This report documents a journey “from research to an approved standard” of a NIST-led standard development activity. That standard, Core Manufacturing Simulation Data (CMSD) information model, provides neutral structures for the efficient exchange of manufacturing data in a simulation environment. The model was standardized under the auspices of the international Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO). NIST started the research in 2001 and initiated the standardization effort in 2004. The CMSD standard was published in two SISO Products. In the first Product, the information model was defined in the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and published in 2010 as SISO-STD-008-2010. In the second Product, the information model was defined in Extensible Markup Language (XML) and published in 2013 as SISO-STD-008-01-2012. Both SISO-STD-008-2010 and SISO-STD-008-01-2012 are intended to be used together. In 2001, the Manufacturing Systems Integration Division  of the National Institute Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  began a project with a number of industrial partners and researchers. That project was designed to develop neutral formats for machine-shop data to facilitate simulation and modeling activities. A machine-shop information model, as a neutral interface format, was developed with support from both NIST’s Systems Integration for Manufacturing Applications (SIMA) Program .KJLC is an international manufacturer and distributor of vacuum products and systems that target the research and industrial vacuum markets. KJLC manufactures complete, automatically-controlled vacuum systems; their special emphasis is on custom-designed, thin-film-deposition systems for research in alloys, semiconductors, superconductors, and optical and optoelectronics. At the time of the research, these systems were manufactured in a machine shop contained within the KJLC facility. Information from KJLC’s machine-shop operation was used to help define requirements for the simulation models and the data-interface specifications described in this report. Their facility was also used as a pilot site for testing and evaluating the simulation models, neutral data interfaces, and other software developed under the TIDE project.The machine-shop information model was developed with two goals in mind. The first was to provide support for the integration of software applications at a pilot facility – KJLC’s machine shop. The second was to provide a more broad foundation for a new standard data interface for manufacturing simulators and possibly for other manufacturing software applications such as manufacturing execution systems and production scheduling systems. The modeling work started by gathering information requirements, accomplished primarily through visits to the KJLC manufacturing plant. Most of their shop-operation information was in paper format or recorded on whiteboards. KJLC was hopeful that the machine-shop information model would provide a sharable, stable, and organized structure of information requirements or knowledge, and offer great benefits to the company.In 2003, Charles Mclean and Tina Lee completed an initial version of the machine-shop information model in two languages: Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Extensible Markup Language (XML). The information model continued to evolve based on the experience and feedback from KJLC’s implementations and others researchers involved in the effort. After two years of evolution, the document, which was called Shop Data Model and Interface Specification, was published by Charles McLean, Tina Lee, Guodong Shao, and Frank Riddick .The Specification was tested in two case studies: KJLC’s prototype scheduling system and Boeing’s aircraft-wing-assembly simulation . The SpeMore than a dozen technical papers related to the machine-shop information model have been published by MSID –21. TopiDuring the time that the machine-shop information model was being developed and used in manufacturing simulation and integration research projects, it came to the attention of Philomena Zimmerman. She was an Associate Director at the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office  and DMSO liaison to the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Executive Committee. In May 2003, Zimmerman contacted us about a potential joint effort between DMSO and NIST; she invited Charles McLean and Tina Lee to give a presentation at DMSO. As a result, Zimmerman recommended that NIST promote our machine-shop information model to SISO for standardization. The major reasons were 1) SISO is a recognized Sponsor Committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standards Association (SA); 2) SISO is a home for diverse modeling and simulation (M&S) communities; and 3) SISO is promoting the participation of and working to draw in manufacturing industry participants.In April 2004, three NIST representatives met with the chairperson of the SISO Standards Activity Committee (SAC) to discuss the possibility of standardizing a specification based on the machine-shop information model. The Committee gave very positive responses and provided information necessary to create a SISO Product Development Group (PDG), the SISO mechanism through which standards are developed, balloted, and approved. With support from SISO management, NIST set its destination for international standardization.SISO is an international organization dedicated to the promotion of M&S interoperability and reuse for the benefit of a broad range of M&S communities that include developers, procurers, and users worldwide . The SISActivity approval, Product development, Product balloting, and Product approval [Activity approval includes submitting and approving the product nomination (PN), i.e., a proposal. A PN describes needs, maturity, planned testing, proposed schedule, and candidate developer volunteers. The PN approval process includes a thirty-day review by the SISO community and approvals from both the SAC and EXCOM. Once the PN has been approved, a new PDG is chartered and product development begins.Product development includes forming the PDG, conducting PDG meetings, developing the product, commenting on the draft product, and resolving the comments. A PDG is composed of SISO members interested in the product area and at least one Drafting Group, which produces the product or product components. The draft product, prepared by the Drafting Group(s), is based on either new original work or pre-existing work begun by other individuals or organizations. At various times during development, draft products are provided to the PDG membership for review and comment. Once the PDG has completed the product development step, the PDG presents the product to the SAC for approval to enter the ballot product phase, i.e., to begin balloting.Product balloting includes establishing a circulation package, forming a ballot group, conducting the ballot, resolving the comments, and conducting re-circulation ballots as required. A circulation package consists of the product, meeting minutes, comment resolution artifacts, and relevant supporting material for major technical revisions. An invitation to join the ballot group is open to all interested individuals including non-SISO members; however, non-SISO members must join SISO to be included in the ballot group. A balanced ballot group that includes members from different organizations and technical areas is important to ensure community consensus in a SISO Product. The ballot group shall be balanced using three different criteria — Representation, Organization, and Interest.Representation: Three categories exist for Representation: commercial, government, and academic. No Representation category shall exceed 75 % of the ballot group and each category shall be at least 10 % of the ballot group.Organization: No single organization shall exceed 25 % of a Representation category.Interest: Three categories exist for Interest: user, developer, and general interest. No Interest category shall exceed 50 % of the ballot group.The ballot period for an initial ballot is between 30 and 60 days. During the ballot period, each member of the ballot group has the opportunity to accept or reject the product and to submit comments. For a product ballot to be valid, at least 75 % of the ballots must be returned. Also, for a product ballot to be successful, at least 75 % of all the ballots returned must accept the standard product. The PDG shall resolve all of the comments received. A re-circulation ballot is conducted if 1) the previous product ballot is unsuccessful and 2) the PDG and SAC agree that the balloting process should continue. The ballot period for a re-circulation product ballot is 30 days. When the balloting is complete, the product is ready for final approval by the SAC and EXCOM.Product approval includes submitting the product-for-approval package and approving the product. A product approval package consists of the product nomination, final product draft, ballot results, and PDG activity documentation  The SAC is responsible for approving the product developed by the PDG and recommending a final disposition of the product to the EXCOM. This review may take 4 to 6 weeks. The EXCOM is responsible for the final approval of all products that will carry the SISO label.SISO Products are categorized into two tracks: balloted and un-balloted . Un-ballapproval .ActivitOnce the SISO Product is approved, it is ready for publication to the SISO community. In addition, all SISO-sponsored balloted products shall have a PSG established to provide continuity for the product. For ensuring credibility and integrity, SISO offers a mechanism for the periodic review of approved products with a focus on the maintenance of these products.This section presents an overview of CMSD and its associated standardization activities.Currently, there are standards that address manufacturing data related to production operations, such as ISA-95  and OpenBefore CMSD, there were no neutral data formats for storing the manufacturing data needed to develop and run simulation models. CMSD’s neutral structure represents the concepts, relationships, constraints, and rules that define the semantics of the “core” elements for that data. The advantage of using a neutral structure is that it can enable the creation of organized, self-consistent collections of information that can be reused by different applications without regard to proprietary license or intellectual property issues. In addition, CMSD facilitates the integration of simulation software with other manufacturing applications.CMSD defines an information model in two commonly used modeling methods: UML and XML. UML is a graphical model representation and XML is a tag-based format for machine interpretable structured documents. Both languages can provide representations of the same information; in fact, the CMSD-XML  is mappeMapping an information model built in UML to its “mirror image” in XML can normally be done in a straightforward manner, with the help of a schema language. However, no existing schema language for XML could support all of the complex interrelationships between the entities defined by the CMSD-UML model. The PDG eventually followed a two-language approach: using REgular LAnguage for XML Next Generation (RELAX NG), which is a grammar-based language, and Schematron, which is a rule-based language, to accomplish the mapping task .The CMSD specification was published in two SISO Products: CMSD-UML was officially published on September 20, 2010 as SISO-STD-008-2010  and CMSDFor brevity, the rest of this report focuses on the standardization of CMSD-UML and leaves out CMSD-XML. This is because the major effort of developing the CMSD family of products was on CMSD-UML. Modeling CMSD-UML involved requirements analysis, modeling