Evacuation Planning Based on the Contraflow Technique With Consideration of Evacuation Priorities and Traffic Setup Time

Evacuation planning with the contraflow technique is a complex planning problem. The problem is further complicated when more realistic situations such as evacuation priorities and the setup time for the contraflow operation are considered. Such a complex problem has yet to be discussed in the present literature. In this paper, we present a multipleobjective optimization model for this problem and a two-layer algorithm to solve this model. Experiments on three transportation networks with different network scales are presented to show the excellent performance of the proposed model and algorithm.published_or_final_versio

The effect of human mesenchymal stem cell on cigarette smoke-induced alterations of cardiac function and lipid metabolism in rat

Oral PresentationINTRODUCTION: Cigarette smoking is recognised as a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were reported to attenuate cardiac injury of myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bone marrow–derived MSCs (BM-MSC) and induced pluripotent stem …published_or_final_versio

On domain modelling of the service system with its application to enterprise information systems

Information systems are a kind of service systems and they are throughout every element of a modern industrial and business system, much like blood in our body. Types of information systems are heterogeneous because of extreme uncertainty in changes in modern industrial and business systems. To effectively manage information systems, modelling of the work domain (or domain) of information systems is necessary. In this paper, a domain modelling framework for the service system is proposed and its application to the enterprise information system is outlined. The framework is defined based on application of a general domain modelling tool called function-context-behaviour-principle-state-structure (FCBPSS). The FCBPSS is based on a set of core concepts, namely: function, context, behaviour, principle, state and structure and system decomposition. Different from many other applications of FCBPSS in systems engineering, the FCBPSS is applied to both infrastructure and substance systems, which is novel and effective to modelling of service systems including enterprise information systems. It is to be noted that domain modelling of systems (e.g. enterprise information systems) is a key to integration of heterogeneous systems and to coping with unanticipated situations facing to systems.postprin

Altered profile of circulating endothelial progenitor cells in obstructive sleep apnea

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Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Attenuate Cigarette Smoke-Induced Cardiac Remodeling and Dysfunction

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Characterizing the Relation Between Expression QTLs and Complex Traits: Exploring the Role of Tissue Specificity

Measurement of gene expression levels and detection of eQTLs (expression quantitative trait loci) are difficult in tissues with limited sample availability, such as the brain. However, eQTL overlap between tissues might be high, which would allow for inference of eQTL functioning in the brain via eQTLs detected in readily accessible tissues, e.g. whole blood. Applying Stratified Linkage Disequilibrium Score Regression (SLDSR), we quantified the enrichment in polygenic signal of blood and brain eQTLs in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of 11 complex traits. We looked at eQTLs discovered in 44 tissues by the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) consortium and two other large representative studies, and found no tissue-specific eQTL effects. Next, we integrated the GTEx eQTLs with regions associated with tissue-specific histone modifiers, and interrogated their effect on rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia. We observed substantially enriched effects of eQTLs located inside regions bearing modification H3K4me1 on schizophrenia, but not rheumatoid arthritis, and not tissue-specific. Finally, we extracted eQTLs associated with tissue-specific differentially expressed genes and determined their effects on rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia, these analysis revealed limited enrichment of eQTLs associated with gene specifically expressed in specific tissues. Our results pointed to strong enrichment of eQTLs in their effect on complex traits, without evidence for tissue-specific effects. Lack of tissue-specificity can be either due to a lack of statistical power or due to the true absence of tissue-specific effects. We conclude that eQTLs are strongly enriched in GWAS signal and that the enrichment is not specific to the eQTL discovery tissue. Until sample sizes for eQTL discovery grow sufficiently large, working with relatively accessible tissues as proxy for eQTL discovery is sensible and restricting lookups for GWAS hits to a specific tissue for which limited samples are available might not be advisable

Amelioration of cigarette smoke-induced cardiac dysfunction and inflammation by mesenchymal stem cells

