急性胰腺炎与肝功能异常之间的“因-果”关系研究进展

急性胰腺炎(acute pancreatitis,AP)与肝功能异常之间的关系问题是一个全新的临床课题,现有的研究结果暗示:AP易累及肝脏,肝功能受损也可影响胰腺.AP与肝功能异常之间可能存在着一定的互为"因-果"的关系.本文检索和分析了近十年来有关AP与肝功能异常之间关系的文献报道,从AP与肝功能异常的概念、AP诱发的肝功能异常及其机制、肝功能异常诱发的胰腺炎及其机制、胰腺炎与肝功能损伤之间的相互关系及临床意义等方面进行了综述,期望能够为对临床预防和治疗"AP"或"肝功能异常"提供新的思考,并为探索"AP"或"肝功能异常"的病理机制提供新的研究方向.

Establishment of an ELISA to Detect Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus Using Recombinant ORF73

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is causally related to Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and a proportion of cases of multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). The ORF73 protein was cloned into pQE80L-orf73 and expressed in E.coli and purified. The expressed recombinant ORF73 was identified by sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). A protein of about 27 kDa was expressed as expected. Western Blotting showed that the purified recombinant ORF73 reacted with KSHV positive serum. The immunogenicity of the recombinant ORF73 was further analysed by ELISA and the optimal conditions were determined. The ORF73 ELISA was used to compare the KSHV seroprevalence between Hubei and Xinjiang Han people. The Han people in Xinjiang have significantly higher KSHV seroprevalence than their counterparts in Hubei (6.7% vs 2.9%, P = 0.005).

An Integrated Approach to Oscillation Propagation Identification and Source Locating in Process Multi-loop Systems

An integrated method for identifying the propagation of multi-loop process oscillations and their source location is proposed in this paper. Oscillatory process loop variables are automatically selected based on the component-related ratio index and a mixing matrix, both of which are obtained in data preprocessing by spectral independent component analysis. The complex causality among oscillatory process variables is then revealed by Granger causality test and is visualized in the form of causality diagram. The simplification of causal connectivity in the diagram is performed according to the understanding of process knowledge and the final simplest causality diagram, which represents the main oscillation propagation paths, is achieved by the automated cutting-off thresh-old search, with which less significant causality pathways are filtered out. The source of the oscillation disturbance can be identified intuitively through the final causality diagram. Both simulated and real plant data tests are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.

Analysis of services trade and employment in China by co-integration and causality

This article describes a study by co-integration test and Granger causality test on the relationships between China's services trades and employment using the data of services trade from the WTO website and the employment data from China Statistic Yearbook for the years from 1982 to 2003. Co-integration test showed that 1% increase in export value and import value of services created respectively 0.205% and 0.068 7% more job opportunities in the service sector. Both export and import of services impacted positively on employment in service industry, and export did more than import. However, in the short run, the impacts of services export and import on employment in service industry were both very small, though positive; and the impacts of employment in service industry on both export and import of services were very big, but not stable. Granger causality test indicated that employment in service industry was a Granger cause of services export. The findings highlight the importance of facilitating services import and reducing import barriers, and suggest that the competitiveness of China's labor- intensive services trade can be exploited to boost services export and help employment in service sector, and that the structure of services trade should be optimized by shifting from labor-intensive to knowledge-and technology-intensive services thus to enhance China's competitiveness of services export.

Imitations of Beings Enter and Exit： Plotinus on Incorporeal Matter in Plato： Ⅲ 6[26] 11-15

Plotinus＇ account of matter in Ennead III 6[26] 11-15 serves two purposes. The terms, evil and ugly, present the negative side of matter＇s causality, providing for the change characteristic of the sensible world and the possibility of ontological evil and privation as well as of moral evil among human beings. The receptacle and other images from Plato＇s Timaeus present the positive side of this causality, matter as allowing for the presence of forms in the bodies of the sensible world. Plotinus explicitly articulates the linguistic problem surrounding the nature of matter, since language is derived from the corporeal and thus needs constant correction when applied to matter as incorporeal. His use of language, thus, always has two phases, first, capturing the nature of matter as aptly as possible, and second, highlighting the difference between matter and the image, analogy, or metaphor used to help explain it.