design, and case studies while CMSD-XML involved no additional requirements analysis and much less modeling design. Additionally, the case studies involving CMSD-XML were based on the existing case studies of CMSD-UML.This section describes the development of the CMSD-UML model. The prototype development for CMSD testing is also discussed.Extending the original machine-shop information model to the CMSD information model was not a simple process. This is because the original model was focused on one manufacturer and CMSD needed a much broader scope. That scope was to support the exchange of information between manufacturing-oriented simulations and other applications in manufacturing domains such as process planning, scheduling, inventory management, production management, and plant layout. While the manufacturing sector was the primary target, DoD’s interests and needs were taken into account from the beginning. Consequently, the participants of CMSD development included industrial users, military users, academic researchers, and software vendors. This meant that extending the original model to a UML model still required a major technical revision.That extension was performed by the CMSD Drafting Group, led by NIST’s co-editors Frank Riddick and Tina Lee. The group started by gathering detailed requirements from literature reviews, site visits, domain-expert interviews, needs analysis, operational mission-requirements analysis, and trade-off analyses. The CMSD-UML document went through three major revisions before it was reviewed by the PDG membership in February 2009. Two more revisions were made based on the comments received from the ballot group and final reviews from the SAC and EXCOM. The final version, SISO-STD-008-2010, was published in September 2010.The content of CMSD and its feasibility for use as a data-exchange and application-integration mechanism called for pilot implementation tests. Industry use cases were often hard to acquire. In collaboration with industrial and academic partners, several prototype applications using initial or draft CMSD standards were developed for validation tests. Prototype development based on CMSD was undertaken to ensure that the information model was sufficiently detailed to describe fully the data needs of simulation applications. The prototypes were also used to provide evidence that CMSD was mature enough to warrant standardization.One of the pilot implementations was performed under the Swedish research project, “Factory Analyses in Conceptual Phases Using Simulation” , 29. ThaMore case study results are documented in the technical paper, “Core Manufacturing Simulation Data – a Manufacturing Simulation integration Standard: Overview and Case Studies” .Representation, Organization, and Interest that is described in Sec. 3. The NIST leadership team successfully formed the balanced CMSD-UML ballot group of 42 members in early December 2009. With the ballot group formed, the PDG was able to start the balloting process; the ballot period was from December 16, 2009 to February 13, 2010.The biggest challenge during CMSD balloting was to establish the CMSD-UML ballot group. The difficulty was due to SISO’s ballot group balancing criteria — The initial ballot was successful; no re-circulation ballot was needed. Of the 42 members of the ballot group, CMSD-UML had 34 “accept” votes and 8 “accept with comment” votes. No ballot group members voted to reject. Finally, CMSD-UML was officially approved by the EXCOM. The announcement of this approval was made at SISO’s Fall Simulation Integration Workshop’s Plenary Session held on September 21, 2010.The CMSD PDG conducted its kick-off meeting at the 2004 Fall Simulation Interoperability Workshop. Work progressed through September 2010 when the PDG published its first SISO Product, SISO-STD-008-2010. The PDG’s second SISO Product, SISO-STD-008-01-2012, was finalized in 2012 and published in 2013. Since the CMSD PDG completed its work and there were no plans to develop additional SISO Products at that time, the PDG ceased operations and transitioned to the CMSD PSG in 2013. The PSG operates as a focused, task-organized group concentrating on the support of the SISO CMSD products. The group also serves as the central point for the interpretation of the product language. This means that it is responsible for accepting, developing, and maintaining problem/change reports to support future product revisions. In 2015, the PSG will conduct a required periodic review to make a recommendation whether to reaffirm, revise, or withdraw SISO-STD-008-2010.Supply Chain Production engineering , 45, 49Design and planning , 57, 58Sustainable Manufacturing , 56, 59Construction A literature review showed that in recent years many organizations including NIST have applied CMSD, both in draft and in final form, in various application domains where simulation has been involved –62. The Many different commercial simulation systems were used in these efforts, including ExtendSim V8, 3DCreate, Plant Simulation, Enterprise Dynamics, Arena, and QUeuing Event Simulation Tool (QUEST); this demonstrates CMSD’s use as an interoperable representation for manufacturing simulation data.While these efforts focused on developing solutions for manufacturing problems, international research efforts have also focused on the development of CMSD support methodologies or tools , 61, 62.○Is the subject area of the proposed standard closely related to the scope of the SDO named?○Does the SDO have well-defined standard development guidelines?○Is the expected standard-development duration within a reasonable time frame to be of value to the stakeholder(s)?○Does the SDO membership have the technical expertise that the proposed standard needs?Carefully select the SDO. Look into the following items:Engage candidate volunteers, including software vendors, researchers, and potential users, starting from the early stage.Engage the industry that the proposed standard is intended to support.Perform thorough needs and requirements analyses.Plan early for acquiring industrial use cases and datasets.Develop a number of test implementations before the final standard is released.Get commitment from upper management for time and labor.If filling a leadership role, be prepared for unexpected work load; volunteer committee members might come and go.Closely follow work progress for each process step required by the SDO.Promote the research and resulting specification early and prior to its adoption as a standard.This report described the process of developing the CMSD standards under the auspices of SISO, a Sponsor Committee of IEEE, and NATO-recognized SDO. CMSD grew out of a successful, long-term, NIST-led collaboration. The standards enable engineers to import and export many different types of factory data into computer simulations consistently and unambiguously. The CMSD standards can potentially make M&S capabilities more practical and cost-effective for a much broader spectrum of manufacturers. The standard has been applied both nationally and internationally to several application domains such as production engineering, construction, and sustainable manufacturing. Lessons learned from this experience include:This journey of twelve years, from basic research to an official standard, was quite an experience.


Pseudoaneurysm of graft–graft anastomosis is an extremely rare but potentially fatal complication after thoracic aorta replacement with a prosthetic graft. We report a case of pseudoaneurysm at the graft–graft anastomosis of a hand-sewn branched graft.A 65-year-old man underwent total arch replacement with a hand-sewn branched graft for Stanford type A acute aortic dissection 22 years ago. During follow-up, serial CT scans showed a pseudoaneurysm on the branched graft which warranted reintervention. Surgical repair involved direct suture of multiple bleeding points which were found at the sites of the hand-sewn branches anastomosis. The postoperative course was uneventful, and no signs of bleeding were observed by CT after the reoperation.Long-term follow-up is essential to detect late complications at the site of hand-sewn anastomosis. Pseudoaneurysm of graft–graft anastomosis is an extremely rare but potentially fatal complication after thoracic aorta replacement with a prosthetic graft, although it is relatively more between the native aorta and a prosthetic graft. We describe a case of pseudoaneurysm at the graft–graft anastomosis of a hand-sewn branched graft 22 years after total arch replacement.A 65-year-old man had undergone total arch replacement with a Gealseal knitted Dacron graft  for type A acute aortic dissection 22 years ago. A hand-sewn branched graft consisting of straight grafts 28 mm and 8 mm in diameter was used for the aortic arch. We made three holes on the 28 mm straight graft with a thermal cautery, and three straight grafts of 8 mm diameter were individually sewn with 3–0 polyester sutures before surgery. A 24-mm straight graft was used for the ascending aorta, and the branched and straight grafts were sewn after reconstruction of neck arteries. The patient was discharged from the hospital on postoperative day (POD) 33. He underwent descending aorta replacement six years after the initial surgery and thoracoabdominal aorta replacement 20 years after the initial surgery for enlargement of the redidual dissection. Computed tomography (CT) angiography showed a pseudoaneurysm of 46 mm in diameter on the ascending aorta graft before thoracoabdominal replacement. Aortography was performed but did not reveal the bleeding point; therefore, only a thoracoabdominal aorta replacement was performed. The size of the pseudoaneurysm gradually increased and reached 60 mm, and a dye stain was found inside the pseudoaneurysm after two years of follow up in an outpatient clinic Fig. .Fig. 1DyWe performed median resternotomy after exposing the left femoral and right axillary arteries. Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was established with cannulation of the right axillary artery, the left femoral artery, and the right atrium under normothermia. The pseudoaneurysm was opened and a thrombus inside the aneurysm was removed. Small bleedings were found on the anastomosis of the arch graft–brachiocephalic branch graft Fig. , arch grNo postoperative complications or neurological sequelae were observed. A CT angiogram showed no blood leakage on POD 13, and the patient was discharged from the hospital on POD 16.Pseudoaneurysm of a graft–graft anastomosis long after thoracic replacement is extremely rare, and we could find no previous reports. It has been our practice to realize branched graft for the aortic arch by sewing small diameter grafts to a large diameter graft until the branched graft became commercially available. The Gelseal graft is a gelatin-sealed knitted Dacron graft and has been reported to dilate over time, but graft failure has not been reported . In the Thoracic re-entry via median sternotomy carries the risk of aneurysm injury and potentially fatal hemorrhage . We perfRe-total arch replacement is preferable to bleeding repair because graft infection and material fatigue may not be neglected even when no signs of infection are observed. It was difficult to expose the graft completely because of adhesion, and we performed suture repair in the present case. Further, careful observation is mandatory, although the clinical course after surgery and CT showed no signs of bleeding or infection.We report a case of the pseudoaneurysm of graft-graft anastomosis 22 years after total arch replacement. Long-term follow-up is essential to detect late complications at the site of hand-sewn anastomosis.Written informed consent was obtained from the patients for publication of this Case report. Copies of the written consent forms are available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.


