bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High‐Performance Red, Green, and Blue Electroluminescent Devices Based on Blue Emitters with Small Singlet–Triplet Splitting and Ambipolar Transport Property
Authors: Wang Kai , Zhao Fangchao , Wang Chenguang , Chen Shanyong , Chen Dong , Zhang Hongyu , Liu Yu , Ma Dongge , Wang Yue
Published: December 2012

Two coordination complex emitters as well as host materials Be(PPI)2 and Zn(PPI)2 (PPI = 2‐(1‐phenyl‐1H‐phenanthro[9,10‐d]imidazol‐2‐yl)phenol) are designed, synthesized, and characterized. The incorporation of the metal atom leads to a twisted conformation and rigid molecular structure, which improve the thermal stability of Be(PPI)2 and Zn(PPI)2 with high Td and Tg at around 475 and 217 °C, respectively. The introduction of the electron‐donating phenol group results in the emission color shifting to the deep‐blue region and the emission maximum appears at around 429 nm. This molecular design strategy ensures that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) HOMO and LUMO of Be(PPI)2 and Zn(PPI)2 localize on the different moieties of the molecules. Therefore, the two complexes have an ambipolar transport property and a small singlet–triplet splitting of 0.35 eV for Be(PPI)2 and 0.21 eV for Zn(PPI)2. An undoped deep‐blue fluorescent organic light‐emitting device (OLED) that uses Be(PPI)2 as emitter exhibits a maximum power efficiency of 2.5 lm W−1 with the CIE coordinates of (0.15, 0.09), which are very close to the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) blue standard (CIE: 0.14, 0.08). Green and red phosphorescent OLEDs (PhOLEDs) that use Be(PPI)2 and Zn(PPI)2 as host materials show high performance. Highest power efficiencies of 67.5 lm W−1 for green PhOLEDs and 21.7 lm W−1 for red PhOLEDs are achieved. In addition, the Be(PPI)2‐based devices show low‐efficiency roll‐off behavior, which is attributed to the more balanced carrier‐transport property of Be(PPI)2.
Democratic Costs in Member‐Controlled Organizations
Authors: Pozzobon Daniela Maria , Zylbersztajn Decio
Published: December 2012

In this study, we examine the costs of democratic control, an important factor affecting the competitiveness of traditional agricultural cooperatives. Although there has been some theoretical discussion about this issue, no empirical research has been done on these costs; the present study aims to bridge this gap. Following the literature, the main source of democratic costs in agricultural cooperatives is the level of member participation in cooperative governance. We have developed more specific theoretical insights about this special kind of decision‐making cost by showing the effect of differences in the level of member participation on democratic costs, differences in terms of democratic and influence costs and in terms of agency costs, and differences between both direct and opportunity democratic costs. Members should take both the relative direct and opportunity costs within total democratic costs into account when determining the optimal size and composition of their board. [EconLit citations: Q130, D790, D230].
Farmers’ Perceived Transaction Costs in Relation to Slaughterhouses of Different Ownership Structure
Authors: Hess Sebastian , Lind Lena W. , Liang Se
Published: December 2012

The raison‐d’être of traditional cooperatives is claimed to be their capacity to reduce farmers’ transaction costs. Hence, one would expect transaction costs to increase when a traditional cooperative is transformed into a hybrid cooperative. The present study investigates this hypothesis. The empirical data originates from a survey with suppliers of Swedish Meats, a cooperative that used to dominate the Swedish meat sector. However, it lost the cooperative elements as external investors got a share of the ownership in 2007. Results indicate that the importance of typical drivers of perceived transaction costs are not homogeneously distributed. A subgroup of respondents still considers the former cooperative as a safe and trustworthy partner with reliable market information. Successful, entrepreneurial farmers instead perceive higher transaction costs when dealing with the hybrid cooperative. Geographical location and neighboring networks are insignificant. In general, the results confirm that the hybrid cooperative has lost its role as a cooperative.
Control Rights, Governance, and the Costs of Ownership in Agricultural Cooperatives
Authors: Chaddad Fabio , Iliopoulos Constantine
Published: December 2012

Agricultural cooperatives have changed considerably in recent decades. In witnessing these structural changes, scholars have proffered analyses of nontraditional ownership models focusing on residual claim rights. However, crucial information on the allocation of control rights in cooperatives is missing. This study sheds light on alternative ownership‐control models adopted by agricultural cooperatives in different regions across the world. In each of these models, we describe the allocation of formal control rights with a focus on decision management and decision control rights. We thus provide empirical evidence on the “separation of ownership and control” in agricultural cooperatives. We also analyze each of the governance models in terms of the associated ownership costs, including risk‐bearing costs, the costs of controlling managers, and collective decision‐making costs. In doing so, we are able to better understand the forces influencing the organizational efficiency of each cooperative model.
Comparison of anatomical abnormalities in patients with limited and diffuse chronic rhinosinusitis
Authors: Jain Ravi , Stow Nick , Douglas Richard
Published: December 2012

Background

The role of anatomical abnormalities in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) remains unclear. We hypothesized that anatomical abnormalities causing obstruction of mucus drainage would be more prevalent in patients with limited CRS than in patients with pansinusitis, who are more likely to have a generalized mucosal abnormality.

