Extraction of Product Evolution Tree from Source Code of Product Variants

Proceedings of the 17th International Software Product Line Conference SPLC '13 Proceedings of the 17th International Software Product Line Conferenc

Vascular Adhesion Protein-1 Blockade Suppresses Ocular Inflammation After Retinal Laser Photocoagulation in Mice

PURPOSE. To investigate the effect of the vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) inhibitor RTU-1096 on retinal morphologic changes and ocular inflammation after retinal laser photocoagulation in mice. METHODS. C57BL/6JJcl mice were fed a diet containing RTU-1096, a specific inhibitor for VAP-1, or a control diet ad libitum for 7 days. Laser photocoagulation was performed on the peripheral retina of the animals. The semicarbazide sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) activities in plasma and chorioretinal tissues were measured. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were acquired before and at 1, 3, and 7 days after laser photocoagulation, and thickness of the individual retinal layers was measured. Intravitreal leukocyte infiltration was assessed by histologic analysis. The expression level of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in retinal tissues were examined by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS. One day after laser photocoagulation, the thickness of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) increased in the laser group compared with in the control group, and RTU-1096 administration abrogated the ONL thickening. Histologic analysis and OCT observation revealed that laser photocoagulation caused infiltration of inflammatory cells and the appearance of hyperreflective foci at the vitreoretinal surface, both of which were suppressed by RTU-1096 administration. In addition, systemic administration of RTU-1096 reduced upregulation of the leukocyte adhesion molecules ICAM-1 in the retina. CONCLUSIONS. The current data indicate that VAP-1/SSAO inhibition may be a potential therapeutic strategy for the prevention of macular edema secondary to scatter laser photocoagulation in patients with ischemic retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy

Chemical property of live and dead leaves of tundra plant species in Oobloyah Valley, Ellesmere Island, high arctic Canada

The chemical property of live and dead leaves was investigated regarding 14 plant species, including shrubs, forbs, graminoids, and mosses. Leaves were collected from a deglaciated terrain in Ellesmere Island, high arctic Canada. The contents of organic chemical components (lignin, total carbohydrates, extractives), carbon, and nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) were examined and compared among the species. In general, forbs had high content of nutrients and low content of carbon and organic chemical components; shrubs had high content of carbon and lignin and low content of nutrients; graminoids had high content of total carbohydrates and low content of lignin and nutrients; and mosses had high content of total carbohydrates and markedly low content of nutrients. Principal component analysis showed separation of clusters of shrubs, forbs, graminoids, and mosses. The trend was generally similar between live and dead leaves

The Role of the Keap1/Nrf2 Pathway in the Cellular Response to Methylmercury

Methylmercury (MeHg) is an environmental electrophile that covalently modifies cellular proteins with reactive thiols, resulting in the formation of protein adducts. While such protein modifications, referred to as S-mercuration, are thought to be associated with the enzyme dysfunction and cellular damage caused by MeHg exposure, the current consensus is that (1) there is a cellular response to MeHg through the activation of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) coupled to S-mercuration of its negative regulator, Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), and (2) the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway protects against MeHg toxicity. In this review, we introduce our findings and discuss the observations of other workers concerning the S-mercuration of cellular proteins by MeHg and the importance of the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway in protection against MeHg toxicity in cultured cells and mice

Measuring Copying of Java Archives

Copying the whole of a library is one of the major types of reuse in software development.In Java, a single library archive file often contains other libraries it depends on, but users of the library hardly know about such inner libraries.Since reusing libraries is a black-box method, developers may combine some librarieswithout knowing that those libraries contain the same library inside independently.As a result, a library may contain inside several copies of a library it reuses.In this research, we measured copying of jar archives in the Maven Central Repository, a collection of open source Java libraries.Our results show that about 14% of top-level jar files are reused in other jar filesand some of them are duplicated in a single jar file.We also found that some libraries contain two or more different versions of the same library

Initial recruitment and establishment of vascular plants in relation to topographical variation in microsite conditions on a recently-deglaciated moraine on Ellesmere Island, high arctic Canada

We investigated the effects of topographical positions (moraine ridge, upper side slope and lower side slope) within a recently-deglaciated young moraine on initial recruitment and establishment of vascular plants. Compared with the moraine ridge, the upper slope had similar/higher abundance of vascular plants in terms of percent cover, frequency occurrence, species number, and density/biomass of a dominating species, Salix arctica. Establishment and growth of vascular plants are generally inhibited on unstable habitats; nevertheless, on this newly-formed moraine, every attribute measured for vascular plants implied a higher probability of vascular plant recruitment on the upper slope, where substrate is less stable than on the ridge. Further, the microsite with greater vascular plant abundance, S. arctica density and S. arctica aboveground/leaf biomass accumulated more organic materials regardless of topographical positions, and such an organic accumulation was deepest on the upper slope, suggesting that relatively-successful plant establishment occurs on this site. This is further supported by the S. arctica population structure, which implies a relatively-constant juvenile supply on the upper slope. Along a slope, unstable gravels easily slide down hill. This topographical process may cause large rock size and high surface cover by rocks on the lower slope. On the upper slope, the percent cover by rocks had therefore become smaller, leading to high cover by fine-grained sediments, which retain moisture favorable for germination and growth of vascular plants. This would enhance the emergence of pioneer vascular plant species, probably resulting in higher vascular plant abundance, density and biomass of S. arctica on the upper slope. This study suggests that during primary succession following deglaciation in the high arctic the upper slope of a newly-formed glacier moraine may be an important location for the initial recruitment and establishment of pioneer vascular plant species, such as S. arctica

Mark Tracking: Position/orientation measurements using 4-circle mark and its tracking experiments

Future space robots require position and orientation tracking with visual feedback control to track and capture floating objects and satellites. We developed a four-circle mark that is useful for this purpose. With this mark, four geometric center positions as feature points can be extracted from the mark by simple image processing. We also developed a position and orientation measurement method that uses the four feature points in our mark. The mark gave good enough image measurement accuracy to let space robots approach and contact objects. A visual feedback control system using this mark enabled a robot arm to track a target object accurately. The control system was able to tolerate a time delay of 2 seconds