Digital Commons Network^™

Parvalbumin In Fish Skin-Derived Gelatin: Is There A Risk For Fish Allergic Consumers?, S. J. Koppelman, Julie A. Nordlee, P.-W. Lee, R. P. Happe, M. Hessing, R. Norland, T. Manning, R. Deschene, G. A. H. De Jong, Steve L. Taylor

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The major allergen parvalbumin was purified from cod muscle tissues, and polyclonal antibodies were raised toward it. The antibodies were tested for specificity, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed using these antibodies. The ELISA was applied to measure parvalbumin in cod skin, the starting material for fish gelatin made from deep sea, wild fish. The ELISA was sufficiently sensitive (LLOQ = 0.8 ng ml^–1 in extracts, corresponding to 0.02 μg of parvalbumin per g of tissue) and did not cross-react with common food constituents. Fish gelatin, wine, and beer, matrices for the potential use of this ELISA, …

The Curriculum And Education Of Medicine After Galen In Alexandria, Egypt, Berrin Okka, Mustafa Demirci

Saudi Medical Journal

In the medieval history of Islamic medicine sources, there is a lot of information regarding the translation of the books on the Alexandria Medical School and regarding the bibliographies of doctors. Among the books that were taught in Alexandria Medical School, Galen9s works are the most important. One of the famous translators, Hunayn ibn Ishaq, has made a full bibliographic list of Galen9s works. Galen9s corpus consisted of 16 books in summary. This corpus is called ‘Jawami al-Iskandaraniyyin’. These books consisted of 7 training stages. The data on our research show that this corpus that was brought together during the …

Serum And Urine Boron And Selenium Levels In Children With Resistant Epilepsy, Huseyin Per, Mehmet Canpolat, Ugur Sahin, Hakan Gumus, Bahadir Konuskan, Sefer Kumandas

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of serum and urine selenium, and boron levels in children with resistant epilepsy. METHODS: Serum and urine boron and selenium levels were studied in 53 cases (32 boys and 21 girls) diagnosed with resistant epilepsy between April 2006 and February 2007 at the Department of Pediatric Neurology, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey. Differences between groups were assessed using Student9s t-test. Countable data were defined as percentage. Inter-group difference was assessed by Chi-square test. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: When serum and urine boron and selenium levels were evaluated and compare with controls, a …

Comparative Efficacy Of Thiazolidinediones And Metformin For Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Qiang Du, Yan-Jun Wang

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of thiazolidinediones (TZDs) and metformin in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. METHODS: This systematic review study was conducted at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China between January and February 2012. We searched the following databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure until January 2012. RESULTS: Six randomized controlled trials records involving 267 patients were retrieved. The effect of TZDs on body mass index (BMI) was significantly lower than metformin (p=0.001; standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.16-0.65). The effect of TZDs on the Homeostasis Model …

Fistula Plug Versus Conventional Surgical Treatment For Anal Fistulas. A System Review And Meta-Analysis, Yu-Wei Pu, Chun-Gen Xing, Imran Khan, Kui Zhao, Bao-Song Zhu, Yong Wu

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the recurrence and fecal incontinence of anal fistula plug versus conventional surgical treatment for anal fistulas. METHODS: This meta-analysis was carried out in the General Surgery Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. We searched the Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from June 2011 to April 2012. The literature searches were carried out using medical subject headings and free-text word: anal fistula, fibrin adhesive, fibrin sealant, and fistula plug. RESULTS: Two randomized controlled trials and 3 retrospective controlled studies were included. A total of 428 patients were included in our study. …

Henoch-Schonlein Purpura In Children From The Eastern Province Of Saudi Arabia, Amer A. Lardhi

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the epidemiological and clinical profile of children with Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) in eastern Saudi Arabia during a 15-year period. METHODS: The medical records of children discharged with a diagnosis of HSP from King Fahad Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, between January 1996, and December 2010, were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Of 78 patients, 46 (59%) were boys, with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1. The patients9 ages ranged from 22 months to 12 years, with a mean of 6.3 years. Approximately 60% of cases were presented during autumn and winter. Upper respiratory tract infection preceded …

Incidence, Types, Geographical Distribution, And Risk Factors Of Congenital Anomalies In Al-Ramadi Maternity And Children's Teaching Hospital, Western Iraq, Zaid R. Al-Ani, Shaker A. Al-Haj, Muhammad M. Al-Ani, Khamees M. Al-Dulaimy, Ayad Kh. Al-Maraie, Belal Kh. Al-Ubaidi