The feasibility and reproducibility of liver stiffness measurements using Supersonic Shear-wave Imaging (SSI) in preterm neonate have not been reported. Our aim was to determine if liver stiffness differs between intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) preterm infants with/without cholestasis. We measured liver stiffness (in kPa) in 45 AGA and 18 IUGR preterm infants, and assessed reproducibility in 26 preterms using Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman tests. Liver stiffness values were compared between AGA and IUGR with and without cholestasis and correlated with birth weight. Measurements showed high reproducibility  with good agreement (95% limits: -1.24 to 1.24 kPa). During the first postnatal week, liver stiffness was higher in IUGR (7.50 ±1.53 kPa) than in AGA infants . After day 8, liver stiffness remained unchanged in AGA but increased progressively in IUGR infants (15.57 ±6.49 kPa after day 21). Liver stiffness was higher in IUGR neonates with cholestasis (19.35 ± 9.80 kPa) than without cholestasis . In conclusion, quantitative liver SSI in preterms is feasible and reproducible. IUGR preterms who will develop cholestasis present high liver stiffness even at birth, before biological cholestasis occurs. Intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a frequent and major challenge in pregnancy care . It is aIn most cases, IUGR occurs due to utero-placental insufficiency, which can lead to chronic fetal hypoxia, damaging developing organs including the liver. The fetal liver is mainly supplied with oxygenated blood by the umbilical vein . In IUGRDue to immaturity of mechanisms involved in bile formation, the newborn is more susceptible to develop cholestasis. Transient neonatal cholestasis is the most frequent liver dysfunction observed in IUGR neonates. It can be exacerbated by prolonged parenteral nutrition and leads to significant post-natal co-morbidities –11. It iWe know that several perinatal factors impact the liver development in case of IUGR: abnormal prenatal growth and metabolism, postnatal inflammation, prolonged parenteral nutrition. To date, no reliable early markers are available to predict the occurrence of cholestasis and related complications in IUGR preterm infants. We hypothesized that liver stiffness, a good predictor of liver disease in adult , could sSeveral quantitative sono-elastography techniques have been developed to assess the mechanical properties of liver tissue and to stage fibrosis in adults and children . TransieThe aim of this study was therefore to assess:the feasibility and reproducibility of liver stiffness measurements using SSI in preterm neonates,whether liver stiffness is different in IUGR preterms and preterms with a birth weight appropriate for gestational age (AGA),whether liver stiffness differs between IUGR and AGA preterms with and without cholestasis.This prospective observational study was approved by our Institutional Review Board (IRB) and local ethics committee of Robert Debré children's hospital. All parents provided informed oral consent. IRB approved oral consent because elastography images of the liver were obtained simultaneously to B-mode image acquisition, considered as a standard of care. This consent has been reported in the clinical record.Between January 2013 and September 2013, 63 preterm neonates born before 36 weeks of gestation were enrolled in the study. Patients with surgically-treated malformations, chromosomal aberrations or antenatal viral infections were excluded. Patients were recruited and split into two groups according to their birth weight:-rd percentile according to customized French curves  [18 preterm neonates born with severe IUGR (IUGR group) with a birth weight below the 3cologie) ,-45 preterm neonates with a birth weight appropriate for gestational age (AGA group).Patients were further divided according to biological analysis: IUGR with cholestasis, IUGR without cholestasis, AGA with cholestasis, AGA without cholestasis. Cholestasis was defined as serum conjugated-bilirubin concentrations above 30 mmol/L (1.75 mg/dL) within the first 3 postnatal weeks.6/7 weeks of gestation for very preterm neoanates and 32−366/7 weeks of gestation for moderately preterm neonates).For secondary analyses, population was split into two gestational age groups . When a patient underwent several measurements during the same period, the mean value of all time points was used for analysis.Two pediatric radiologists with 5 and 10 years of experience in pediatric imaging and 6 to 12 months of experience with SSI technique performed hepatic B-mode ultrasound, doppler analysis and SSI using the Aixplorer® ultrasound scanner  with a linear L10-2 probe .Liver B-mode analysis included gallbladder, biliary tract and liver morphology  to rule out differential diagnoses of hepatic cholestasis such as choledochal cysts or lithiasis.Longitudinal diameters of the liver and spleen were compared to normal ranges in preterm infants .Liver stiffness was measured (in kPa) on quantitative elasticity maps by the 2 experienced pediatric radiologist blinded to clinical conditions of the neonates.2T, where μ is the shear modulus and ρ is the density. The resulting elasticity maps are displayed on a color scale ranging from 0 to 240 kPa. Spatial resolution is 1 mm2 [SSI technique has been described in detail in previous publications , 25. BriLiver stiffness measurements were performed using a subcostal approach, under free breathing, in a patient in supine position. The probe was positioned over different segments of the liver using conventional real-time B-mode imaging, and SSI sequence measurement launched to obtain real-time 2D elasticity maps.2) were manually positioned by the operator on each elasticity map, avoiding subcapsular areas and vessels. Mean stiffness value (± standard deviation) was calculated for each ROI, and the 18 ROI values were averaged for each patient.Two separate acquisitions were obtained from three different liver segments according to the nomenclature of Couinaud and Bismuth , to obtain 6 elasticity maps . Three rhttp://www.medcalc.org; 2013) and GraphPad Prism software . The significance level was set at p < 0.05.Overall statistical analyses were performed using Medcalc software  was calculated with time point at assessment and group of patients (IUGR and AGA infants with and without cholestasis) as factors, followed by a Newman-Keuls post-hoc test.Liver stiffness measured within the first week of life was correlated to birth weight  for preterm infants born before or after 32 weeks of gestation. Pearson's correlation coefficients have been calculated to assess whether the severity of fetal growth restriction or prematurity were risk factors for elevated liver stiffness.The main characteristics of the population studied are summarized in Biological cholestasis (defined as serum conjugated-bilirubin concentrations above 30 mmol/L / 1.75 mg/dL) occurred significantly more often in the IUGR than in the AGA group , although the mean duration of parenteral nutrition was not statistically different .In IUGR neonates, B-mode liver imaging and Doppler were initially normal in all patients, with no biliary tract abnormalities, abnormal hepatic structure or signs of portal hypertension. In one IUGR patient hepatomegaly was detected from postnatal day 46, and splenomegaly with 2 small hepatic nodules from postnatal day 60. Ascites was found after postnatal day 21 in 4 out of 18 IUGR patients. In all AGA neonates, liver and abdominal imaging and Doppler analyses were normal.Liver stiffness could be measured in all patients and in all liver areas, even in patients with ascites. Acquisitions were free of the excessive image motion or poor beam coupling seen in B-mode imaging. No issues with penetration have been observed in preterm neonates.In the first 26 patients, used to assess reproducibility, liver stiffness values ranged from 4.0 to 7.7 kPa. Mean stiffness was not statistically different between operators .Intra-operator reproducibility was excellent for both operator A (ICC = 0.96) and operator B (ICC = 0.88). The within-session repeatability of liver stiffness measurements was 6.7% for operator A and 4.6% for operator B. Inter-operator reproducibility was also excellent (ICC = 0.76). Bland-Altman plot are given in During the first week of life, liver stiffness was significantly higher for IUGR  than for AGA infants , whereas biological markers of liver disease were normal. After day 8, liver stiffness in AGA patients remained stable whereas liver stiffness in IUGR neonates continued to increase .Liver stiffness measured within the first week of life was negatively correlated with birth weight percentile for IUGR infants born very preterm p<0.001, . In contAverage liver stiffness value was significantly higher in IUGR preterms with cholestasis (19.35 ± 9.80 kPa) than without cholestasis  during hospitalization stay. In contrast, it was not significantly higher in AGA preterms with cholestasis (8.10 ± 2.24 kPa) than without cholestasis (6.23 ± 1.98 kPa) . For theTwo IUGR neonates with elevated liver stiffness died during follow-up . This neIn the 2 cases with the highest liver stiffness, stiffness remained high after the normalization of biological markers of cholestasis, with the persistence of adverse clinical events related to liver dysfunction  for 6 and 9 weeks respectively. The patient with the highest liver stiffness presented changes in liver morphology  and signs of portal hypertension  on follow-up.Our study demonstrates that quantitative stiffness measurement with SSI is both feasible and reproducible in preterm neonates. Moreover, this technique provides further informations associated to B-mode ultrasound in detecting liver changes in this population, and shows that liver stiffness is higher in IUGR compared to AGA preterms, as well as being higher in IUGR neonates with cholestasis compared to IUGR without cholestasis.Besides other ultrasound-based techniques used to quantify tissue stiffness, SSI combines both quantification and real-time B-mode imaging, strongly improving its ease-of-use and the detection of potential artifacts (unstable in time) in elastographic images.We demonstrated here