Determination of Causal Effect in Observational Studies： Analysis of Correlated Data with Binary End-Points

Identifying the causal impact of＇ some intervention challenging when one is faced with correlated binary end-points in observational studies is a challenging task, and it is even more The statistical literature on analyzing such data is well documented. Dependence between observations from the same study subject in correlated data renders invalid the usual chi-square tests of independence and inflates the variance ofparameter estimates. Disaggregated approaches such as hierarchical linear models which are able to adjust for individual level covariate：s are favoured in the analysis of such data, thereby gaining power over aggregated and individual-level analyses. In this article the authors, therefore, address the issue of analyzing correlated data with dichotomous end-points by using hierarchical logistic regression, a generalization of the standard logistic regression model for independent outcomes.

Capacity of a Class of Dirty-Tape Gaussian Orthogonal Relay Channel with State Information at the Source and Relay

A Gaussian channel with additive interference that is causally known to the transmitter is called a Dirty-Tape Channel(DTC).In this paper,we consider a state-dependent dirty-tape Gaussian relay channel with orthogonal channels from the source to the relay and from the source and relay to the destination.The orthogonal channels are corrupted by two independent additive interferences causally known to both the source and relay.The lower and upper bounds of the channel capacity are established.The lower bound is obtained by employing superposition coding at the source,Partial Decode-and-Forward(PDF)relaying at the relay,and a strategy similar to that used by Shannon at the source and relay.The explicit capacity is characterised when the power of the relay is sufficiently large.Finally,several numerical examples are provided to illustrate the impact of additive interferences and the role of the relay in information transmission and in removing the interference.

Context-aware end-to-end QoS diagnosis and guarantee based on Bayesian network

A systematic approach for end-to-end QoS qualitative diagnosis and quantitative guarantee is proposed to support quality of service （QoS） management on current Internet. An automatic unwatched discretization algorithm for discretizing continuous numeric-values is brought forth to reshape these QoS metrics and contexts into their discrete forms. For QoS qualitative diagnosis, causal relationships between a QoS metric and its contexts are exploited with K2 Bayesian network （BN） structure learning by treating QoS metrics and contexts as BN nodes. A QoS metric node is qualitatively diagnosed to be causally related to its parent context nodes. To guarantee QoS quantitatively, those causal relationships are next modeled quantitatively by BN parameter learning. Then, BN inference can be carried out on the BN. Finally, the QoS metric is guaranteed to a specific value with certain probability by tuning its causal contexts to suitable values suggested by the BN inference. Our approach is validated to be sound and effective by simulations on a peer-to-peer （P2P） network.

Relations between Low-Frequency Modes of Climate Variability and Air-Sea Heat Flux at the Mediterranean Interface

The main objective of this work is to examine statistical causality relationships between low-frequency modes of climate variability and winter （December to February） anomaly of net heat flux at the Mediterranean air-sea interface. The introduction of the concept of Granger causality allowed us to examine the influence of these climates indices on the net heat flux anomaly and to select Mediterranean surface regions that really influenced by each index. Results show that the winter anomaly of the net heat flux in the Algerian basin south and the gulf of Lion is mainly caused by the Arctic Oscillation. El Nifio-Southern Oscillation influences much more the Algerian basin north and the northern lonian Sea. The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation affects only the Alboran and the Tyrrhenian Seas. But the Adriatic and Levantine basin are impacted by any climate index. They also show that these climate indices can increase explained variance in winter variations of air-sea net heat flux by 10% to 15%, with a lag of three seasons. These relationships are less persistent and spatially limited.

The Causality and Relation of Corruption With Basic Macro-economic Tables （Charts）

Corruption which means the use of public power for private interests is one of the most important problems either in less developed and developing countries or developed countries. Especially in less developed and developing countries, corruption is a serious obstacle in front of economic development. Corruption is raised from deficiency in democracy, deficient judgement, unfair elections and dependent media sector includes bribery, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, favouritism, nepotism and illegal beneficial use of public authority. The aim of the paper is to determine the causal relationship between corruption and basic macro-economic indicators. For this purpose, in this study, the basic mic indications such as import, export, budget deficit, manufacturer price index are taken into account as variables to examine their relation with corruption. By getting use of the data obtained from CPI index, the relation between the variables is examined using the T-Test. Furthermore, to determine the causality among all the variables, correllation analysis is applied to present causal relations between the corruption and macro-economic variables. The findings concluded that there is a significant correlation among corruption, manufacturer price index and export-import. However, there is no significant correlation with budget deficit.

