The topic of recent advances in information technology has attracted a wide range of articles on technology theory, applications from many aspects, and design methods of information technology. Reviewing the papers in this topic, it is clear that all fields such as computer science, cloud computing, wireless sensor network, prediction, image annotation, and storage have been involved. And the publications about recent advances in information technology tackled significant recent developments in the fields mentioned above, both of a foundational and applicable character.Also, we can easily find that most contributors regard “information technology” as synonymous with tools such as the computer, mobile, and tablet and such issues as instructional design, mobile learning, social networking, and open sources. Through the topic's development, research designs are appropriate for studying the potential of information technology applications under controlled situations.This special issue includes a collection of 100 papers selected from 466 submissions to 36 countries or districts. All submitted papers followed the same standard (peer-reviewed by at least three independent reviewers) as applied to regular submissions.A self-adaptive parameter optimization algorithm in a real-time parallel image processing system” by G. Li et al. proposed an adaptive load capacity balance strategy on the servo parameters optimization algorithm (ALBPO) to improve the computing precision and achieve high detection ratio while not reducing the servo circle.The paper entitled “Improved algorithm for gradient vector flow based active contour model using global and local information” by J. Zhao et al. proposes an improved approach based on existing gradient vector flow methods. Main contributions of this paper are a new algorithm to determine the false part of active contour with higher accuracy from the global force of gradient vector flow and a new algorithm to update the external force field together with the local information of magneto static force.The paper entitled “A topology visualization early warning distribution algorithm for large-scale network security incidents” by H. He et al. a comprehensive early warning system is presented in this paper, which combines active measurement and anomaly detection. The key visualization algorithm and technology of the system are mainly discussed.In the paper entitled “A novel approach to word sense disambiguation based on topical and semantic association” by X. Wang et al. proposes a novel approach to word sense disambiguation based on topical and semantic association. For a given document, supposing that its topic category is accurately discriminated, the correct sense of the ambiguous term is identified through the corresponding topic and semantic contexts.The paper entitled “A fast map merging algorithm in the field of multirobot SLAM” by Y. Liu et al. a map merging algorithm based on virtual robot motion is proposed for multirobot SLAM. The thinning algorithm is used to construct the skeleton of the grid map's empty area, and a mobile robot is simulated in one map.In the paper entitled “Hexahedral localization (HL): a three-dimensional hexahedron localization based on mobile beacons” by L. Liu et al. proposes a three-dimensional range-free localization scheme named hexahedral localization. In the scheme, the space is divided into a lot of hexahedrons. Then, all the unknown nodes are located by utilizing the perpendicular properties of the trajectory.The paper entitled “A two-level cache for distributed information retrieval in search engines” by W. Zhang et al. proposes a distribution strategy of the cache data. The experiments prove that the hit rate, the efficiency, and the time consumption of the two-level cache have advantages compared with other structures of cache.The paper entitled “Analysis of DNS cache effects on query distribution” studies the DNS cache effects that occur on query distribution at the CN top-level domain (TLD) server, and the approximate TTL distribution for domain name is inferred quantificationally.This paper by Z. Wang “The generalization error bound for the multiclass analytical center classifier” by Z. Fanzi and M. Xiaolong presents the multiclass classifier based on analytical center of feasible space (MACM). This multiclass classifier is formulated as quadratic constrained linear optimization and does not need repeatedly constructing classifiers to separate a single class from all the others.The paper entitled “The estimate for approximation error of neural network with two weights” by F. Zeng and Y. Tang constructs a new BP neural network and proves that the network could approximate any nonlinear continuous function.The paper entitled “An automatic image inpainting algorithm based on FCM” by J. Liu et al. an automatic image inpainting algorithm which automatically identifies the repaired area by fuzzy C-mean (FCM) algorithm is proposed. FCM algorithm classifies the image pixels into a number of categories according to the similarity principle, making the similar pixels cluster into the same category as possible.In the paper entitled “Using the high-level based program interface to facilitate the large scale scientific computing” by Y. Shang et al. makes further research on facilitating the large-scale scientific computing on the grid and the desktop grid platform. The related issues include the programming method, the overhead of the high-level program interface based middleware, and the anticipated data migration.The paper entitled “A cooperative model for IS security risk management in distributed environment” develops a cooperative model for IS security risk management in a distributed environment. In the proposed model, the exchange of security information among the interconnected IS under distributed environment is supported by Bayesian networks (BNs).The paper by N. Feng and C. Zheng entitled “Vocal emotion of humanoid robots: a study from brain mechanism” by Y. Wang et al. explored the brain mechanism of vocal emotion by studying previous researches and developed an experiment to observe the brain response by fMRI, to analyze vocal emotion of human beings.The paper entitled “Real-time tracking by double templates matching based on timed motion history image with HSV Feature” by Z. Li et al. presents a novel method with appearance model described by double templates based on timed motion history image with HSV color histogram feature (tMHI-HSV).The paper entitled “An improved piecewise linear chaotic map based image encryption algorithm” by Y. Hu et al. proposes a symmetric cryptographic system using MPWLCM chaotic system to encrypt grayscale image. The scheme possesses high sensitivity to plain image and key, so it has a good ability to resist differential attack.The paper entitled “λ)-based control model for real-time traffic light coordinationA Sarsa-based real-time traffic control optimization model that can maintain the traffic signal timing policy more effectively. The Sarsa(λ)-based model gains traffic cost of the vehicle, which considers delay time, the number of waiting vehicles, and the integrated saturation from its experiences to learn and determine the optimal actions.The paper entitled “Mixed pattern matching-based traffic abnormal behavior recognition” propose a trajectory pattern learning method based on dynamic time warping (DTW) and spectral clustering. The paper introduced the DTW distance to measure the distances between vehicle trajectories and determined the number of clusters automatically by a spectral clustering algorithm based on the distance matrix.J. Wu et al. in their paper entitled “A reward optimization method based on action subrewards in hierarchical reinforcement learning” by Y. Fu et al. a hierarchical reinforcement learning method based on action subrewards is proposed to solve the problem of “curse of dimensionality,” which means that the states space will grow exponentially in the number of features and low convergence speed.In the paper entitled “Constructing better classifier ensemble based on weighted accuracy and diversity measure” by X. Zeng a weighted accuracy and diversity (WAD) method is presented, a novel measure used to evaluate the quality of the classifier ensemble, assisting in the ensemble selection task.In the paper entitled “Simplified process model discovery based on role-oriented genetic mining” by W. Zhao et al. proposes a genetic programming approach to mine the simplified process model. Using a new metric of process complexity in terms of roles as the fitness function, we can find simpler process models.The paper entitled “An improved topology-potential-based community detection algorithm for complex network” by Z. Wang et al. puts forward a mass calculation method for complex network nodes, which is inspired from the idea of PageRank algorithm.The paper entitled “Gait correlation analysis based human identification” by J. Chen, silhouette correlation analysis based human identification approach is proposed. By background subtracting algorithm, the moving silhouette figure can be extracted from the walking images sequence.In “Information spread of emergency events: path searching on social networks” by W. Dai et al. collects Internet data based on data acquisition and topic detection technology, analyzes the process of information spread on social networks, describes the diffusions and impacts of that information from the perspective of random graph, and finally seeks the key paths through an improved IBF algorithm.The paper entitled “Application of butterfly Clos-network in network-on-chip” by H. Liu et al. studied the topology of network-on-chip (NoC). By combining the characteristics of the Clos-network and butterfly network, a new topology named BFC (butterfly Clos-network) network was proposed.The paper entitled “A linear method to derive 3D projective invariants from 4 uncalibrated images” by Y. Wang et al. presents a method to compute projective invariants of 3D points from four uncalibrated images directly.The paper entitled “Comparative study of multimodal biometric recognition by fusion of iris and fingerprint” by H. Benaliouche and M. Touahria a novel combination of iris and fingerprint biometrics is presented in order to achieve best compromise between a zero FAR and its corresponding FRR.In the paper entitled “Design of jitter compensation algorithm for robot vision based on optical flow and Kalman filter” by B. R. Wang et al. the condition number of coefficient matrix was proposed to quantificationally analyse the effect of matching errors on parameters solving errors.In the paper “ “Dynamic multiobjective optimization algorithm based on average distance linear prediction model” by Z. Li et al. defines a kind of dynamic multiobjective problem with translational Pareto-optimal set (DMOP-TPS) and proposes a new prediction model named ADLM for solving DMOP-TPS.The paper entitledApplication of genetic algorithm to hexagon-based motion estimation” by C.-M. Kung et al. is to propose a new technique which focuses on combing the hexagon-based search algorithm, which is faster than diamond search, and genetic algorithm.The aim of the paper entitled “Dynamic scene stitching driven by visual cognition model” by L.