that SSI provides many medical interests in preterm neonates including better prediction of neonates with IUGR prone to develop cholestasis within the first week of postnatal life and better assessment of liver disease course despite biological recovery of transient cholestasis in IUGR.No report on normal liver values in neonates explored using SSI has been reported to date. The liver stiffness values of AGA newborns in our study (ranging from 5.11 ± 0.80 to 7.51 ± 3.55 kPa) were within the same range as those measured previously in normal adults using the same technique: from 4.89 ± 0.33  to 6.00 Transient neonatal cholestasis is a complication of parenteral nutrition, with multiple risk factors. Neonates are more susceptible to parenteral-nutrition-associated cholestasis because of their physiological immaturity, with a reported incidence as high as 40–60% . Both IURelationship between transient cholestasis and transient increased liver stiffness in our study remains to be elucidated. We speculate that it could be due to reversible liver microstructural changes related to IUGR but we have no histological evidence to confirm this hypothesis. Few studies have reported postnatal histopathological changes in transient neonatal cholestasis. Jacquemin et al. found moderate portal and lobular fibrosis, multinucleated giant hepatocytes, and hematopoietic foci with improvement or normalization on follow-up liver biopsy specimens . IUGR neIncreased liver stiffness is related to fibrosis in most chronic liver diseases. In neonates and infants, increased liver stiffness has been reported in biliary atresia with liver fibrosis , 18, 20.In our cohort, the dispersion of liver stiffness values increases with higher values, probably due to an inhomogeneous distribution of the liver damage. This has already been demonstrated in adults with different liver diseases such as fibrosis, inflammation, congestion or cholestasis .Several potential limitations of our study should be taken into account:this is a proof-of-concept study that investigated a relatively small number of subjects in a single center,in utero due to fetal growth restriction, but also postnatally during prolonged parenteral nutrition in sick neonates, two separate issues that could confound one another,liver stiffness changes could occur we defined IUGR using the most recent customized French curves for male and female neonates separately; however optimal weight was not calculated using a fetal weight standard individually adjusted for physiological pregnancy variables, as recommended by Gardosi et al. ,we did not compare right to left liver lobe measurements despite reports showing that stiffness values in the left lobe of the liver were higher and inhomogeneous using transient elastography and ARFI techniques ,finally, another limitation is the lack of long term follow-up of our cohorts.In conclusion, liver stiffness measurement using SSI is feasible in preterm neonates and showed high intra-operator and inter-operator reproducibility, with good agreement. This technique could be a useful tool for the early discrimination and follow-up of IUGR preterm neonates at higher risk of developing transient neonatal cholestasis. Detecting these patients can potentially improve their neonatal care.


In this article, a hybrid photonic crystal fiber has been proposed for chemical sensing. A FEM has been applied for numerical investigation of some propagation characteristics of the PCF at a wider wavelength from 0.7 to 1.7 µm. The geometrical parameters altered to determine the optimized values. The proposed PCF contains three rings of circular holes in the cladding where the core is formulated with microstructure elliptical holes.−3, for ethanol 1.513 × 10−3 and for water 1.474 × 10−3 at λ = 1.33 µm.The simulation result reveals that our proposed PCF exhibits high sensitivity and low confinement loss for benzene, ethanol and water than the prior PCFs. We have also shown that our proposed PCF shows high birefringence for benzene 1.544 × 10The proposed PCF is simple with three rings which can be used for the sensing applications of industrially valuable lower indexed chemicals. Fiber optic technology is not bounded in just telecommunication purposes as it was first excogitated. Day by day new applications of optical fiber has been emerged. Photonic crystal fiber broadens the applications of optical fiber not only in communication but also in wide areas by diminishing the limitations of the conventional fibers. In photonic crystal fiber, a bunch of tiny microscopic air holes remains along the entire fiber Russell . Index gIn recent years due to the advancement of technology the PCFs are used for sensing of toxic and harmful gases  has been proposed which shows high birefringence lower confinement loss and also shows high sensitivity for three analytes benzene, water and ethanol. A circular PCF is also proposed to make a comparative analysis with the proposed PCF. Our proposed hybrid PCF contains elliptical holes in the core region with three circular rings in the cladding. The geometrical parameters varied to optimize for both core and cladding. The proposed PCF shows better sensitivity and confinement loss than the previous PCFs Ademgil .1, d2 and d3. The distance between the centres of two adjacent holes is called pitch. The hole to hole distance of the two adjacent air holes of the first, second and third ring is denoted by Λ1, Λ2 and Λ3. In the article  is the simplest type of PCF where both core and cladding is circular. The core holes were filled with the same chemicals . Figure Bi=1,2,3) applied to the circular perfectly matched layer (PML) to investigate the proposed H-PCF. The FEM is a powerful tool which can be used for full vectorial analysis of the different photonic waveguide devices  properties can be used for eliminating the effect of polarization mode dispersion (PMD), stabilizing the operation of optical devices and sensing applications. Birefringence is imperative for the polarization maintaining properties , ethanol (n = 1.354) and water (n = 1.330)  and outer ring (d3/Ʌ3) of the cladding of proposed H-PCF. From the figure it can depict that the inner holes have a great impact on sensitivity as sensitivity decreases with the decrease of inner hole. A slight change occurs with the change of the air filling ratio of outer ring. Birefringence does not change with the change of the inner and outer ring but confinement loss changes a little bit in holes diameters of outer ring as confinement loss greatly depends on outermost ring.Figure Figure b/da  on both sensitivity and birefringence have been shown in Fig. b/da.The consequences of d1/Ʌ1 = 0.95 when d2/Ʌ2 = 0.96, d3/Ʌ3 = 0.97, db/da = 0.429.We have considered a simple structure circular shaped (C-PCF) investigate the better guidance properties of our proposed H-PCF. Figure Selectively filling the PCF holes with analytes is very challenging work. However due to advancement of nanotechnology several techniques has can be used to fill the PCF core or cladding with different analytes. Huang et al.  proved tOur proposed H-PCF is dual shape mixing PCF as core holes are elliptical and cladding holes are circular. Fabrication of PCF is an important issue of photonic crystal fiber. Our proposed PCF may not be easy to fabricate. Our proposed H-PCF contains the different holes size in different rings. Besides our proposed H-PCF is a dual shape mixing with different core and cladding type. The main concern is the fabrication of the core region with elliptical holes. In Chen and Shen  a dual s−10 dB/m confinement loss for benzene, 49.17 % sensitivity and 2.75 × 10−10 dB/m confinement loss for ethanol and 48.85 % sensitivity and 2.75 × 10−9 dB/m confinement loss for water. The main focus of this work is to detect the lower indexed chemicals which are industrially valuable.A circular PCF with three rings of air holes including the elliptical holes based microstructure core has been proposed in this article. We have shown that our proposed PCF can show higher sensitivity, higher birefringence and lower confinement loss simultaneously. The whole numerical investigation was done by full vectorial finite element method of varying the diameters and pitch values of the both core and cladding to optimize the structure. The proposed PCF shows 49.29 % sensitivity and 3.13 × 10


Many scientists attempt to publish their work in a journal with the highest possible journal impact factor (IF). Despite widespread condemnation of the use of journal IFs to assess the significance of published work, these numbers continue to be widely misused in publication, hiring, funding, and promotion decisions , 2. Many scientists attempt to publish their work in a journal with the highest possible journal impact factor (IF). Despite widespread condemnation of the use of journal IFs to assess the significance of published work, these numbers continue to be widely misused in publication, hiring, funding, and promotion decisions , 2.There are a number of problems with this approach. First of all, the journal IF is a journal-level metric, not an article-level metric, and its use to determine the impact of a single article is statistically flawed since citation distribution is skewed for all journals, with a very small number of articles driving the vast majority of citations , 4. FurtASM journals focus on publishing high-quality science that has been rigorously peer reviewed by experts and evaluated by academic editors. The primary mission of ASM is to advance microbial science. At the recent Journals Board meeting that took place during ASM Microbe 2016 in Boston, MA, the editors in chief and the ASM leadership decided to no longer advertise the IFs of ASM journals .Our goal is to avoid contributing further to the inappropriate focus on journal IFs. Although this action by itself may have little effect on a practice that is deeply entrenched in the biological sciences, we hope that removing IFs from ASM journal websites makes a statement of principle that will be emulated by other journals.


International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/11/11879.The authors wish to update the Acknowledgments in their paper published in c Health , doi:10.