Does Working Capital Cause Profitability？ --The Nigerian Experience

The paper investigates the long run relationship and causality issues between working capital and profitability in 66 firms in Nigeria by using the panel cointegration method for the period 1999-2007. The empirical results show that there is long run steady-state relationship between working capital and profitability. However, the short run causal relationship runs from working capital to profitability suggesting that inefficient working capital management may harm profitability.

Correlations between Human Adaptation, the Earth-Cosmos Context and Aristotle＇s Four Causalities

The Earth, which is a planet connection with the evolution of the Solar system, was formed and evolved as part of the WHOLE, in close of the Universe. The awareness, knowledge, and understanding of our coexistence with the Universe may clarify a series of obscure problems of our existence, and, at the same time, may bring solutions for other acute problems which our modem society has to face, such as energy, nature preservation, the origin, evolution and adaptation of the living and especially of man to the environment, etc.. This paper is trying to theoretically break up the concept of environmenf＇ into four fundamental contexts： terrestrial, lunar, solar-planetary, and cosmic context. We intend to approach the four contexts that distinctly and simultaneously influence life on the Earth using the interface theory which we developed in Informational Anthropology, Integronics and Biocosmological Anthropology. We consider that the living adapted and developed in a differentiated way according to the impact of these contexts. They may be the source for the four causalities Aristotle intuited, as well as the cause of many still unknown phenomena that diversified man＇s evolution and variability （Ackrill 1997; Falcon 2008）.

Expansive Fiscal Policies and Supply-Demand Imbalance： A Chicken and Egg Problem？

It is generally accepted that governments favor expansive fiscal policies to address an economic scenario in which supply exceeds demand. In other words, economic imbalance is regarded as the cause of the problem and fiscal expansion as the result. However, this paper posits that China＇s expansive fiscal policies may also be a major cause of its economic imbalance, and that fiscal expansion and economic imbalance create cumulative causation. Specifically, China＇s tax system, characterized by a regressive commodity tax, intensifies constraints on domestic consumption while distributing a large proportion of national income to government and enterprises; supply-demand imbalance prompts the government to expand fiscal expenditures and increase taxes, which further exacerbates this imbalance. Thus, even as the country faces a macroeconomic imbalance, the strong measures it adopts in response may stimulate economic growth in the short term, but in the long term, they may do exactly the opposite and create the next economic crisis.

Non-performing Loans in Turkish Banking Sector and Balance Sheets Effects

In the 21st century, while the scope of banking activities has been expanding every day, collecting deposits and providing credit remain as their main and most important functions. They transfer the collected funds thanks to the market confidence they create back to the market in terms of the credits they give. For the organizations operating in the banking sector, crediting is the highest revenue earning source. However, uncollected loans may disrupt the activities of banks and may reduce their effectiveness. Therefore, the control of bank credits has a particular importance in the bank balance sheets. In this study, the relationship between bank balance sheets and non-performing loans （NPL） will be analyzed using Granger causality test and vector autoregressive （VAR） method. This study aims to discuss the impact of NPL on balance sheets and contribute to making correct credit decisions. It also intends to assist to reduce the NPL ratios of banks and minimize the level of negativity in their financial statements.

Diet,ageing and genetic factors in the pathogenesis of diverticular disease

Diverticular disease(DD) is an age-related disorder of the large bowel which may affect half of the population over the age of 65 in the UK.This high prevalence ranks it as one of the most common bowel disorders in western nations.The majority of patients remain asymptomatic but there are associated life-threatening co-morbidities, which, given the large numbers of people with DD, translates into a considerable number of deaths per annum.Despite this public health burden, relatively little seems to be known about either the mechanisms of development or causality.In the 1970s, a model of DD formulated the concept that diverticula occur as a consequence of pressureinduced damage to the colon wall amongst those with a low intake of dietary fiber.In this review, we have examined the evidence regarding the influence of ageing, diet, inflammation and genetics on DD development.We argue that the evidence supporting the barotrauma hypothesis is largely anecdotal.We have also identified several gaps in the knowledge base which need to be filled before we can complete a model for the etiology of diverticular disease.