-h. Zou et al. investigates dynamic video sequence stitching, especially under the situation that the scene, captured on a movable platform, contains moving objects or other important interesting regions.The paper entitled “Automatic recognition of seismic intensity based on RS and GIS: a case study in Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake of China” propose a RS/GIS-based approach for automatic recognition of seismic intensity, in which RS is used to retrieve and extract the information on damages caused by earthquake, and GIS is applied to manage and display the data of seismic intensity.Q. Zhang et al. in the paper entitled “A robust H.264/AVC video watermarking scheme with drift compensation” by X. Jiang et al. a robust video watermarking scheme with drift compression is proposed. The devised MB selection scheme can lower the influence on video quality and reduce the possibility of drift distortion.In the paper entitled “An improved feature selection based on effective range for classification” by J. Wang et al.A novel efficient statistical feature selection approach called improved feature selection based on effective range (IFSER) is proposed in the paper entitled “Modeling of task planning for multirobot system using reputation mechanism” by Z. Shi et al. a task planning method based on reputation mechanism is proposed. Reputation plays an important role in the collaboration among people.In the paper entitled “P-bRS: a Physarum-based routing scheme for wireless sensor networks” by M. Zhang et al. proposes a novel Physarum-based routing scheme (P-bRS) for WSNs to balance routing efficiency and energy equilibrium.The paper entitled “Reliability prediction of ontology-based service compositions using petri net and time series models” by J. Li et al. presents a comprehensive dependability prediction model for OWL-S processes.The paper entitled “A new approach for clustered MCs classification with sparse features learning and TWSVM.” The proposed method is based on sparse feature learning and representation, which expresses a testing sample as a linear combination of the built vocabulary (training samples).A novel approach described to aid breast cancer detection and classification using digital mammograms is presented by X.-S. Zhang in his paper entitled “The study of cooperative obstacle avoidance method for MWSN based on flocking control” by Z. Chen et al. studied the features of target tracking in mobile wireless sensor network and the concept, features, category, application areas of flocking control mode, and obstacle avoidance algorithm.The paper entitled “A systematic comparison of data selection criteria for SMT domain adaptation” by L. Wang et al. performs an in-depth analysis of three different sentence selection techniques.The paper entitled “An exponentiation method for XML element retrieval” by T. Wichaiwong investigates retrieval techniques and related issues over a strongly structured collection using the exponentiation weight for the document's structure over the content-and-structure query, in the data-centric track of the INEX 2011.The paper entitled “Research and application for grey relational analysis in multigranularity based on normality grey number” by J. Dai et al., combining with the probability distribution of the data, the conception of the normality grey number is proposed.In the paper “Trusted computing strengthens cloud authentication” by E. Ghazizadeh et al. proposes the use of trusted computing, federated identity management, and OpenID Web SSO to solve identity theft in the cloud.The paper entitled “An efficient fitness function in genetic algorithm classifier for landuse recognition on satellite images” proposes a new index, DBFCMI, by integrating two common indices, DBI and FCMI, in a GA classifier to improve the accuracy and robustness of classification.The paper by M.-D. Yang et al. entitled “Unregistered biological words recognition by Q-learning with transfer learning” by F. Zhu et al. proposes a novel approach to recognize words based on transfer learning, by which we turn the process of recognizing the terms into a property marking process by redefining the property of terms according to features of terms and the corresponding context.The paper entitled “Measuring semantic relatedness between Flickr images: from a social tag based view” by Z. Xu et al. mainly discusses the semantic relatedness measures systematically, puts forward a method to measure the semantic relatedness of two images based on their tags, and justifies its validity through the experiments.The paper “A GA-based approach to hide sensitive high utility itemsets” by C.-W. Lin et al., a GA-based algorithm is proposed to find the feasible combination for data sanitization. Each gene in a chromosome represents a possible transaction to be inserted.In the paper entitled “A novel macroblock level rate control method for stereo video coding” by G. Zhu et al. proposes a novel macroblock (MB) level rate control method based on binocular perception.The paper entitled “Efficient parallel video processing techniques on GPU: from framework to implementation” by H. Su et al. proposes serial optimization methods, including the multiresolution multiwindow for motion estimation, multilevel parallel strategy to enhance the parallelism of intracoding as much as possible, component-based parallel CAVLC, and direction-priority deblocking filter.The paper entitled “Genetic algorithm and graph theory based matrix factorization method for online friend recommendation” by Q. Li et al. proposes a hybrid genetic algorithm and graph theory based online recommendation algorithm. Hybrid genetic algorithm is used for multiobjective combinatorial problem.The paper “Dynamic cooperative clustering based power assignment: network capacity and lifetime efficient topology control in cooperative ad hoc networks” by X.-H. Li et al. proposes a dynamic cooperative clustering based power assignment (DCCPA) algorithm to solve a new topology control problem: network capacity and energy efficient in cooperative wireless ad hoc networks.The paper entitled “A generalized quantum-inspired decision making model for intelligent agent” by Y. Hu and C. K. Loo, a generalized quantum-inspired decision making model (QDM) is proposed. QDM helps to extend previous research findings and model more complicated decision space.In the paper entitled “Unsupervised chunking based on graph propagation from bilingual corpus” by L. Zhu et al. presents a novel approach for unsupervised shallow parsing model trained on the unannotated Chinese text of parallel Chinese-English corpus.The paper entitled “Research on universal combinatorial coding” by J. Lu et al., the concept of universal combinatorial coding is advanced and the related properties are analyzed. Universal combinatorial coding can stride over the three branches of coding theory.In the paper entitled “Unsupervised Chunking based on graph propagation from bilingual corpus” present a novel approach for unsupervised shallow parsing model trained on the unannotated Chinese text of parallel Chinese-English corpus.L. Zhu et al. in their paper entitled “Measurement and analysis of P2P IPTV program resource” by W. Wang et al. focuses on characteristic analysis of program resources, including the distributions of length of program names, the entropy of the character types, and hierarchy depth of programs.The paper entitled “Simple-random-sampling-based multiclass text classification algorithm” by W. Liu et al. investigates the power law distribution and proposes a SRSMTC algorithm for the MTC problem. This algorithm is an excellent industrial algorithm for its easy implementation and convenient transfer to many applications.The paper entitled “An improved artificial bee colony algorithm based on balance-evolution strategy for unmanned combat aerial vehicle path planning” by B. Li et al. a novel artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm improved by a balance-evolution strategy (BES) is applied in this optimization scheme.In the paper entitled “New similarity of triangular fuzzy number and its application” by X. Zhang et al., a new method shape's indifferent area and midpoint (SIAM) to measure the similarity of two triangular fuzzy numbers is proposed, which considers the shapes and midpoints of them.In the paper entitled “Modeling and computing of stock index forecasting based on neural network and Markov chain” by Y. Dai et al. presents a new forecast method by the combination of improved back-propagation (BP) neural network and Markov chain, as well as its modeling and computing technology.The paper entitled “The theoretical limits of watermark spread spectrum sequence” by N. Jiang and J. Wang proposes LAC&TCC properties and gives the theoretical limits of SS watermarking sequences under the attacks of cropping and translation.The paper entitled “A survey on investigating the need for intelligent power-aware load balanced routing protocols for handling critical links in MANETs” by B. Sivakumar et al. discusses a short survey on the specialized algorithms and protocols related to energy efficient load balancing for critical link detection in the recent literature.The paper entitled “Stock price change rate prediction by utilizing social network activities” by S. Deng et al. proposed a model to generate heuristically optimized trading rules by utilizing social network activities and historical traded prices and transaction volumes. The proposed model extracts three kinds of features from multiple sources.The paper entitled “Ontology-based multiple choice question generation” by M. Al-Yahya aims to address this issue by assessing the performance of these systems in terms of the efficacy of the generated MCQs and their pedagogical value.The paper entitled “A simulation approach to decision making in IT service strategy” by E. Orta and M. Ruiz explores the use of simulation modeling in this scope and the works founded show that different simulation approaches have been used.The paper entitled “A hybrid approach to protect palmprint templates” by H. Liu et al. proposes a hybrid approach that combines random projection and fuzzy vault to improve the performances at these three points.The paper entitled “OntoTrader: an ontological web trading agent approach for environmental information retrieval” by L. Iribarne et al. showed how traditional traders, properly extended to operate in WIS, are a good solution for information retrieval.The paper entitled “An effective news recommendation method for microblog user” by W. Gu et al. proposed NEMAH system architecture to tackle the personalized news recommendation based on microblog and subclass popularity prediction.The paper entitled “ReHypar: a recursive hybrid chunk partitioning method using NAND-flash memory SSD” by J. No et al. presents a new form of hybrid data allocation scheme, called recursive hybrid chunk partitioning (ReHypar), which can be used in the hybrid structure whose address space is organized by integrating a small portion of NAND-flash SSD partition with the much larger HDD partition.The paper entitled “BgCut: automatic ship detection from UAV images” by C. Xu et al., an improved universal background model based on Grabcut algorithm is proposed to segment foreground objects from sea automatically.In the paper entitled “Chinese unknown word recognition for PCFG-LA parsing” by Q. Huang et al. investigates the recognition of unknown words in Chinese parsing. Two methods are proposed to handle this problem.The paper entitled “A novel hybrid self-adaptive bat algorithm” have hybridized this algorithm using different DE strategies and applied these as a local search heuristics for improving the current best solution directing the swarm of a solution towards the better regions within a search space.I. Fister Jr. et al. in the paper entitled “An improved mixture-of-Gaussians background model with frame difference and blob tracking in video stream” adopt a blob tracking method to cope with this situation.L. Yao and M. Ling in the paper entitled “A dynamic ensemble framework for mining textual streams with class imbalance” propose a new ensemble framework, clustering forest, for learning from the textual imbalanced stream with concept drift (CFIM).G. Song and Y. Ye in their paper entitled “Research