Proposal of a Ranking Method for Comments in Social Media Using Ratings of Comment Posters

Many social media adopt a ranking method in which comments are ranked in the order of the number of ratings attached to each comment. However, this method has the disadvantage of ratings being concentrated on comments posted at an early stage. Even if there are high-quality comments posted later, most of them are buried without being noticed. This paper proposes a ranking method that considers not only the ratings for each comment but also the previous ratings the comment poster has received. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated through a simulation. We demonstrate that with the proposed method, high-quality comments are displayed in the higher positions regardless of the posting period

Proposal of a Flooding-based Flexible Search Method for Chord Networks

Recently, peer-to-peer (P2P) network models have been attracting considerable attention. P2P models can be classified into structured and unstructured P2P models. Representative search methods for structured and unstructured P2P networks are Chord and Flooding, respectively. It is difficult to realize flexible search in Chord networks. On the other hand, a large number of query transmissions are required for Flooding. In this study, we propose a Flooding-based search method for Chord networks. Our method works separately from the traditional search method for Chord networks. It suppresses the transmission of redundant queries by considering the topological properties of the structured networks and enables flexible search in Chord networks. Through simulation experiments, we evaluate the performance of the proposed search method and show its effectiveness

Demonstration of chondroitin sulfates degrading endo-β-glucuronidase activity in rabbit liver

AbstractReduced chondroitin sulfate was incubated with rabbit liver extracts followed by reduction once more with sodium [3H]borohydride, and then passed through a Sephadex G-100 column. Chondroitin sulfate obtained from the incubation medium at pH 4 was only slightly depolymerized and was highly radioactive. Paper Chromatographic analyses showed that glucuronic acid residues became exposed at the reducing terminal of chondroitin sulfate after incubation with the liver extracts. These results suggest that endo-β-glucuronidase activity which degrades chondroitin sulfate is present in the rabbit liver

Random dynamical systems modeling for brain wave synchrony

A random dynamical systems model is studied\ud to understand coupled dynamics of auditory area and\ud motor area modulated by external force. We measure transfer\ud entropy of coupled oscillators with the presence of noise\ud to explain results of human brain wave experiments

Bilateral Pneumothorax Associated With Lung and Pleural Metastases of Breast Cancer

A rare case of bilateral pneumothorax in a 54-year-old woman with advanced breast cancer associated with lung and pleural metastases is presented. The patient was admitted to our hospital complaining of unexpected severe dyspnea. A chest X-ray showed bilateral pneumothorax associated with multiple lung metastases and pleural effusions, followed by immediate pleural drainage. Although air leak and effusions of the right lung were well controlled by the conservative management, massive air leaks of the left lung had continued for 40 days. Because of patient's poor general status a surgical closure of the leaking site was selected using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery techniques. Thoracoscopy revealed a ruptured bulla in the lower lobe (S6), thus, followed by a successful bullectomy with a stapling device. We speculate that multiple pleural metastasis may disturb the normal repair mechanism of the lung tissue and cause prolonged persistent air leaks

18-HEPE, an n-3 fatty acid metabolite released by macrophages, prevents pressure overload–induced maladaptive cardiac remodeling

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have potential cardiovascular benefit, although the mechanisms underlying this effect remain poorly understood. Fat-1 transgenic mice expressing Caenorhabditis elegans n-3 fatty acid desaturase, which is capable of producing n-3 PUFAs from n-6 PUFAs, exhibited resistance to pressure overload–induced inflammation and fibrosis, as well as reduced cardiac function. Lipidomic analysis revealed selective enrichment of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in fat-1 transgenic bone marrow (BM) cells and EPA-metabolite 18-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid (18-HEPE) in fat-1 transgenic macrophages. BM transplantation experiments revealed that fat-1 transgenic BM cells, but not fat-1 transgenic cardiac cells, contributed to the antiremodeling effect and that the 18-HEPE–rich milieu in the fat-1 transgenic heart was generated by BM-derived cells, most likely macrophages. 18-HEPE inhibited macrophage-mediated proinflammatory activation of cardiac fibroblasts in culture, and in vivo administration of 18-HEPE reproduced the fat-1 mice phenotype, including resistance to pressure overload–induced maladaptive cardiac remodeling