Methods

The computed tomography (CT) scans of patients with limited sinusitis (maxillary sinus and/or the ostiomeatal unit), patients with diffuse bilateral disease, and asymptomatic controls were studied. Lund‐Mackay scores were calculated and the frequency of anatomical abnormalities that could affect mucus drainage of the ostiomeatal region was determined.

Results

The limited disease group comprised 22 patients with 96 total anatomical variants (4.4 ± 2.0; mean number of variants per patient ± standard deviation [SD]). The diffuse disease group comprised 28 patients with 70 anatomical variants (2.6 ± 2.0). The control group had 27 patients with 68 variants (2.5 ± 1.4). The frequency of total anatomical variants in the limited group was significantly higher than in the pansinusitis and control groups (p < 0.003). There was no significant difference in the total number of anatomical variations between the diffuse disease and control groups. Concha bullosae and accessory ostia were more prevalent in the local disease group than the diffuse disease group. (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

These results suggest that patients with limited CRS may be predisposed by anatomical variants impairing drainage of the ostiomeatal region, and pansinusitis (likely resulting from generalized mucosal abnormality) is associated with a lower frequency of anatomical variants similar to the general population.
Cytosolic 5′‐nucleotidase 1A autoimmunity in sporadic inclusion body myositis
Authors: Benjamin Larman H. , Salajegheh Mohammad , Nazareno Remedios , Lam Theresa , Sauld John , Steen Hanno , Won Kong Sek , Pinkus Jack L. , Amato Anthony A. , Elledge Stephen J. , Greenberg Steven A.
Published: December 2012

Objective

We previously identified a circulating autoantibody against a 43 kDa muscle autoantigen in sporadic inclusion body myositis (IBM) and demonstrated the feasibility of an IBM diagnostic blood test. Here, we sought to identify the molecular target of this IBM autoantibody, understand the relationship between IBM autoimmunity and muscle degeneration, and develop an IBM blood test with high diagnostic accuracy.

Methods

IBM blood samples were screened using mass spectrometry and a synthetic human peptidome. Plasma and serum samples (N=200 patients) underwent immunoblotting assays, and results were correlated to clinical features. Muscle biopsy samples (n=30) were examined by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Exome or whole genome sequencing was performed on DNA from 19 patients.

Results

Both mass spectrometry and screening of a 413,611 human peptide library spanning the entire human proteome identified cytosolic 5′‐nucleotidase 1A (cN1A; NT5C1A) as the likely 43 kDa IBM autoantigen, which was then confirmed in dot blot and Western blot assays using recombinant cN1A protein. Moderate reactivity of anti‐cN1A autoantibodies was 70% sensitive and 92% specific, and high reactivity was 34% sensitive and 98% specific for the diagnosis of IBM. One to 3 major cN1A immunodominant epitopes were identified. cN1A reactivity by immunohistochemistry accumulated in perinuclear regions and rimmed vacuoles in IBM muscle, localizing to areas of myonuclear degeneration.

Interpretation

Autoantibodies against cN1A are common in and highly specific to IBM among muscle diseases, and may provide a link between IBM's dual processes of autoimmunity and myodegeneration. Blood diagnostic testing is feasible and should improve early and reliable diagnosis of IBM. Ann Neurol 2013;73:408–418
Alzheimersche Demenz, Cholesterin und Statine: Berührungspunkte wichtiger Stoffwechselwege
Authors: Silva Tiago , Teixeira José , Remião Fernando , Borges Fernanda
Published: December 2012

In den letzten Jahren hat die Zahl an Publikationen, in denen über die positiven Wirkungen der Statine auf neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, insbesondere die Alzheimersche Demenz, berichtet wird, stark zugenommen. Statine entfalten ihre neuroprotektive Aktivität durch eine Kombination verschiedener zellulärer und systemischer Mechanismen, die auf die Hemmung der Biosynthese von Cholesterin und von Isoprenoid‐Nebenprodukten zurückgehen. Die aussichtsreichen Ergebnisse aus In‐vivo‐Versuchen und epidemiologischen Studien stehen meist nicht in Übereinstimmung mit placebokontrollierten, randomisierten klinischen Studien. Dennoch lassen sich die Statine anhand dieser Daten als wertvolle Mittel für die Vorbeugung einordnen, weniger dagegen als Therapeutika, wenn die Krankheitssymptome bereits sichtbar werden. Daher kann eine Veränderung der Cholesterin‐ und/oder der Statinzufuhr in der Lebensmitte vor Auftreten von Demenz oder kognitiver Beeinträchtigung die Aussichten auf ein gesundes Alter verbessern.
Alzheimer’s Disease, Cholesterol, and Statins: The Junctions of Important Metabolic Pathways
Authors: Silva Tiago , Teixeira José , Remião Fernando , Borges Fernanda
Published: December 2012

