the base assets of energy market returns is more influential to the base asset of the carbon market than that of the energy market.
LONG-TERM CORRELATIONS AND MULTIFRACTALITY OF TRAFFIC FLOW MEASURED BY GIS FOR CONGESTED AND FREE-FLOW ROADS
Authors: DI BAOFENG , SHI KAI , ZHANG KAISHAN , SVIRCHEV LAURENCE , HU XIAOXI
Published: March 2016

In this paper, a GIS-based method was developed to extract the real-time traffic information (RTTI) from the Google Maps system for city roads. The method can be used to quantify both congested and free-flow traffic conditions. The roadway length was defined as congested length (CL) and free-flow length (FFL). Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in the southwest of China, was chosen as a case study site. The RTTI data were extracted from the Google real-time maps in May 12–17, 2013 and were used to derive the CL and FFL for the study areas. The Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA) was used to characterize the long-term correlations of CL and FFL time series and their corresponding multifractal properties. Analysis showed that CL and FFL had demonstrated time nonlinearity and long-term correlations and both characteristics differed significantly. A shuffling procedure and a phase randomization procedure were further integrated with multifractal detrending moving average (MFDMA) to identify the major sources of multifractality of these two time series. The results showed that a multifractal process analysis could be used to characterize complex traffic data. Traffic data collected and methods developed in this paper will help better understand the complex traffic systems.
Finite FRUTE loops
Authors: Jaiyéọlá T. G. , Adeniregun A. A. , Asiru M. A.
Published: March 2016

A loop [Formula: see text] is called a FRUTE loop if it obeys the identity [Formula: see text]. Interestingly, a FRUTE loop is a Moufang loop but not necessarily an extra loop or a group (and vice versa). In this paper, algebraic properties of the left (right) regular representation set of a FRUTE loop are deduced. A FRUTE loop is shown to be universal and an [Formula: see text]-loop for all [Formula: see text]. A Moufang loop is shown to be a FRUTE loop if and only if it is nuclear cube if and only if it is an [Formula: see text]-loop. It is established that: the smallest, associative, non-commutative FRUTE loop is of order [Formula: see text] (the quaternion group [Formula: see text]); for any [Formula: see text], there exists at least a non-commutative group of order [Formula: see text] that is a FRUTE loop; there exists [Formula: see text]-groups of orders [Formula: see text] that are non-commutative FRUTE loops; there are no non-commutative groups that are FRUTE loops of the following range of orders [Formula: see text]; there are two non-associative FRUTE loops of order [Formula: see text] up to isomorphism and there are six non-isomorphic, non-associative FRUTE loops of order [Formula: see text]. It is noted that there exists a non-associative and non-commutative FRUTE loop of order [Formula: see text]. The study is concluded with some questions, conjectures and problem.
Factorizations of finite groups by conjugate subgroups which are solvable or nilpotent
Authors: Garonzi Martino , Levy Dan , Maróti Attila , Simion Iulian I.
Published: March 2016

We consider factorizations of a finite group [Formula: see text] into conjugate subgroups, [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is nilpotent or solvable. We derive an upper bound on the minimal length of a solvable conjugate factorization of a general finite group which, for a large class of groups, is linear in the non-solvable length of [Formula: see text]. We also show that every solvable group [Formula: see text] is a product of at most [Formula: see text] conjugates of a Carter subgroup [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is a positive real constant. Finally, using these results we obtain an upper bound on the minimal length of a nilpotent conjugate factorization of a general finite group.
AN IMPROVED ONLINE PARADIGM FOR SCREENING OF DIABETIC PATIENTS USING RR-INTERVAL SIGNALS
Authors: PACHORI RAM BILAS , KUMAR MOHIT , AVINASH PAKALA , SHASHANK KORA , ACHARYA U. RAJENDRA
Published: March 2016

