bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The challenges and promises of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells for use as a cell-based therapy
Authors: Zhang Jun , Huang Xiaowen , Wang Haijun , Liu Xiaoyan , Zhang Tao , Wang Yunchuan , Hu Dahai 
Published: December 2015

AbstractMesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are ideal for cell-based therapy in various inflammatory diseases because of their immunosuppressive and tissue repair properties. Moreover, their immunosuppressive properties and low immunogenicity contribute to a reduced or weakened immune response elicited by the implantation of allogeneic MSCs compared with other cell types. Therefore, implantation of allogeneic MSCs may be a promising cell-based therapy. In this review, we first summarize the unique advantages of allogeneic MSCs for therapeutic applications. Second, we critically analyze the factors influencing their therapeutic effects, including administration routes, detection time-points, disease models, differentiation of MSCs in vivo, and timing and dosage of MSC administration. Finally, current approaches to allogeneic MSC application are discussed. In conclusion, allogeneic MSCs are a promising option because of their low immunogenicity and immunosuppressive and tissue repair capabilities. Further investigations are needed to enhance the consistency and efficacy of MSCs when used as a cell-based therapy in inflammatory diseases as well as for tissue repair.
$C^{\ast}$-Algebra-valued b-metric spaces and related fixed point theorems
Authors: Ma Zhenhua , Jiang Lining 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBased on the concept and properties of $C^{\ast}$

C
∗

-algebras, the paper introduces a concept of $C^{\ast}$

C
∗

-algebra-valued b-metric spaces which generalizes the concept of $C^{\ast}$

C
∗

-algebra-valued metric spaces and gives some basic fixed point theorems for self-map with contractive condition on such spaces. As applications, existence and uniqueness results for a type of operator equation and an integral equation are given.
The effect of transdermal nitroglycerin on pain control in diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy
Authors: Taheri Arman , Farbood Arash , Heshmat Ramin , Samadi Afshin , Khashayar Patricia , Qorbani Mostafa , Ghorbani Mohammad , Ebrahimi Khaneqah Ghazaleh 
Published: December 2015

Abstract
Background
Despite high prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy there is no definite treatment for the condition. The present study was conducted to assess the efficacy of transdermal nitroglycerin patch in pain control of patients with DPN.

Methods
This randomized, double-blind, crossover study was conducted on 30 patients with symmetric distal peripheral neuropathy and good glycemic control. The patients were randomly assigned to receive nitroglycerin transdermal and placebo patches in two 4-week stages. The severity of pain and other neuropathic sensory symptoms were assessed at the end of each course.

Results
Mean reduction of pain severity was more prominent in the NTG group compared to placebo group of the study (p = 0.048) at least during the first phase of the study. Except for mood and sleep, a significant reduction in all Brief Pain Inventory scores was noted in the drug group (all corrected p < 0.05). SF-MPQ also showed the drug patch to be effective in improving different aspects of pain measured using McGill Pain Questionnaire, except for Role–emotional.

Conclusions
It could be concluded that nitroglycerin plasters can effectively help alleviate pain in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

Trial registration
IRCT201308223213N1
Local molecular analysis of indeterminate thyroid nodules
Authors: Gill Mandeep S. , Nayan Smriti , Kocovski Linda , Cutz Jean-Claude , Archibald Stuart D. , Jackson Bernard S. , Young James E. M. , Gupta Michael K. 
Published: December 2015

Background Thyroid nodules are common but only a minority are malignant. Molecular testing can assist in helping determine whether indeterminate nodules are suspicious for malignancy or benign. The objective of the study was to determine if the analysis of mutations (BRAF, NRAS, KRAS and HRAS) using readily available molecular techniques can help better classify indeterminate thyroid nodules. Methods A retrospective cohort of consecutive patients undergoing diagnostic thyroid surgery were analyzed for the presence or absence of specific mutations known to be associated with thyroid malignancy in FNA samples. Markers chosen were BRAF, NRAS, KRAS and HRAS. All were locally available and currently in use at our centre for other clinical indications. Results from the molecular analysis were then compared to the histopathology from thyroidectomy specimens to determine the sensitivity and specificity of these molecular techniques to classify indeterminate thyroid nodules. Results Sixty consecutive patients with indeterminate FNAs were recruited. Twenty-three patients had malignant tumors while 37 specimens were benign. Multiple different mutations were identified in the FNA samples. Overall 18 cases had a positive mutation (10 malignant and 8 benign). The sensitivity of BRAF, HRAS, KRAS, and NRAS was 8.7, 8.7, 8.7, and 17.4 respectively while the specificity was100, 83.7, 100 and 94.6. Conclusion While molecular analysis remains promising, it requires further refinement. Several markers showed promise as good “rule-in” tests.
Provision of neuropsychiatry services: variability and unmet need
Authors: Agrawal Niruj , Bhattacharya Rahul , Rickards Hugh 
Published: December 2015