Recent years have seen a significant increase in published data supporting the positive effects of statins on neurodegenerative diseases, in particular on Alzheimer’s disease. Statins show neuroprotective activity by a combination of different cellular and systemic mechanisms that are based on the inhibition of the biosynthesis of cholesterol and isoprenoid by‐products. The promising results obtained in vivo and in epidemiological studies are generally not in accordance with those of placebo‐controlled randomized clinical trials. Nevertheless, these results make statins valuable assets for disease prevention rather than therapeutic agents for use when disease symptoms are already displayed. Thus, the modulation of midlife cholesterol and/or statin administration prior to the appearance of dementia or cognitive impairment may have a better long‐term outcome.
Improved synthesis of a branched poly(ethylene imine)‐modified cellulose‐based adsorbent for removal and recovery of Cu(II) from aqueous solution
Authors: Tang Yinchuan , Ma Qinglin , Luo Yafei , Zhai Li , Che Yuju , Meng Fanjun
Published: December 2012

This study focuses on an improved synthesis of a branched poly (ethylene imine) (PEI)‐modified cellulose‐based adsorbent (Cell‐g‐PGMA‐PEI). We aim to improve the adsorbent capacity by reducing side reaction of epoxide ring opening during graft copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto cellulose which increases the content of epoxy groups, anchors to immobilize branched PEI moieties. FTIR spectra provided the evidence of successful graft copolymerization of GMA onto cellulose initiated by benzoyl peroxide (BPO) and modification with PEI. The amount of epoxy groups of Cell‐g‐PGMA was 4.35 mmol g−1 by epoxy titration. Subsequently, the adsorption behavior of Cu(II) on cell‐g‐PGMA‐PEI in aqueous solution has been investigated. The data from the adsorption kinetic experiments agreed well with pseudo‐second‐order model. The adsorption isotherms can be interpreted by the Langmuir model with the maximum adsorption capacity of 102 mg g−1 which was largely improved compared with the similar adsorbent reported. The dynamic adsorption capacity obtained from the column tests was 119 mg g−1 and the adsorbent could be regenerated by HCl of 0.1 mol L−1. Results indicate that the novel pathway for the synthesis of Cell‐g‐PGMA‐PEI exhibits significant potential to improve the performance of adsorbents in removal and recovery of Cu(II) from aqueous solution. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013
Brief Report: Anti–Carbamylated Protein Antibodies Are Present in Arthralgia Patients and Predict the Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Shi Jing , van de Stadt Lotte A. , Levarht E. W. Nivine , Huizinga Tom W. J. , Toes René E. M. , Trouw Leendert A. , van Schaardenburg Dirkjan
Published: December 2012

Objective

Recently, we discovered a new autoantibody system in rheumatoid arthritis (RA): anti–carbamylated protein (anti‐CarP) antibodies. These antibodies have value in predicting joint destruction; however, it is not clear whether they are present before the diagnosis of RA and whether they have value as predictors of RA development. Therefore, we studied whether anti‐CarP antibodies are present in patients with arthralgia and whether their presence is associated with the development of RA.

Methods

Sera from 340 arthralgia patients who did not have clinical signs of arthritis but who were positive for IgM rheumatoid factor (IgM‐RF) and/or anti–cyclic citrullinated peptide 2 (anti–CCP‐2) and 32 healthy controls were tested for anti‐CarP IgG antibodies. Of the patients with arthralgia, 111 were IgM‐RF positive/anti–CCP‐2 antibody negative and 229 were anti–CCP‐2 antibody positive. Patients were observed for the development of RA (based on the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria) during a median followup period of 36 months. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to compare the risk of developing RA between arthralgia patients who were positive for anti‐CarP antibodies and those who were negative for anti‐CarP antibodies during followup.

Results

Anti‐CarP antibodies were present in the sera of 39% of the patients. One hundred twenty patients developed RA, after a median of 12 months (interquartile range [IQR] 6–24). The presence of anti‐CarP antibodies was associated with the development of RA in the entire arthralgia cohort after correction for RF and anti–CCP‐2 antibody status (hazard ratio 1.56 [95% confidence interval 1.06–2.29], P = 0.023), as well as in the anti–CCP‐2 antibody–positive subgroup (odds ratio 2.231 [95% confidence interval 1.31–3.79], P = 0.003).

Conclusion

Anti‐CarP antibodies are present in patients with arthralgia, and their presence predicts the development of RA independent of anti–CCP‐2 antibodies.
Venue‐author‐coupling: A measure for identifying disciplines through author communities
Authors: Ni Chaoqun , Sugimoto Cassidy R. , Jiang Jiepu
Published: December 2012

Conceptualizations of disciplinarity often focus on the social aspects of disciplines; that is, disciplines are defined by the set of individuals who participate in their activities and communications. However, operationalizations of disciplinarity often demarcate the boundaries of disciplines by standard classification schemes, which may be inflexible to changes in the participation profile of that discipline. To address this limitation, a metric called venue‐author‐coupling (VAC) is proposed and illustrated using journals from the Journal Citation Report's (JCR) library science and information science category. AsJCRsare some of the most frequently used categories in bibliometric analyses, this allows for an examination of the extent to which the journals inJCRcategories can be considered as proxies for disciplines. By extending the idea of bibliographic coupling,VACidentifies similarities among journals based on the similarities of their author profiles. The employment of this method using information science and library science journals provides evidence of four distinct subfields, that is, management information systems, specialized information and library science, library science‐focused, and information science‐focused research. The proposedVACmethod provides a novel way to examine disciplinarity from the perspective of author communities.
Topical community detection from mining user tagging behavior and interest
Authors: Sun Xiaoling , Lin Hongfei
Published: December 2012