Zoological Research(ZR) has experienced many highs and lows, seeing great advances but alsoovercoming numerous hurdles. Zoological Research has made many valuablecontributions to the progress of biological sciences in China and won prestige both at homeand abroad. Currently, it serves as a key journal focusing on Genome Evolution and GeneticDiversity, Animal Ecology and Ethology, Primates and Animal Models of Human Diseases. Thejournal also publishes high quality papers related to taxonomy and DNA barcoding,developmental biology, physiology, biochemistry, immunology, and neuroscience. The growthachieved by ZR is not only due to our excellent readers and reviewers, butalso to the evolution of our authors into renowned scholars. Accordingly, we would like tothank you all for your constant support and generous help.The beginning of a new year is always a time for reflection, contemplation and optimism. Forthe past thirty-five years, since its founding in 1980, Zoological Research has always put the needs of its readers and authorsfirst. To facilitate communication between our domestic colleagues and the internationalcommunity, in 2013 to 2014 we successfully transitioned from a Chinese-language only journal,into a Chinese-English bilingual journal and finally into an internationally aimedEnglish-language only journal. To help expand author view-points, we also included newEditorial and Letter to the Editor columns. Furthermore, the editorial board and editorialmembers continued to refine our publishing period, editing quality, typesetting, and journalmarketing. In addition to ZR being selected as a high-quality publication forthe dissemination of research findings, both the visibility and influence ofZR has continued to increase.ZR had made impressiveprogress over the past few years, particularly in regards to its high academic value andleading role in advancing the quality of academic journals in China. In 2014,ZR was ranked among the top 300 “Outstanding S&T Journalsof China”, the second time ZR has been recognized by this prestigiousaward since 2008. In addition, four articles published in ZR between 2009 to2013 were also included in the “Project of Frontrunner 5000” (F5000), whichaims to promote scientific communication and the internationalization of Chinese S&Tjournals.As a respectable scientific publication in China, ZR was among the top 10% of Chinesepublications and was awarded the “The Highest / The International Impact AcademicJournals of China” in Science, Technology and Engineering from 2012 to 2014 for itsachievements in internationalizing life science research, as determined by its increasinginternational annual citation frequency and international impact factor.The contributions from our colleagues have enabled our continued growth and advance. From apool of more than 4600 journals, In September 2014, we were greatly honored to have a group of renowned academic experts fromhome and abroad join us as members of the editorial board. Thus, with dedicated assistancefrom our editorial team and first-rate reviewers, we will continue to expand and improve ourpublication, and in particular we welcome manuscripts on Genetics and Evolution, Primates andAnimal Models of Human Diseases, and Biodiversity Conservation and Ecology. We also extend aspecial invitation to our colleagues to serve as single-issue Guest Editors, and if any authorwould like to advance a topic that is prospective, controversial and worth exploring, pleasefeel free to contact us.ZR remains a respectedpublication platform that provides ever greater possibilities to you.Once again, we would like to thank you all for your enduring support and faith. Our continuedgrowth and evolution together will ensure that Sincerely yours,Yong-Gang YAO, Editor-in-ChiefKunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Kunming 650223, ChinaYun ZHANG, Executive Editor-in-ChiefKunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Kunming 650223, China


Autogenic fat graft usually suffers from degeneration and volume shrinkage in volume reconstruction applications. How to maintain graft viability and graft volume is an essential consideration in reconstruction therapies. In this presented investigation, a new fat graft transplantation method was developed aiming to improve long term graft viability and volume reconstruction effect by incorporation of hydrogel. The harvested fat graft is dissociated into small fragments and incorporated into a collagen based hydrogel to form a hydrogel/fat graft complex for volume reconstruction purpose. In vitro results indicate that the collagen based hydrogel can significantly improve the survivability of cells inside isolated graft. In a 6-month investigation on artificial created defect model, this hydrogel/fat graft complex filler has demonstrated the ability of promoting fat pad formation inside the targeted defect area. The newly generated fat pad can cover the whole defect and restore its original dimension in 6-month time point. Compared to simple fat transplantation, this hydrogel/fat graft complex system provides much improvement on long term volume restoration effect against degeneration and volume shrinkage. One notable effect is that there is continuous proliferation of adipose tissue throughout the 6-month period. In summary, the hydrogel/fat graft system presented in this investigation demonstrated a better and more significant effect on volume reconstruction in large sized volume defect than simple fat transplantation. Replacing lost muscle volume in deep tissue injury, ulcer, and diseases is a common challenge in reconstructive surgeries. The poor regeneration ability of skeletal muscle in critical defects usually results in permanent volume loss. Throughout decades, there are limited achievements in healing facilitation, in terms of both functional and structural recovery, in these defects . Not onlIn current practice, the autogenic graft commonly employed in soft tissue reconstruction is adipose tissue , 3. Fat In total graft transplantation, the transplanted graft is usually subjected to hypoxia which leads to cell apoptosis. Adipocyte apoptosis in graft is usually more severe with the increase in graft volume , which r5 cells/mL by high glucose DMEM before mixing with stock collagen matrix gel in a 1 : 1 ratio. The matrix gel was diluted to final concentration of 50% inside a reaction tube in an ice bath. The mixture was mixed by gentle pipetting to ensure an even distribution. The cell/hydrogel mixture was transferred to a 24-well plate with 1 mL in each well. Culture was performed in a 37° incubator with 0.5% CO2 concentration. After gelation for 24 hours, an extra 1 mL of medium was supplemented to the hydrogels. Two phases (hydrogel and culture medium) can be visualized inside the culture well.A preliminary culture test had been conducted with immortalized cell line. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes obtained from ATCC (ATCC CL-173) were subcultured and expanded under general protocol inside T-75 flask. Prior to cell seeding, culture medium was discarded and the monolayer was rinsed with 1x sterilized phosphate buffer solution. 0.25% w/v trypsin was added to the monolayer and culture under 37°C for 5 minutes until the cell layer was dispersed. Before being incorporated with cells, stock collagen matrix gel was removed from −80°C and thawed inside ice bath for 12 hours until the gel returns to liquid state. Dispersed cells were diluted to 2 × 10Oil red O staining was employed for detection of lipid formation. Cultures were removed from incubator and medium was discarded. The cultures were gently rinsed with sterilized 1x PBS to remove all residue medium. After removing all the PBS by suction, cultures were fixed with 10% buffered formalin at room temperature for 30 minutes. Buffered formalin was discarded after fixation and cultures were rinsed gently with distilled water to remove all residue formalin. 60% isopropanol was added to the culture and allowed to sit for 5 minutes and discarded afterward. Oil red O working solution was added to the cultures and incubated for 5 minutes. Excess stain was removed and cultures were rinsed with tap water after incubation. Cell nuclear cultures were counterstained with hematoxylin. Briefly, hematoxylin was added to the culture until covering all the surfaces and incubated for 1 minute under room temperature. Excess stain was removed and cultures were rinsed gently with tap water after incubation. Cultures were immersed in tap water during imaging under light microscope.Fat graft was harvested from fat pad in the inguinal region of wild type female Sprague Dawley rats after general anesthesia. A 10 mm subcutaneous incision was made on the disinfected region. The inguinal fat was located by blunt dissection and harvested. Skin was closed with 2-O nylon suture by simple interruption. Spray bandage was employed to cover the incision area. The harvested fat pad was cleaned and immersed within saline (0.9% Sodium Chloride Intravenous Infusion) immediately and placed inside an ice bath before transplantation. The harvested fat was immersed in saline and dissociated with surgical scissor to fragments that could be suspended in the saline solution. Dissociated fat graft and fluid were then separated by centrifuge. Upper fluid and blood layer was removed by suction. The dissociated fat graft was then mixed with collagen matrix gel by simple pipetting until an evenly distributed gel is formed. The graft-hydrogel mixture was extracted into a syringe and kept in a 0°C ice bath before application. All experiments were conducted within 30 minutes after harvesting.