on dynamic routing mechanisms in wireless sensor networks” by A. Q. Zhao et al., a collection tree protocol based, dynamic routing mechanism was proposed for WirelessHART network.In the paper entitled “An approach for integrating the prioritization of functional and nonfunctional requirements” propose an approach which aims to integrate the process of prioritizing functional and nonfunctional requirements.M. Dabbagh and S. P. Lee in the paper entitled “A collaborative recommend algorithm based on bipartite community” propose a bipartite community partitioning algorithm according to the real data environment of collaborative recommendation.Y. Fu et al. in the paper entitled “A novel two-stage illumination estimation framework for expression recognition” by Z. Zhang et al., a two-stage illumination estimation framework is proposed based on three-dimensional representative face and clustering, which can estimate illumination directions under a series of poses.In the paper entitled “Trajectory-based morphological operators: a model for efficient image processing” propose a new model for computing mathematical morphology operations, the so-called morphological trajectory model (MTM), in which a morphological filter will be divided into a sequence of basic operations.A. Jimeno-Morenilla et al. in their paper entitled “ “Multiobjective resource-constrained project scheduling with a time-varying number of tasks” propose an innovative evolutionary algorithm-based approach, called mapping of task ID for centroid-based adaptation with random immigrants (McBAR) and applied this to search for optimal schedules as solutions to the problems.M. B. Abello and Z. Michalewicz in the paper entitledPEM-PCA: a parallel expectation-maximization PCA face recognition architecture” present the parallel architecture proposal including the first PCA optimization (EM-PCA) and the second parallel face recognition architecture in three substages (PEM-PCA).K. Rujirakul et al. in the paper entitled “μ: Multilingual Sentence Boundary Detection ModeliSentenizer-” D. F. Wong et al. present a multilingual sentence boundary detection system (iSentenizer-μ) for Danish, German, English, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Finnish, and Swedish languages. The proposed system is able to detect the sentence boundaries of a mixture of different text genres and languages with high accuracy.In the paper “Palmprint based multidimensional fuzzy vault scheme” present a multidimensional fuzzy vault scheme (MDFVS) in which a general subspace error-tolerant mechanism is designed and embedded into FVS to handle intraclass variances.H. Liu et al. in the paper entitled “A relationship: word alignment, phrase table, and translation quality” focus on formulating such a relationship for estimating the size of extracted phrase pairs given one or more word alignment points.L. Tian et al. in the paper entitled “The application of similar image retrieval in electronic commerce” focus on the online marketing platform based on similar image retrieval that connects information platform with purchase platform.Y. Hu et al. in the paper entitled “Towards emotion detection in educational scenarios from facial expressions and body movements through multimodal approaches,” by M. Saneiro et al., an annotation methodology to tag facial expression and body movements that conform to changes in the affective states of learners while dealing with cognitive tasks in a learning process is presented.In the paper entitled “A novel resource management method of providing operating system as a service for mobile transparent computing” by Y. Xiong et al. presents a framework for mobile transparent computing. It extends the PC transparent computing to mobile terminals.The paper entitled “Distributed SLAM using improved particle filter for mobile robot localization” by F. Pei et al., the improved particle filter was proposed to estimate the state vector of distributed SLAM. The performance of the particle filter is affected by several factors in its operation.In the paper entitled “Unsupervised quality estimation model for English to German translation and its application in extensive supervised evaluation” propose an unsupervised MT evaluation metric using universal part-of-speech tagset without relying on reference translations.A. L.-F. Han et al. in their paper entitled “Characterizing the effects of intermittent faults on a processor for dependability enhancement strategy” by C. (Saul) Wang et al. focuses on the effects of intermittent faults on NET versus REG on one hand and the implications for dependability strategy on the other.The paper entitled “A system for sentiment analysis of colloquial Arabic using human computation” by A. S. Al-Subaihin and H. S. Al-Khalifa is to design and implement a system that can extract the sentiments of Arabic content found in Arabic websites that has informal nature.The aim of the paper entitled “Moving object detection using dynamic motion modelling from UAV aerial images” by A. F. M. S. Saif et al. presents moments based motion parameter estimation called dynamic motion model (DMM) to limit the scope of segmentation called SUED which influences overall detection performance.The paper entitled “A novel artificial bee colony algorithm based on internal-feedback strategy for image template matching” choose the well-known normalized cross correlation model as a similarity criterion. The searching procedure for the best-match location is carried out through an internal-feedback artificial bee colony (IF-ABC) algorithm.B. Li et al. in their paper entitled “Development of biological movement recognition by interaction between active basis model and fuzzy optical flow division” by B. Yousefi and C. K. Loo, a human action recognition method has been proposed; this method is based on interrelevant calculated motion and form information followed the biologically inspired system.In the paper entitled “Algorithm for image retrieval based on edge gradient orientation statistical code” by J. Zeng et al., the statistical method of 8-direction chain code was applied to the statistics for edge gradient direction, to propose a novel edge gradient orientation statistical code (EGOSC), which was sequentially used as feature vector to represent the shape.In the paper entitled “A new gravitational particle swarm optimization algorithm for the solution of economic emission dispatch in wind-thermal power system” by S. Jiang et al., a new hybrid optimization approach, namely, gravitational particle swarm optimization algorithm (GPSOA), is proposed in this paper to solve economic emission dispatch (EED) problem including wind power.In the paper entitled “An efficient hierarchical video coding scheme combining visual perception characteristics” by P. Liu and K. Jia, a hierarchical video coding scheme based on human visual systems (HVS) is proposed in this paper. The proposed scheme uses a joint video coding framework that consists of visual perception analysis layer (VPAL) and video coding layer (VCL).In the paper entitled “Signal waveform detection with statistical automaton for internet and web service streaming” propose an approach to signal waveform detection for Internet and Web streaming, with novel statistical automatons.K.-K. Tseng et al. in the paper entitled “Parallel simulation of HGMS of weakly magnetic nanoparticles in irrotational flow of inviscid fluid” present the process of high gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) using microferromagnetic wire for capturing the weakly magnetic nanoparticles in the irrotational flow of inviscid fluid.K. Hournkumnuard et al. in the paper entitled “Creation of reliable relevance judgments in information retrieval systems evaluation experimentation through crowdsourcing: a review” by P. Samimi and S. D. Ravana is intended to explore different factors that have an influence on the accuracy of relevance judgments accomplished by workers and how to intensify the reliability of judgments in crowdsourcing experiment.The paper entitled “Monte Carlo method with heuristic adjustment for irregularly shaped food product volume measurement” by J. Siswantoro et al., a nondestructive method for volume measurement of irregularly shaped food products that is based on the Monte Carlo method using a computer vision system is proposed.In the paper entitled “


Adult intussusception is rare and usually caused by a tumor acting as the lead point. Therefore, laparotomy should be considered for the treatment. Laparoscopic procedures for use in cases of adult intussusception have been recently reported; however, there is no consensus regarding the safety and efficacy. Here, we describe a successful case of laparoscopic management of an octogenarian adult intussusception caused by an ileal lipoma, which was preoperatively suspected. An 87-year-old male presented with progressive abdominal distention and vomiting. Contrast radiography of the small intestine showed an ileal tumor, and magnetic resonance imaging indicated a target-like mass, consistent with an ileal intussusception. The patient was suspected with an intussusception due to an ileal lipoma, and laparoscopic surgery was performed. An approximately 10-cm-long ileal intussusception with a preceding tumor was present, and partial resection of the ileum, including the tumor, was performed. Macroscopic examination of the excised specimen showed a pedunculated tumor measuring 4.0 × 3.5 × 1.9 cm with an uneven surface, yielding a histological diagnosis of lipoma. The patient had an uneventful recovery and was discharged on postoperative day 8. This successful case showed that laparoscopic surgery can be a useful, safe, and efficacious procedure for adult intussusception, even in octogenarians. Adult intussusceptions constitute approximately 5% to 10% of all intussusceptions and are usually caused by a tumor that acts as the lead point . While lAn 87-year-old male presented at our department with progressive abdominal distention and vomiting for 2 weeks. His medical history included hypertension and revealed that he had undergone laparoscopic-assisted ileocecal resection for cecal cancer in January 2004. Physical examination revealed a distended abdomen and a tender right lower quadrant. Laboratory test results, including serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19–9, were within normal limits. Abdominal radiography revealed a prominently dilated small intestine with some air-fluid interfaces. A long tube was inserted to reduce the internal pressure of the small intestine, and Gastrografin contrast radiography was performed. It showed an approximately 40-mm-diameter ileal tumor  1, commenced oral fluids on POD 2, and was discharged on POD 8.et al. [Intussusception is rare in adults compared with that in children, and the frequency is approximately 5% to 10% of all intussusceptions . Of the et al.  reviewedet al. . We had et al. .et al. [et al. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/), there have been 14 reported cases described by the words ‘adult intussusception,’ ‘lipoma,’ and ‘laparoscopy’ including the present case (Table et al. [et al. [First treatment for adult intussusception is debatable. Many cases of adult intussusceptions are caused by an identifiable etiology; laparotomy should be considered as the first line of treatment. As a result of the marked improvement in laparoscopic devices and surgical techniques, there are reports of its use in cases of adult intussusception ,11. Howeet al.  and Tart [et al.  reportede et al. . This di [et al.  reportedLaparoscopic surgery in experienced hands may be considered for the treatment for adult intussusception, even in octogenarians, as it is a safe and efficacious procedure.Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.