With the development of Web2.0, social tagging systems in which users can freely choose tags to annotate resources according to their interests have attracted much attention. In particular, literature on the emergence of collective intelligence in social tagging systems has increased. In this article, we propose a probabilistic generative model to detect latent topical communities among users. Social tags and resource contents are leveraged to model user interest in two similar and correlated ways. Our primary goal is to capture user tagging behavior and interest and discover the emergent topical community structure. The communities should be groups of users with frequent social interactions as well as similar topical interests, which would have important research implications for personalized information services. Experimental results on two real social tagging data sets with different genres have shown that the proposed generative model more accurately models user interest and detects high‐quality and meaningful topical communities.
Lifting the fog of scientometric research artifacts: On the scientometric analysis of environmental tobacco smoke research
Authors: Heneberg Petr
Published: December 2012

Previous analyses identified research on environmental tobacco smoke to be subject to strong fluctuations as measured by both quantitative and qualitative indicators. The evolution of search algorithms (based on the Web of Science and Web of Knowledge database platforms) was used to show the impact of errors of omission and commission in the outcomes of scientometric research. Optimization of the search algorithm led to the complete reassessment of previously published findings on the performance of environmental tobacco smoke research. Instead of strong continuous growth, the field of environmental tobacco smoke research was shown to experience stagnation or slow growth since mid‐1990s when evaluated quantitatively. Qualitative analysis revealed steady but slow increase in the citation rate and decrease in uncitedness. Country analysis revealed the North‐European countries as leaders in environmental tobacco smoke research (when the normalized results were evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively), whereas the United States ranked first only when assessing the total number of papers produced. Scientometric research artifacts, including both errors of omission and commission, were shown to be capable of completely obscuring the real output of the chosen research field.
Retinoids: Potent regulators of metabolism
Authors: Brun Pierre‐Jacques , Yang Kryscilla Jian Zhang , Lee Seung‐Ah , Yuen Jason J. , Blaner William S.
Published: December 2012

Retinoids (vitamin A and its analogs) are highly potent regulators of cell differentiation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Because of these activities, retinoids have been most extensively studied in the contexts of embryonic development and of proliferative diseases, especially cancer and skin disease. Recently, there has been considerable new research interest focused on gaining understanding of the roles that retinoids and/or retinoid‐related proteins may have in the development of metabolic diseases, primarily obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. This review will summarize recent advances that have been made in these areas, focusing on the role of retinoids in modulating adipogenesis, the roles of retinoids and retinoid‐related proteins as signaling molecules linking obesity with the development of type II diabetes, the roles of retinoids in pancreatic β‐cell biology/insulin secretion, and the actions of retinoids in hepatic steatosis. © 2012 BioFactors, 2013
Liver damage during organ donor procurement in donation after circulatory death compared with donation after brain death
Authors: Ausania F , White S A , Coates R , Hulme W , Manas D M
Published: December 2012

Background

During the past decade the number of livers recovered and transplanted from donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors has increased significantly. As reported previously, injuries are more frequent during kidney procurement from DCD than from donation after brain death (DBD) donors. This aim of this study was to compare outcomes between DCD and DBD with respect to liver injuries.

Methods

Data on liver injuries in organs procured between 2000 and 2010 were obtained from the UK Transplant Registry.

Results

A total of 7146 livers were recovered from deceased donors during the study, 628 (8·8 per cent) from DCD donors. Injuries occurred in 1001 procedures (14·0 per cent). There were more arterial (1·6 versus 1·0 per cent), portal (0·5 versus 0·3 per cent) and caval (0·3 versus 0·2 per cent) injuries in the DBD group than in the DCD group, although none of these findings was statistically significant. Capsular injuries occurred more frequently in DCD than DBD (15·6 versus 11·4 per cent; P = 0·002). There was no significant difference between DCD and DBD groups in liver discard rates related to damage.

Conclusion

There were no differences in terms of vascular injuries between DCD and DBD livers, although capsular injuries occurred more frequently in DCD organs. Continuing the trend for increased frequency of DCD liver recovery, and ensuring that there is an adequately skilled surgical team available for procurement, is vital to improving the utilization of DCD livers.
New Editorial Board Members: Refreshing our Catalyst!
Authors: Oro Luis A. , Weckhuysen Bert , Bornscheuer Uwe
Published: December 2012

Transfer season opens…︁ ChemCatChem picks up new board members. The first four years of ChemCatChem has come to pass and we will be broadening our editorial board to take in a wider catalysis scope.
Optimization of Fischer‐Tropsch Process in a Fixed‐Bed Reactor Using Non‐uniform Catalysts
Authors: Mazidi S. K. , Sadeghi M. T. , Marvast M. A.
Published: December 2012

