SellTrend: inter-attribute visual analysis of temporal transaction data

We present a case study of our experience designing SellTrend, a visualization system for analyzing airline travel purchase requests. The relevant transaction data can be characterized as multi-variate temporal and categorical event sequences, and the chief problem addressed is how to help company analysts identify complex combinations of transaction attributes that contribute to failed purchase requests. SellTrend combines a diverse set of techniques ranging from time series visualization to faceted browsing and historical trend analysis in order to help analysts make sense of the data. We believe that the combination of views and interaction capabilities in SellTrend provides an innovative approach to this problem and to other similar types of multivariate, temporally driven transaction data analysis. Initial feedback from company analysts confirms the utility and benefits of the system.

Refined positioning of a quantitative trait locus affecting somatic cell score on chromosome 18 in the German Holstein using linkage disequilibrium

Combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium analysis (LALD) was conducted to more accurately map a previously reported quantitative trait locus (QTL) affecting somatic cell score on bovine chromosome 18. A grand-daughter design consisting of 6 German Holstein grandsire families with 1,054 progeny-tested genotyped sons was used in this study. Twenty microsatellite markers, 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms, and an erythrocyte antigen marker with an average marker spacing of 1.95 cM were analyzed along a chromosomal segment of 50.80 cM. Variance components were estimated and restricted maximum likelihood test statistics were calculated at the midpoint of each marker interval. The test statistics calculated in single-QTL linkage analysis exceeded the genome-wide significance threshold at several putative QTL positions. Using LALD, we were successful in assigning a genome-wide significant QTL to a confidence interval of 10.8 cM between the markers ILSTS002 and BMS833. The QTL in this marker interval was estimated to be responsible for between 5.89 and 13.86% of the genetic variation in somatic cell score. In contrast to the single-QTL linkage analysis model, LALD analyses with a 2-QTL model confirmed the position of one QTL, but gave no conclusive evidence for the existence or position of a second QTL. Ultimately, the QTL position was narrowed down considerably compared with previous results with a refined confidence interval of less than 11 cM.

Measurement of the W boson mass

We present a measurement of the W boson mass in W-->e(nu) decays using 1 fb-1 of data collected with the D0 detector during Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron collider. With a sample of 499830 W-->e(nu) candidate events, we measure M(W)=80.401+/-0.043 GeV. This is the most precise measurement from a single experiment.

Poly-GLP-1, a novel long-lasting glucagon-like peptide-1 polymer, ameliorates hyperglycaemia by improving insulin sensitivity and increasing pancreatic beta-cell proliferation

AIM

The clinical value of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is restricted because of its short half-life. To overcome this limitation, a new polymer of GLP-1 was developed by prodrug strategy, termed Poly-GLP-1, and its pharmacological properties were investigated.

METHODS

The in vitro release kinetics of GLP-1 from Poly-GLP-1 was analysed by Western blot. Plasma GLP-1 levels following a single administration of Poly-GLP-1 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The in vitro effects of Poly-GLP-1 were evaluated using isolated pancreatic islets. The acute effects on glycaemic control and food intake were investigated in C57BL/6J mice s.c. administered with Poly-GLP-1. The chronic effects of Poly-GLP-1 on glycaemic control were further assessed in C57BL/6J and db/db mice treated twice daily for 6 weeks.

RESULTS

Pro-GLP-1 dose dependently increased insulin secretion and decreased glucose, but did not exhibit the insulinotropic action in isolated pancreatic islets without plasma. The glucose-lowering actions of Poly-GLP-1 (3 nmol/kg) remained no less than 12 h after a single injection. Poly-GLP-1 caused a durable restoration of glycaemic control, food intake and body weight gain in db/db mice following 6-week administration. The chronic treatment with Poly-GLP-1 improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and increased beta-cell mass and proliferation in db/db mice. There was little effect on normal mice treated in the same manner.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicated that Poly-GLP-1, a novel GLP-1 polymer, has long-lasting and potent effects on glycaemic control in vivo, and these beneficial effects may be because of improvement of insulin sensitivity and promotion of islet growth and function.

Direct measurement of the mass difference between top and antitop quarks

We present a measurement of the mass difference between t and t[over] quarks in lepton + jets final states of tt[over] events in 1 fb;{-1} of data collected with the D0 detector from Fermilab Tevatron Collider pp[over] collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV. The measured mass difference of 3.8 +/- 3.7 GeV is consistent with the equality of t and t[over ] masses. This is the first direct measurement of a mass difference between a quark and its antiquark partner.

