bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Markers of assimilation of problematic experiences in dementia within the LivDem project
Authors: Cheston Richard , Gatting Lauren , Marshall Ann , Spreadbury John H , Coleman Peter
Published: September 2015

This study aimed to determine whether the Markers of Assimilation of Problematic Experiences in Dementia scale (MAPED) can be used to identify whether the way in which participants talk about dementia changed during the group. All eight sessions of a LivDem group, which were attended by participants were recorded and transcribed. An initial analysis identified 160 extracts, which were then rated using the MAPED system. Inter-rater reliability was 61% and following a resolution meeting, 35 extracts were discarded, leaving 125 extracts with an agreed marker code. All of the participants were identified as producing a speech marker relating to dementia, and these varied between 0 (warding off) to 6 (problem solution). Examples of these markers are provided. The proportion of emergence markers (indicating the initial stages of assimilation) compared to later markers changed significantly between the first four sessions and the final sessions. This difference was still significant even when the markers produced by the most verbal participant, Graham, were excluded. The use of process measures within psychotherapy complements more conventional outcome measures and has both theoretical and clinical implications.
Limits on testamentary freedom for people with dementia in Albania: Innovative Practice
Authors: Vyshka Gentian , Kruja Jera
Published: September 2015

The extent to which dementia affects a person’s testamentary capacity has been the subject of much litigation with some countries introducing legal tests to assess capacity. In light of substantial societal change in Albania in the last two decades and an epidemic of property litigation, Albanian legal practice is witnessing an increasing number of attempts to posthumously nullify wills. Plaintiffs are mainly relatives of the deceased testator who are unhappy with the quantity or quality of the property they have inherited. Based on plaintiffs’ claims, solicitors may request expert neuropsychiatric reviews postmortem, often basing their position on prescription drug use by the testator during his/her last years of life. The authors discuss ethical issues intrinsically related to the difficult role of a potential expert witness in these litigation cases.
Re-imagining Otherness: An exploration of the global imaginaries of children from immigrant backgrounds in primary schools in France and England
Authors: Welply Oakleigh
Published: September 2015

This article examines the role of global representations in immigrant-background children’s social imaginaries in primary schools in France and England. Increased globalisation, mobility and migration hold strong implications in terms of identity and belonging for children from immigrant backgrounds in schools in European countries, based on traditionally monocultural educational systems. However, most studies of immigrant children’s identities are restricted to national frameworks which overlook the role of the global in children’s experiences and representations. Based on a cross-national ethnographic study, which investigated the identity narratives of 10- and 11-year-old immigrant-background children in two primary schools, one in France and one in England, this article investigates the way in which these global imaginaries participate in children’s identity narratives, through a re-negotiation of fixed national imaginary frameworks. Building on central concepts from the work of Paul Ricoeur on social imaginary and ideology and utopia, this article argues that immigrant-background children’s global imaginary, in both cases, held a utopian function, allowing children to transcend lines of national, ethnic or linguistic differentiation created around the construction of Otherness in school. This utopian function, however, was defined differently in the French and English schools.
The other woman: Evaluating the language of ‘three parent’ embryos
Authors: Jones David Albert
Published: September 2015

The British Parliament has recently approved regulations to allow techniques ‘to prevent the transmission of serious mitochondrial disease from a mother to her child’. The regulations term these techniques ‘mitochondrial donation’, but in the popular media, the issue has been discussed under the heading of ‘three parent’ babies or ‘three parent’ embryos. This paper examines the language of the debate, with particular reference to one of the techniques approved. It concludes that the terminology of ‘mitochondrial donation’ is scientifically inaccurate and ethically misleading, while the popular media description of ‘three parent’ embryos is broadly accurate, at least for one technique. This latter phrase also has the great merit, from an ethical perspective, of drawing attention to the ‘other woman’, the egg donor. She takes risks with her health in order to provide the egg which supplies the body of the embryo. Without her, this embryo simply would not exist.
Governing airport security between the market and the public good
Authors: Leese Matthias
Published: September 2015

Airport security is increasingly governed in liberal ways, allowing for flexibilized and marketized ways of outsourcing and contracting service provisions to the private sector. This article draws on expert interviews from the aviation sector, finding that liberal security governance at German airports enables public bodies not only to cut costs through competitive tendering practices, but also to re-locate accountability for security provision to private companies. The role of the public sector subsequently becomes one of managerialism and audits. However, there is a considerable downside to the promises of market regulation, putting severe hardships on the private security workforce and potentially undermining the quality of service provision. Thus, this article ultimately claims that public bodies should choose not to marketize security, as the value of security itself could be substantially undermined by neoliberal logics.
Prophylactic antibiotics in open distal phalanx fractures: systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Metcalfe D. , Aquilina A. L. , Hedley H. M.
Published: September 2015

A systematic review was conducted on 30 December 2014 to determine whether prophylactic antibiotics reduce the risk of superficial infection and osteomyelitis following open distal phalanx fractures. Four randomized controlled trials (353 fractures) were suitable for meta-analysis. There was no statistically significant difference between rates of superficial infection in the two groups. This finding persisted when only the two most recent and highest quality trials were included. There were no reported cases of osteomyelitis in the pooled dataset, despite patients with 164 fractures not receiving antibiotics. These results fail to show any effect of prophylactic antibiotics on the rate of superficial infections following open distal phalanx fractures. The focus of treatment should be on prompt irrigation and debridement rather than administration of prophylactic antibiotics.