This journal issue contain abstracts of Eighteenth Annual Scientific Meeting, Institute of Cardiovascular Science and MedicineOral Presentation: OP2OBJECTIVES: Cigarette smoke (CS) is recognized as a major cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Inflammatory responses play important roles in the pathophysiological processes of CS-induced cardiac damage. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are regarded as a promising candidate for cell-based therapy in CVD. We aimed to compare the effects of bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived MSC (iPSC-MSCs) on cardiac function ...postprin

iPSC-derived mesenchymal stem cells exert SCF-dependent recovery of cigarette smoke-induced apoptosis/proliferation imbalance in airway cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a potential cell‐based therapy for pulmonary emphysema in animal models. Our previous study demonstrated that human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived MSCs (iPSC‐MSCs) were superior over bone marrow–derived MSCs (BM‐MSCs) in attenuating cigarette smoke (CS)‐induced airspace enlargement possibly through mitochondrial transfer. This study further investigated the effects of iPSC‐MSCs on inflammation, apoptosis, and proliferation in a CS‐exposed rat model and examined the effects of the secreted paracrine factor from MSCs as another possible mechanism in an in vitro model of bronchial epithelial cells. Rats were exposed to 4% CS for 1 hr daily for 56 days. At days 29 and 43, human iPSC‐MSCs or BM‐MSCs were administered intravenously. We observed significant attenuation of CS‐induced elevation of circulating 8‐isoprostane and cytokine‐induced neutrophil chemoattractant‐1 after iPSC‐MSC treatment. In line, a superior capacity of iPSC‐MSCs was also observed in ameliorating CS‐induced infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils and apoptosis/proliferation imbalance in lung sections over BM‐MSCs. In support, the conditioned medium (CdM) from iPSC‐MSCs ameliorated CS medium‐induced apoptosis/proliferation imbalance of bronchial epithelial cells in vitro. Conditioned medium from iPSC‐MSCs contained higher level of stem cell factor (SCF) than that from BM‐MSCs. Deprivation of SCF from iPSC‐MSC‐derived CdM led to a reduction in anti‐apoptotic and pro‐proliferative capacity. Taken together, our data suggest that iPSC‐MSCs may possess anti‐apoptotic/pro‐proliferative capacity in the in vivo and in vitro models of CS‐induced airway cell injury partly through paracrine secretion of SCF.published_or_final_versio

Socioeconomic differentials in the immediate mortality effects of the national Irish smoking ban

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: Consistent evidence has demonstrated that smoking ban policies save lives, but impacts on health inequalities are uncertain as few studies have assessed post-ban effects by socioeconomic status (SES) and findings have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the national Irish smoking ban on ischemic heart disease (IHD), stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality by discrete and composite SES indicators to determine impacts on inequalities. Methods: Census data were used to assign frequencies of structural and material SES indicators to 34 local authorities across Ireland with a 2000–2010 study period. Discrete indicators were jointly analysed through principal component analysis to generate a composite index, with sensitivity analyses conducted by varying the included indicators. Poisson regression with interrupted time-series analysis was conducted to examine monthly age and gender-standardised mortality rates in the Irish population, ages ≥35 years, stratified by tertiles of SES indicators. All models were adjusted for time trend, season, influenza, and smoking prevalence. Results: Post-ban mortality reductions by structural SES indicators were concentrated in the most deprived tertile for all causes of death, while reductions by material SES indicators were more equitable across SES tertiles. The composite indices mirrored the results of the discrete indicators, demonstrating that post-ban mortality decreases were either greater or similar in the most deprived when compared to the least deprived for all causes of death. Conclusions: Overall findings indicated that the national Irish smoking ban reduced inequalities in smoking-related mortality. Due to the higher rates of smoking-related mortality in the most deprived group, even equitable reductions across SES tertiles resulted in decreases in inequalities. The choice of SES indicator was influential in the measurement of effects, underscoring that a differentiated analytical approach aided in understanding the complexities in which structural and material factors influence mortality

Weight and metabolic effects of cpap in obstructive sleep apnea patients with obesity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with obesity, insulin resistance (IR) and diabetes. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) rapidly mitigates OSA in obese subjects but its metabolic effects are not well-characterized. We postulated that CPAP will decrease IR, ghrelin and resistin and increase adiponectin levels in this setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a pre- and post-treatment, within-subject design, insulin and appetite-regulating hormones were assayed in 20 obese subjects with OSA before and after 6 months of CPAP use. Primary outcome measures included glucose, insulin, and IR levels. Other measures included ghrelin, leptin, adiponectin and resistin levels. Body weight change were recorded and used to examine the relationship between glucose regulation and appetite-regulating hormones.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CPAP effectively improved hypoxia. However, subjects had increased insulin and IR. Fasting ghrelin decreased significantly while leptin, adiponectin and resistin remained unchanged. Forty percent of patients gained weight significantly. Changes in body weight directly correlated with changes in insulin and IR. Ghrelin changes inversely correlated with changes in IR but did not change as a function of weight.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Weight change rather than elimination of hypoxia modulated alterations in IR in obese patients with OSA during the first six months of CPAP therapy.</p