The purpose of this article was to review the biocompatibility, physical, and mechanical properties of the polyamide denture base materials. An electronic search of scientific papers from 1990-2014 was carried out using PubMed, Scopus and Wiley Inter Science engines using the search terms “nylon denture base” and “polyamide denture base”. Searching the key words yielded a total of 82 articles. By application of inclusion criteria, the obtained results were further reduced to 24 citations recruited in this review. Several studies have evaluated various properties of polyamide (nylon) denture base materials. According to the results of the studies, currently, thermo-injectable, high impact, flexible or semi-flexible polyamide is thought to be an alternative to the conventional acrylic resins due to its esthetic and functional characteristics and physicochemical qualities. It would be justifiable to use this material for denture fabrication in some cases such as severe soft/ hard tissue undercuts, unexplained repeated fracture of denture, in aesthetic-concerned patients, those who have allergy to other denture base materials, and in patients with microstomia.  Although polyamide has some attractive advantages, they require modifications to produce consistently better properties than the current polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) materials. Moreover, since there is a very limited knowledge about their clinical performance, strict and careful follow-up evaluation of the patients rehabilitated with polyamide prosthesis is recommended.  These of2)4-COOH.-15 Nylon2)4-COOH.-17 Moreo2)4-COOH. toxicolo2)4-COOH. use of h2)4-COOH. On the oThis study is a structured literature review of articles published from 1990 to 2014. PubMed, Scopus, and Wiley Inter Science databases were used to search “nylon denture base” and “polyamide denture base” key words. The search was limited to English language publications. The articles were reviewed by two experts in the field of prosthodontics. Searching the key words yielded a total of 82 articles. As the inclusion criteria, the publications had to be exactly related to the key words; no editorials and manufacturer-supported publications were accepted for review process. By application of inclusion criteria, the obtained results further reduced to 24 citations that formed the basis for this review .Flexural PropertiesThere are some studies that have evaluated the mechanical properties like flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, deflection at breakage, and tensile strength of nylon as a denture base material.et al. in 2005 [Yunus  in 2005  evaluateTakabayashi in 2010 [et al. in 2011,[Hamanaka  in 2011, comparedet al.[et al. in 2013,[et al.[In 2012, Ucar et al. evaluateet al.-25 Anothet al. reported in 2013, mechanic3,[et al. comparedWater sorption and water solubilityet al. in 2003,[Lai  in 2003, studied et al. in 2014, the sorption and solubility of heat-cured polymethyl methacrylate denture base resin and flexible denture base resin were compared and it was found that heat-cured PMMA had more sorption and solubility values than flexible (thermoplastic polyamide nylon) resin.[In the study carried out by Takabayashi in 2010,), but Lun) resin. The studn) resin.Hardnesset al. in 2012[et al. (2014)[Ucar . in 2012compared l. (2014) PMMA demColor stability and stain resistanceet al. in 2003,[et al. in 2010[et al. in 2011[In the study of Lai  in 2003, the colo. in 2011 compared. in 2011-33 It wa. in 2011 Another . in 2011-36Bond strength to other materialsAuto-polymerizing resin is often used as reline or repair material for PMMA denture base, but theret al. in 2009[et al. showed that bond strength of repair materials increased significantly after chemical treatments of denture base materials.[Katsumata . in 2009 studied . in 2009 This proaterials. However In another study in 2013, it was dthat tribochemical silica coating and 4-META/MMA-TBB resin could cause the greatest post-thermocycling bond strength to polyamides  among the different surface treatment methods used in this study . et al. in 2013[2O3. Therefore air abrasion of polyamide resins should be avoided in order not to impair their bond strength to silicon-based soft denture liners.Polyamide was exceedingly difficult to bond to an auto-polymerizing repair resin; also the shear bond strength could improve using tribochemical silica coating followed by application of 4-META/MMA-TBB resin. Korkmaz . in 2013 used peeDimensional accuracy of nylon denture base materialset al.[et al. in 2004[Despite several advantages of PMMA, one of its main disadvantages is polymerization shrinkage during processing. For solving this problem, various injection-molded materials and processing techniques are now available. The studet al. was the . in 2004 compared. in 2004-45Surface roughnessA rougher surface can cause discomfort to patients and also discoloration of the prosthesis; it may contribute to microbial colonization and biofilm formation.et al. in 2010[et al. in 2014[Abuzar . in 2010 evaluate. in 2010 Similar . in 2010 the conv. in 2014who evaluEffect of denture cleansers on polyamide denture base materialset al. in 2013,[Adhesion of microorganisms, especially yeasts, to the denture base materials is an important issue that compromises its service and efficacy. Although in 2013, the effe in 2013,Cytotoxic evaluation of polyamideet al.[There are several studies in regard to cytotoxicity of denture base materials.-59 It haet al. investigIn 2013, a clinicet al. in 2013[Sinch . in 2013 reportedPhysical and clinical properties of polyamides were briefly discussed in this review article. Although the flexural strength and modulus of elasticity and rigidity of nylon (polyamide) denture base materials are relatively low, they demonstrate great impact strength, toughness, and resistance to fracture. It was suggested that by adding glass fibers to polyamides, their stiffness and other mechanical properties could be increased. The use of these materials for non-metal clasp dentures has some advantages regarding their esthetic and degree of retention. However, these materials show some degree of color instability in different beverages. The bond strength of these materials to the repairing resins is low, but it can be significantly enhanced by silica coating with Rocatec system. Using the denture cleansers would increase the surface roughness of these materials and their cytotoxicity increases after long-term use. It was demonstrated that polyamides have rougher surface than other resin materials, and it causes more bacterial and fungal colonization. Therefore, selection of thermoplastic resin and designs adaptation for each clinical case must be achieved only after complete indulgence of the properties of polyamide materials.


The aim of this study was to evaluate some reproduction performances in Ouled-Djellal rams.This study involved genital organs removed after slaughter from 54 rams at the municipal slaughterhouse of Batna (East Algeria).The measurements of survival and mobility of epididymal sperm followed at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h after collection, revealed significant (p<0.05) to highly significant differences (p>0.001) according to time. Thus, concerning the sperm motility the values were 91.00±2.40%, 89.20±2.40%, 77.00±6.20% and 62.60±1.20% at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. Indeed, in live sperm, the viability rates were 82.15±1.48%, 77.67±1.74%, 66.56±1.95% and 52.30±1.46% at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively.This study revealed that epididymal spermatozoa stored at 04°C for 72 h kept their mobility and vitality at nearly a half of their the original parameters. Ouled-Djellal (OD) breed is the most dominant in this region representing nearly 60% of the 22.868 million heads . This iset al., , epididyThe aim of the present study was to determine the effect of the storage time on the quality of epididymal spermatozoa kept at 4°C by evaluating their motility and viability at 0, 24, 48, and 72 h after the rams’ slaughter.Ethical approval was not necessary. The samples were taken from slaughtered animals.This study involved 54 OD rams at the municipal slaughterhouse of Batna (East Algeria). The genital organs were removed after slaughter of the animal. Before the collection of sperm, a paraffin oil injection was performed into the vas deferens, after which an incision in the apical region of the tail was carried out, and the epididymal sperm was collected and stored at 4°C without dilution . Mobilit®5. Version 5.03, to calculate the mean, the standard deviation and the standard error of the mean (SEM) and the statistical signification was set at p<0.05.We used the Software Graph Pad PrismThe analysis of massal motility and vitality are summarized in in vitro with extended media, although differences decreased at 48 and 72 h [et al., [et al., [et al., [et al., [et al., [et al., [et al., [etal., [The post-mortem recovery of epididymal sperm from dead animals is a useful method that would permit the creation of germplasm banks to preserve endangered breeds and contributes to the preservation of biodiversity . The speand 72 h . In bull[et al.,  obtained[et al.,  and Mir [et al., . Lones e[et al.,  have obt[et al.,  have not[et al.,  and Mir [et al.,  in rams,[etal.,  in bullset al., [etal., [in vitro fertilization (IVF) rates of in vivo matured oocytes with epididymal sperm, and conceived that epididymal sperm was better for IVF than ejaculated semen due to deficiency of contact with seminal plasma.The motility of spermatozoa varies with the transport temperature (ambient or refrigeration)  and its et al.,  did not [etal.,  have not[etal.,  obtainedet al., [et al., [etal., [According to Tamayo-Canul et al., , the sto[et al.,  revealed[et al., . However[et al., . It is w[et al., ,8,18,28.[et al., . In Iber[etal.,  concludeThis study showed that epididymal sperm can be used for more or less short time after storage. A storage time up to 72 h at 4°C can lead to a reduction of nearly half in motility and viability rates. We can conclude that the cauda epididymal sperm stored at the above-mentioned conditions constitutes, despite an obvious reduction in viability, an alternative source of gametes of meritorious parents for artificial insemination or IVF. However, for a better evaluation of the fertility or performance, rams should be tested for different trials such as scrotal measurement, semen examination, libido testing, hormonal profile and other examinations.