Level of Evidence: I
Antenatal haemoglobinopathy screening: Patterns within a large obstetric service. Working towards a standard of care
Authors: Lavee Orly , Kidson-Gerber Giselle
Published: September 2015

Background

Antenatal screening can predict clinically significant haemoglobinopathies, however in Australia, practices are not standardised and are evolving as the population becomes more ethnically diverse. This study describes antenatal screening practices in a large Australian laboratory/antenatal service.

Methods

Data were collected retrospectively on consecutive antenatal haemoglobin electrophoresis over 16 months and correlated with obstetric data, obtained from the local obstetric database.

Results

462 patients were included, with an average gestation of 25.8 weeks. ‘Pregnancy’ was the most common stated indication, with absent indication/clinical information in 8%. Gestational age was documented in 54%. In 15%, no contact details of the referrer were documented and partner screening was traceable in only 25 cases (5.4%). In 82% of cases, no abnormalities were detected. Beta thalassemia trait was the most common positive result. Only 52% of patients had recent iron studies. The mean haemoglobin was 111.6 g/L and mean cell volume was 80.5 fl at the time of testing. Ethnicity was documented on the request form in 3%. After Australasia, the most common ethnicity of patients was South East Asia and the Middle East.

Conclusion

Referral patterns in our health service are diverse and reflect our changing population and care practices. Detailed guidelines are required and we propose a comprehensive algorithm for general use where selective screening is practiced within an Australasian population or one with similar demographics.
Preconception counselling for women with acromegaly: More questions than answers
Authors: Assal Angela , Malcolm Janine , Lochnan Heather , Keely Erin
Published: September 2015

Background and aims

Approximately 174 pregnancies in acromegaly have been reported. Our objectives were to identify the key challenges of preconception counselling in this population.

Methods

Case series of three acromegalic women with desire for pregnancy. Issues were identified from chart review and discussion with attending physicians. Literature review of acromegaly and pregnancy was conducted.

Results

Important issues identified included: impact of acromegaly on fertility, management of acromegaly in the peripartum period, screening for associated conditions, risk of progression of acromegaly/tumour growth during pregnancy, impact of acromegaly on pregnancy outcomes, surveillance during pregnancy, method of delivery and impact on neonatal outcomes and breastfeeding.

Conclusions

Pregnancy can be safely achieved in patients with acromegaly. There is little evidence to guide recommendations around conception and pregnancy surveillance. Patients can be reassured that in most situations, pregnancy proceeds without complication and that medical treatment can be used during pregnancy if necessary.
Analysis of free-surface effects on swimming by the application of the computational fluid dynamics method
Authors: Hayati Arash Nemati , Ghaffari Hamed , Shams Mehrzad
Published: September 2015

In this study, free-surface effects on swimming are investigated by the application of the computational fluid dynamics method for the first time. The major goal of this study is to represent a new methodology to numerically investigate free-surface effects on swimming. Utilizing a two-dimensional solver with steady flow conditions, the numerical results for swimming at a fully submerged level are validated with the data presented by previous researchers. The validity of the results is also examined through the study of mesh independency and the control of a critical turbulence feature, entitled as non-dimensional wall distance (y+). Finally, for the analysis of swimming at the free-surface level, a two-dimensional time-dependent solver with a well-known multiphase mathematical model is implemented to simultaneously investigate two-phase flow interactions and wave propagation in the proximity of the swimmer’s body. The development of different flow topology features, including major vortex cores and secondary recirculation zones as well as turbulence mixing and flow updraft and downdraft, are investigated and used to compare free-surface swimming against fully submerged cases. While the drag coefficient continuously decreases for higher advance velocities for a fully submerged case, a gradual augmentation is observed for the drag coefficient at a free-surface swimming level. The obtained results suggest that while the proportion of wave drag is ignorable at low swimming speeds below 1 m/s, in the case of higher speeds, its amount enhances significantly and constitutes about 15% of the total drag. Moreover, the proposed methodology is demonstrated to be efficient in the simulation of flow characteristics and phase interactions in swimming at the free-surface level.
Continuous Glucose Monitoring Versus Capillary Point-of-Care Testing for Inpatient Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Patients Hospitalized in the General Ward and Treated With a Basal Bolus Insulin Regimen
Authors: Gómez Ana M. , Umpierrez Guillermo E. , Muñoz Oscar M. , Herrera Felipe , Rubio Claudia , Aschner Pablo , Buendia Richard
Published: September 2015

Background:

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) may improve the management of patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized in the general ward by facilitating the detection of hyper- and hypoglycemic episodes. However, the lack of data on the accuracy and safety of CGM have limited its application.