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence, types, geographical distribution, and risk factors of congenital anomalies (CAs) in a teaching hospital. METHODS: A total of 5864 neonates were examined for CAs between October 2010 and October 2011 in Al-Ramadi Maternity and Children9s Teaching Hospital, Al-Ramadi, Western Iraq. Data include: neonate9s name, gender, weight, and type of CAs, mother9s age, residence, education, parity, consanguinity, smoking, illness, drugs, and ultrasound (U/S) results, father9s age and smoking, and family recurrence of CAs. For every case, 2 controls were selected. Types and incidence of CAs was calculated. Odds ratio and confidence interval was utilized for risk …

Prevalence Of Herpes Simplex Types 1 And 2, Varicella Zoster Virus, Cytomegalovirus, Immunoglobulin G Antibodies Among Female University Students In Syria, Faraj Barah

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To examine the current seroepidemiology of immunoglobulin (Ig)G for herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV 1-2), varicella zoster virus (VZV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) among university females of childbearing age in Syria. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the female students of the Pharmacy College, Kalamoon University, Deratiah, Syria, where 316 sera were collected from October 2009 to November 2010, and subjected to HSV 1-2, VZV, and CMV IgG screening and titration using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based techniques in the Microbiology Laboratory. RESULTS: A total of 164 participants were positive for HSV 1-2 IgG giving a prevalence …

Epstein-Barr Virus Associated Smooth Muscle Tumors. Synchronous Liver And Lung Involvement, Noof A. Alabdulqader, Mohammad M. Yousef, Kurt D. Bernacki, Mousa A. Al-Abbadi

Saudi Medical Journal

Epstein-Barr virus associated smooth muscle tumors (EBV-SMT) are rare neoplasms that can occur in various anatomical locations. They mainly affect immunocompromised patients, and their clinical presentation is variable depending on size and organ involvement. They can pose diagnostic challenges, therefore if they are not considered in the differential diagnosis, they can be definitely misdiagnosed. Synchronous and multifocal involvement has been reported. Although malignant behavior maybe rarely seen; most behave in a benign fashion with favorable clinical outcome. We herein report an unusual case of synchronous EBV-SMT that occurred in the lung and liver in a 44-year-old female patient 7 years …

A Rare Case Of Primary Rectal Adenocarcinoma Metastatic To The Breast, Sefik I. Hasukic, Ermina S. Iljazovic, Amer H. Odobasic, Ervin A. Matovic

Saudi Medical Journal

Primary rectal adenocarcinoma metastatic to the breast is an exceedingly rare event. Its management differs from that of primary breast cancer, as illustrated by this case. A 63-year-old woman presented with a breast lump 30 months after abdominoperineal resection for rectal adenocarcinoma, stage T3N1M0 (stage III), followed by standard postoperative radiochemotherapy. The patient underwent a mammography and ultrasonography. A CT scan of the abdomen showed metastatic disease. An excisional biopsy of the breast lump was performed; morphological features were identical to the original rectal cancer. Immunohistochemical results were negative for estrogen and progesterone receptors and gross cystic disease fluid protein-15, …

Lack Of Association Between Smoc2 Polymorphism And Age-Related Macular Degeneration In Jordanian Arabs, Asem M. Alkhateeb, Amal J. Ali, Nour-Al-Dain Marzouka, Shadi Q. Al-Khatib

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Novel Influenza A (H1n1) Outbreak At A Training Institute In The Eastern Province Of Saudi Arabia, Shahid Latif

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Possible Central Nervous System Vasculitis As An Early Presentation Of Crohn's Disease. A Challenge In Diagnosis And Management, Fatima I. Al-Beladi, Mohammed A. Al-Fawaz, Enad A. Al-Solami, Rahma A. Al-Solami

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Depleted Uranium. Is It Potentially Involved In The Recent Upsurge Of Malignancies In Populations Exposed To War Dust?, Hamad A. Al-Fahaad, Hamdi H. Shelleh

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Evolutionary History Of Assassin Bugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Reduviidae): Insights From Divergence Dating And Ancestral State Reconstruction, Wei Song Hwang, Christiane Weirauch

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Assassin bugs are one of the most successful clades of predatory animals based on their species numbers (~ 6,800 spp.) and wide distribution in terrestrial ecosystems. Various novel prey capture strategies and remarkable prey specializations contribute to their appeal as a model to study evolutionary pathways involved in predation. Here, we reconstruct the most comprehensive reduviid phylogeny (178 taxa, 18 subfamilies) to date based on molecular data (5 markers). This phylogeny tests current hypotheses on reduviid relationships emphasizing the polyphyletic Reduviinae and the blood-feeding, diseasevectoring Triatominae, and allows us, for the first time in assassin bugs, to reconstruct ancestral states …