R2 = 0.86, p = 4.88 × 10−23), male age standardised death rate  and percent all cause death attributed to MND . Conclusion: Legacy petrol lead emissions are associated with increased MND death trends in Australia. Further examination of the 20 year lag between exposure to petrol lead and the onset of MND is warranted.Background: The age standardised death rate from motor neuron disease (MND) has increased from 1.29 to 2.74 per 100,000, an increase of 112.4% between 1959 and 2013. It is clear that genetics could not have played a causal role in the increased rate of MND deaths over such a short time span. We postulate that environmental factors are responsible for this rate increase. We focus on lead additives in Australian petrol as a possible contributing environmental factor. Methods: The associations between historical petrol lead emissions and MND death trends in Australia between 1962 and 2013 were examined using linear regressions. Results: Regression results indicate best fit correlations between a 20 year lag of petrol lead emissions and age-standardised female death rate ( Motor Neuron Disease (MND) is a general term for neurological disorders that affect motor neurons which are cells that control voluntary muscles including those affecting breathing speaking, swallowing and walking. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the commonest form of MND, affecting both corticomotor neurons in the cerebrum and the anterior horn cells in the brainstem and spinal cord . This neet al. (1997) [et al. (1994) [et al. (2003) [et al. (2000) [et al. (2013) [et al. (2005) [et al. (2005) [et al. (2005) [A review of the literature indicates that MND mortality rates have generally shown increasing trends. Veiga-Cabo . 1997)  document. (1997)  found tht al. 199 [4] foun. (2003)  found th. (2000)  studied   documen. (2005) , observeet al., 2014) [While 10% of all MND cases are caused by monogenic mutations that are increasingly identified [., 2014) . Althoug., 2014) . Exposur., 2014) .Lead is a potent neurotoxin and there is a growing body of evidence that past lead exposure plays a possible causal role in a subset of MND patients . Multiplet al. (2014) [et al. (2014) [Wang . (2014)  performe. (2014)  combinedet al. (2002) [et al. (2003) [et al. (2002) [ALAD) gene and the vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) and the influence of genotype on the previously observed association of MND with lead exposure. They concluded that genetic susceptibility conferred by polymorphisms in the ALAD gene may affect MND risk, possibly through a mechanism related to internal lead exposure (such as from bone lead). There are two retrospective case-control studies that found an association between bone lead and MND. Kamel . (2002)  assessed. (2003)  used the. (2002)  to inveset al. (2005) [et al. (2002) [et al. (2005) [et al. (2005) [ALAD gene was associated with a 1.9-fold increase in MND risk.The Kamel . (2005)  study us. (2002)  along wi. (2005)  observed. (2005)  observedet al. (2015) [Eum . (2015)  measuredIn Australia, the majority of non-occupational lead exposure occurs in mining towns ,28 and oRecent progress has been made in the understanding numerous chronic health effects associated with lead exposure. For example, there are strong associations between lead and a multitude of diseases such as autism ,32 preecA major source of non-occupational lead exposure is from atmospheric emissions from leaded petrol. Historically this exposure source has been the principal driver of blood lead levels in the Australian population . Leaded The accumulated lead emitted from automotive tailpipes was deposited into urban soils and dusts with a legacy of lead still present within the top 5 cm of soil. Because lead stays as a residue until geologic processes gradually cover or remove its expected “half-life” is approximately 700 years . The priInformation about the MND deaths was collected on death certificates and certified by either a medical practitioner or a coroner. Registration of deaths is compulsory in Australia and is the responsibility of each state and territory Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages under jurisdiction specific legislation. On behalf of the Registrars, deaths data are assembled, coded and published by statistical agencies. These agencies have varied since 1900 and have included state based statistical offices, the Commonwealth Statistician's Office and the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, now known as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Cause of Death Unit Record File data are provided to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) by the Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the National Coronial Information System (managed by the Victorian Department of Justice) and include cause of death coded by the ABS (ICD10 code G12.2). The data are maintained by the AIHW in the National Mortality Database.The Australian MND death rate is available for a fifty four year period ,43. The 2R value and smallest p-value. Twenty year lag of MND response was thus selected for further evaluation for accumulated petrol lead emissions.Taking into account the combination of age of exposure and the bone lead reservoir of exposure we assume a lag in the onset of MND response. The best fit of MND response lag was determined by performing linear regressions between accumulated petrol lead emissions between 1933 and 2002 with forward lags of 10 to 24 years for male and female MND death rates and for percent MND all cause death in Australia between 1962 and 2013. The best fit was 20 years for lag response because 20 years showed the largest The petrol lead emission trend calculated by Kristensen (2015)  was convAs illustrate in The combined male and female percent all cause death attributed to MND increased 300% from 0.12% in 1959 to 0.48% in 2013 and this result is illustrated in R2 = 0.96, p = 9.4 × 10−23). Likewise regression results between a 20 years lag of petrol lead emissions and age-standardized death rates indicate positive correlations for females . As illustrated in R2 = 0.98, p = 2.6 × 10−44) . The data used in the regression analysis and the statistical results are presented in a Regression results between a 20 years lag of petrol lead emissions and age-standardized death rates indicate positive correlations for males  [et al. (2000) [There are other limitations of the study. Chio . (2000)  acknowle. (2000)  notes thet al. (2000) [et al. (2000) [Chio . (2000)  also sug. (2000)  suggest et al. (2015) [Another factor that had the potential to effect the international MND mortality trends was the international diagnostic criteria for ALS/MND diagnoses named the El Escorial diagnostic criteria which was implemented in the late 1990s for the purpose of standardising the steps of diagnosis, clarifying the complexity of various clinical features and ensuring diagnostic criteria. Agosta . (2015)  state thIt must be noted that there are other factors causing ALS, such as genetics in familial ALS , occupatet al. (2005) [et al., (2013) [et al. (2005) [et al. (2005) [et al. (2002) [et al. (1992) [et al. (2007) [et al. (2009) [The introduction emphasized the increasing trend of MND mortality; however, there have also been some exceptions to the international trend of MND mortality rate increases. For examples, while Noonan . (2005)  observed, (2013)  indicate. (2005)  conclude. (2005)  also not. (2002)  found th. (1992)  observed. (2007)  noted th. (2009)  found thWe acknowledge that we cannot conclude that the association between the forward lag of petrol lead emissions are causally related. However if these variables were found to be causally related, then based on the plateau of the forward lag of the accumulated petrol curve at the end of the petrol lead accumulation curve  and the Urban environments are the habitat for most of the world’s peoples and it is essential to fully understand the qualities which sustain life. Non-occupational lead exposure from the legacy of petrol lead emissions was a major contaminant introduced into urban environments worldwide and it provides a case example of the need for further study of processes that contaminate urban environments. The history of the use in petrol lead worldwide has been described as occurring in two phases. The first phase involved the rise in total lead emissions between the 1930s and the 1970s, and the second phase involved the phase down of lead in various countries between the 1970s and the present time . After tWe postulate that the petrol lead source and its legacy of aerosol emission and accumulation became a driver for increasing the incidence of MND. The lead emissions contaminate surface soil and are then resuspended into the atmosphere during dry periods with fine lead enriched soil dust migrating into homes ,63,64. CMultiple lines of evidence suggest that lead exposure plays a significant role in the aetiology of MND. These lines of evidence include the meta-analysis between MND and occupational lead exposure , previouNon-occupational lead exposure remains a pervasive and a continuing worldwide problem from air lead, soil lead and lead dust in homes, especially in urban environments. Primary prevention of exposure is paramount to solving the negative health outcomes associated with lead exposure. The Precautionary Principle as defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) (2005)  establisThe emissions from leaded petrol have left a legacy in the environment. The legacy shows up as many forms of chronic diseases in the population. Diseases in the population can be both from early childhood exposure and later exposure during adulthood resulting in the accumulated storage of lead in bones and its subsequent release later in life. Regression results indicate positive correlations between a 20 year lag of petrol lead emissions and MND trends in Australia. The results indicate that non-occupational exposures to the population from past Australian petrol lead emissions and its environmental accumulation may have contributed to the development of sporadic MND. We predict that when evaluated in other countries similar findings will also be found. Further examination of a lag between exposure to petrol lead accumulation in urban soils and dusts and MND trends is warranted. If these studies confirm that exposure to lead from past emissions of lead in petrol is causally related to the development of MND, then lead contaminated urban soils and house dusts may require extensive remediation or isolation to prevent further development of sporadic MND in future generations.