Methods:

A prospective pilot study was conducted including 38 patients hospitalized in the general ward with a known diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperglycemic individuals without a history of DM with a blood sugar of 140-400 mg on admission treated with a basal bolus insulin regimen. Inpatient glycemic control and the incidence of hypoglycemic episodes were compared between detection by CGM of interstitial fluid for up to 6 days and point-of-care (POC) capillary blood glucose monitoring performed pre- and postprandially, before bedtime and at 3 am.

Results:

No differences in average daily glucose levels were observed between CGM and POC (176.2 ± 33.9 vs 176.6 ± 33.7 mg/dl, P = .828). However, CGM detected a higher number of hypoglycemic episodes than POC (55 vs 12, P < .01). Glucose measurements were clinically valid, with 91.9% of patients falling within the Clarke error grid A and B zones.

Conclusions:

Our preliminary results indicate that the use of CGM in type 2 patients hospitalized in the general ward provides accurate estimation of blood sugar levels and is more effective than POC for the detection of hypoglycemic episodes and asymptomatic hypoglycemia.
Surgical fire caused by electrocautery in ambient air
Authors: Tan Zihui , Thong Sze Ying
Published: September 2015

Introduction:

The fire triangle comprises the ignition source, fuel and oxidizer which is necessary for the initiation of fire. Most surgical fires occur in an oxygen-enriched environment. We report a case of surgical fire in ambient air where an alcohol-based antiseptic was involved.

Case report:

A 20-year-old male diagnosed with left pleural empyema and respiratory failure, requiring emergent intubation and respiratory support, was brought into the operating theatre for decortication of the left lung. Shortly after induction, the patient desaturated despite 100% oxygen and lung recruitment manoeuvres. The surgical team decided to insert a chest tube emergently to drain the empyema to improve respiratory function. A non-functioning drainage catheter that was in situ was removed and placed on the operating table beside the patient. Skin was prepared using chlorhexidine gluconate 0.5% w/v in methylated spirit solution and iodine. Soon after, cotton drapes were used to cover the patient. After the initial incision for chest tube insertion, electrocautery was introduced. Smoke and a smell of something burning was immediately noted by the surgical team. The drapes were removed and the drainage catheter with a burnt tip was discovered beside the patient. The patient suffered second degree burns to his chest wall.

Conclusion:

Although it is more common for surgical fires to occur in an oxygen-enriched environment, this case highlights that without adequate precautions they can also occur in ambient air. Recognition that standard anaesthetic and surgical equipment can act as sources of fuel and vigilance for the circumstances that complete the fire triangle are key to the prevention of surgical fires.
Effects of viewing a preferred nature image and hearing preferred music on engagement, agitation, and mental status in persons with dementia
Authors: Eggert Julia , Dye Cheryl J , Vincent Ellen , Parker Veronica , Daily Shaundra B , Pham Hiep , Watson Alison Turner , Summey Hollie , Roy Tania
Published: September 2015

Background:

The purpose of the described exploratory study was to test proactive strategies for enhancing engagement and cognitive ability while diminishing dementia-related disordered behaviors of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Study participants resided in an Memory Care unit of an assisted living community.

Method:

The researchers measured the effects of exposure to music and nature images on engagement using the Individualized Dementia Engagement and Activities Scale tool, on cognitive ability using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and on agitation using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory.

Result:

The within-subject study design revealed that use of both music and nature images hold promise for reducing undesirable behaviors and improving engagement of residents.

Conclusion:

The authors suggest caregivers for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can effectively use nature images and music to improve engagement and reduce disordered behaviors, thus potentially enhancing quality of life for the care recipient as well as the caregiver while possibly reducing the costs of medications used to control dementia-related undesirable behaviors.
Utility of Intra-articular Hip Injections for Femoroacetabular Impingement
Authors: Khan Wahab , Khan Moin , Alradwan Hussain , Williams Ryan , Simunovic Nicole , Ayeni Olufemi R.
Published: September 2015

Background:

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a condition that is becoming increasingly recognized as a common etiology of hip pain in athletes, adolescents, and adults. However, history and clinical examination are often inconclusive in reaching a diagnosis, while imaging often detects asymptomatic abnormalities. Treatment has traditionally been limited to surgery, with the role of conservative management remaining unclear.