Aims and methodNeuropsychiatry services remain underdeveloped and underprovided. Previous studies have shown variability in service provision in the UK. In this survey we approached all mental health and neuropsychiatric service providers within London to map current neuropsychiatric service provision and explore perceived barriers.ResultsAll the specialist mental health service providers responded. There was huge variability in neuropsychiatric service provision within different parts of London. There was evidence of significant unmet need and variability in service pathways. Lack of earmarked funds for neuropsychiatry and disjointed funding stream for such services were identified by providers as a barrier.Clinical implicationsThis study provides further evidence of an ongoing lack of adequate neuropsychiatric service provision. Reasons for variability and unmet need are discussed. Adoption of a previously proposed hub-and-spoke model of service provision and the removal of commissioning barriers through uniform national commissioning may help deal with this problem.
Should psychiatrists ‘Google’ their patients?
Authors: Ashby G. Alice , O'Brien Aileen , Bowman Deborah , Hooper Carwyn , Stevens Toby , Lousada Esther 
Published: December 2015

SummarySince its beginnings in the 1980s the internet has come to shape our everyday lives, but doctors still seem rather afraid of it. This anxiety may be explained by the fact that researchers and regulatory bodies focus less on the way that the internet can be used to enhance clinical work and more on the potential and perceived risks that this technology poses in terms of boundary violations and accidental breaches of confidentiality. Some aspects of the internet's impact on medicine have been better researched than others, for example, whether email communication, social media and teleconferencing psychotherapy could be used to improve the delivery of care. However, few authors have considered the specific issue of searching online for information about patients and much of the guidance published by regulatory organisations eludes this issue. In this article we provide clinical examples where the question ‘should I Google the patient?’ may arise and present questions for future research.
Remarks on free mutual information and orbital free entropy
Authors: Izumi Masaki , Ueda Yoshimichi 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThe present notes provide a proof of i* (ℂP + ℂ(I - P); ℂQ + ℂ(I - Q)) = – χorb(P,Q) for any pair of projections P,Q with τ(P) = τ(Q) = 1/2. The proof includes new extra observations, such as a subordination result in terms of Loewner equations. A study of the general case is also given.
Urine-derived induced pluripotent stem cells as a modeling tool for paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia
Authors: Zhang Shu-Zhen , Li Hong-Fu , Ma Li-Xiang , Qian Wen-Jing , Wang Zhong-Feng , Wu Zhi-Ying 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT
Paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia (PKD) is a monogenic movement disorder with autosomal dominant inheritance. We previously identified the proline-rich transmembrane protein 2 (PRRT2) as a causative gene of PKD. However, the pathogenesis of PKD remains largely unknown so far. In addition, applicable modeling tools to investigate the underlying mechanisms of PKD are still lacking. The combination of disease-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and directed cell differentiation offers an ideal platform for disease modeling. In this study, we generated two iPSC lines from the renal epithelial cells of one PKD patient with the hotspot c.649dupC mutation (PKD-iPSCs). These cell lines were positive for alkaline phosphatase Nanog, Tra-1-80, Tra-1-60, SSEA-3 and SSEA-4. Teratomas with three blastoderms including ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm were obtained two months after injection of PKD-iPSCs into NOD/SCID mice. The expression of PRRT2 mRNA was decreased in PKD-iPSCs compared with that of the control iPSCs. Furthermore, PKD-iPSCs possessed the differentiation potential of functional glutamatergic, dopaminergic and motor neurons in vitro. Electrophysiological examinations revealed that the current densities of fast activated and deactivated sodium channels as well as voltage gated potassium channels were not different between the neurons from PKD-iPSCs and control iPSCs. Thus, PKD-iPSCs are a feasible modeling tool to investigate the pathogenic mechanisms of PKD.
Introducing Pitt-Hopkins syndrome-associated mutations ofTCF4toDrosophila daughterless
Authors: Tamberg Laura , Sepp Mari , Timmusk Tõnis , Palgi Mari 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACTPitt-Hopkins syndrome (PTHS) is caused by haploinsufficiency of Transcription factor 4 (TCF4), one of the three human class I basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors called E-proteins. Drosophila has a single E-protein, Daughterless (Da), homologous to all three mammalian counterparts. Here we show that human TCF4 can rescue Da deficiency during fruit fly nervous system development. Overexpression of Da or TCF4 specifically in adult flies significantly decreases their survival rates, indicating that these factors are crucial even after development has been completed. We generated da transgenic fruit fly strains with corresponding missense mutations R578H, R580W, R582P and A614V found in TCF4 of PTHS patients and studied the impact of these mutations in vivo. Overexpression of wild type Da as well as human TCF4 in progenitor tissues induced ectopic sensory bristles and the rough eye phenotype. By contrast, overexpression of DaR580W and DaR582P that disrupt DNA binding reduced the number of bristles and induced the rough eye phenotype with partial lack of pigmentation, indicating that these act dominant negatively. Compared to the wild type, DaR578H and DaA614V were less potent in induction of ectopic bristles and the rough eye phenotype, respectively, suggesting that these are hypomorphic. All studied PTHS-associated mutations that we introduced into Da led to similar effects in vivo as the same mutations in TCF4 in vitro. Consequently, our Drosophila models of PTHS are applicable for further studies aiming to unravel the molecular mechanisms of this disorder.
New look at implementation of educational programs in the field of management: Russian experience
Authors: Харитонова Татьяна , Kharitonova Tatyana , Смит Наталья , Smit Natalya 
Published: December 2015