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) which is a chronic disease and difficult to cure. If diabetes is not treated in a timely manner, it may cause serious complications. For timely treatment, an early detection of the disease is of great interest. Diabetes can be detected by analyzing the RR-interval signals. This work presents a methodology for classification of diabetic and normal RR-interval signals. Firstly, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method is applied to decompose the RR-interval signals in to intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Then five parameters namely, area of analytic signal representation (AASR), mean frequency computed using Fourier-Bessel series expansion (MFFB), area of ellipse evaluated from second-order difference plot (ASODP), bandwidth due to frequency modulation (BFM) and bandwidth due to amplitude modulation (BAM) are extracted from IMFs obtained from RR-interval signals. Statistically significant features are fed to least square-support vector machine (LS-SVM) classifier. The three kernels namely, Radial Basis Function (RBF), Morlet wavelet, and Mexican hat wavelet kernels have been studied to obtain the suitable kernel function for the classification of diabetic and normal RR-interval signals. In this work, we have obtained the highest classification accuracy of 95.63%, using Morlet wavelet kernel function with 10-fold cross-validation. The classification system proposed in this work can help the clinicians to diagnose diabetes using electrocardiogram (ECG) signals.
AUTOMATED DIAGNOSIS OF DIABETES USING ENTROPIES AND DIABETIC INDEX
Authors: ACHARYA U. RAJENDRA , FUJITA HAMIDO , BHAT SHREYA , KOH JOEL EW , ADAM MUHAMMAD , GHISTA DHANJOO N. , SUDARSHAN VIDYA K. , CHUA KOK POO , CHUA KUANG CHUA , MOLINARI FILIPPO , NG E. Y. K. , TAN RU SAN
Published: March 2016

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder that hampers the body’s energy absorption capacity from the food. It is either caused by pancreatic malfunctioning or the body cells being inactive to insulin production. Prolonged diabetes results in severe complications, such as retinopathy, neuropathy, cardiomyopathy and cardiovascular diseases. DM is an incurable disorder. Thus, diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes is essential to prevent the body organs from severe damage. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) signal processing can be used as one of the methods for the diagnosis of DM. Our paper introduces a noninvasive technique of automated diabetic diagnosis using HRV signals. The R-R interval signals are decomposed using Shearlet transforms integrated with Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT), and their characteristic features are extracted by using Shannon’s, Renyi’s, Kapur entropies, energy and Higher Order Spectra (HOS). Then, Locality Sensitive Discriminant Analysis (LSDA) is employed to remove insignificant features and reduce the number of employed features. These redundant features are eliminated by using six feature selection algorithms: Student’s t-test, Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC), Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Bhattacharyya distance, Information entropy and Fuzzy Max-Relevance and Min-Redundancy (MRMR). This step is followed by classification of normal and diabetic signals using different classifiers, such as discriminant classifiers, Decision Tree (DT), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN), Naïve Bayes (NB), Fuzzy Sugeno (FSC), Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), AdaBoost and k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) classifier. In these classifiers, the selected features are employed to distinguish diabetic signals from normal signals. These classifiers are trained and then tested to validate their accuracy to make accurate diagnosis. The FSC classifier is shown to have the highest (100%) accuracy. Nevertheless, we go one step further in formulating another novel classifier in the form of the diabetic index, and have shown how distinctly it is able to separate diabetic signals from normal signals.
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO WOMEN’S VENTURE SUCCESS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS
Authors: SEQUEIRA JENNIFER M. , GIBBS SHERRHONDA R. , JUMA NORMA A.
Published: March 2016

Although the body of literature on female entrepreneurs is relatively small when compared to that of men; the majority of articles that have focused on female entrepreneurs and issues surrounding them center on women in developed countries. Few studies place emphasis on female entrepreneurs in developing countries. Guided by the resource-based view of human and social capital, the article explores the relationship among individual and entrepreneurial factors, institutional factors and women’s venture success in developing countries. Hypotheses are tested with a sample of 350 female entrepreneurs using individual and country level data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database and the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. Female entrepreneurs were chosen from six developing countries: Argentina, Brazil, Hungary, India, Mexico and South Africa. Results indicate certain factors (i.e. household income, knowing an entrepreneur, and country of origin) play a role in venture success for female entrepreneurs in developing countries. Secondary analyses demonstrated that the developing country’s economic freedom, cultural norms, financial support and government supportiveness may also impact women’s venture success.
CASE REPORT: A CHRONIC B-CELL LEUKEMIA IN A EURASIAN OTTER (Lutra lutra)
Authors: Kao Chi-Fei , Chang Li-Jen , Lee Yao , Chang Pen-Heng
Published: March 2016