Optimization of Fischer‐Tropsch (FT) process in a fixed‐bed reactor is carried out using non‐uniform catalysts. The C5+ yield of the reactions is maximized utilizing a combination of non‐uniform catalysts across the bed. A 1D heterogeneous model is developed to simulate the bed containing uniform and non‐uniform catalysts. It is found that the egg‐shell and surface‐layered catalysts result in higher C5+ yield. Moreover, effects of cooling temperature are studied. Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Successive Quadratic Programming (SQP) methods are applied. Feed and cooling temperature are selected as decision variables together with distribution of non‐uniform catalysts along the bed. The optimization result shows 14.47 % increase in the C5+ yield with respect to the base condition.
Conceptual Design of Double‐Feed Reactive Distillation Columns
Authors: Avami A.
Published: December 2012

The feasibility and feasible range of operating parameters for double‐feed reactive distillation columns are evaluated, based on the combination of pinch point map analysis for the middle‐section in the compositional space and the feed angle method as an efficient shortcut design method. Limiting bounds for operating parameters are determined where the properties of singular points change. The existence and values of such bounds may vary in double‐feed reactive distillation columns depending on the nature of the system under study. The methodology is illustrated by production of methyl acetate and ethyl acetate. An efficient method is described to identify the most promising candidates of double‐feed reactive distillation columns and to study the design flexibility in terms of operating parameters.
Carbophilic 3‐Component Cascades: Access to Complex Bioactive Cyclopropyl Diindolylmethanes
Authors: Groome Nigel M. , Elboray Elghareeb E. , Inman Martyn W. , Dondas H. Ali , Phillips Roger M. , Kilner Colin , Grigg Ronald
Published: December 2012

Naturally occurring indole‐3‐carbinol and 3,3‐diindolylmethane show bioactivity in a number of disparate disease areas, including cancer, prompting substantial synthetic analogue activity. We describe a new approach to highly functionalised derivatives that starts from allene gas and proceeds via the combination of a three‐component Pd0‐catalysed cascade with a one‐pot, three‐component carbophilic PtII cascade linked to a stereoselective acid‐catalysed Mannich–Michael reaction that generates complex cyclopropyl diindolylmethanes which show selective activity against prostate cancer cell lines.
The Stereodynamics of 5,5’‐Disubstituted BIPHEPs
Authors: Maier Frank , Trapp Oliver
Published: December 2012

We investigated the stereodynamics of 5,5’‐substituted tropos BIPHEP ligands (2,2’‐bis(diphenylphosphino)‐biphenyls) by enantioselective dynamic high‐performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) to elucidate the influence of the substitution pattern and electronics of the substituents (methyl, methoxy, and hydroxyl groups). By temperature‐dependent dynamic HPLC measurements the activation parameters ΔG╪, ΔH╪, and ΔS╪could be determined with high precision, revealing that the activation barrier of these 5,5’‐substituted BIPHEP ligands ranges in a narrow band between 87.8 and 93.0 kJ mol–1, making them highly attractive as deracemizable dynamic chiral ligands in asymmetric catalysis. Interestingly, the activation parameters are highly influenced by a hydroxyl or methoxy group in the 5,5’‐position of the BIPHEP ligands.Chirality 25:126–132, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Institutional Ownership and Corporate Investment Performance
Authors: Fung Scott , Tsai Shih‐Chuan
Published: December 2012

This paper examines the role of institutional investors in improving firm performance through the channel of corporate investment decisions. We find that the interaction effect between institutional ownership and capital expenditures is significantly related to firm performance. We examine this relationship for different types of institutional investors, and find that investment advisors are most effective monitors in improving firm performance through corporate investment. Moreover, we find that the monitoring role of institutional investors becomes more important when internal governance is weak. Institutional ownership and other forms of corporate governance mechanisms (including CEO incentive compensation and control, shareholder right provisions, and board of director monitoring) operate as substitutes, rather than complements, in improving capital expenditure decisions. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of MR molecular imaging probes using J591 mAb‐conjugated SPIONs for specific detection of prostate cancer
Authors: Abdolahi Mohammad , Shahbazi‐Gahrouei Daryoush , Laurent Sophie , Sermeus Corine , Firozian Farzin , Allen Barry J. , Boutry Sebastien , Muller Robert N.
Published: December 2012

Carcinoma of the prostate is the most frequent diagnosed malignant tumor in men and is the second leading cause of cancer‐related death in this group. The cure rate of prostate cancer is highly dependent on the stage of disease at the diagnosis and early detection is key to designing effective treatment strategies. The objective of the present study is to make a specific MR imaging probe for targeted imaging of cancer cells. We take advantage of the fact that many types of prostate cancer cells express high levels of prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA) on their cell surface. The imaging strategy is to use superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), attached to an antibody (J591) that binds to the extracellular domain of PSMA, to specifically enhance the contrast of PSMA‐expressing prostate cancer cells. Conjugation of mAb J591 to commercial SPIONs was achieved using a heterobifunctional linker, sulfo‐SMCC. Two types of prostate cancer cell lines were chosen for experiments: LNCaP (PSMA+) and DU145 (PSMA−). MRI and cell uptake experiments demonstrated the high potential of the synthesized nanoprobe as a specific MRI contrast agent for detection of PSMA‐expressing prostate cancer cells. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An aggregated analysis of hormonal factors and endometrial cancer risk by parity
Authors: Schonfeld Sara J. , Hartge Patricia , Pfeiffer Ruth M. , Freedman D. Michal , Greenlee Robert T. , Linet Martha S. , Park Yikyung , Schairer Catherine , Visvanathan Kala , Lacey James V.
Published: December 2012