Purpose:

To evaluate the utility of the intra-articular hip injection in the diagnosis and management of FAI.

Study Design:

Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed databases were screened in duplicate for studies published between January 1946 and January 2014. Search terms included femoroacetabular impingement, hip impingement, and intra-articular injection. Quality assessment using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) scale was completed for all included studies. Data evaluated included study design, study objectives, number of hips, injected product, duration of pain relief, and outcomes measured.

Results:

Our search yielded 8 studies involving 281 hips. Studies were categorized into diagnostic (4 studies), therapeutic (3 studies), and prognostic (1 study) applications. Patients with FAI and its degenerative sequelae obtained greater relief from diagnostic intra-articular hip injection than those without ( P < .05). The diagnostic intra-articular injection performed under ultrasound guidance was better tolerated than injections performed under fluoroscopic guidance (pain rating, 5.6 vs 3.0; P < .1). Intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid was the most effective at providing pain relief (in 23 patients), with significant improvements of functional outcome measures (Harris Hip Score, visual analog scale) present at 12 months. Pooled results with corticosteroid injection resulted in improvement in only 15% (9/60) of patients at 6 weeks. A negative response to intra-articular hip injection was a strong predictor for poor surgical outcomes.

Conclusion:

The results of this review suggest that (1) pain relief obtained from an intra-articular hip injection supports a diagnosis of FAI, (2) therapeutic relief at 12 months may be achieved, particularly with hyaluronic acid, and (3) a negative response to preoperative injections may predict poor short-term surgical outcomes. Additional large studies are required to build on the small number of studies included in this review, and further delineate the role of intra-articular hip injection in the management of FAI.
Transient Cerebral Arteriopathy in a Child Associated With Cytomegalovirus Infection
Authors: Kao Wei-Tsun , Lin Wei-Chen , Tseng Yong-Hao , Chen Tai-Heng
Published: September 2015

Vascular wall injuries account for up to 80% of childhood strokes, excluding emboli of cardiac origin. Transient cerebral arteriopathy is a recently described entity that is increasingly recognized as an important cause. The cerebral arterial wall is thought to be affected by an inflammatory process related to certain infections. The authors report a 2.5-year-old girl with sudden left hemiplegia and aphasia. The neuroimaging showed occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery and ischemic damages. Laboratory revealed positive cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin M and G in cerebrospinal fluid and in early and late sera. Treatment with ganciclovir, anticytomegalovirus immunoglobulin, and prednisolone, followed by oral aspirin, resulted in clinical improvement. The follow-up neuroimaging showed stabilization of the arterial lesions without residual stenosis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a cytomegalovirus-associated transient cerebral arteriopathy in an immunocompetent child. Our report demonstrates the propensity for cytomegalovirus to be involved in pediatric cerebral vascular disease.
Patient-Centered Outcomes Following Thoracentesis
Authors: Argento A. Christine , Murphy Terrence E. , Pisani Margaret A. , Araujo Katy L. B. , Puchalski Jonathan
Published: September 2015

Background:

Pleural effusions impact over 1.5 million people annually in the United States and cause significant morbidity. Although therapeutic thoracentesis is associated with improvement in respiratory parameters, unanswered questions remain regarding its impact.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to investigate patient-centered outcomes, the need for additional pleural interventions, and mortality in the 30 days following thoracentesis.

Methods:

This prospective observational cohort study was performed in a tertiary care academic medical center between December 2010 and December 2011. Adult patients referred for thoracentesis were offered enrollment. The following characteristics were evaluated both before and at 30 days postprocedure: dyspnea using modified BORG (mBORG), physical and mental quality of life (QoL) using the short form 12, and basic activities of daily living (BADLs). The primary outcomes included changes in these parameters 30 days after thoracentesis. Secondary outcomes included the need for additional pleural procedures and mortality within 30 days of the thoracentesis. Multivariable logistic regression was used for analysis.

Results:

Of the 284 patients who underwent thoracentesis, 80 (28.2%) died within 30 days of the procedure. Of the 163 patients comprising the analytical cohort, 35 (21.5%) patients required an additional pleural intervention within 30 days of the index procedure. Patients who survived more than 30 days following thoracentesis had a sustained improvement in dyspnea and mental QoL, but a minority had improvement in physical QoL or BADLs. Surviving patients demonstrated no significant associations between bilateral and unilateral thoracentesis, volume of fluid removed, or the etiology of the effusion (malignant vs nonmalignant) and improvement in QoL, dyspnea, and BADLs. Relative to nonmalignant etiology, the presence of a malignant effusion was strongly associated with the need for an additional intervention, yielding an odds ratio (95% confidence interval [95% CI]) of 16.92 (5.47-52.37). Patients with hepatic hydrothorax and infectious etiologies of their effusion were also likely to require additional pleural interventions.