A 12-year-old, female, Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) reared in Taipei zoo was submitted for necropsy due to sudden death without remarkable clinical history. Parameters of the latest hematology were all within normal limits. At necropsy, there were large amounts of abdominal effusion, diffuse splenohepatomegaly, generalized lymphadenopathy, consolidation of the lung, and bilateral enlargement of both adrenal glands. Histological examination revealed large numbers of small to medium-sized neoplastic lymphocytes disrupting the normal architectures of the spleen, liver, lymph nodes, lung, mesentery, and adrenal glands. Immunohistochemistry showed diffuse positivity of tumor cells for CD79a but negativity for CD3. There were scattered positive signals for Ki-67 mainly in the spleen in sites of extramedullary hematopoiesis and lymph nodes. The neoplasm was considered a chronic lymphocytic leukemia of B-cell origin.
Cell labeling and proximity dependent biotinylation with engineered monomeric streptavidin
Authors: Mann Jasdeep K. , Demonte Daniel , Dundas Christopher M. , Park Sheldon
Published: March 2016

Because streptavidin is a homotetramer, it can bind multiple biotinylated ligands and cause target aggregation. To allow biotin detection without clustering, we previously engineered monomeric streptavidin (mSA) that is structurally similar to a single streptavidin subunit. Introducing the S25H mutation near the binding site increases the biotin dissociation half-life t1/2to 83 minutes. The slowly dissociating mutant, mSA2, is useful in imaging studies because it allows stable labeling of biotinylated targets. We show that mSA2 conjugated with Alexa 488 binds biotinylated receptors on HEK293 with high specificity, and bound mSA2–Alexa488 does not dissociate significantly during an imaging study lasting 50 minutes. As a structural monomer, mSA2 can be fused to other proteins to create bifunctional molecules. We tested the use of mSA2 in proximity dependent biotinylation, in which mSA2 is fused to a peptide or a protein that binds a protein of interest (POI) and is used to recruit photoactivatable biotin (PA-biotin) to the target molecule. Once the resulting cluster of interacting proteins is subjected to UV-initiated distance-dependent biotinylation, subsequent affinity purification of biotinylated proteins on streptavidin beads can identify protein molecules that interact with POI. In addition to proteins that directly interact with the mSA2 fusion, mSA2 also induces biotinylation of other proteins that are associated through a series of noncovalent interactions. We show that mSA2 fused to an antibody recognition domain can be recruited to the kinase Erk-2 using a commercially available antibody and induce biotinylation of a known Erk-2 substrate, GST-Elk-1. Therefore, mSA2 can be used to implement proximity dependent biotinylation and detect transient enzyme-substrate interactions.
Replicated Computational Results (RCR) Report for
A Sparse Symmetric Indefinite Direct Solver for GPU Architectures
Authors: Bavier Eric T.
Published: March 2016

A Sparse Symmetric Indefinite Direct Solver for GPU Architectures
includes performance results and comparisons of the developed GPU direct solver against a CPU direct solver. New performance data were gathered using software provided by the manuscript authors on two new platforms and compared against the performance of the MUMPS direct solver. After completing this process, the published results have been deemed replicable by the reviewer.
Borg, Omega, and Kubernetes
Authors: Burns Brendan , Grant Brian , Oppenheimer David , Brewer Eric , Wilkes John
Published: March 2016

Though widespread interest in software containers is a relatively recent phenomenon, at Google we have been managing Linux containers at scale for more than ten years and built three different container-management systems in that time. Each system was heavily influenced by its predecessors, even though they were developed for different reasons. This article describes the lessons we’ve learned from developing and operating them.
VEGF-sdf1 recruitment of CXCR7+ bone marrow progenitors of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells promotes rat liver regeneration
Authors: DeLeve Laurie D. , Wang Xiangdong , Wang Lei
Published: March 2016

In liver injury, recruitment of bone marrow (BM) progenitors of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (sprocs) is necessary for normal liver regeneration. Hepatic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a central regulator of the recruitment process. We examine whether stromal cell-derived factor 1 [sdf1, or CXC ligand 12 (CXCL12)] acts downstream from VEGF to mediate recruitment of BM sprocs, what the sdf1 receptor type [CXC receptor (CXCR)-4 or CXCR7] is on sprocs, and whether sdf1 signaling is required for normal liver regeneration. Studies were performed in the rat partial hepatectomy model. Tracking studies of BM sprocs were performed in wild-type Lewis rats that had undergone BM transplantation from transgenic enhanced green fluorescent protein-positive Lewis rats. Knockdown studies were performed using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). Expression of sdf1 doubles in liver and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) after partial hepatectomy. Upregulation of sdf1 expression increases proliferation of sprocs in the BM, mobilization of CXCR7+ BM sprocs to the circulation, and engraftment of CXCR7+ BM sprocs in the liver and promotes liver regeneration. Knockdown of hepatic VEGF with ASOs decreases hepatic sdf1 expression and plasma sdf1 levels. When the effect of VEGF knockdown on sdf1 is offset by infusion of sdf1, VEGF knockdown-induced impairment of BM sproc recruitment after partial hepatectomy is completely attenuated and liver regeneration is normalized. These data demonstrate that the VEGF-sdf1 pathway regulates recruitment of CXCR7+ BM sprocs to the hepatic sinusoid after partial hepatectomy and is required for normal liver regeneration.
N-sulfation of heparan sulfate is critical for syndecan-4-mediated podocyte cell-matrix interactions
Authors: Sugar Terrel , Wassenhove-McCarthy Deborah J. , Orr A. Wayne , Green Jonette , van Kuppevelt Toin H. , McCarthy Kevin J.
Published: March 2016

