Using Web services choreography to support an extensible and flexible system development process

Systems Engineering (SE) controls a complex environment consisting of various collaborative subsystems. Each subsystem demands different kind of requirements and follows a specific strategy for its development process. Unifying and harmonizing the development process of all collaborative subsystems towards achieving the ultimate integrated system is one of the main challenges of SE. This work introduces a new approach towards having a generic SE unified process applicable to various environments. We suggest a service-oriented framework for SE process implemented using Web Services, and describe the process scenario in a machine-friendly abstract layer over the Development Process. This description layer choreographs collaborative subsystems and is implemented by a Web Services Choreography Description Language (WSCDL). It also covers Interface Management concerns of SE. In such an environment, as long as all services follow a unique framework for the SE process such as the one specified by the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), each phase of the process would then be an anonymous service implemented by a different vendor. As the result, an organization could easily customize its own specific development environment by editing this choreography layer according to its specific development policies, and then tailor its own desired development environment by choosing and integrating various services available on the Web. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-01, page: 0351. Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2006

Conductivity and Shear Viscosity of arcsinarcsin-Yang-Mills AdS Black Brane

In this paper, a non-abelian $arcsin$-Yang-Mills AdS black brane solution is introduced. Then, the color non-abelian direct current (DC) conductivity and shear viscosity to entropy density ratio of this model is calculated by fluid-gravity duality. Our results show that the Kovtun, Son and Starinets (KSS) bound is saturated and is exactly equal to $\frac{1}{4 \pi}$ but the color conductivity bound is violated for this model. Also, our outcomes recover the Yang-Mills AdS black brane when the coupling of Yang-Mills and gravity fields is went to zero.Comment: 9 Pages, no figure, submitted to INJ

Stimulation of oxytocin receptor during early reperfusion period protects the heart against ischemia/reperfusion injury: The role of mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel, nitric oxide, and prostaglandins

Postconditioning is a simple and safe strategy for cardioprotection and infarct size limitation. Our previous study showed that oxytocin (OT) exerts postconditioning effect on ischemic/reperfused isolated rat heart. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of OT receptor, mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel (mKATP), nitric oxide (NO) and cyclooxygenase (COX) pathways in OT postconditioning. Isolated rat hearts were divided into10 groups and underwent 30 min of regional ischemia followed by 120 min of reperfusion (n =6). In I/R (ischemia/reperfusion) group, ischemia and reperfusion were induced without any treatment. In OT group, oxytocin was perfused 5 min prior to beginning of reperfusion for 25 min. In groups 3-6, atosiban (oxytocin receptor blocker), L-NAME (N-Nitro-L-Arginine Methyl Ester, non-specific nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), 5-HD (5-hydroxydecanoate, mKATP inhibitor) and indomethacin (cyclooxygenase inhibitor) were infused prior to oxytocin administration. In others, the mentioned inhibitors were perfused prior to ischemia without oxytocin infusion. Infarct size, ventricular hemodynamic, coronary effluent, malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured at the end of reperfusion. OT perfusion significantly reduced infarct size, MDA and LDH in comparison with IR group. Atosiban, 5HD, L-NAME and indomethacin abolished the postconditioning effect of OT. Perfusion of the inhibitors alone prior to ischemia had no effect on infarct size, hemodynamic parameters, coronary effluent and biochemical markers as compared with I/R group. In conclusion, this study indicates that postconditioning effects of OT are mediated by activation of mKATP and production of NO and Prostaglandins (PGs). © 2015 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

A Dynamical System Approach to Realtime Obstacle Avoidance

This paper presents a novel approach to real-time obstacle avoidance based on dynamical systems (DS) that ensures impenetrability of multiple convex shaped objects. The proposed method can be applied to perform obstacle avoidance in Cartesian and Joint spaces and using both autonomous and non-autonomous DS-based controllers. Obstacle avoidance proceeds by modulating the original dynamics of the controller. The modulation is parameterizable and allows to determine a safety margin and to increase the robot's reactiveness in the face of uncertainty in the localization of the obstacle. The method is validated in simulation on different types of DS including locally and globally asymptotically stable DS, autonomous and non-autonomous DS, limit cycles, and unstable DS. Further, we verify it in several robot experiments on the 7 degrees of freedom Barrett WAM arm

Deferoxamine preconditioning to restore impaired HIF-1α-mediated angiogenic mechanisms in adipose-derived stem cells from STZ-induced type 1 diabetic rats