The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize and appraise the evidence of the benefits of presbyopic correction on the cornea for visual function.Comprehensive search was conducted in MEDLINE using keywords like “presbylasik”, “presbyopic refractive surgery”, “corneal pseudoaccommodation” and “corneal multifocality”. We reviewed corrected and uncorrected visual acuities for distance and near , uncorrected near visual acuity (UNVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), distance corrected near visual acuity (DCNVA), corrected near visual acuity (CNVA)), along with the refractive outcomes in spherical equivalent (SE) and astigmatism comparing the differences observed between preoperative myopic and hyperopic patients, as well as among techniques.Thirty-one studies met the inclusion and quality criteria. Monovision provides excellent distance and near uncorrected acuities, but with a 17% retreatment and a 5% reversal rate. Initial multifocal ablations result in 12% loss of 2 or more lines of CDVA, and a 21% retreatment rate. Laser Blended Vision provides excellent UDVA, but with a 19% retreatment rate. Initial experiences with Supracor show moderate predictability and a 22% retreatment rate. Intracor results in 9% loss of 2 or more lines of CDVA. KAMRA provides excellent UDVA, with only a 1% retreatment rate, but a 6% reversal rate. Initial experiences with PresbyMAX provided excellent UNVA and DCNVA, showing excellent predictability and a 1% reversal rate.The findings have implications for clinicians and policymakers in the health-care industry and emphasize the need for additional trials examining this important and widely performed clinical procedure. Surgical presbyopic correction has seen a tremendous increase in interest in the recent times. The application of excimer laser systems in surgically correcting presbyopia is as old as the laser refractive surgery . RefractMoreira et al. said in 1993 [The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize and appraise the evidence of benefits of presbyopic correction on the cornea for visual function.We categorized the found techniques as:Monovision is another extended technique  where thVinciguerra et al.  proposedA pseudo-accommodative cornea is realized basically in the form of a peripheral near zone (concentric ring for near vision)  or in thCharman  concludeArtola et al.  found evDai  was one Ortiz et al.  charactePresbyLASIK is another important addition to the techniques of multifocal ablations. The term presbyLASIK indicates a corneal surgical procedure based on traditional laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) to create a multifocal surface able to correct any visual defect for distance while simultaneously reducing the near spectacle dependency in presbyopic patients ,12.Little literature is found concerning monocular distance corrected performance after presbyLASIK .In a previous report  , presbyIn another report , statistIntracorneal ablations in the form of concentric rings are used to produce a weaker region in the central part of the cornea resulting in a hyperpolate shape. This flapless procedure is restricted within the boundaries of the corneal stroma.Three types of corneal inlays are available today for presbyopic treatments. The KAMRA  corneal inlay uses a pinhole effect. PresbyLens  is based on microscopically changing the shape of the eye’s surface. Flexivue Microlens  is a refracting inlay with a refractive index different from the cornea.Based on reports and presentations, near vision can be improved while retaining distance visual acuity with the KAMRA presbyopic inlay. Although corneal inlays are placed only in one eye, they differ from monovision by not compromising on the distance vision.However, inlays also represent a compromise. For the KAMRA, light entering the eye is restricted, which may reduce contrast and night vision, and there can be optical side effects. The benefit of using inlays is the ability to remove and reverse the effects of the treatment. Intracorneal inlay and simultaneous refractive surgery has also presented safe and efficacious results in patients with presbyopia and emmetropia.Hybrid techniques are designed to combine the benefits of two of the above-mentioned approaches and suppress the related disadvantages. These hybrid modifications include: conductive keratoplasty (CK) , Supracor and PresbyMAX , Intracor , KAMRA (full correction in distance eye combined with pinhole based extended depth-of-focus and monovision in the near eye), as well as laser blended vision .Reinstein et al.  successfWe conducted a comprehensive search in MEDLINE using keywords like “presbylasik”, “presbyopic refractive surgery”, “corneal pseudoaccommodation” and “corneal multifocality”.We reviewed corrected and uncorrected visual acuities for distance and near ), along with the refractive outcomes in SE and astigmatism comparing the differences observed between preoperative myopic and hyperopic patients, as well as among techniques. We used the standard equivalent Snellen acuities for distance vision  combined with the revised Jaeger scale for near vision .Thirty-one studies met the inclusion and quality criteria.This is probably the most extensively used and old (but not outdated) technique for alleviating presbyopic symptoms.Ayoubi et al.  comparedBraun, Lee and Steinert  evaluateReilly et al.  assessedWright et al.  measuredSee Table Stahl  assessedYe et al.  evaluateJackson, Tuan, and Mintsioulis  evaluatePinelli et al.  analyzedUy and Go  investigSee Table Ryan and O’Keefe  reportedSee Table Uthoff et al.  investigSee Table Bohac et al.  reportedHolzer et al.  investigSee Table Lindstrom et al.  providedTomita et al.  evaluateYılmaz et al.  evaluateSeyeddain et al.  evaluateSee Table Alarcon et al.  evaluateSee Table Monovision is highly rated by patients even though binocular vision is compromised .Although the depth of focus acts as a useful marker, acuity at typical near vision distances is a more suitable metric that is closely related to patients’ real expectations and concerns . High leContact lens monovision and LASIK-induced monovision traditionally use a nomogram for near addition, with the degree of anisometropia increasing from approximately −1.50 D for a 45-year-old patient up to −2.50 D for a 65-year-old patient .CK seems to produce functional corneal multifocality with definable introduction of surgically induced astigmatism and higher-order optical aberrations, and development of a more prolate corneal contour. These optical factors may militate toward improved near vision function .PresbyLASIK treatment constitutes a new modality in the correction of presbyopia after monovision LASIK ,52. In sPinelli et al.  investigSemoun et al. were the first to describe a P. acnes (Propionibacterium acnes) infection after a presbyopic LASIK procedure. This unusual case of infectious keratitis emphasizes the fact that even though such cases may rarely present in the clinics, the patients must be informed about the potential risks of such infections .The reversibility of the presbyLASIK procedures have been viewed controversially. These viewpoints have been discussed in the work of Luger et al. . In anotArtola et al. found evidence for delayed presbyopia after PRK in a non-presbyLASIK protocol for myopia .The initial results of Intracor raised the expectations for this technique. However, subsequent reports on corneal ectasia and concerns regarding the retreatment and reversal possibilities raised questions about the safety of this technique .As for the corneal inlays, some more clinical and theoretical work has been published so far, including reading performance and patient satisfaction, optimumSee Table We introduced a hybrid category in the results. This category combines several methods together to benefit from their advantages and reduce the impact of their disadvantages. In other words, one can say that all corneal presbyopic correction methods have evolved to hybrid techniques that combine their original approach in different powers for either eye or the original approach with certain amount of monovision .The current developments throughout the corneal presbyopic correction spectrum indicate a converging trend towards hybrid techniques.


We read with great interest the recent paper by C. B. Papini et al. in which the authors examined “impact of a community-based exercise program in primary care on inflammatory biomarkers and hormone levels” in the 1-year quasiexperimental study [α, and CRP [The authors did not discuss exclusion criteria in this paper. However it is well established that any type of systemic inflammation, autoimmune disorders, and malignant or chronic illnesses may affect inflammatory biomarkers and hormone levels . Also ob and CRP , 4. Beca and CRP .In our opinion, future clinical studies assessment of considering these conditions may be helpful for exact results. We hope that bearing in mind these conditions would add to the value of the well-written paper of C. B. Papini et al. .