BACKGROUND:

Nulliparity is associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer. It is less clear whether nulliparity modifies the association between other established hormone‐related risk factors. The proportion of nulliparous women has increased since the mid‐1970s, but most individual studies to date have been too small to test the hypothesis that endometrial cancer risk factors may be associated more strongly with risk among nulliparous women compared with parous women.

METHODS:

Data were aggregated on 26,936 postmenopausal, Caucasian, nulliparous women (360 endometrial cancers) and 146,583 postmenopausal, Caucasian, parous women (1378 endometrial cancers) from 4 US prospective studies (1979‐2006). Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated in stratified analyses.

RESULTS:

The risk of endometrial cancer was higher among nulliparous women than among parous women, as expected (nulliparous vs parous: HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.26‐1.60). Stratified associations between endometrial cancer and hormone‐related risk factors did not differ between nulliparous versus parous women: For both groups, oral contraceptives and earlier menopause were associated with reduced risk. The highest HRs were for obesity: A body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 (vs <25 kg/m2) increased the risk of endometrial cancer 3‐fold among nulliparous women (HR, 3.04; 95% CI, 2.34‐3.94) and parous women (HR, 2.88; 95% CI, 2.52‐3.29).

CONCLUSIONS:

The results from this large, pooled analysis of data from 4 large prospective studies suggested that nulliparity does not modify the risks of endometrial cancer associated with established hormone‐related risk factors. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Effect of metabolic syndrome and its components on recurrence and survival in colon cancer patients
Authors: Yang Yang , Mauldin Patrick D. , Ebeling Myla , Hulsey Thomas C. , Liu Baorui , Thomas Melanie B. , Camp Ernest R. , Esnaola Nestor F.
Published: December 2012

BACKGROUND:

Although epidemiologic studies suggest that metabolic syndrome (MetS) increases the risk of colorectal cancer, its effect on cancer mortality remains controversial.

METHODS:

The authors used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)‐Medicare linked database (1998‐2006) to conduct a retrospective cohort study of 36,079 patients with colon cancer to determine the independent effect of MetS and its components on overall survival (OS) and recurrence‐free rates (RFRs). Data on MetS and its components were ascertained from Medicare claims. OS and RFRs in patients with and without MetS and its components were compared using multivariate Cox models.

RESULTS:

MetS had no apparent effect on OS or RFR. Both elevated glucose/diabetes mellitus (DM) and elevated hypertension were associated with worse OS (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.17 [95% confidence interval, 1.13‐1.21] and 1.08 [95% confidence interval, 1.03‐1.12], respectively) and worse RFRs (aHR, 1.25 [95% confidence interval, 1.16‐1.34] and 1.22 [95% confidence interval, 1.12‐1.33], respectively). In contrast, dyslipidemia was associated with improved survival (aHR, 0.77; 95% confidence interval, 0.75‐0.80) and reduced recurrence (aHR, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.66‐0.75). These effects were consistent for both men and women and were more pronounced in patients with early stage disease.

CONCLUSIONS:

MetS had no apparent effect on colon cancer outcomes, probably because of the combined adverse effects of elevated glucose/DM and hypertension and the protective effect of dyslipidemia in patients with nonmetastatic disease. The authors concluded that patients who have early stage colon cancer with elevated glucose/DM and/or hypertension may benefit from more intensive surveillance and/or broader use of adjuvant therapy and that trials to define the benefits of low‐fat diets, insulin‐lowering agents, and statins on recurrence/survival in patients with nonmetastatic colon cancer are warranted. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Examining whether lung screening changes risk perceptions: National Lung Screening Trial participants at 1‐year follow‐up
Authors: Park Elyse R. , Gareen Ilana F. , Jain Amanda , Ostroff Jamie S. , Duan Fenghai , Sicks JoRean D. , Rakowski William , Diefenbach Michael , Rigotti Nancy A.
Published: December 2012

BACKGROUND:

The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) research team reported reduced lung cancer mortality among current and former smokers with a minimum 30 pack‐year history who were screened with spiral computed tomography scans compared with chest x‐rays. The objectives of the current study were to examine, at 1‐year follow‐up: 1) risk perceptions of lung cancer and smoking‐related diseases and behavior change determinants, 2) whether changes in risk perceptions differed by baseline screening result; and 3) whether changes in risk perceptions affected smoking behavior.

METHODS:

A 25‐item risk perception questionnaire was administered to a subset of participants at 8 American College of Radiology Imaging Network/NLST sites before initial and 1‐year follow‐up screens. Items assessed risk perceptions of lung cancer and smoking‐related diseases, cognitive and emotional determinants of behavior change, and knowledge of smoking risks.