The educational program «Management in Tourism and Hospitality» implemented at the Federal State-Funded
Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education «Russian State University of Tourism and Service» is
constructed in such a way that the primary emphasis is placed upon the management processes in the organizations.
That said, a number of the competences containing the requirements as to the training for professional
activities in the bodies of state and municipal administration (in particular, in tourist administrations) may be
insufficiently mastered by the graduates. For example, the competences related to the organization and regulation
of service activities. As far as is known, in the current context the service component in a tourist product is the
important factor affecting its competitiveness. The introduction of discipline «Service Quality and Design» into the
curriculum will allow to change to some extent the current situation. This discipline will help students to acquire
expertise, knowledge and skills regarding the existing concepts of service activities; the methods of service activities
organization in tourism and hospitality; the service management and its role in the improving competitiveness of a
tourist product, tourism organization and tourist destination as a whole.
Experience of regulation of innovative activity in the industrialized countries and the role of private-public partnership
Authors: Шалаев Дмитрий , Shalaev Dmitriy 
Published: December 2015

In the article there are the questions of the relevance of the development and management of innovative activity,
the authors describe category of countries according to the innovation in the economic environment. They analyze
historical path of the U.S. on the creation, development and commercialization of scientific and technological
research from the 1950s to the present. The mechanisms and incentives for the creation and development of innovation
are examined. The experience of creating the world’s first legal framework regulating innovative activity
on the territory of the United States is described. The authors take up the mechanisms of interaction on the basis
of private-state partnership in respect of experience of the development of innovation. Also there are examined
some of the priority areas of innovation, including the innovation considered in detail the path of Japan, reviewing
which authors paid attention to the import of advanced technologies and state control of development, reorientation
and commercialization of scientific and technological research and advanced technology, as well as mechanisms
to promote innovation of Japan and its differences from other countries, priority directions of development
of innovative technologies and regulatory documents. The experience of the European Union to establish on its
territory a single innovative research areas is also included. The authors illustrate principles and guidelines for
European research policy, especially the interaction of participants of scientific and technical research and formation
prospects of the successive principles of cooperation in the field of science with other States. The last part of the
article is devoted to the establishment and functioning of national innovation systems. They explain the concept
of NIS, defined the principles of interaction of participants of the NIS and the worker, there was the scheme of
interaction of participants of the NIS. The work is based on the hypothesis of the necessity of taking into account
all the elements and their functionality in the analysis of experience of foreign models of innovative activity, as well
as understanding the opportunities and threats when you transfer these models to another mental environment.
The article presents the conclusions on the necessity to consolidate efforts to create a fundamental base for the
development of public-private partnership.
Temporomandibular joint assessment in patients with articular disc displacement by way of computed tomography - radiological parameters of shape, size and location of mandibular heads
Authors: Szabelska Anna , Sarna-Bos Katarzyna , Staskiewicz Grzegorz , Borowicz Janusz , Szabelska Anna , Sarna-Bos Katarzyna , Staskiewicz Grzegorz , Borowicz Janusz 
Published: December 2015

Abstract
Conventional and modern methods of radiological imaging are often used in the diagnosis of temporomandibular joint disorders, and the CT technique is particularly characterized by an excellent visualization of bony structures. The aim of the study was to show the importance and role of CT in the evaluation of TMJ bone structures in both patients with articular disc displacement and in a group of healthy subjects. Both study groups were assessed with the use of the transverse plane. Herein, multi-slice spiral computed tomography was performed in 47 subjects. These individuals were qualified for CT by way of magnetic resonance imaging, due to their being diagnosed with a displacement of their temporomandibular joint disc. The product of our study is presented as a set of tables. These are comparisons of radiological parameters based on the shape, size and location of the mandibular head, in the examined patients, in a control group, and with regard to sex. The results of our work indicate that CT can be successfully used in the imaging of TMJ bone structures, specifically, the condylar process of the mandibular head and the joint socket. However, statistically significant differences of the utilized parameters between patients with articular disc displacement and controls, warrant further analysis of this issue.
Design Considerations for Optimal Absorption of Energy from a Vibration Source by an Array of Harvesters
Authors: Sriramdas Rammohan , Rastogi Shreevar , Pratap Rudra 
Published: December 2015