Conclusion:

The majority of patients in this cohort demonstrated sustained improvement in dyspnea and the mental aspect of QoL 30 days following thoracentesis, independent of the etiology and regardless of the volume of pleural fluid removed. A minority experienced sustained improvements in the physical aspect of QoL and BADLs. Although 28.2% of patients died within 30 days, nearly 1 in 5 survivors required an additional pleural intervention. These results emphasize the significant clinical impact, morbidity, and mortality experienced by patients who undergo thoracentesis for pleural effusions.
Regulating billions of blood platelets: glycans and beyond
Authors: Grozovsky Renata , Giannini Silvia , Falet Hervé , Hoffmeister Karin M.
Published: September 2015

The human body produces and removes 1011 platelets daily to maintain a normal steady state platelet count. Platelet production must be regulated to avoid spontaneous bleeding or arterial occlusion and organ damage. Multifaceted and complex mechanisms control platelet production and removal in physiological and pathological conditions. This review will focus on different mechanisms of platelet senescence and clearance with specific emphasis on the role of posttranslational modifications. It will also briefly address platelet transfusion and the role of glycans in the clearance of stored platelets.
Hypoxia-reperfusion affects osteogenic lineage and promotes sickle cell bone disease
Authors: Carbonare Luca Dalle , Matte’ Alessandro , Valenti Maria Teresa , Siciliano Angela , Mori Antonio , Schweiger Vittorio , Zampieri Gino , Perbellini Luigi , De Franceschi Lucia
Published: September 2015

Key Points

In SCD, recurrent vaso-occlusive crisis suppresses osteogenic lineage and activates osteoclasts. Zoledronic acid acting on both osteoclast and osteoblast compartments is a multimodal therapy to prevent SBD.
Novel Functionalized Selenium Nanoparticles for Enhanced Anti-Hepatocarcinoma Activity In vitro
Authors: Xia Yu , You Pengtao , Xu Fangfang , Liu Jing , Xing Feiyue
Published: September 2015

Selenium nanoparticles loaded with an anticancer molecule offer a new strategy for cancer treatment. In the current study, anisomycin-loaded functionalized selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs@Am) have been made by conjugating anisomycin to the surface of selenium nanoparticles to improve anticancer efficacy. The prepared nanoparticles were fully characterized by transmission electronic microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that anisomycin was successfully conjugated with selenium nanoparticles. The size of particles could be effectively regulated through altering the reaction concentrations of sodium selenite and anisomycin. The SeNPs@Am particles (56 nm) exhibited the greatest capacity for cellular uptake. The further study showed that SeNPs@Am entered human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells in a dose or time-dependent manner via macropinocytosis and clathrin-mediated endocytosis pathways. SeNPs@Am significantly inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation with the low cytotoxicity against normal cells, and dramatically precluded the aggression and migration of HepG2 cells. It also arrested the cell cycle progression at the G0/G1 phase through the activation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors with inhibition of CDK-2 and ICBP90, and induced the cell apoptosis through activating the caspase cascade signaling in HepG2 cells, markedly superior to anisomycin alone. The findings indicate that SeNPs@Am may be a promising drug for hepatocellular carcinoma.
Low reproductive skew despite high male-biased operational sex ratio in a glass frog with paternal care
Authors: Mangold Alexandra , Trenkwalder Katharina , Ringler Max , Hödl Walter , Ringler Eva
Published: September 2015

Background

Reproductive skew, the uneven distribution of reproductive success among individuals, is a common feature of many animal populations. Several scenarios have been proposed to favour either high or low levels of reproductive skew. Particularly a male-biased operational sex ratio and the asynchronous arrival of females is expected to cause high variation in reproductive success among males. Recently it has been suggested that the type of benefits provided by males (fixed vs. dilutable) could also strongly impact individual mating patterns, and thereby affecting reproductive skew. We tested this hypothesis inHyalinobatrachium valerioi, a Neotropical glass frog with prolonged breeding and paternal care.

Results

We monitored and genetically sampled a natural population in southwestern Costa Rica during the breeding season in 2012 and performed parentage analysis of adult frogs and tadpoles to investigate individual mating frequencies, possible mating preferences, and estimate reproductive skew in males and females. We identified a polygamous mating system, where high proportions of males (69 %) and females (94 %) reproduced successfully. The variance in male mating success could largely be attributed to differences in time spent calling at the reproductive site, but not to body size or relatedness. FemaleH. valerioiwere not choosy and mated indiscriminately with available males.