RESULTS:

Among 430 NLST participants (mean age, 61.0 years; 55.6% men; 91.9% white), half were current smokers at baseline. Overall, risk perceptions and associated cognitive and emotional determinants of behavior change did not change significantly from prescreen trial enrollment to 1‐year follow‐up and did not differ significantly by screening test result. Changes in risk perceptions were not associated with changes in smoking status (9.7% of participants quit, and 6.6% relapsed) at 1‐year follow‐up.

CONCLUSIONS:

Lung screening did not change participants' risk perceptions of lung cancer or smoking‐related disease. A negative screening test, which was the most common screening result, did not appear to decrease risk perceptions nor provide false reassurance to smokers. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
AMIGAS: A multicity, multicomponent cervical cancer prevention trial among Mexican American women
Authors: Byrd Theresa L. , Wilson Katherine M. , Smith Judith Lee , Coronado Gloria , Vernon Sally W. , Fernandez‐Esquer Maria Eugenia , Thompson Beti , Ortiz Melchor , Lairson David , Fernandez Maria E.
Published: December 2012

BACKGROUND:

Considerable efforts have been undertaken in the United States to reduce cervical cancer incidence and mortality by increasing screening; however, disparities in screening rates continue to exist among certain racial and ethnic minority groups. The objective of the current study was to determine the effectiveness of a lay health worker‐delivered intervention—AMIGAS (Ayudando a las Mujeres con Informacion, Guia, y Amor para su Salud [helping women with information, guidance, and love for their health])—to increase Papanicolaou (Pap) test screening among 3 populations of women of Mexican origin.

METHODS:

Six hundred thirteen women of Mexican origin in 3 treatment sites were randomized among 4 study arms: the full AMIGAS program with a video and a flip chart (n = 151), the AMIGAS program without the video (n = 154), the AMIGAS program without the flip chart (n = 155), and a usual care control group (n = 153). Six months after enrollment, women were surveyed and reported whether or not they had been screened.

RESULTS:

Women in any of the intervention arms were statistically significantly more likely to report being screened than those in the usual care group in both an intent‐to‐treat analysis and a per‐protocol analysis. In the intent‐to‐treat analysis, 25% of women in the control group and 52% in the full AMIGAS program group reported having had Pap tests (P < .001); in the per‐protocol analysis, the percentages were 29% and 62%, respectively (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS:

AMIGAS was effective in increasing Pap test screening among women of Mexican descent when used in a 1‐to‐1 setting. Future research should compare the 1‐on‐1 intervention with the group‐based intervention. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
The superiority of the seventh edition of the TNM classification depends on the overall survival of the patient cohort
Authors: Hayashi Tsutomu , Yoshikawa Takaki , Bonam Kiran , Sue‐Ling Henry M. , Taguri Masataka , Morita Satoshi , Tsuburaya Akira , Hayden Jeremy D. , Grabsch Heike I.
Published: December 2012

BACKGROUND:

The objective of this study was to investigate whether the seventh edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer/International Union Against Cancer TNM classification (TNM7) had superior discriminatory ability over the sixth edition of the TNM classification (TNM6) in patients with gastric cancer regardless of their country of origin.

METHODS:

In total, 538 patients from the Kanagawa Cancer Center Hospital (Yokohama, Japan) (KCCH) and 519 patients from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Trust (Leeds, United Kingdom) (LTHT) who underwent surgery for gastric cancer were selected. Overall survival was used for statistical analysis. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated with disease stage as a continuous variable to evaluate the discriminatory ability of the TNM stage groups. The estimates of log HRs (logHRs) for the TNM6 and the TNM7 stage groups were compared.

RESULTS:

In the KCCH cohort, 82 patients (15%) were upstaged, and 26 patients (5%) were downstaged between TNM6 and TNM7 compared with 253 patients (49%) and 53 patients (10%), respectively, in the LTHT cohort. The logHRs for a 1‐stage increase within TNM6 and TNM7 were 1.06 and 1.16, respectively, in the KCCH cohort and 0.57 and 0.79, respectively, in the LTHT cohort. The differences in logHRs between TNM6 and TNM7 were significant in each cohort (KCCH: logHR, 0.11; P = .024; LTHT: logHR, 0.21; P = .0002) and between the 2 cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS:

TNM7 had superior discriminatory ability compared with TNM6 in both cohorts. The improved ability to discriminate patients with different survival probability when using TNM7 was greater in the LTHT cohort. The current findings indicated that the discriminatory ability of the TNM stage groups may depend on the baseline survival characteristics of the patient cohort. Cancer 2013. © 2013 American Cancer Society.
Association between adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines and improved survival in patients with colon cancer
Authors: Boland Genevieve M. , Chang George J. , Haynes Alex B. , Chiang Yi‐Ju , Chagpar Ryaz , Xing Yan , Hu Chung‐Yuan , Feig Barry W. , You Y. Nancy , Cormier Janice N.
Published: December 2012

BACKGROUND:

The objective of the current study was to examine the impact of adherence to guidelines on stage‐specific survival outcomes in patients with stage III and high‐risk stage II colon cancer. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has established working, expert consensus, and evidence‐based guidelines for organ‐specific cancer care, including care of patients with colon cancer.