™ TUNEL Assay kit was purchased from Invitrogen (ref. number A35127). A modified protocol was employed on the assay kit for histological slices staining. Briefly, a DNA-labeling solution was prepared by mixing 10 μL of reaction buffer, 0.75 μL of TdT enzyme, 8.0 μL of BrdUTP, and 31.25 μL of distilled water. The labeling solution was added to the dewaxed, rehydrated sections until the surface was covered and incubated for 60 minutes at 37°C. In the end of the incubation, the sections were rinsed with rinse buffer. All solution was discarded. Antibody staining solution was prepared from mixing 5.0 μL of AlexaFluor 488 dye-labeled anti-BrdU antibody with 95 μL of rinse buffer. Sections were covered with antibody staining solution and incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature in a light proof environment. After incubation, antibody staining solution was discarded and samples were covered with propidium iodide/RNase A staining buffer and further incubated for 30 minutes.APO-BrdUWild type female Sprague Dawley rats  9 weeks old were employed in the investigation. All animals were bred and purchased from Laboratory animal unit, The University of Hong Kong (AAALAC accredited 2005). Animals were divided randomly into 3 different groups: investigation group, negative control group (no treatment), and positive control group (simple fat graft transplantation), each group with 9 animals. At surgical operation, all animals were put into general anesthesia by intraperitoneal injection, using Ketamine (90 mg/kg) and Xylazine (10 mg/kg) mixture. Hair over pelvic girdle region was shaved. Skin disinfection was conducted by an iodophor scrub alternated three times with 70% medical ethanol followed by a disinfectant solution. A subcutaneous incision was created on the back of the animal to expose the greater trochanter. A defect of area 10 × 10 mm was created on the greater trochanter by surgical knife down to 3-4 mm deep into the muscle.For the investigation group, the autologous hydrogel/fat graft complex was prepared by the protocol listed above . The comAt respective time points, the animals were sacrificed by an intraperitoneal injection of overdose Pentobarbital (150 mg/kg). Hair over the area of implantation was shaved. An incision was created on the same location as in the pervious operation. The implantation, including any new growth tissue, was harvested with surrounding tissue. Harvested sample was fixed with 10% formalin buffer solution for 4-5 days. After fixation, the samples were rinsed with tap water for 5 minutes before dehydrating in 70%, 90%, and 100% ethanol gradually for 24 hours each, followed by infiltration of xylene for another 24 hours. The samples were infiltrated with Tissue Embedding Medium  for 24 hours in 60°C with 3 changes under vacuum suction before embedding.Paraffin section was dewaxed and rehydrated following the standard tissue processing protocol. Dewaxed sections were covered with Weigert's Hematoxylin working solution for 12 minutes, followed by rinsing with tap water for 10 minutes and distilled water for 1 minute. After rinsing, sections were covered with Biebrich Scarlet-Acid Fuchsin working solution and incubated for 1 minute. Excess stain was removed by a quick dip in distilled water. The sections were then incubated with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid solution for 15 minutes, followed by Aniline Blue working solution for 10 minutes. After removing residue stain on section by a quick dip in distilled water, 1% acetic acid solution was added to the sections and incubated for a further 4 minutes. Stained sections were then dehydrated in 95% and then 100% ethanol, cleaned with xylene, and mounted with DPX.Under in vitro culture, preadipocytes were able to survive inside collagen matrix gel under in vitro culturing . During the 14-day culture period, depreciation of environment inside the hydrogel could be indicated by the shift in color of phenol red indicator towards acidic ends, but cells continue to survive and proliferate inside the matrix gel which suggests there is still sufficient exchange of molecules between the interior of hydrogel and the surrounding environment. Cell proliferation continues during the culture period. In day 3 to day 7, there was an obvious increase in cell number. Cells were able to proliferate in a three-dimensional manner which nearly occupied the whole volume in the matrix . MultilaAdipose tissue structure of harvested fat graft could usually be preserved for the first few days under in vitro culture after isolation. TUNEL stain however reveals that large amounts of cells were undergoing apoptosis under in vitro culture, indicated by DNA strand breaks, after 3 days from isolation despite of their intact extracellular matrix . RemainiCell survivability inside the isolated fat graft could be significantly improved after dissociation and incorporated into hydrogel. This hydrogel/fat graft complex was prepared identically to the protocol employed in later animal study. While sectioning indicates some loss in adipose tissue matrix caused by the dissociation, there was in general a reduction in apoptotic cells inside the adipose graft. A larger number of living cells could be located inside the adipose tissue matrix . With thThe hydrogel/fat graft complex was injected directly into artificially created defects. To prevent leakage of hydrogel from the area usually 5–7 minutes was allowed for gelation before closing the incision. Instead of a homogenous solution, the graft-hydrogel complex represents a paste-like filler with dissociated graft saturated inside a collagen matrix. No leakage of hydrogel complex could be observed after closure of surgical site. All animals survive the surgery and showed no negative effect caused by the transplantation. There were swallowing and blood infiltration into the surgical site in the first 1 to 2 days after the operation. No chronic inflammation had been developed in the observation period. All animals were able to restore normal behavior within 2 weeks. The walking pattern and locomotion were not affected by the surgery.Signs of the healing progress in the first month between groups treated with the hydrogel complex and simple fat graft transplantation was comparable to each other. In both groups, the transplanted graft changed to brownish from original white color. There was formation of fibrous tissue in the surgical site. Compared to direct autogenic graft transplantation, the hydrogel complex offers a more even filling effect in the muscle defect: The hydrogel based filler covers the defect evenly rather than at a single concentrated spot like simple fat grafts . There wConsider the whole defect region, larger amount of newly formed tissue could be identified on animals treated with hydrogel/fat graft complex compared to other experimental groups . HistoloFeasible effect induced by the hydrogel/fat graft complex began to appear after 3 months from operation. Different from simple fat graft transplantation where there was almost no proliferation or regeneration of adipose tissue, formation of new fat began to appear on the defect site at the 3-month time point on the animals group treated with hydrogel/fat graft complex . MajoritHistological study reveals that there was continuous change in tissue type inside the hydrogel complex during the 6-month investigation period. The amount of neutrophils had greatly reduced after the first month. In certain area, the fibrous matrix was gradually replaced by adipose tissue and a large fat pad composed of mostly adipose tissue was formed after 6 months. During the transformation, collagen matrix still dominates most volume inside the defect. Organized fibrous tissue could be found in 3-month time period, running across the newly regenerating fat . CompareIn reconstructive surgeries, how to maintain the defined volume of reconstructed tissue is an essential consideration. Current soft tissue reconstruction methods with fat graft are usually subjected to volume reduction during the healing period, sometimes up to 70% of original volume. These reductions in graft volume are caused by the natural remodeling and the degeneration process inside human body. How to improve the viability of graft under long term transplantation is therefore an important consideration for volume reconstruction . In our The introduction of hydrogel cannot eliminate the degeneration of fat graft during initial stage of transplantation. There is a loss in adipose tissue structure and a reduction in graft volume like tradition fat grafting. Histological study shows extensive fibrous tissue formation inside the defect area, where the wound is filled by collagen rich fibrosis tissue. It is uncertain whether these collagen fibres are newly deposited matrix from host cells or the residue of the collagen matrix gel. Limited traces of adipose tissue can be found inside the site at the one-month time point. The dissociation of fat graft results in the increase in surface area to volume ratio which leads to faster degeneration of structure compared to simple autogenic graft transplant. Early response after transplantation, signature by volume shrinkage and structural degeneration, of hydrogel-graft complex is comparable to simple fat grafting.While the early response is similar between the two treatments, advantage of the hydrogel incorporation can be demonstrated in long term healing. Our observation suggests after the early degradation phase that there is a continuous increase in the amount of adipose tissue inside the muscle defect site after the introduction of the hydrogel/fat graft complex filler. This process can take place without artificial introduction of growth factors. These newly generated fat pads located both inside and on the surface of the volume defect. Six months after the operation, a fat pad is composed of a mixture of adipose and fibrous tissue forming a large tissue bulk covering the whole defect area. Our one-year observation suggests that these fat pads can maintain its volume throughout the period. Within the same period, there is replacing of fibrous tissue with fat in the defect area. The introduction of hydrogel can ensure a higher survivability ratio of cells inside the dissociated fat graft, which possibly can encourage the new fat formation. Progenitors can also be preserved in a better manner which can differentiate into fat cells for further new tissue formation . DespiteAutogenic graft was chosen over autogenic cells in volume reconstruction for large volume muscle defects in our project. Isolated autogenic cells offer a higher effective progenitor cells concentration than autograft which in theory can provide a better tissue regeneration effect under influence of growth factors. Bulk adipose tissue is able to regenerate from isolated adipose-derived stem cells as demonstrated in various research projects and is sometimes considered more effective than simple graft transplantation , 21, 22.The results from the animal test are very encouraging. It is possible to create a thick and structural stable fat pad with desired shape and dimension in targeted location to achieve a volume reconstruction effect. Formation of thick fat pad is successful in about 75% of the animals we employed, while the remaining 25% also showed traces of fat pad formation inside the hydrogel introduced area. Most of the fat pad measures a larger volume than the autograft originally harvested. The newly formed fat pad can maintain its viability in our one-year observation without degeneration and shrinkage which offers a much appealing result than simple fat transplantation. Dissection reveals that the formation of fat pad is only restricted to the area where the hydrogel/fat graft complex appears. Some of this newly formed fat is found subcutaneously, which is highly possible to be originated from the leakage of hydrogel filler into subcutaneous space from the defect site during surgical operation. There is however no accurate statistical data about this observation in current status.