Conclusions

Our findings support the hypothesis that dilutable male benefits - such as parental care - can favour female polyandry and maintain low levels of reproductive skew among males within a population, even in the presence of direct male-male competition and a highly male-biased operational sex ratio. We hypothesize that low male reproductive skew might be a general characteristic in prolonged breeders with paternal care.
FDG and FLT-PET for Early measurement of response to 37.5 mg daily sunitinib therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Horn Kevin P. , Yap Jeffrey T. , Agarwal Neeraj , Morton Kathryn A. , Kadrmas Dan J. , Beardmore Britney , Butterfield Regan I. , Boucher Kenneth , Hoffman John M.
Published: September 2015

Background

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma has a poor prognosis and an intrinsic resistance to standard treatment. Sunitinib is an oral receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has been used as a first-line targeted therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. While computed tomography (CT) is currently the gold standard for response assessment in oncological trials, numerous studies have shown that positron emission tomography (PET) imaging can provide information predictive of tumor response to treatment earlier than the typical interval for standard of care follow-up CT imaging. In this exploratory study we sought to characterize early tumor response in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with continuous daily 37.5 mg sunitinib therapy.

Methods

Twenty patients underwent dynamic acquisition positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and 18 F-fluorothymidine (FLT) at baseline and early in treatment (after 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks) with 37.5 mg continuous daily dosing of sunitinib. Semi-quantitative analyses were performed to characterize the tumor metabolic (FDG) and proliferative (FLT) responses to treatment.

Results

Proliferative responses were observed in 9/19 patients and occurred in 2 patients at one week (the earliest interval evaluated) after the initiation of therapy. A metabolic response was observed in 5/19 patients, however this was not observed until after two weeks of therapy were completed. Metabolic progression was observed in 2/19 patients and proliferative progression was observed in 1/19 patients. Baseline FDG-PET tumor maximum standardized uptake values correlated inversely with overall survival (p = 0.0036). Conversely, baseline 18 F-fluorothymidine PET imaging did not have prognostic value (p = 0.56) but showed a greater early response rate at 1–2 weeks after initiating therapy.

Conclusions

While preliminary in nature, these results show an immediate and sustained proliferative response followed by a delayed metabolic response beginning after two weeks in metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with a continuous daily dose of 37.5 mg sunitinib. The results provide evidence of tumor response to lower-dose sunitinib while also supporting the inclusion of PET imaging as a tool for early assessment in oncological clinical trials.

Trial registration

ID: NCT00694096
An approximate inverse to the extended Born modeling operator
Authors: Hou Jie , Symes William W.
Published: September 2015

Given a correct (data-consistent) velocity model, reverse time migration (RTM) correctly positions reflectors but generally with incorrect amplitudes and wavelets. Iterative least-squares migration (LSM) corrects the amplitude and wavelet by fitting data in the sense of Born modeling, that is, replacing migration by Born inversion. However, LSM also requires a correct velocity model, and it may require many migration/demigration cycles. We modified RTM in the subsurface offset domain to create an asymptotic (high-frequency) approximation to extended LSM. This extended Born inversion operator outputs extended reflectors (depending on the subsurface offset and position in the earth) with correct amplitude and phase, in the sense that similarly extended Born modeling reproduces the data to good accuracy. Although the theoretical justification of the inversion property relies on ray tracing and stationary phase, application of the weight operators does not require any computational ray tracing. The computational expense of the extended Born inversion operator is roughly the same as that of extended RTM, and the inversion (data-fit) property holds even when the velocity is substantially incorrect. The approximate inverse operator differes from extended RTM only in the application of data- and model-domain weight operators, and takes the form of an adjoint in the sense of weighted inner products in data and model space. Because the Born modeling operator is approximately unitary with respect to the weighted inner products, a weighted version of conjugate gradient iteration dramatically accelerates the convergence of extended LSM. An approximate LSM may be extracted from the approximate extended LSM by averaging over subsurface offset.
Parallel matrix factorization algorithm and its application to 5D seismic reconstruction and denoising
Authors: Gao Jianjun , Stanton Aaron , Sacchi Mauricio D.
Published: September 2015

Tensors, also called multilinear arrays, have been receiving attention from the seismic processing community. Tensors permit us to generalize processing methodologies to multidimensional structures that depend on more than 2D. Recent studies on seismic data reconstruction via tensor completion have led to new and interesting results. For instance, fully sampled noise-free multidimensional seismic data can be represented by a low-rank tensor. Missing traces and random noise increase the rank of the tensor. Hence, multidimensional prestack seismic data denoising and reconstruction can be tackled with tools that have been studied in the field of tensor completion. We have investigated and applied the recently proposed parallel matrix factorization (PMF) method to solve the 5D seismic data reconstruction problem. We have evaluated the efficiency of the PMF method in comparison with our previously reported algorithms that used singular value decomposition to solve the tensor completion problem for prestack seismic data. We examined the performance of PMF with synthetic data sets and with a field data set from a heavy oil survey in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
President's Page
Authors: Small Alison
Published: September 2015