Predicting Live And Dead Tree Basal Area In Bark Beetle-Affected Forests From Discrete-Return Lidar, Andrew T. Hudak, Benjamin C. Bright, Jose Negron, Robert Mcgaughey, Hans-Erik Andersen, Jeffrey A. Hicke

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Recent bark beetle outbreaks in western North America have been widespread and severe. High tree mortality due to bark beetles affects the fundamental ecosystem processes of primary production and decomposition that largely determine carbon balance (Kurz et al. 2008, Pfeifer et al. 2011, Hicke et al. 2012). Forest managers need accurate data on beetle-induced tree mortality to make better decisions on how best to remediate beetle-affected forests and restore healthy ecosystem services (Negron et al. 2008). Discrete-return LiDAR measures canopy height and density, and LiDAR intensity provides some indication of the spectral reflectance and condition of canopy elements (foliage …

Marijuana Use Development Over The Course Of Adolescence Among North American Indigenous Youth, Jacob E. Cheadle, Kelley J. Sittner Hartshorn

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the links between marijuana use trajectories and marijuana abuse/ dependence (DSM-IV) using five waves of data from 718 North American Indigenous adolescents between 10 and 17 years from eight reservations sharing a common language and culture. Growth mixture models indicated that 15% of youth began using by 11–12 years of age and that another 20% began shortly thereafter. These early users had odds of abuse/dependence 6.5 times larger than abstainers. Girls were also unexpectedly found to be particularly at risk of early use, and this did not reflect other background and psychosocial factors, including friend use. While …

Community College Adult Accelerated Program: Faculty Educational Philosophy Influence On Student Retention, Nancy S. Wajler

Dissertations

Although there has been a surge in the number of adults entering accelerated academic programs at community colleges over the last decade, there has not been a similar increase in the number of adult learners who persist and achieve their degrees. This qualitative inquiry uses a case study methodology to explore in what ways educational philosophies of educators influence the persistence and graduation rates of adult students in community college accelerated programs. Data collection methods will include the creation of focus groups of both faculty and adult students in the accelerated program and faculty members taking the online version of …

Mechanical Properties Of Polyvinylchloride (Pvc) Reinforced Hemp Fibers Composites., Montasser Dewidar, Mahmoud Bakrey, A. Hashim, Ayman Abdel-Haleem, Kh. Diab

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Polyvinyl-chloride (PVC) is inexpensive, durable, and flexible thermoplastic material. PVC is one of the most versatile thermoplastics, and plays an important role in the plastic industry. This paper investigated the mechanical properties of reinforcing PVC by hemp fibers. Hemp fibers were added at different weight fractions (4.46%, 6.2%, 7.75%, 9%, and 11% wt). Influence of fiber's content on composite tensile strength and strain were revealed and the results showed that, at 6.2% wt the tensile strength of PVC 75, PVC 55 with hemp fiber composites was improved by 34.93% and 54.8% respectively. At 6.2% wt, the fibers were longitudinally, at …

Research Online, Open Access And Document Delivery, Lisa Billingham, Janice Chan

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.

Value Of Travel Time Reliability Part Ii: A Study Of Tradeoffs Between Travel Reliability, Congestion Mitigation Strategies And Emissions, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Alexander Y. Bigazzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Capacity, demand, and vehicle based emissions reduction strategies are compared for several pollutants employing aggregate US congestion and vehicle fleet condition data. We find that congestion mitigation does not inevitably lead to reduced emissions; the net effect of mitigation depends on the balance of induced travel demand and increased vehicle efficiency that in turn depend on the pollutant, congestion level, and fleet composition. In the long run, capacity-based congestion improvements within certain speed intervals can reasonably be expected to increase emissions of CO2e, CO, and NOx through increased vehicle travel volume. Better opportunities for emissions reductions exist for HC and …

Mandatory Financial Reporting Environment And Voluntary Disclosure: Evidence From Mandatory Ifrs Adoption, Balakrishnan Karthik, Xi Li, Holly Yang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as an exogenous improvement to mandatory financial reporting, we document evidence supporting a complementary effect between mandatory and voluntary disclosures. We find that firms in countries that adopted IFRS in 2005 experience an increase in both the likelihood and frequency of management earnings forecasts relative to firms in countries that did not mandate IFRS. We also find that the increase in management forecasts is higher in countries where prior local GAAP are more different from IFRS or legal enforcement is stronger. Consistent with the confirmatory role of mandatory reporting, we …

Increased Susceptibility To Metabolic Syndrome In Adult Offspring Of Angiotensin Type 1 Receptor Autoantibody-Positive Rats., Suli Zhang, Xi Zhang, Lihong Yang, Zi Yan, Li Yan, Jue Tian, Xiaoyu Li, Li Song, Li Wang, Xiaoli Yang, Ronghua Zheng, Wayne Bond Lau, Xinliang Ma, Huirong Liu