Previous research has shown that podocytes unable to assemble heparan sulfate on cell surface proteoglycan core proteins have compromised cell-matrix interactions. This report further explores the role of N-sulfation of intact heparan chains in podocyte-matrix interactions. For the purposes of this study, a murine model in which the enzyme N-deacetylase/ N-sulfotransferase 1 (NDST1) was specifically deleted in podocytes and immortalized podocyte cell lines lacking NDST1 were developed and used to explore the effects of such a mutation on podocyte behavior in vitro. NDST1 is a bifunctional enzyme, ultimately responsible for N-sulfation of heparan glycosaminoglycans produced by cells. Immunostaining of glomeruli from mice whose podocytes were null for Ndst1 ( Ndst1−/−) showed a disrupted pattern of localization for the cell surface proteoglycan, syndecan-4, and for α-actinin-4 compared with controls. The pattern of immunostaining for synaptopodin and nephrin did not show as significant alterations. In vitro studies showed that Ndst1−/−podocytes attached, spread, and migrated less efficiently than Ndst1+/+podocytes. Immunostaining in vitro for several markers for molecules involved in cell-matrix interactions showed that Ndst1−/−cells had decreased clustering of syndecan-4 and decreased recruitment of protein kinase-Cα, α-actinin-4, vinculin, and phospho-focal adhesion kinase to focal adhesions. Total intracellular phospho-focal adhesion kinase was decreased in Ndst1−/−compared with Ndst1+/+cells. A significant decrease in the abundance of activated integrin α5β1 on the cell surface of Ndst1−/−cells compared with Ndst1+/+cells was observed. These results serve to highlight the critical role of heparan sulfate N-sulfation in facilitating normal podocyte-matrix interactions.
Muscle Satellite Cells: Exploring the Basic Biology to Rule Them
Authors: Almeida Camila F. , Fernandes Stephanie A. , Ribeiro Junior Antonio F. , Keith Okamoto Oswaldo , Vainzof Mariz
Published: March 2016

Adult skeletal muscle is a postmitotic tissue with an enormous capacity to regenerate upon injury. This is accomplished by resident stem cells, named satellite cells, which were identified more than 50 years ago. Since their discovery, many researchers have been concentrating efforts to answer questions about their origin and role in muscle development, the way they contribute to muscle regeneration, and their potential to cell‐based therapies. Satellite cells are maintained in a quiescent state and upon requirement are activated, proliferating, and fusing with other cells to form or repair myofibers. In addition, they are able to self‐renew and replenish the stem pool. Every phase of satellite cell activity is highly regulated and orchestrated by many molecules and signaling pathways; the elucidation of players and mechanisms involved in satellite cell biology is of extreme importance, being the first step to expose the crucial points that could be modulated to extract the optimal response from these cells in therapeutic strategies. Here, we review the basic aspects about satellite cells biology and briefly discuss recent findings about therapeutic attempts, trying to raise questions about how basic biology could provide a solid scaffold to more successful use of these cells in clinics.
An Uncertain QFD Approach for the Strategic Management of Logistics Services
Authors: Yang Shengpeng , Liu Jing , Wang Ke , Miao Yunwen
Published: March 2016

Due to customers’ growing concern about logistics performances related to products, logistics service increasingly contributes to the core competence of an enterprise or product, which calls an appropriate tool to develop effective strategic actions to improve logistics performances and gain customer satisfaction. Therefore, an uncertain quality function deployment (QFD) approach for selecting the most effective strategic actions in terms of efficiency to meet the customer requirements is developed in this paper, which integrates uncertainty theory into the traditional QFD methodology in order to rationally deal with imprecise information inherently involved in the QFD process. The framework and systematic procedures of the approach are presented in the context of logistics services. Specifically, the calculations for the prioritization of strategic actions are discussed in detail, in which uncertain variables are used to capture the linguistic judgements given by customers and experts. Applications of the proposed approach are presented as well for illustration.
Improved Stability of a Model IgG3 by DoE-Based Evaluation of Buffer Formulations
Authors: Chavez Brittany K. , Agarabi Cyrus D. , Read Erik K. , Boyne II Michael T. , Khan Mansoor A. , Brorson Kurt A.
Published: March 2016