The prioritization and innovation effort at SEG was begun in 2014, quite some time before the downturn in the oil and gas industry. Growth in SEG programs, coupled with tightening resource availability, made it more necessary than ever to take a data-driven approach to strategy development and use of resources. Ongoing programs had not been prioritized in the past, and new initiatives had been prioritized with little structure to the evaluation processes.
Uncertainty in seismic inversion: What really matters?
Authors: Thore Pierre
Published: September 2015

Inversion of seismic data relies on several “metaparameters” such as wavelet, correlation length, signal-to-noise ratio, and low frequency, which are given a priori status and have a strong influence on inversion results. Stochastic inversions provide a set of realizations of elastic parameters assuming a Gaussian distribution of the uncertainty of the prior model and of the data for a given set of metaparameters. By ignoring the possible variability of the metaparameters, the distribution of realizations provided by the stochastic inversions reveals only a limited amount of the true uncertainty of the posterior model. In a simple 1D example, the metaparameter has a key influence on the results. Uncertainty on several metaparameters can be estimated. In a real data example, changing the metaparameters can obtain a much larger diversity of the results than those provided by a stochastic inversion for a single set of parameters. Handling the uncertainty on all different parameters not only would be time consuming but also would be inefficient from an interpretation point of view. It certainly requires a new inversion strategy.
Reservoir uncertainty description via petrophysical inversion of seismic data
Authors: Bosch Miguel , Bertorelli Gustavo , Álvarez Gabriel , Moreno Adriana , Colmenares Raul
Published: September 2015

Hydrocarbon reservoir characterization commonly combines seismic, petrophysical, and well-log information in a variety of procedures. As an inference problem, this combination can be formulated in a unified inverse framework, reducing the bias of nonlinear relationships among intermediate variables and providing a comprehensive calculation of uncertainties at final estimates of the medium parameters. In addition, the unified formulation leads to the joint estimation of reservoir and medium elastic properties as well as related parameters of interests. This problem is formulated from a set of continuous variables that commonly characterizes the reservoir (total porosity, shale volume fraction, and water saturation), which can be related to the medium mechanical properties with a petrophysical model calibrated to the specific setting of the reservoir and target stratum. The joint model property configuration is related to the observed seismic data via Zoeppritz incidence-angle-dependent reflectivity and convolution with a source wavelet for each CDP gather. Data and calibrated information are combined in a posterior probability density of the model parameters that is evaluated with a sampling approach, using a Markov-chain Monte Carlo algorithm. From a large number of realizations, one can calculate expected values and full marginal probability distributions for reservoir properties and elastic properties. The method is illustrated with the estimation of reservoir parameters at a gas reservoir presenting a Class 2 AVA response, with focus on the estimation of water saturation. The calculated saturation probability distributions show coherent results with the known saturation at various well locations.
Uncertainty and nonuniqueness in linearized AVAZ for orthorhombic media
Authors: Bachrach Ran
Published: September 2015

Orthorhombic symmetry is one of the simplest models capable of representing fractured media such as naturally fractured shale reservoirs. However, low elastic symmetry translates to a large number of unknown elastic parameters, which affects the ability to obtain unique solutions. Therefore, the uncertainty associated with seismic-amplitude inversion must be considered for better understanding of the limitations and potential benefit of the inversion. An analysis of linearized amplitude variation with azimuth (AVAZ) inversion resulted in the development of workflows for practical AVAZ parameter estimation with uncertainty analysis. The inverted orthorhombic parameters are ranked by their uncertainty. Inversion attributes have clear meaning and can be used quantitatively when performing anisotropic orthorhombic subsurface characterization. The technique was applied in a field case for estimation of reservoir properties in orthorhombic media.
Uncertainty in attribute-based inversion for quantification of the estimation of stock-tank oil initially in place in Kalol reservoir, Cambay Basin, India
Authors: Gorain Surajit , Shalivahan  , Thakur Prabhakar
Published: September 2015