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

Abstract Aims: Abnormal fetal and early postnatal growth is closely associated with adult-onset metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, the underlying etiological factors remain complex. The presence of the autoantibody against the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-Ab), a known risk factor for pre-eclampsia, may create a suboptimal intrauterine fetal environment. The current study investigated whether middle-aged offspring of AT1-Ab-positive mothers were prone to metabolic disorder development. Results: The AT1-Abs was detected in placental trophoblastic cells, capillary endothelium, and milk of pregnant rats actively immunized with the second extracellular loop of the AT1 receptor. AT1-Abs in newborn rats induced vasoconstriction, increased intracellular-free …

Tennessee Farm Bureau News - September 2012, Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation

Tennessee Farm Bureau News

No abstract provided.

Structural Performance And Economics Of High-Rise Buildings Under Seismic And Wind Loads, Nadeem Hussain

Theses

High-rise buildings have a priority when considering the potential consequences from natural hazards since they represent concentrated human and monetary assets. The use of high strength materials is promoted in this class of structures to effectively use floor areas, control vibrations and expedite construction. There is a pressing need to investigate the relationship between structural performance and economics of high-rise buildings with different material strengths under lateral loads, particularly seismic loads that control the design of a wide range of buildings.

To realistically represent the modern high-rise construction, five 60-story reinforced concrete (RC) buildings with varying material strengths, ranging from …

The Fat Thumb: Using The Thumb's Contact Size For Single-Handed Mobile Interaction, Sebastian Boring, David Ledo, Xiang ‘Anthony’ Chen, Anthony Tang, Anthony Tang, Saul Greenberg

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Modern mobile devices allow a rich set of multi-finger interactions that combine modes into a single fluid act. Such gestures may require the use of both hands: one holding the device while the other is interacting. While on the go, however, only one hand may be available to both hold the device and interact with it. In this demo, we present the Fat Thumb interaction technique, which uses the thumb's contact size as a form of simulated pressure. We present how this can be used, for example, to integrate panning and zooming into a single interaction. Contact size determines the …

Verifying Total Correctness Of Graph Programs, Christopher M. Poskitt, Detlef Plump

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

GP 2 is an experimental nondeterministic programming language based on graph transformation rules, allowing for visual programming and the solving of graph problems at a high-level of abstraction. In previous work we demonstrated how to verify graph programs using a Hoare-style proof calculus, but only partial correctness was considered. In this paper, we add new proof rules and termination functions, which allow for proofs to additionally guarantee that program executions always terminate (weak total correctness), or that programs always terminate and do so without failure (total correctness). We show that the new proof rules are sound with respect to the …

Verification Of Graph Programs, Christopher M. Poskitt

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

GP (for Graph Programs) is an experimental nondeterministic programming language which allows for the manipulation of graphs at a high level of abstraction. The program states of GP are directed labelled graphs. These are manipulated directly via the application of (conditional) rule schemata, which generalise double-pushout rules with expressions over labels and relabelling. In contrast with graph grammars, the application of these rule schemata is directed by a number of simple control constructs including sequential composition, conditionals, and as-long-as-possible iteration. GP shields programmers at all times from low-level implementation issues (e.g. graph representation), and with its nondeterministic semantics, allows one …

In-Game Action List Segmentation And Labeling In Real-Time Strategy Games, Wei Gong, Ee-Peng Lim, Palakorn Achananuparp, Feida Zhu, David Lo, Freddy Chong-Tat Chua

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In-game actions of real-time strategy (RTS) games are extremely useful in determining the players' strategies, analyzing their behaviors and recommending ways to improve their play skills. Unfortunately, unstructured sequences of in-game actions are hardly informative enough for these analyses. The inconsistency we observed in human annotation of in-game data makes the analytical task even more challenging. In this paper, we propose an integrated system for in-game action segmentation and semantic label assignment based on a Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) model with essential features extracted from the in-game actions. Our experiments demonstrate that the accuracy of our solution can be as …

Adaptive In-Network Processing For Bandwidth And Energy Constrained Mission-Oriented Multi-Hop Wireless Networks, Sharanya Eswaran, James Edwards, Archan Misra, Thomas La Porta

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In-network processing, involving operations such as filtering, compression and fusion, is a technique widely used in wireless sensor and ad hoc networks for reducing the communication overhead. In many tactical stream-oriented applications, especially in military scenarios, both link bandwidth and node energy are critically constrained resources. For such applications, in-network processing itself imposes non-negligible computing cost. In this work, we have developed a unified, utility-based closed-loop control framework that permits distributed convergence to both a) the optimal level of compression performed by a forwarding node on streams, and b) the best set of nodes where the operators of the stream …