By binding additional viral proteins, gH/gL forms multimeric complexes which bind to specific host cell receptors. Both Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) express alternative multimeric gH/gL complexes. Relative amounts of these alternative complexes in the viral envelope determine which host cells are preferentially infected. Host cells of EBV can modulate the gH/gL complex complement of progeny viruses by cell type-dependent degradation of one of the associating proteins. Host cells of HCMV modulate the tropism of their virus progenies by releasing or not releasing virus populations with a specific gH/gL complex complement out of a heterogeneous pool of virions. The group of Jeremy Kamil has recently shown that the HCMV ER-resident protein UL148 controls integration of one of the HCMV gH/gL complexes into virions and thus creates a pool of virions which can be routed by different host cells. This first mechanistic insight into regulation of the gH/gL complex complement of HCMV progenies presents UL148 as a pilot candidate for HCMV navigation in its infected host. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) spread in their hosts are considered to be highly directed. Current models how EBV or HCMV particles are navigated through the infected host are based on alternative gH/gL complexes in the virus envelope which target different host cells. EBV envelopes are complemented with dimeric gH/gL and trimeric gH/gL/gp42 complexes and HCMV envelopes with trimeric gH/gL/gO and pentameric gH/gL/UL128-131 complexes. Both EBV and HCMV show differences in cell tropism of virus progenies derived from different host cells. Several studies have addressed mechanisms of how host cells shape the tropism of virus progenies by influencing the gH/gL complement of virions.In vivo, it has been shown that EBV particles shed in saliva are high in gp42 and may thus be directed to B cells, which are the first target cells in horizontal transmission of EBV [For EBV, a switch in cell tropism of the virus derived from B cells or epithelial cells has been described ,2. Infecn of EBV .in vivo spread of gO-knockout mutants of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). Entry of gO-knockout mutants of MCMV into the first target cells is impaired, but subsequently shows a focal spread pattern in organs comparable to the wildtype (WT) virus [For HCMV, differences in cell tropism of virus progenies released from different cell types cannot be explained so easily. Virions complemented with gH/gL/gO and gH/gL/UL128-131 can infect all HCMV host cells, including endothelial and epithelial cells, whereas virions complemented only with gH/gL/gO show a tropism restricted mainly to fibroblasts. Interestingly, virions lacking gH/gL/gO also show a massive loss of infectivity for epithelial and endothelial cells ,5, whichT) virus . Cell tyT) virus . In summet al. [et al. [et al. [An elegant study by Li et al.  offers aet al. . Data fr [et al.  also sho [et al. . Interes [et al.  propose  [et al. , an incr [et al. .et al. [et al., a relative increase in infection in fibroblast cultures when compared to infection in epithelial cell cultures [et al. [I would like to propose an alternative model which is also compatible with the data from Li et al.  (Figure et al. . When ULcultures . Due to  [et al.  of how U [et al. . Fibrobl [et al.  (Figure et al. [in vivo? A comparative sequence analysis of HCMV isolates has shown that UL148 is a highly conserved protein, which indicates that viral infection success in vivo is coupled to an intact UL148 [in vivo.Do the findings from Li et al.  qualify ct UL148 ,7. By in


Pinus ponderosa) and mixed-conifer forests were incomplete, missing considerable variability in forest structure and fire regimes. Stevens et al. (this issue) agree that high-severity fire was a component of these forests, but disagree that one of the several sources of evidence, stand age from a large number of forest inventory and analysis (FIA) plots across the western USA, support our findings that severe fire played more than a minor role ecologically in these forests. Here we highlight areas of agreement and disagreement about past fire, and analyze the methods Stevens et al. used to assess the FIA stand-age data. We found a major problem with a calculation they used to conclude that the FIA data were not useful for evaluating fire regimes. Their calculation, as well as a narrowing of the definition of high-severity fire from the one we used, leads to a large underestimate of conditions consistent with historical high-severity fire. The FIA stand age data do have limitations but they are consistent with other landscape-inference data sources in supporting a broader paradigm about historical variability of fire in ponderosa and mixed-conifer forests than had been traditionally recognized, as described in our previous PLOS paper.In a recent PLOS ONE paper, we conducted an evidence-based analysis of current versus historical fire regimes and concluded that traditionally defined reference conditions of low-severity fire regimes for ponderosa pine ( The accompanying paper by Stevens et al.  is critiHere, we first briefly summarize points of agreement between Stevens et al.  and us, In Odion et al. 2014) [014 [2], We did not intend to suggest that tree recruitment occurred only with fire. Stevens et al. hypothesize that pulsed recruitment in the absence of fire has shaped the age distributions in many FIA plots. We agree that this process occurred historically. There is also agreement that a dominant cohort of trees will establish after high-severity fire, but that later in stand development understory recruitment can happen with favorable climate or following insect outbreaks. This, along with the presence of some trees that pre-date the fire, will create an uneven-aged stand, but there may still be a dominant overstory size class established after fire.Stevens et al.  report tStevens et al. replaced the traditional 70–100% mortality definition for high-severity fire  that weStevens et al.  suggest,There is also a logical problem: if high-severity fire predominantly caused 90–100% mortality historically, and 70–89% mortality was rare, then there would be very little difference between the number of FIA plots with 90–100% mortality and the number with 70–100% mortality. But, Stevens et al. found a large difference when using these basal area thresholds. Therefore, plots with 70–89% mortality were not rare, and narrowing the fire-severity definition is not supported.Stevens et al.  state thStevens et al.  point ouTo understand historical forest structure and fire, it is common to reconstruct the size of trees in the 1800s by subtracting tree growth since that time . Steven2 of dead tree basal area. There are 5 live trees of 0.5 m in diameter at breast height (dbh) in the 1-ha FIA plot for a total of 1 m2 live, surviving basal area. The surviving trees have a higher growth increment in earlier years which decreases as they age. However, when the mean growth rate is calculated using 1594 mature ponderosa pine in dry forests in Oregon  reThe concern raised by Stevens et al.  pertains


Staphylococcus aureus is an emerging and rare infection and so far the related data are scarce.Pyogenic abscess of psoas muscles is a rare condition. Psoas abscess due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a 54-year-old Arab Jordanian woman with breast cancer who had neutropenia after starting chemotherapy. She was diagnosed 50 days after onset of symptoms. However, despite this delay in diagnosis and the large size of the abscesses, she had a full recovery. She was treated with antibiotics and percutaneous drainage and was doing very well at a follow up of 18 months.We report the rare case of primary and bilateral large psoas abscesses due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus might have insidious presentation with extensive disease especially in immunocompromised patients. However, it can be managed effectively with percutaneous catheter drainage and appropriate antibiotic therapy.Psoas abscess due to methicillin-resistant  Pyogenic abscess of psoas muscles is a rare condition with a mortality rate of 100 % if left untreated , a signiStaphylococcus aureus is the leading cause for primary psoas abscess, psoas abscesses due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have been rare until recently when increasing rates have been reported in the last few years [Although ew years , 4, 5. Tew years . Here, w9/L (neutrophils 10 %). Therefore, she was treated with imipenem with moderate improvement and was discharged after 4 days on cefixime orally.A 54-year-old Arab Jordanian woman who had a history of breast cancer 11 years prior to her current complaint, presented in 2012 with a left breast mass due to recurrence of her cancer. The mass of the recurrent cancer was excised and chemotherapy with docetaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide was started. However, in October 2012 and 7 days after the second cycle, she was admitted because of fever, chills, and right lower quadrant pain of 3 days’ duration. Her physical examination showed epigastric and right lower quadrant tenderness and her white blood cell count (WBC) was 1.28×109/L (neutrophils 15 %), and platelets of 161×109/L. During her stay, however, she complained of left hip and knee pain. Her examination showed tenderness over her great trochanter with full range of movement. Therefore, a dedicated left hip magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), without pelvic cuts, was performed and was reported as normal. Her blood and urine cultures remained negative. She was treated with imipenem and vancomycin and was later discharged after 8 days of hospital stay.Later, and after the third cycle of chemotherapy which consisted of docetaxel and cyclophosphamide, she was admitted again for fever. Her laboratory tests were unremarkable except for hemoglobin of 7.9 g/dL, WBC 2.6×109/L (neutrophils 73 %). An abdomen computed tomography (CT) was subsequently performed, 50 days after onset of symptoms, and showed large bilateral psoas abscesses: the right measuring 13×8×5 cm and the left 9×5×3.5 cm  after 4 weeks of drainage without complications and later on completed another three cycles of chemotherapy. At follow up of 18 months, she was doing well and had no evidence of recurrence of infection on repeat CT imaging.Psoas abscess is classified as either primary or secondary. A primary abscess occurs due to the hematogenous or lymphatic spread of the causative organism from a distant site. Secondary abscess occurs as a result of the direct expansion of a nearby infectious or inflammatory process into the psoas muscle . PrimaryOur case has several rare and interesting features: the primary type, the infection with MRSA, the bilateral location, the large size of the abscess, the immunocompromised host due to chemotherapy and neutropenia, and the excellent outcome of the patient.et al. [et al. [et al. [Bilateral psoas abscesses are rare; Ricci et al.  in a lar [et al.  in a com [et al. , in a caS. aureus; Ricci et al. [S. aureus caused 88 % of cases followed by Streptococcus (5 %) and Escherichia coli (3 %). Lai et al. [S. aureus was still the dominant etiology. However, despite the fact that S. aureus was the predominant etiology, MRSA remained a rare etiology until recently [et al. [et al. [et al. [et al. [The predominant organism in primary psoas abscess is i et al. , in theihia coli  %. Lai erecently , 8. Two  [et al.  and Kim tococcus  % and Es [et al.  reportedtococcus  % and Es [et al.  and 10 omecA would have been more sensitive to differentiate between community and health care MRSA [The phenotype of the isolated MRSA here  suggests it is a community-associated MRSA. However, this phenotype criterion remains inaccurate and nucleic acid amplification methods to detect are MRSA . Since ware MRSA , 13. We are MRSA . Later, are MRSA .et al. [Currently, whether PCD or surgical intervention should be used in patients with psoas abscess remains controversial because few studies with large sample sizes have been performed . Howeveret al.  in a retet al. .MRSA is an increasingly reported and emerging etiology in psoas abscess. Our case has several rare and interesting features specifically: the primary type, the infection with MRSA, the bilateral location, the large size of the abscesses, the immunocompromised host, and the excellent treatment outcome. Psoas abscess is an important condition in the differential diagnosis of patients with low back and hip pain. MRI or CT scan could establish the diagnosis and define the extent of the psoas abscess. Percutaneous catheter drainage with appropriate antibiotic therapy can be effectively used in management.Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.


Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers were used in characterization of 113 cowpea accessions comprising of 108 from Ghana and 5 from abroad. Leaf tissues from plants cultivated at the University of Ghana were genotyped at KBioscience in the United Kingdom. Data was generated for 477 SNPs, out of which 458 revealed polymorphism. The results were used to analyze genetic dissimilarity among the accessions using Darwin 5 software. The markers discriminated among all of the cowpea accessions and the dissimilarity values which ranged from 0.006 to 0.63 were used for factorial plot. Unexpected high levels of heterozygosity were observed on some of the accessions. Accessions known to be closely related clustered together in a dendrogram drawn with WPGMA method. A maximum length sub-tree which comprised of 48 core accessions was constructed. The software package structure was used to separate accessions into three groups, and the programme correctly identified varieties that were known hybrids. The hybrids were those accessions with numerous heterozygous loci. The structure plot showed closely related accessions with similar genome patterns. The SNP markers were more efficient in discriminating among the cowpea germplasm than morphological, seed protein polymorphism and simple sequence repeat studies reported earlier on the same collection.The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-541) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp] is an important staple food crop in Ghana and many other parts of the world   are powerful tools in genetic diversity study in living organisms  was obtained from West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana. Four accessions were breeding lines selected from accession GH4524 based on seed coat colour differences . It was used for a factorial plot and a Maximum Length sub-tree was constructed to select a representative core accessions.et al. Detection of the underlying genetic population among the studied cowpea accessions was carried out with the Structure software , ‘Zaayura’ and IT97K-556-6 shared a rare allele. IT97K-556-6 is IITA line while ‘Zaayura’ is a commercial variety released by CSIR - Savanna Agricultural Research Institute. Another rare allele was shared by UCR779 and ‘Zaayura’. UCR 779, a Botswana landrace, resistant to aphid . Meaningfully, they also fell in their appropriate colour seed coat clusters. These are elite germplasm (improved varieties) and have been selected for similar traits over a long period of time. The improved varieties from both Ghana and abroad are found on or above the red line Figure . Local aet al.et al.et al. et al. et al.et al.et al. No elite genotype fell in the dark coat coloured cluster Figure . Commercet al.et al. , ‘Bawuta’ and ‘Zaayura’ is very significant. This is because Padi ‘Tuya’ and a number of varieties released by CSIR – SARI are known to have parentage from California Black eye Additional file 1:Factorial plot of the cowpea accessions.(DOCX 48 KB)Additional file 2:


In this Special Issue, entitled “Food choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective”, three broad themes have been identified: (1) social and environmental influences on food choice; (2) psychological influences on eating behaviour; and (3) eating behaviour profiling. The studies that addressed the social and environmental influences indicated that further research would do well to promote positive food choices rather than reduce negative food choices; promote the reading and interpretation of food labels and find ways to effectively market healthy food choices through accessibility, availability and presentation. The studies on psychological influences found that intentions, perceived behavioural control, and confidence were predictors of healthy eating. Given the importance of psychological factors, such as perceived behavioural control and self-efficacy, healthy eating interventions should reduce barriers to healthy eating and foster perceptions of confidence to consume a healthy diet. The final theme focused on the clustering of individuals according to eating behaviour. Some “types” of individuals reported more frequent consumption of fast foods, ready meals or convenience meals or greater levels of disinhibition and less control over food cravings. Intervention designs which make use of multi-level strategies as advocated by the Ecological Model of Behaviour change that proposes multi-level  strategies are likely to be more effective in reaching and engaging individuals susceptible to unhealthy eating habits than interventions operating on a single level. The Special Issue on the social psychological issues related to food choice and nutrition has attracted a wide variety of papers from around the world and across population groups. Three broad themes were identified through the papers: (1) social and environmental influences on food choice; (2) psychological influences on eating behaviour; and (3) eating behaviour profiling.et al. [i.e., having family and friends who rarely consume soft drinks), stricter family rules, greater perceived behavioural control and confidence were less likely to consume soft/energy drinks [et al. [Six papers focused on the social and environmental influences on food choice. Deliens et al.  surveyedy drinks . Tanja e [et al.  surveyed [et al. . These f [et al. ,4 and fr [et al.  positive [et al. .et al. [et al.’s [et al. [et al. [i.e., whole fruit, fruit salad, vegetarian daily specials) in a school canteen. Their results showed that the intervention was effective in facilitating subsequent selection of more healthy food choices among secondary school students. Taken together, these studies suggest that further research would do well to promote positive food choices rather than reduce negative food choices; promote the reading and interpretation of food labels and find ways to effectively market healthy food choices through food architecture models.Other social-environmental papers published in this issue focused on attention to food labels  and enviet al.  found thet al.’s  study iset al.’s  conducte [et al. , found t [et al.  conducte [et al. , found tet al. [The second main theme in this set of papers is centred around the psychological influences on eating behaviour. Perceived behavioural control (the perceived ease or difficulty in performing a behavior) and confidence were found to statistically predict eating behaviour in several studies involving university students ,11 and yet al. . Finallyet al.  suggesteet al. , Social et al.  and Selfet al. ,17 appeai.e., end of aisle displays) to influence the impulsive involved group. They also found that impulsive involved individuals relied heavily on ready-made sauces and mixes which may indicate a lack of cooking skills. As such, healthy eating interventions may do well to promote the use of healthier processed foods such as canned and frozen vegetables and beans in cooking rather than focusing on cooking from scratch using fresh ingredients. Other research found that a main outcome of a cookery skills intervention was that participants learnt how to make healthy meals from scratch that were both tasty and time efficient [The final theme identified was a focus on eating behaviour profiling or the clustering of individuals according to eating behaviours. Two papers used approaches to identify typologies of individuals ,19. Daltfficient . The impfficient . It may i.e., barriers concerning time, cost and taste) and confidence to prepare health meals be enhanced. Additionally, further work is required on food labels, both in terms of who responds to them and how people make sense of them. Finally, given the importance of psychological factors such as perceived behavioural control and self-efficacy, healthy eating interventions should reduce barriers to healthy eating and foster perceptions of confidence to consume a healthy diet. Health behaviour change theories, including those outlined above, may be usefully applied to foster such confidence.In conclusion, both socio-psychological and environmental strategies appear effective in changing eating behaviour and associated outcomes. It would be interesting in future research to employ intervention designs which make use of multi-level strategies as advocated by the Ecological Model of Behaviour Change , which p


Toward this end, animal model studies in some ways are necessary to precisely analyze the in vivo situation, and also are essential for developing countermeasures against virus infections. Since a full variety of viruses with distinct biological properties exist, we virologists should study “the target virus” in a specialized manner, in addition to common theoretical/experimental approaches. The Research Topic entitled “Animal model studies on viral infections” collects articles that describe the studies on numerous virus species for their animal models, or those at various stages toward animal experiments.One of the major missions of animal virology is to understand how viruses replicate and cause asymptomatic/symptomatic conditions in individuals . Also, a bovine model for HTLV-1 pathogenesis has been described by Aida et al.  descriptions/evaluations/new challenges of animal model studies for investigating the biology of viruses; (ii) experimental materials/methods for upcoming animal model studies; (iii) observations important for animal model studies. (i) Reynaud and Horvat  have desa et al. . Challena et al. , and alsa et al. . Anothera et al. . (ii) Koa et al.  has desca et al.  have suma et al.  has repoa et al.  have suma et al.  have suga et al.  have shoa et al.  have repa et al.  have desin vivo and for overcoming virally-caused infectious diseases. We human virologists should make every effort to fight against numbers of unique pathogenic viruses.We are proud to add our “Animal model studies on viral infections” to a series of Research Topic in Frontiers in Microbiology. A wide variety of DNA and RNA viruses are covered by this special issue consisting of original research, review, mini-review, methods, and opinion articles. As we described in the beginning, animal studies are certainly required for understanding virus replicative/pathogenic properties The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.