Introducing fuzziness in object models and database interfaces through aspects

Imperfection in information can be considered a crosscutting concern that manifests itself in diverse kinds of imprecision, uncertainty, or inconsistency in the data models of a software system. The extension of existing programming and querying interfaces for the different aspects of information imperfection requires a proper modularization of the different concerns of numerical imprecision handling, so that the extensions do not interfere with existing programming practices and do not obscure the original design. Aspect‐oriented design (AOD) enables such a form of nonintrusive extensions to be added to existing software libraries, clearly separating fuzziness or other imperfections in data as a differentiated concern that can be considered from the early phases of development. In this article, a general framework for aspect‐based extension of data models and fuzzy databases is described, and some design and implementation issues of such AOD‐based extensions on OJB database libraries are described as a case study. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 21: 1199–1216, 2006.     

Balance-dendrogram. A new routine of CoDaPack

A statistical analysis of compositional data based on the Aitchison geometry of the simplex requires an appropriate basis for representing the data. A simple and intuitive way of building such a basis employs a sequential binary partition of the compositional vector. The partition, together with some statistical summaries of the coordinates, or balances, can be represented in a dendrogram-type graph. In this paper we introduce an implementation of this methodology inside CoDaPack, which is freeware. An example with real data illustrates the use of the Balance-Dendrogram routine.     

Reexpansion pulmonary edema

Reexpansion pulmonary edema is a rare complication attending the rapid reexpansion of a chronically collapsed lung, such as occurs after evacuation of a large amount of air or fluid from the pleural space. The condition usually appears unexpectedly and dramatically-immediately or within 1 h in 64% of patients and within 24 h in the remainder. The clinical manifestations are varied; they range from roentgenographic findings alone in asymptomatic patients to severe cardiorespiratory insufficiency. The radiographic evidence of reexpansion pulmonary edema is a unilateral alveolar filling pattern, seen within a few hours of reexpansion of the lung. The edema may progress for 24-48 h and persist for 4-5 days. Human data on the pathophysiology of reexpansion pulmonary edema derive from small series of patients, case reports, and reviews of the literature. On the other hand, a larger body of data exists on experimental reexpansion pulmonary edema in cats, monkeys, rabbits, sheep, and goats. This review examines the clinical and experimental evidence for reexpansion pulmonary edema. In addition, we detail the historical background, clinical setting, treatment, and outcome of reexpansion pulmonary edema.     

Long-term findings in patients with facial palsy and antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi

Little is known about the long-term effects of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection in untreated patients with peripheral facial palsy. We investigated 12 patients with elevated serum Bb antibody levels, with a median follow-up time of 11 years, during which 3 of the 12 still exhibited intrathecal antibody production of antibodies against Bb flagellar antigen, and 2 of the 3 had normal serum Bb antibodies. Four of the 12 had elevated serum antibody titres at the late follow-up examination. Arthralgia, reported by 7 patients, was the single most common complaint. Four patients showed extensive oculomotor disturbances, which were not correlated to antibody titres or intrathecal antibody synthesis. In 1 of the patients with intrathecal Bb antibody production, most symptoms were eradicated by antibiotic treatment 6 years after the initial infection. We conclude that even several years after a Bb infection, intrathecal Bb antibody production can still occur in serum Bb IgG antibody negative patients with a history of facial palsy.     

Cross sections of proton induced nuclear reactions on enriched 111Cd and 112Cd for the production of 111In for use in nuclear medicine

Proton induced nuclear reactions on enriched 111Cd and 112Cd have been studied up to 30 MeV in the context of routine production of the medically used isotope 111In with low and medium energy cyclotrons. The excitation functions of 111Cd(p,n)111m,gIn and 112Cd(p,2n)111m,gIn as production reactions and 111Cd(p,2n)110mIn, 111Cd(p,2n)110In, 111Cd(p,3n)109ml,m2,In, 112Cd(p,3n)110mIn, 112Cd(p,3n)110gIn as competing processes have been measured using the activation method involving the stacked-foil technique. The deduced thick target yields are compared with those obtained experimentally.     

Degradation of the light-stress protein is mediated by an ATP-independent, serine-type protease under low-light conditions

Green plants respond to light stress by induction of the light-stress proteins (ELIPs). These proteins are stable as long as the light stress persists but are very rapidly degraded during subsequent low light conditions. Here we report that the degradation of ELIPs is mediated by an extrinsic, thylakoid-associated protease which is already present in the membranes during light stress conditions. Partial purification of the protease by perfusion chromatography indicates that this proteolytic activity may be represented by a protein with an apparent molecular mass of 65 kDa. The ELIP-directed protease is localized in the stroma lamellae of the thylakoid membranes and does not require ATP or additional stromal factors for proteolysis. The protease has an optimum activity at pH 7.5-9.5 and requires Mg2+ for its activity. The ELIP-degrading protease show an unusual temperature sensitivity and becomes reversibly inactivated at temperatures below 20 degree C and above 30 degree C. Studies with protease inhibitors indicate that this enzyme belongs to the serine class of proteases. The enhanced degradation of ELIP in isolated thylakoid membranes after addition of the ionophore nigericin suggests that a trans-thylakoid delta pH or changes in ionic strength may be involved in the mechanism of protease activation.     

Biochemical changes in cerebrospinal fluid associated with the neurotoxic action of HIV-1]

Different intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) systems vary in their image presentation. The purpose of this study was to compare four IVUS systems in vitro to determine the accuracy of tissue characterization of atherosclerotic plaque compared with histology. Ninety-eight plaque segments from 23 formalin-fixed human iliac arteries were imaged in saline at room temperature with four different IVUS systems. To assess the accuracy of IVUS in describing plaque, three types of analysis were performed: (1) the ability to identify the presence and extent of lumen or plaque boundary; (2) sensitivity, specificity, and interobserver variability of IVUS in qualitatively identifying plaque components compared with histology; and (3) quantification of calcification. The synthetic aperture device had a lower sensitivity in identifying lumen and plaque boundaries (87%, 38% respectively) compared with other machines (96%-100%, 95%-100%). All three mechanically rotating systems had fair to good sensitivities for identifying calcification (57%-73%) or lipid filled areas (50%-83%). The sensitivity of discriminating fibrous tissue from fatty areas was low (39%-52%). The synthetic aperture system had a significantly lower sensitivity for identifying all three tissue types (4%-21%). There was significant interobserver variability (kappa value = 0.47-0.68) as well as machine to machine variability (kappa value = 0.52) for tissue characterization. Calcified areas were underestimated by System 1 (p < .05) and System 4 (p < .01) because of weaker echo reflections or poor image quality. There are significant differences in image representation among these four IVUS systems in the diagnosis of tissue components of complex atherosclerotic plaque. These variabilities should be considered when interpreting studies performed with different machines.     

Embryonal metabolism

It is very difficult to have a clear and homogeneous idea of the embryo metabolism. In fact it may vary from one species to another and also according to the embryonic stage: i.e. before and after genomic activation. Basic compounds such as glucose may be toxic, but obviously, it is more the problem of the quantity introduced in the culture media and an unsuitable balance between the metabolites which may impair the embryonic development. At low concentration glucose is actively metabolised by embryos. High levels of amino acids are deleterious (due to release of ammonia), but they are necessary at low concentrations. Addition of serum or other biological fluids is generally useless. Further knowledge on embryo metabolism is necessary to avoid culture medium related delay or developmental blocks. Sequential media are at least partly the answer.