Abstract
Dynamic vibration absorption is a passive technique for suppressing unintended vibrations. Optimal absorption of energy from a vibration source entails the determination of absorber parameters such as resonant frequency and damping. In the present work, we propose a method to obtain these parameters for a generic case of large number of identical vibration absorbers placed on a vibration source. We discuss an iterative procedure to find the optimum absorber resonant frequency and damping by minimizing the total energy absorbed by the system. We also analyse the influence of damping of the entire set of absorbers on the total energy absorbed and the effect of the absorber mass on the bandwidth of absorption. The proposed method is verified by analysing the response of a set of cantilever absorber beams placed on a vibrating cantilever plate. The resonant frequencies of the system with different number of absorbers are verified experimentally. We identify, using our method, the absorber mass, resonant frequency and damping of the absorber at which significant amount of energy supplied to the system flows into absorbers. A potential application of this method in the context of energy harvesting is the design of harvesters for a given vibration source. We emphasize through our work that monitoring energies in the system and optimizing them is both rational and vital for designing multiple harvesters that absorb energy from a given vibration source optimally.
Compact Bandpass Filter Based on Parallel-coupled Lines and Quasi-lumped Structure
Authors: Ding Chen , Li Jiao , Wei Feng , Shi Xiao-Wei 
Published: December 2015

AbstractA compact microstrip bandpass filter (BPF) using quarter-wavelength resonators is proposed based on the parallel-coupled lines (PCLs) and quasi-lumped structure. A method based on the matrix and network transformation of cascaded-quadruplet (CQ) filters is investigated and successfully applied to the BPF design. The design formulas for the proposed BPF are analytically developed. Specifically, in order to verify the feasibility of the proposed method, three BPFs centering at 1.575 GHz with different FBWs are designed. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results is observed. Moreover, the designed filters can achieve a wide stopband.
Statistical Beamforming for Interference Mitigation in Multi-cell Massive MIMO Systems
Authors: Hu Anzhong 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThis paper proposes a statistical beamforming approach to mitigate interference in multi-cell massive multiple-input multiple-output systems. The proposed approach projects the signal subspace onto the null space of the interference to form the weight vector with the statistical channel state information. In contrast to the existing methods which only utilize the partial null space of the interference, the proposed approach can collect more signal when mitigating the interference. In addition, the large system analysis demonstrates that the interference is eliminated with uniform rectangular arrays. Numerical results show that the proposed approach can achieve higher sum rate than the existing methods and verify the performance analysis.
Hot-Deformation Behavior and Hot-Processing Maps of AISI 410 Martensitic Stainless Steel
Authors: Qi Rong-Sheng , Jin Miao , Guo Bao-Feng , Liu Xin-Gang , Chen Lei 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThe compressive deformation behaviors of 410 martensitic stainless steel were investigated on a Gleeble-1500 thermomechanical simulator, and the experimental stress–strain data were obtained. The measured flow stress was corrected for friction and temperature. A constitutive equation that accounts for the influence of strain was established, and the hot-processing maps at different strain were plotted. The microstructure evolution of the hot-deformation process was studied on the basis of microstructural observations at high temperatures. Phase-transformation experiments on 410 steel were conducted at high temperatures to elucidate the effects of temperature on the delta-ferrite content. The initial forging temperature and optimum process parameters were obtained on the basis of the processing map and the changes in the delta-ferrite content at high temperatures.
Web tracking: Overview and applicability in digital investigations
Authors: Pugliese Gaston 
Published: December 2015

Abstract
Nowadays, website owners, advertisers, and data vendors can draw on a variety of techniques to track users on the Web. Here, the tracking range can vary from single websites to long-term browsing sessions across several websites and devices. Even though they are widely used, most of these techniques have in common that they are not familiar to average and even web-minded users. Therefore, most users are not able to realize the magnitude of web tracking and its consequences, not to mention to resist tracking. In times of rising concerns about data protection and privacy, this paper is intended to illustrate how web tracking works and which standard techniques are commonly used. The paper also provides an outlook on promising new tracking techniques based on behavioral biometrics. Furthermore, since browser forensics is already a subject to digital investigations, the usefulness of tracking techniques for forensic purposes and their applicability in light of the principle of proportionality is discussed. Finally, possible countermeasures and their effectiveness are indicated.