Objectives: Both excessive and insufficient angiogenesis are associated with progression of diabetic complications, of which poor angiogenesis is an important feature. Currently, adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are considered to be a promising source to aid therapeutic neovascularization. However, functionality of these cells is impaired by diabetes which can result from a defect in hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), a key mediator involved in neovascularization. In the current study, we sought to explore effectiveness of pharmacological priming with deferoxamine (DFO) as a hypoxia mimetic agent, to restore the compromised angiogenic pathway, with the aid of ADSCs derived from streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetic rats ('diabetic ADSCs'). Materials and methods: Diabetic ADSCs were treated with DFO and compared to normal and non-treated diabetic ADSCs for expression of HIF-1α, VEGF, FGF-2 and SDF-1, at mRNA and protein levels, using qRT-PCR, western blotting and ELISA assay. Activity of matrix metalloproteinases -2 and -9 were measured using a gelatin zymography assay. Angiogenic potential of conditioned media derived from normal, DFO-treated and non-treated diabetic ADSCs were determined by in vitro (in HUVECs) and in vivo experiments including scratch assay, three-dimensional tube formation testing and surgical wound healing models. Results: DFO remarkably enhanced expression of noted genes by mRNA and protein levels and restored activity of matrix metalloproteinases -2 and -9. Compromised angiogenic potential of conditioned medium derived from diabetic ADSCs was restored by DFO both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Conclusion: DFO preconditioning restored neovascularization potential of ADSCs derived from diabetic rats by affecting the HIF-1α pathway. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Vitamin D supplementation lowers thrombospondin-1 levels and blood pressure in healthy adults

Introduction: Vitamin D insufficiency, defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels < 75nmol/L is associated with cardio-metabolic dysfunction. Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with inflammation and fibrosis, but it remains uncertain whether these anomalies are readily reversible. Therefore, we aimed to determine the effects of vitamin D supplementation on markers of: 1) nitric oxide (NO) signaling, 2) inflammation, and 3) fibrosis, in healthy volunteers with mild hypovitaminosis. Methods: Healthy volunteers (n = 35) (mean age: 45 ± 11 years) with 25(OH)D levels <75nmol/L, received vitamin D supplementation (Ostelin ® capsules 2000IU) for 12 weeks. Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures (BP) were assessed. Routine biochemistry was examined. Plasma concentrations of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), hs-CRP, activin-A, and follistatin-like 3 (FSTL3) were quantitated. Results: Vitamin D administration for 12 weeks significantly increased 25-(OH)D levels (48.8 ± 16 nmol/L to 100.8 ± 23.7 nmol/L, p<0.001). There was significant lowering of systolic and diastolic BP, while there was no significant change in lipid profiles, or fasting insulin. Plasma concentrations of ADMA, hs-CRP, PAI-1, activin A, and FSTL-3 did not change with vitamin D supplementation. However, there was a marked reduction of TSP-1 (522.7 ± 379.8 ng/mL vs 206.7 ± 204.5 ng/mL, p<0.001). Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation in vitamin D insufficient, but otherwise healthy individuals markedly decreased TSP-1 levels and blood pressure. Since TSP-1 suppresses signaling of NO, it is possible that the fall in BP is engendered by restoration of NO effect.Anjalee T. Amarasekera, Bahador Assadi-Khansari, Saifei Liu, Marilyn Black, Greer Dymmott, Natasha M. Rogers, Aaron L. Sverdlov, John D. Horowitz, Doan T. M. Ng

Effect of general health status on chronicity of low back pain in industrial workers

Recognizing patients at a higher risk of developing chronic low back pain (LBP) is important in industrial medicine. This study aimed to assess the power and quality of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) for prediction of the odds of chronicity of acute LBP. This study was conducted on industrial workers. All subjects with acute LBP who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Demographic characteristics, occupational, physical, and mental parameters and the general health status of subjects were evaluated; they were followed up for developing chronic LBP for one year. Cigarette smoking, high body mass index, job stress, physical load and high GHQ scores were found to be the risk factors for the progression of acute LBP to chronic LBP (P0.05). High GHQ score can be a risk factor for progression of acute LBP to chronic LBP. The GHQ in combination with the Job Content Questionnaire can be used as a quick and simple screening tool for detection of subjects at high risk of chronic LBP when evaluating acute LBP in an occupational setting. © 2016 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.

Comparison of Yarrowia lipolytica and Pichia pastoris cellular response to different agents of oxidative stress

Yeast cells exposed to adverse conditions employ a number of defense mechanisms in order to respond effectively to the stress effects of reactive oxygen species. In this work, the cellular response of Yarrowia lipolytica and Pichia pastoris to the exposure to the ROSinducing agents’ paraquat, hydrogen peroxide, and increased air pressure was analyzed. Yeast cells at exponential phase were exposed for 3 h to 1 mM paraquat, to 50 mM H2O2, or to increased air pressure of 3 or 5 bar. For both strains, the cellular viability loss and lipid peroxidation was lower for the cells exposed to increased air pressure than for those exposed to chemical oxidants. The glutathione induction occurred only in Y. lipolytica strain and reached the highest level as a response to PQ exposure. In general, antioxidant enzymes were more expressed in Y. lipolytica than in P. pastoris. The enzyme superoxide dismutase was induced in both strains under all the oxidant conditions but was dependent on the cellular growth phase, being undetectable in non-growing cells, whereas glutathione reductase was more induced in those conditions. Hydrogen peroxide was the most efficient inducer of catalase. Both yeast cultures underwent no cellular growth inhibition with increased air pressure, indicating that these yeast species were able to adapt to the oxidative stressful environment.The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by "Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia" (Grant SFRH/BD/47371/2008)