Formulating appropriate storage conditions for biopharmaceutical proteins is essential for ensuring their stability and thereby their purity, potency, and safety over their shelf-life. Using a model murine IgG3 produced in a bioreactor system, multiple formulation compositions were systematically explored in a DoE design to optimize the stability of a challenging antibody formulation worst case. The stability of the antibody in each buffer formulation was assessed by UV/VIS absorbance at 280 nm and 410 nm and size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography (SEC) to determine overall solubility, opalescence, and aggregate formation, respectively. Upon preliminary testing, acetate was eliminated as a potential storage buffer due to significant visible precipitate formation. An additional 24full factorial DoE was performed that combined the stabilizing effect of arginine with the buffering capacity of histidine. From this final DoE, an optimized formulation of 200 mM arginine, 50 mM histidine, and 100 mM NaCl at a pH of 6.5 was identified to substantially improve stability under long-term storage conditions and after multiple freeze/thaw cycles. Thus, our data highlights the power of DoE based formulation screening approaches even for challenging monoclonal antibody molecules.
Bone-Healing Capacity of PCL/PLGA/Duck Beak Scaffold in Critical Bone Defects in a Rabbit Model
Authors: Lee Jae Yeon , Son Soo Jin , Son Jun Sik , Kang Seong Soo , Choi Seok Hwa
Published: March 2016

Bone defects are repaired using either natural or synthetic bone grafts. Poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL),β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP), and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) are widely used as synthetic materials for tissue engineering. This study aimed to investigate the bone-healing capacity of PCL/PLGA/duck beak scaffold in critical bone defects and the oxidative stress status of the graft site in a rabbit model. Thein vivoperformance of 48 healthy New Zealand White rabbits, weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 kg, was evaluated. The rabbits were assigned to the following groups: group 1 (control), group 2 (PCL/PLGA hybrid scaffolds), group 3 (PCL/PLGA/TCP hybrid scaffolds), and group 4 (PCL/PLGA/DB hybrid scaffolds). A 5 mm critical defect was induced in the diaphysis of the left radius. X-ray, micro-CT, and histological analyses were conducted at (time 0) 4, 8, and 12 weeks after implantation. Furthermore, bone formation markers (bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen, and osteocalcin) were measured and oxidative stress status was determined. X-ray, micro-CT, biochemistry, and histological analyses revealed that the PCL/PLGA/duck beak scaffold promotes new bone formation in rabbit radius by inducing repair, suggesting that it could be a good option for the treatment of fracture.
Effects of Sex and Mild Intrainsult Hypothermia on Neuropathology and Neural Reorganization following Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Brain Injury in Rats
Authors: Smith Amanda L. , Rosenkrantz Ted S. , Fitch R. Holly
Published: March 2016

Hypoxia ischemia (HI) is a recognized risk factor among late-preterm infants, with HI events leading to varied neuropathology and cognitive/behavioral deficits. Studies suggest a sex difference in the incidence of HI and in the severity of subsequent behavioral deficits (with better outcomes in females). Mechanisms of a female advantage remain unknown but could involve sex-specific patterns of compensation to injury. Neuroprotective hypothermia is also used to ameliorate HI damage and attenuate behavioral deficits. Though currently prescribed only for HI in term infants, cooling has potential intrainsult applications to high-risk late-preterm infants as well. To address this important clinical issue, we conducted a study using male and female rats with a postnatal (P) day 7 HI injury induced under normothermic and hypothermic conditions. The current study reports patterns of neuropathology evident inpostmortemtissue. Results showed a potent benefit of intrainsult hypothermia that was comparable for both sexes. Findings also show surprisingly different patterns of compensation in the contralateral hemisphere, withincreasesin hippocampal thickness in HI females contrastingreducedthickness in HI males. Findings provide a framework for future research to compare and contrast mechanisms of neuroprotection and postinjury plasticity in both sexes following a late-preterm HI insult.
Psychometric Limitations of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale for Assessing Depressive Symptoms among Adults with HIV/AIDS: A Rasch Analysis
Authors: Gay Caryl L. , Kottorp Anders , Lerdal Anners , Lee Kathryn A.
Published: March 2016