Uncertainty is not an inherent feature of a reservoir; it is the result of lack of knowledge and understanding about the reservoir. Uncertainty can be modeled, but there is no objective measure of uncertainty. All geostatistical methods used in estimation of reservoir parameters are inaccurate; hence, modeling of “estimation error” in the form of uncertainty analysis is important. Uncertainty is associated with each process involved in geologic modeling, including data acquisition, data processing, interpretation, structural modeling, facies modeling, petrophysical modeling, and volume estimation, which affects the ability to understand the reservoir behavior and make reliable production forecasts and risk-free decisions. Hence, uncertainty analysis is a prerequisite measure for initial calculation of oil in place in any field. In the estimation of stock-tank oil initially in place (STOIIP) in Kalol reservoir, Cambay Basin, India, a geologic uncertainty study was initiated to identify and quantify the input parameters of greatest impact in the reservoir model. Results showed that the structural uncertainty has maximum impact and volume expansion factor has minimum impact in the estimation of stock-tank oil initially in place, whereas lithologic and petrophysical uncertainties have equal impact. Hence, during structural, facies, and petrophysical modeling, one has to take special precaution before finalizing the reserve calculation. Therefore, uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in the estimate of stock-tank oil initially in place should be applied on a routine basis because it greatly helps in improving fluid estimate from the field and ultimately the economics of the investments.
Reflections from the past: A brief history of safety in seismic operations over the last century
Authors: Threadgold Ian M.
Published: September 2015

The geophysical industry can be a dangerous place to work. However, for almost a century, the geophysical industry has been moving toward greater safety and security for its workforce. Sadly, hundreds of people have died over the years in accidents on geophysical surveys. This is partially documented in the Aide Memoir for Geophysical Risk Assessors, an industry fatality database maintained by the International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) that goes back to the early 1970s ( http://www.iagc.org/aide-memoir.html ).
Agility is the new capability
Authors: Dodd Earl J.
Published: September 2015

The term agility brings to mind athletes who exhibit superior speed, balance, strength, and coordination. In the business arena, however, agility is applied more commonly to those organizations that are capable of quickly adapting to rapid and sometimes unexpected changes in their markets, supply chains, customer requirements, and technologies.
Review of 2015 SEG ‘Depth Model Building: Full-waveform Inversion Workshop’ in Beijing
Authors: Liu Gary
Published: September 2015

The 2015 SEG “Depth Model Building: Full-waveform Inversion Workshop” took place at the Technology Meeting Center of the Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development (RIPED), CNPC, in Beijing, China, on 18–19 June 2015. The workshop was organized by SEG and was supported by RIPED, CNPC.
‘SEG is ready for change’
Authors: Blythe Natalie
Published: September 2015

Volunteers and the resulting committees are the backbone of SEG. Although there are many committees that help to mold and shape the future of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, one of those that is integral is the Meetings Review and Planning Committee (MRPC).
SEG forges ahead with opening of Geophysical Resource Center 2
Authors: Brown Steve
Published: September 2015

On a nearly cloudless and unseasonably pleasant late-summer day, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) on 20 August hosted a grand-opening ceremony for its recently completed $20 million, 78,992-square-foot Geophysical Resource Center 2 (GRC2) building in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Potential of the bioflavonoids in the prevention/treatment of ocular disorders
Authors: Majumdar Soumyajit , Srirangam Ramesh
Published: September 2015

Objectives

Flavonoids are a common group of plant polyphenols that give colour and flavour to fruits and vegetables. In recent years, flavonoids have gained importance in the pharmaceutical field through their beneficial effects on human health and are widely available as nutritional supplements. Several pharmacological actions of the bioflavonoids may be useful in the prevention or treatment of ocular diseases responsible for vision loss such as diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and cataract. This review aims to summarize the potential therapeutic applications of various bioflavonoids in different ocular diseases and also discusses delivery of these agents to the ocular tissues.

Key findings

It is apparent that the flavonoids are capable of acting on various mechanisms or aetiological factors responsible for the development of different sight threatening ocular diseases. From a drug delivery perspective, ocular bioavailability depends on the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical characteristics of the selected flavonoids and very importantly the route of administration.

The potential therapeutic applications of various bioflavonoids in ocular diseases is reviewed and the delivery of these agents to the ocular tissues is discussed. Whereas oral administration of bioflavonoids may demonstrate some pharmacological activity in the outer sections of the posterior ocular segment, protection of the retinal ganglionic cells in vivo may be limited by this delivery route. Systemic or local administration of these agents may yield much higher and effective concentrations of the parent bioflavonoids in the ocular tissues and at much lower doses.
Building an integrated model of chromosome congression
Authors: Auckland Philip , McAinsh Andrew D.
Published: September 2015

A universal feature of mitosis is that all chromosomes become aligned at the spindle equator – the halfway point between the two spindle poles – prior to anaphase onset. This migratory event is called congression, and is powered by centromere-bound protein machines called kinetochores. This Commentary aims to document recent advances concerning the two kinetochore-based force-generating mechanisms that drive mitotic chromosome congression in vertebrate cells: depolymerisation-coupled pulling (DCP) and lateral sliding. We aim to explore how kinetochores can ‘read-out’ their spatial position within the spindle, and adjust these force-generating mechanisms to ensure chromosomes reach, and then remain, at the equator. Finally, we will describe the ‘life history’ of a chromosome, and provide a working model for how individual mechanisms are integrated to ensure efficient and successful congression.