Pleurotus florida was cultivated on different combinations of wheat straw (WS) as basal substrate and oyster shell powder (OSP) supplement. The OSP supplementation considerably responded to different cultivation phases. The mycelium grew fast and showed rapid growth rate (8.91 mmd−1) in WS + OSP (97 + 3) combination while WS + OSP (92 + 8) showed maximum laccase (3.133 U/g) and Mn peroxidase (MnP) activities (0.091 U/g). The climax level of laccase (5.433 U/g) and MnP (0.097 U/g) was recorded during fruit body initiation in WS + OSP (97 + 3) and WS + OSP (98 + 2) combinations, respectively. The WS + OSP (97 + 3) combination represented the best condition for mushroom cultivation and produced the highest biological efficiency (147%). In addition, protein and lipid contents in fruit bodies were slightly improved in response to OSP. The carbohydrate was significantly increased by raising concentration of OSP. The highest values of protein, carbohydrate, and lipid noted were 31.3 μg/g, 0.0639 (g/g), and 0.373 (g/g) correspondingly. Conclusively it was evident that lower concentrations of OSP acted positively and relatively to higher concentrations and improved nutritional content which may suitably be used to enhance both yield and nutritional values of mushroom.Oyster mushroom Pleurotus spp. offers the best prospect to utilize renewable resources in the production of protein rich food that will sustain food security for peoples [Oyster mushrooms comprise the group of edible fungi with important medicinal biotechnological and environmental applications . Bioconv peoples , 3. The  peoples . Besides Pleurotus spp. [ Pleurotus spp. and also increases mushroom productivity [The deficient supply of proper nutrients with natural lignocellulosic substrates dynamically affects different phases of mushroom cultivation . Nutrientus spp. , 6. Varitus spp. , 7, 8. Yuctivity , 8, 9. Ructivity .In mushroom cultivation insoluble calcium salts are added to increase pH and thereby reducing bacterial contamination and to increase aeration by aggregation improving the texture and porosity of the substrate , 11. The Pleurotus florida PF05.In the present task an effort was made to evaluate the influence of the powdered oyster shells in order to maximize mycelial growth rate, yield of the fruit bodies, biological efficiency, nutrients, and enzyme profile of oyster mushroom Pleurotus florida PF05 was employed in the present study. The culture was obtained from the Department of Microbiology, Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (IBSBT), Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, India. Culture was maintained in slant containing potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium .The white-rot fungusOyster shells were collected from the Gomati river bank  during summer season. These were washed and mechanically broken into small pieces followed by the liquid nitrogen treatment and ground to fine powder (size > 1 mm). The powder was sterilized chemically with 2% (v/v) formalin before supplementation.To evaluate the influence of oyster shell powder (OSP), it was accurately weighed to compose different combinations of WS and OSP including WS + OSP (99 + 1), WS + OSP (98 + 2), WS + OSP (97 + 3), WS + OSP (95 + 5), WS + OSP (92 + 8), and WS + OSP (90 + 10). These combinations were thoroughly mixed together prior to spawning and tested for various parameters.″ × 22″) by spawning through layer wise manner. The spawned bags were kept in dark at 23–25°C till complete mycelial covering. After complete mycelial run, polythene bags were gently torn apart and removed. The irrigation was started by water sprinkling and continued regularly at least thrice a day. The room atmosphere was preferably maintained between 70 and 90% relative humidity.The cultivation of mushroom was performed in polythene bags of standard size . Mycelia and solid substrate were removed by filtration followed by centrifugation at 10,000 g in a cooling centrifuge  for 5 min. The supernatant obtained was employed for enzyme assay.2O2, and phenol red was incubated for 5 min at 20 ± 1°C and absorbance was monitored at 610 nm, while the laccase activity was assayed [μmol product formed min−1 and are reported as Ug−1 solid substrate.Manganese peroxidase (MnP) activity was determined by using 3 mM phenol sulfonephthalein as substrate . The rea assayed  with 1 mμL sample was mixed with 500 μL 5% phenol followed by the addition of 2 mL sulfuric acid to the mixture and incubated for 20 minutes at room temperature. The absorbance was measured at 470 nm using spectrophotometer, and the total sugar was calculated by glucose standard curve. However, total amount of lipid was analyzed by the standard method by Folch et al. [Total protein content present in fruit bodies was analyzed by the standard method of Bradford . The solh et al. . To analt-test for least significant differences (LSD) was conducted within columns to compare all means with the control of their respective treatment (P < 0.05).Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine differences in each treatment using SAS for Windows 8.0; multiple comparison −1) was recorded in response to the combination of WS + OSP (97 + 3), which was followed by 7.82 mmd−1 in WS + OSP (98 + 2) combination. However, unsupplemented set presented its optimal 4.66 mmd−1 growth rate. The higher OSP concentrations were found against mycelial growth, while lower levels were supportive and considerably stimulated the growth rate ( Pleurotus ostreatus grown on sun flower seed hulls supplemented with N-NH4+ and/or Mn(II). In general OSP maximally contains CaCO3; however, some other minerals, namely, Al2O3, MgO, Na2O3, P2O5, and SiO2 are also found as traces [As shown in wth rate . Similars traces . The stiWS + OSP 7 + 3, whs traces  and redu−1) and Mn peroxidase (0.091 Ug−1) were produced in WS + OSP (92 + 8) combination followed by the 2.865 Ug−1 and 0.085 Ug−1 in WS + OSP (95 + 5) combination comparatively which is many folds higher than unsupplemented sets. The lowest laccase and Mn peroxidase activities were recorded in the set of WS + OSP (85 + 15) combination added with the highest (15% w/w) OSP (data not shown). However, further increase in OSP concentration stimulated both laccase and Mn peroxidase (0.027 Ug−1) activities but up to a limit of WS + OSP (92 + 8) combination and reduced at higher levels (The addition of OSP at lower levels led to an increase in the activity of both enzymes. The highest units of laccase (3.133 Ugr levels . Thus itdase 0.02 Ug−1 act−1) were expressed in WS + OSP (97 + 3) combination and 0.097 Ug−1 units of Mn peroxidase in WS + OSP (98 + 2) combination. Similarly laccase transcription in Lentinus edodes peaked the highest during vegetative growth and declined at the fruiting stage [ Grifola frondosa. Moreover, various other studies reported transcriptional regulation of laccase genes during developmental cycles of other mushrooms including Lentinula edodes and Pleurotus abalonus [Different levels of OSP have extensively influenced the production of both enzymes during different phases of the mushroom cultivation. The expression of laccase and Mn peroxidase units were raised during fruit body initiation (FBI) in comparison to other phases. The highest units of laccase  combination and reduced simultaneously at respective higher levels. The WS + OSP (97 + 3) combination was found to be the best substrate combination and resulted in the highest biological efficiency  while the lowest biological efficiency  resulted in unsupplemented set . It was 7 + 3 comμg/g) was noted in WS + OSP (92 + 8) combination. Similar level of protein content was also reported by other workers in P. florida and P. ostreatus mushrooms [Influence of OSP on protein, carbohydrates, and lipid contents in matured fruit bodies was considerable. The different levels of OSP have considerably influenced nutrient contents including protein, carbohydrate, and lipid . The nutS + OSP 9 + 8 combushrooms . Thus itushrooms . Severalushrooms  that mayOyster shell, a by-product of shellfish waste, has a high potential to be used as a liming material in agriculture. Based on the findings of the present observation OSP can supply scarcity of nutrients for better growth and yield of mushroom. The lower levels of OSP were found supportive rather than higher for different cultivation phase, growth rate, enzyme profile, biological efficiency, and nutritive contents of fruit bodies. The supplementation of OSP at lower concentrations considerably improved the protein, lipid, and carbohydrate contents in fruit bodies. Conclusively lower levels of oyster shell powder could be used as an alternative limiting supplement to induce enzyme production and increase mushroom production.