The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale is a widely used measure of depressive symptoms, but its psychometric properties have not been adequately evaluated among adults with HIV/AIDS. This study used an item response theory approach (Rasch analysis) to evaluate the CES-D’s validity and reliability in relation to key demographic and clinical variables in adults with HIV/AIDS. A convenience sample of 347 adults with HIV/AIDS (231 males, 93 females, and 23 transgenders; age range 22–77 years) completed the CES-D. A Rasch model application was used to analyze the CES-D’s rating scale functioning, internal scale validity, person-response validity, person-separation validity, internal consistency, differential item functioning (DIF), and differential test functioning. CES-D scores were generally high and associated with several demographic and clinical variables. The CES-D distinguished 3 distinct levels of depression and had acceptable internal consistency but lacked unidimensionality, five items demonstrated poor fit to the model, 15% of the respondents demonstrated poor fit, and eight items demonstrated DIF related to gender, race, or AIDS diagnosis. Removal of misfitting items resulted in minimal improvement in the CES-D’s substantive and structural validity. CES-D scores should be interpreted with caution in adults with HIV/AIDS, particularly when comparing scores across gender and racial groups.
Main-Branch Structure Iterative Detection Using Approximate Message Passing for Uplink Large-Scale Multiuser MIMO Systems
Authors: Zou Qifeng , Tan Xuezhi , Liu Mei , Ma Lin
Published: March 2016

The emerging large-scale/massive multi-input multioutput (MIMO) system combined with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is considered a key technology for its advantage of improving the spectral efficiency. In this paper, we introduce an iterative detection algorithm for uplink large-scale multiuser MIMO-OFDM communication systems. We design a Main-Branch structure iterative turbo detector using the Approximate Message Passing algorithm simplified by linear approximation (AMP-LA) and using the Mean Square Error (MSE) criterion to calculate the correlation coefficients between main detector and branch detector for the given iteration. The complexity of our method is compared with other detection algorithms. The simulation results show that our scheme can achieve better performance than the conventional detection methods and have the acceptable complexity.
Current Development in Elderly Comprehensive Assessment and Research Methods
Authors: Jiang Shantong , Li Pingping
Published: March 2016

Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is a core and an essential part of the comprehensive care of the aging population. CGA uses specific tools to summarize elderly status in several domains that may influence the general health and outcomes of diseases of elderly patients, including assessment of medical, physical, psychological, mental, nutritional, cognitive, social, economic, and environmental status. Here, in this paper, we review different assessment tools used in elderly patients with chronic diseases. The development of comprehensive assessment tools and single assessment tools specially used in a dimension of CGA was discussed. CGA provides substantial insight into the comprehensive management of elderly patients. Developing concise and effective assessment instruments is helpful to carry out CGA widely to create a higher clinical value.
Screening Antimicrobial Activity of Nickel Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Ocimum sanctum Leaf Extract
Authors: Jeyaraj Pandian Chitra , Palanivel Rameshthangam , Dhanasekaran Solairaj
Published: March 2016

Antimicrobial efficacy of nickel nanoparticles synthesized using leaf extract of Ocimum sanctum (NiGs) was investigated against pathogenic Gram-negative (E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and S. typhi), Gram-positive (B. subtilis, S. epidermidis) bacteria and fungi (C. albicans, C. tropicalis, A. fumigatus, A. clavatus, and A. niger). 100 µg/mL NiGs showed maximum antimicrobial activity against tested pathogens compared to leaf extract and antibiotics. E. coli (25 mm) and C. albicans (23 mm) exhibited higher zone of inhibition at 100 µg/mL NiGs. MIC, MBC, and MFC values of NiGs against all tested pathogens ranged between 25 and 50 µg/mL. Growth of bacterial and fungal cells (105 cfu/mL) was completely inhibited at 50 µg/mL NiGs. E. coli and C. albicans have showed strong antimicrobial activity with 81% and 50% reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, 30 and 16 µg/mL protein leakage, and 95 and 82 U/L LDH leakages, respectively. Gram-negative bacteria and Candida species showed more sensitivity to NiGs at all concentrations tested (25–100 µg/mL) than Gram-positive bacteria and Aspergillus species, respectively. Microbial growth in the presence of NiGs and ascorbic acid confirmed the involvement of ROS in antimicrobial activity. Hence, NiGs induced ROS generation was attributed to the protein and LDH leakage from microbial membranes.