METHODS:

Patients who were diagnosed with colon adenocarcinoma between 1998 and 2002 were selected from within the National Cancer Data Base. The cohort was limited to patients who received their first course of treatment at the reporting facility. Pathologic variables, including tumor depth, lymph node status, and evidence of metastatic disease, were used to restage patients, and the patients were divided into low‐risk and high‐risk categories on the basis of criteria defined by the NCCN. Relative survival rates were calculated for the entire cohort, stratified according to adherence versus nonadherence to NCCN treatment guidelines.

RESULTS:

In univariate analysis of treatment adherence patterns for both patient subgroups (high‐risk stage II and stage III), several factors were associated with a higher rate of nonadherence in both groups, including older age (P < .001); Medicaid, Medicare, or uninsured status versus private insurance (P < .001); and subsequent treatment at a facility other than the facility at which the cancer was first diagnosed (P < .001). In multivariate analysis, multiple factors were associated with differences in relative survival, although analyses that included the year of diagnosis did not demonstrate significant differences over time.

CONCLUSIONS:

The current study documented practice patterns in a heterogeneous population of patients with colon cancer and demonstrated a survival benefit for patients with stage III and high‐risk stage II colon cancer who received treatment that adhered to NCCN guidelines. These data validate the current NCCN practice guidelines for colon cancer and support the concept of guideline‐based metrics that can be compared across institutions to assess the quality of cancer care and to compare the quality of cancer care among institutions. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Stable Blowup Dynamics for the 1‐Corotational Energy Critical Harmonic Heat Flow
Authors: Raphaël Pierre , Schweyer Remi
Published: December 2012

We exhibit a stable finite time blowup regime for the 1‐corotational energy critical harmonic heat flow from ℝ2 into a smooth compact revolution surface of ℝ3 that reduces to the semilinear parabolic problem

for a suitable class of functions f. The corresponding initial data can be chosen smooth, well localized, and arbitrarily close to the ground state harmonic map in the energy‐critical topology. We give sharp asymptotics on the corresponding singularity formation that occurs through the concentration of a universal bubble of energy at the speed predicted by van den Berg, Hulshof, and King. Our approach lies in the continuation of the study of the 1‐equivariant energy critical wave map and Schrödinger map with 𝕊2 target by Merle, Raphaël, and Rodnianski. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Quantitative comparisons of the state‐of‐the‐art data center architectures
Authors: Bilal Kashif , Khan Samee U. , Zhang Limin , Li Hongxiang , Hayat Khizar , Madani Sajjad A. , Min‐Allah Nasro , Wang Lizhe , Chen Dan , Iqbal Majid , Xu Cheng‐Zhong , Zomaya Albert Y.
Published: December 2012

Data centers are experiencing a remarkable growth in the number of interconnected servers. Being one of the foremost data center design concerns, network infrastructure plays a pivotal role in the initial capital investment and ascertaining the performance parameters for the data center. Legacy data center network (DCN) infrastructure lacks the inherent capability to meet the data centers growth trend and aggregate bandwidth demands. Deployment of even the highest‐end enterprise network equipment only delivers around 50% of the aggregate bandwidth at the edge of network. The vital challenges faced by the legacy DCN architecture trigger the need for new DCN architectures, to accommodate the growing demands of the ‘cloud computing’ paradigm. We have implemented and simulated the state of the art DCN models in this paper, namely: (a) legacy DCN architecture, (b) switch‐based, and (c) hybrid models, and compared their effectiveness by monitoring the network: (a) throughput and (b) average packet delay. The presented analysis may be perceived as a background benchmarking study for the further research on the simulation and implementation of the DCN‐customized topologies and customized addressing protocols in the large‐scale data centers. We have performed extensive simulations under various network traffic patterns to ascertain the strengths and inadequacies of the different DCN architectures. Moreover, we provide a firm foundation for further research and enhancement in DCN architectures. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Parallel multigrid on hierarchical hybrid grids: a performance study on current high performance computing clusters
Authors: Gmeiner Björn , Köstler Harald , Stürmer Markus , Rüde Ulrich
Published: December 2012

This article studies the performance and scalability of a geometric multigrid solver implemented within the hierarchical hybrid grids (HHG) software package on current high performance computing clusters up to nearly 300,000 cores. HHG is based on unstructured tetrahedral finite elements that are regularly refined to obtain a block‐structured computational grid. One challenge is the parallel mesh generation from an unstructured input grid that roughly approximates a human head within a 3D magnetic resonance imaging data set. This grid is then regularly refined to create the HHG grid hierarchy. As test platforms, a BlueGene/P cluster located at Jülich supercomputing center and an Intel Xeon 5650 cluster located at the local computing center in Erlangen are chosen. To estimate the quality of our implementation and to predict runtime for the multigrid solver, a detailed performance and communication model is developed and used to evaluate the measured single node performance, as well as weak and strong scaling experiments on both clusters. Thus, for a given problem size, one can predict the number of compute nodes that minimize the overall runtime of the multigrid solver. Overall, HHG scales up to the full machines, where the biggest linear system solved on Jugene had more than one trillion unknowns. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.