Carabidae, Curculionidae and Chrysomelidae are the beetle families that are most studied and the most inspiring for scientific papers. Those three families are also among the most numerous and present the most colorful beetles. Publications go from simple articles in the past to sophisticated papers using cladistics, molecular biology and statistics, in pure research or, for leaf-beetles or weevils, in agriculture. Thousands of papers are published each year on Chrysomelidae. Probably the actual described number of Chrysomelidae, estimated last century as 35.000 species, reaches 45.000 and there probably exist 55.000 to 60.000 species around the world. Canopy species are among the least known, true also for minute species living in litter or mossesCertainly, Coleoptera can easily exceed 1 to 2 million species and, in the past , they must have been much more numerous. Only Curculionidae and perhaps Staphylinidae can surpass the number of Leaf-Beetles. Curculionidae are present everywhere, even in the sub-Antarctic islands and in Greenland, where Chrysomelidae are missing, even if present there during the Pliocene. Still many PageBreakspecies of weevils remain to be described, among the endogeous, myrmecophilous, floricolous species. Symposia on Leaf Beetles, originally organized every four years, now perhaps every two years, together with International and European Congresses of Entomology, or independently, generally are published later in books, which tend actually and only very recently to be published electronically. Many international publishers were responsible for those books and we are indebted to many specialists and co-editors. There were also regular annual meetings of chrysomelid specialists in the United States, correlated with the Entomological Society of America meetings, grouping often part of the specialists from the previous symposia, the next one probably coinciding with the International Congress of Entomology in 2016. Annual meetings of chrysomelid workers were also held in Japan each year. One chrysomelid symposium was organized in Patiala, India, with 29 papers in March, 1989. Sporadic chrysomelid symposia are also held with French and Belgian workers in Paris or elsewhere, in Costa Rica, with Wills Flowers, as in 1995, etc. Regular meetings take place each year in Germany together with the meetings  of German-speaking coleopterists. Many European chrysomelidologists attend it also. Those German meetings actually are held in Beutelsbach  to see the Bechyné Timarcha types in 1997. Which resulted many excellent papers on the genus, its classification, and many molecular biology studies.The enormous Georg Frey Collection of beetles  is now in Basle Museum, Switzerland. The Frey ChrysomelidaeAlticinae  started with 74 entomologists, and, despite more than twenty deaths  the subscriptions actually reach 276!The first symposium on lticinae , was hellticinae , mid- AuChrysomelidae  in 1985. As part of most of these Congress Symposia, there were organized field excursions, with the authorization to collect some local insects. In 1988, the first volume on the Biology of the Chrysomelidae was published (JPH 1988).The so-called First International Symposium on the dae Fig.  was orgaChrysomelidae  in Florence, Italy from 25-31 August 1996. The symposium was organized by David Furth and Maurizio Biondi, and many entomologists from the whole planet attended. That was still at the end of the 30 "glorious years", and people had more money and still high level of security. The symposium was published in Italy, in Torino, by M. Biondi, M. Daccordi and D. G. Furth (editors) in 1998. Many formal presentations were done on various topics. Michael Schmitt showed photos from the previous two symposia. The excursion was to the Apuanian Mountains . The lunch with sandwiches on the spot was, on the contrary, not very attractive.The Fourth International Symposium on the PageBreakChrysomelidae from August 25-27, 2000, was held in Iguassu Falls, Brazil .The Sixth International Symposium on the dae Fig.  was heldner Fig.  at a breChrysomelidae, without any number, was held in Brisbane, Australia with the International Congress of Entomology on 16-21 August 2004 and attended by Chris Reid who wrote a review for Chrysomela , closed the meetings. In 2004, Caroline Chaboo took over the newsletter Chrysomela, formerly edited and published by Terry Seeno.Some kind of Symposium (6a) or a virtual Symposium on rysomela . John LaChrysomelidae was held on July 9 in Durban, South Africa in connection with the 23rd International Congress of Entomology . We had a big hall of more than 2500 seats for 20 people. It was co-organized by Michael Schmitt and Beth Grobbelaar. We talked about many aspects of leaf beetle biology, and I spoke on New Caledonia where I had made 6 visits PageBreakfor collecting Chrysomelidae  which contains the proceedings of 7th International Symposium on Chrysomelidae.It is the volume 2 of Research on Chrysomelidae co-edited by P. Jolivet, J. Santiago-Blay and M. Schmitt with Brill. Later on Pensoft took over, and actually four volumes have been printed, the present one is the fifth, a sixth is in preparation.At this period started the new series of books Research on Chrysomelidae, the First European (but perhaps the 7a), was held in Hungary  were present, and at the European dinner, in an inn nearby, Mauro Daccordi and Carlo Leonardi appeared coming from nowhere Fig. .Chrysomelidae, volume 3, by Pensoft, Sofia.Caroline Chaboo with her family was there also. She gave a very interesting tortoise beetle talk. Michael Schmitt succeeded to have the virtual 7th symposium published through L. Penev in Research on Chrysomelidae was held in Daegu ; biology of Oreina by Martine Rahier . DNA barcodes were used to recognize the host-plants eaten by leaf beetles  from their gut contents and showing their evolutionary implications for insect-host plants interactions . Also many species, chiefly among Eumolpinae, can be rather polyphagous, when Chrysomelinae are mostly stenophagous. There are even in the tropics extremely rare cases of carnivory among Diabrotica . A very peculiar biology for a false timarchoid adapted to dryness and to a Mediterranean-type climate. More should be discovered about the biology of the South African timarchoids.In South Africa, several beetles copy superficially the Problems arise also on the holes on elytra of certain leaf beetles sometimes in connection with glands or sensitive detection cells.PageBreakOutside the publications of the International symposia on Leaf Beetles, books were regularly published on the topic in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Russia, Poland, USA, sometimes in correlation, sometimes independently of the symposia Fig. .Leptinotarsadecemlineata, the Colorado Potato Beetle, and Timarcha spp., the bloody nose beetles, on which there are hundreds of publications. I am not including here the books or booklets on the Colorado Potato Beetle, the worshippers being, in the past, separated during the Congresses from the "real" chrysomelidologists, as for Ferro and Voss booklet (1985). Bruchidologists have traditionally, sadly, met the same fate. In both cases, it is more agricultural entomology. Diabroticavirgifera, sadly famous in the US, has actually invaded Europe and becomes also the subject of many books and articles.There are also the "festschrift" books e.g., , the monPageBreakChrysomelidae, including the perception of Spilopyrinae and of the peculiar Eupales, the study of Sagrinae, and the researches on some Galerucinae, and others INBio begun by Dan Janzen in La Selva, Costa Rica and STRI in Panama  were also important centres of research on leaf beetles.Many discoveries were made the last 30 years in the field of Chrysomelidology. Since Chapuis, Jacoby and others in the past, and more recently since Chrysomelidae and the merging of Alticinae and Galerucinae, of Cassidinae and Hispinae. They are intermediary taxa. One subfamily has really merged with Eumolpinae: Megascelidinae (Jolivet 1957-1959) and one is probably correctly separated from Eumolpinae, the Spilopyrinae  . There are splitters for families as they exist also for species. Chrysomelidae are related also to Bruchidae, often now classified into Chrysomelidae, despite the opposition of some famous bruchidologists, as John Bruchidae or Bruchinae according to the secret feelings of the authors of the papers and their convictions. Rhaebus and Eubaptus are transitional between bruchids and sagrines, as there exist also transitional genera between Cassidinae and Hispinae and between Alticinae and Galerucinae. Synetinae however seem to remain completely isolated.Some changes in taxonomy have also been proposed, based on simple morphology. Cladistics and molecular biology inspired some others . On some big changes, I do not fully agree, mostly on the breaking of the family opyrinae . Those aI am very sorry if I forget some of our chrysomelidologist friends and their publications. This is not intentional. There were many in the past and a lot during those last 30 years, from many countries and continents. I am not sure to have them all in my list. Please forgive me, many being faunas and not in direct connection with the symposia. Sometimes those local faunas are in the language of the country.PageBreakChina. Still Indonesia, tropical America, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, tropical Africa, New Guinea can bring us some novelties, but deforestation reduces the number of species and genera, and many will disappear before being described. Few will persist as fossils in the tropics. Millions of Insects have existed in the past and will remain unknown forever.It is certain that some areas need more investigation, as Madagascar for instance, and that there remain many biological problems to be solved or to be discovered. The fauna is near to be well investigated in Europe, in the US, in Japan, Australia and in Orsodacninae are distributed all along the Holarctic area and Aulacoscelidinae are restricted to the Neotropics. We do not know for sure where and on which plants the larvae develop. Archaic Australian Sagrinae are also practically unstudied regarding biology and development. They come to light, but are rarely discovered near a possible host plant. Eight symposia on Chrysomelidae have been held. Many new things have been found but some problems remain unsolved.De Gruyter treatise of Zoology  has put


NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase (NO-GC) is the most important receptor for NO. The NO signal is transmitted through an increase in cGMP to act on several effector molecules. The NO/cGMP cascade is involved in the regulation of vessel diameter ultimately contributing to set the blood pressure. Lack of NO or NO-GC is thought to alter the responsiveness of blood vessels as well as their composition. We hypothesize that arterial stiffness may be altered in the absence of NO-GC.As arterial stiffness is an import indicator of cardiovascular risks and mortality, we aimed at determining the role of NO-GC for aortic stiffness using general KO mice (GCKO) and smooth muscle-specific KO mice (SMC-GCKO) for NO-GC. Measurement of pulse wave velocity (PWV) was frequently used to determine aortic stiffness. We used magnetic resonance tomography (17.6 Tesla) for non-invasive measurement of local aortic PWV. PWV was calculated by simultaneously measuring of cross-sectional change and volume flow in a defined time.Preliminary data indicate an increased PWV in GCKO mice whereas in SMC-GCKO, stiffness is unaltered. Aortic diameter was reduced in GCKO compared to WT whereas that in SMC-GCKO was not significantly different from controls. Global deletion of NO-GC did not affect cardiac output. These data will be correlated to structural data of aorta from these strains.Deletion of NO-GC affects the physical properties of vascular tissue. This effect appears to be independent of hypertension.