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) plasma levels are increased in patients with acute coronary syndromes

There are several reports of myeloperoxidase (MPO) playing an important role in acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine produced by activated CD4 T cells that has a chemotactic and activating effect on neutrophils. It has also been shown that IL-17 recruits neutrophils via the release of C-X-C chemokines. The roles of MPO and IL-17 in ACS, however, have not been established. This study measured plasma MPO and IL-17 levels in 10 patients with ACS, 11 age- and sex-matched patients with stable angina and 12 healthy control subjects. Plasma MPO and IL-17 levels were significantly elevated in ACS patients compared with the patients with stable angina and the healthy control subjects. In addition, plasma MPO levels correlated with plasma IL-17 levels in all study participants. It is concluded that MPO and IL-17 are powerful indicators of acute coronary inflammation, however the data set was very small, so larger prospective studies are required.

Plasmon-assisted terahertz imaging inside metal-filled media

We present the application of THz plasmonics in imaging dielectric objects embedded in metal-filled media. By exploiting the time domain information from the transmitted pulse, signatures of the objects were observed. To enhance the low quality images acquired through THz time domain spectroscopy, a super-resolution image processing technique was applied. It is shown that pulse arrival time and phase magnitude information compared to the integrated instantaneous power of the transmitted pulse provides more detailed images of the embedded object.

Biodegradation of nicotine by a newly isolated Agrobacterium sp. strain S33

AIMS

To isolate and characterize bacteria capable of degrading nicotine from the rhizospheric soil of a tobacco plant and to use them to degrade the nicotine in tobacco solid waste.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A bacterium, strain S33, was newly isolated from the rhizospheric soil of a tobacco plant, and identified as Agrobacterium sp. based on morphology, physiological tests, Biolog MicroLog3 4.20 system and 16S rRNA gene sequence. Using nicotine as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen in the medium, it grew optimally with 1.0 g l(-1) of nicotine at 30 degrees C and pH 7.0, and nicotine was completely degraded within 6 h. The resting cells prepared from the glucose-ammonium medium or LB medium could not degrade nicotine within 10 h, while those prepared from the nicotine medium could completely degrade 3 g l(-1) of nicotine in 1.5 h at a maximal rate of 1.23 g nicotine h(-1) g(-1) dry cell. Using the medium containing nicotine, glucose and ammonium simultaneously to cultivate strain S33, the resting cells could degrade 98.87% of nicotine in tobacco solid waste with the concentration as 30 mg nicotine g(-1) dry weight tobacco solid waste within 7 h at a maximal rate of 0.46 g nicotine h(-1) g(-1) dry cell.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first report that Agrobacterium sp. has the ability to degrade nicotine. Agrobacterium sp. S33 could use nicotine as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. The use of resting cells of the strain S33 prepared from the nicotine-glucose-ammonium medium was an effective method to degrade nicotine and detoxify tobacco solid waste.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Nicotine in tobacco wastes is both toxic and harmful to human health and the environment. This study showed that Agrobacterium sp. S33 may be suitable for the disposal of tobacco wastes and reducing the nicotine content in tobacco leaves.

Observation of single top-quark production

We report observation of the electroweak production of single top quarks in pp[over ] collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV based on 2.3 fb(-1) of data collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Using events containing an isolated electron or muon and missing transverse energy, together with jets originating from the fragmentation of b quarks, we measure a cross section of sigma(pp[over ]--> tb + X, tqb + X) = 3.94 + or - 0.88 pb. The probability to measure a cross section at this value or higher in the absence of signal is 2.5 x 10(-7), corresponding to a 5.0 standard deviation significance for the observation.

In-situ formation of sandwiched structures of nanotube/CuxOy/Cu composites for lithium battery applications

Development of materials and structures leading to lithium ion batteries with high energy and power density is a major requirement for catering to the power needs of present day electronic industry. Here, we report an in situ formation of a sandwiched structure involving single-walled carbon nanotube film, copper oxide, and copper during the direct synthesis of nanotube macrofilms over copper foils and their electrochemical performance in lithium ion batteries. The sandwiched structure showed a remarkably high reversible capacity of 220 mAh/g at a high cycling current of 18.6 A/g (50 C), leading to a significantly improved electrochemical performance which is extremely high compared to pure carbon nanotube and any other carbon based materials.