Human endogenous retroviruses and cancer:Causality and therapeutic possibilities

A substantial part of the human genome is derived from transposable elements;remnants of ancient retroviral infections.Conservative estimates set the percentage of human endogenous retroviruses(HERVs) in the genome at 8%.For the most part,the interplay between mutations,epigenetic mechanisms and posttranscriptional regulations silence HERVs in somatic cells.We first highlight mechanisms by which activation of members of several HERV families may be associated with tumor development before discussing the arising chances for both diagnosis and therapy.It has been shown that at least in some cases,tumor cells expressing HERV open reading frames(ORFs) thus gain tumor-promoting functions.However,since these proteins are not expressed in healthy tissues,they become prime target structures.Of potential pharmacological interest are the prevention of HERV transposition,the inhibition of HERV-encoded protein expression and the interference with these proteins' activities.Evidence from recent studies unequivocally proves that HERV ORFs represent a very interesting source of novel tumor-specific antigens with even the potential to surpass entity boundaries.The development of new tumor(immune-) therapies is a very active field and true tumor-specific targets are of outstanding interest since they minimize the risk of autoimmunity and could reduce side effects.Finally,we postulate on main future research streams in order to stimulate discussion on this hot topic.

Distinct colonoscopy findings of microscopic colitis:Not so microscopic after all?

Microscopic colitis(MC) is considered an "umbrella term",comprising two subtypes,i.e.,collagenous colitis(CC) and lymphocytic colitis(LC).They are classically associated with normal or unremarkable colonoscopy.In the last few years,reports have been published revealing findings that are thought to be characteristic or pathognomonic of MC,especially CC.A systematic electronic and manual search of PubMed and EMBASE(to December 2010),for publications on distinct endoscopic findings in MC,resulted in 42 relevant reports for inclusion in this review.Eighty eight patients with collagenous colitis were presented.Only one publication describing a distinct endoscopic pattern in LC was found.Typical findings in CC are alteration of the vascular mucosal pattern,mucosal nodularity,a sequence of change from mucosal defects to mucosal cicatricial lesions,and perhaps(although of doubtful relevance) mucosal pseudomembranes.A causal connection of mucosal defects with the use of lansoprazole seems to exist.Adoption of the proposed lesion description herein is recommended in order to improve homogeneity of future reports.

Nonlinear correlation between RMB internationalization and nonferrous metal prices

The correlation between Renminbi(RMB) internationalization and nonferrous metal prices was studied using the nonlinear Granger causality test and the dynamic conditional correlation-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic(DCC-GARCH) model. The results indicate that the relationship between RMB internationalization and nonferrous metal prices reflects a complex nonlinear mechanism. There was no mutual influence between RMB internationalization and nonferrous metal prices prior to the trials of the RMB settlement in the cross-border trade in July 2009. Since then, however, a bidirectional causal relationship between RMB internationalization and the price of copper and a unidirectional causal relationship from the price of aluminum to RMB internationalization were examined. In addition, due to the impact of extreme events, such as economic and financial crises, RMB internationalization and nonferrous metal prices are not always positively correlated but are rather occasionally negatively correlated.

Causation mechanism of coal miners' human errors in the perspective of life events

In order to effectively decrease the safety accidents caused by coal miners’human errors,this paper probes into the causality between human errors and life events,coping,psychological stress,psychological function,physiological function based on life events’vital influence on human errors,establishing causation mechanism model of coal miners’human errors in the perspective of life events by the researching method of structural equation.The research findings show that life events have significantly positive influence on human errors,with a influential effect value of 0.7945 and a influential effect path of‘‘life events—psychological stress—psychological function—physiological function—human errors’’and‘‘life events—psychological stress—physiological function—human errors’’.

Application of causality diagram in system safety analysis

Causality Diagram (CD) is a new graphical knowledge representation based on probability theory. The application of this methodology in the safety analysis of the gas explosion in collieries was discussed in this paper, and the Minimal Cut Set, the Minimal Path Set and the Importance were introduced to develop the methodology. These concepts are employed to analyze the influence each event has on the top event ? the gas explosion, so as to find out about the defects of the system and accordingly help to work out the emphasis of the precautionary work and some preventive measures as well. The results of the safety analysis are in accordance with the practical requirements; therefore the preventive measures are certain to work effectively. In brief, according to the research CD is so effective in the safety analysis and the safety assessment that it can be a qualitative and quantitative method to predict the accident as well as offer some effective measures for the investigation, the prevention and the control of the accident.