Search for dark photons from supersymmetric hidden valleys

We search for a new light gauge boson, a dark photon, with the D0 experiment. In the model we consider, supersymmetric partners are pair produced and cascade to the lightest neutralinos that can decay into the hidden sector state plus either a photon or a dark photon. The dark photon decays through its mixing with a photon into fermion pairs. We therefore investigate a previously unexplored final state that contains a photon, two spatially close leptons, and large missing transverse energy. We do not observe any evidence for dark photons and set a limit on their production.

Search for resonant pair production of neutral long-lived particles decaying to bb in pp collisions at square root(S)=1.96 TeV

We report on a first search for resonant pair production of neutral long-lived particles (NLLP) which each decay to a bb pair, using 3.6 fb(-1) of data recorded with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We search for pairs of displaced vertices in the tracking detector at radii in the range 1.6-20 cm from the beam axis. No significant excess is observed above background, and upper limits are set on the production rate in a hidden-valley benchmark model for a range of Higgs boson masses and NLLP masses and lifetimes.

Search for next-to-minimal supersymmetric Higgs bosons in the h --> aa --> micromicromicromicro, micromicrotautau channels using pp[over] collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV

We report on a first search for production of the lightest neutral CP-even Higgs boson (h) in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model, where h decays to a pair of neutral pseudoscalar Higgs bosons (a), using 4.2 fb;{-1} of data recorded with the D0 detector at Fermilab. The a bosons are required to either both decay to micro;{+}micro;{-} or one to micro;{+}micro;{-} and the other to tau;{+}tau;{-}. No significant signal is observed, and we set limits on its production as functions of M_{a} and M_{h}.

Catheter ablation vs. amiodarone plus losartan for prevention of atrial fibrillation recurrence in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

BACKGROUND

Although amiodarone plus angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and catheter ablation may improve sinus rhythm maintenance of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF), their clinical efficacies have not been compared. This prospective cohort study was designed to compare clinical efficacy of catheter ablation and amiodarone plus losartan on sinus rhythm maintenance in patients with paroxysmal AF.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 240 patients with paroxysmal AF were assigned to four groups. CPVA group (n = 60) was treated with circumferential pulmonary vein ablation (CPVA), SPVI group (n = 60) with segmental pulmonary vein isolation, AMIO group (n = 60) with amiodarone and AMIO + LO group (n = 60) with amiodarone plus losartan. The endpoint was documented recurrence of AF > 30 s by Holter or conventional 12-lead ECG in the 1-year follow-up period.

RESULTS

During 12 months of follow-up, the primary end point was reached in 28 patients in CPVA group, 14 patients in SPVI group, 25 patients in AMIO group and 13 patients in AMIO + LO group, respectively. The sinus rhythm in SPVI and AMIO + LO group were significant higher than that in CPVA and AMIO group (P < 0.01 and 0.025), and no difference between CPVA and AMIO group. The maintenance rate of sinus rhythm in SPVI group was similar to that in AMIO + LO group.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that segmental pulmonary vein isolation in preventing AF recurrence is similar to amiodarone plus losartan, but it is superior to CPVA and amiodarone alone in patients with paroxysmal AF. Larger multicentre studies are needed to confirm its long-term outcomes.

Experimental animal models of bullous pemphigoid

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a cutaneous autoimmune blistering disease characterized immunohistologically by dermal-epidermal junction separation, an inflammatory cell infiltrate in the upper dermis, and autoantibodies directed against the hemidesmosomal proteins BP230 and BP180. A passive transfer mouse model of BP that uses rabbit antibodies targeted against murine BP180 reproduces the key clinical and histological features of human BP. Using this model, it has been demonstrated that subepidermal blistering is initiated by anti-BP180 antibodies and mediated by complement activation, mast cell degranulation, neutrophil infiltration, and proteinase secretion. The rabbit-anti mouse IgG passive transfer model is not compatible with study of human pathogenic antibodies, as the human and murine antigenic epitopes are not cross-reactive. Two humanized mouse models in which the murine form of BP180 is replaced the human homologue have recently emerged. Autoantibodies isolated from human patients induce experimental BP in the humanized mice, and disease progression mirrors that observed in the rabbit-anti mouse IgG model. The humanized mouse models present ideal in vivo systems to test novel therapeutic strategies for disease management. In this review, we discuss the progress made in understanding the pathogenesis of BP, as well as the limits of using animal models to investigate human disease.