bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A meta‐analysis of inositol for depression and anxiety disorders
Authors: Mukai Tomohiko , Kishi Taro , Matsuda Yuki , Iwata Nakao
Published: December 2013

Objective

This study is a meta‐analysis of inositol as a treatment for depression and anxiety disorders.

Methods

PubMed, Cochrane Library database, and PsycINFO were searched up to 14 August 2013. A systematic review and meta‐analysis of double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted comparing inositol for depressed or anxiety disorder patients.

Results

Seven RCTs in depression (two bipolar depression studies, one bipolar depression and major depressive disorder (MDD) study, two MDD studies, and two premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) studies) (n = 242) were identified. Four RCTs in anxiety disorders (two obsessive–compulsive disorder studies, one panic disorder study, and one posttraumatic stress disorder study) (n = 70) were also identified. There were no statistically significant effects of inositol on depressive, anxiety, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms and discontinuation (all‐cause, side effects, and worsening psychiatric symptoms). However, inositol had marginally more responders in depression than placebo (p = 0.06), and inositol showed a trend towards superior efficacy for depressive symptoms in patients with PMDD (p = 0.07). Inositol marginally caused gastrointestinal upset compared with placebo (p = 0.06).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that inositol may be beneficial for depressed patients, especially those with PMDD. The main limitation of this report is that a small number of studies were included in this meta‐analysis. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Is HPV DNA testing specificity comparable to that of cytological testing in primary cervical cancer screening? Results of a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Pileggi Claudia , Flotta Domenico , Bianco Aida , Nobile Carmelo G.A. , Pavia Maria
Published: December 2013

Human‐papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing has been proposed as an alternative to primary cervical cancer screening using cytological testing. Review of the evidence shows that available data are conflicting for some aspects. The overall goal of the study is to update the performance of HPV DNA as stand‐alone testing in primary cervical cancer screening, focusing particularly on the aspects related to the specificity profile of the HPV DNA testing in respect to cytology. We performed a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. Eight articles were included in the meta‐analysis. Three outcomes have been investigated: relative detection, relative specificity, and relative positive predictive value (PPV) of HPV DNA testing versus cytology. Overall evaluation of relative detection showed a significantly higher detection of CIN2+ and CIN3+ for HPV DNA testing versus cytology. Meta‐analyses that considered all age groups showed a relative specificity that favored the cytology in detecting both CIN2+ and CIN3+ lesions whereas, in the ≥30 years' group, specificity of HPV DNA and cytology tests was similar in detecting both CIN2+ and CIN3+ lesions. Results of the pooled analysis on relative PPV showed a not significantly lower PPV of HPV DNA test over cytology. A main key finding of the study is that in women aged ≥30, has been found an almost overlapping specificity between the two screening tests in detecting CIN2 and above‐grade lesions. Therefore, primary screening of cervical cancer by HPV DNA testing appears to offer the right balance between maximum detection of CIN2+ and adequate specificity, if performed in the age group ≥30 years.
Associations of reproductive time events and intervals with breast cancer risk: A report from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study
Authors: Huang Zhezhou , Beeghly‐Fadiel Alicia , Gao Yu‐Tang , Zheng Ying , Dai Qi , Lu Wei , Zheng Wei , Shu Xiao‐Ou
Published: December 2013

While there is clear evidence for an association between later age at first live birth and increased breast cancer risk, associations with the timing of other reproductive events are less clear. As breast tissues undergo major structural and cellular changes during pregnancy, we examined associations between reproductive time events and intervals with breast cancer risk among parous women from the population‐based Shanghai Breast Cancer Study (SBCS). Unconditional logistic regression was used to evaluate associations with breast cancer risk for 3,269 cases and 3,341 controls. In addition to later age at first live birth, later ages at first pregnancy and last pregnancy were significantly associated with increased breast cancer risk (p‐trend = 0.002, 0.015, 0.008, respectively); longer intervals from menarche to first or last live birth were also associated with increased risk (p‐trend < 0.001, =0.018, respectively). Analyses stratified by menopausal status and estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) status revealed that associations for later age at first pregnancy or live birth and longer intervals from menarche to first or last live birth occurred among premenopausal women and ER+/PR+ breast cancers, whereas the association for later age at last pregnancy occurred among postmenopausal women and women with ER+/PR− or ER−/PR+ breast cancers. Because of the high correlation with other reproductive variables, models did not include adjustment for age at first live birth; when included, the significance of all associations was attenuated. These findings suggest that while reproductive time events and intervals play an important role in breast cancer etiology, contributions may differ by menopausal status and hormone receptor status of breast cancers.
Cancer stem cells maintain a hierarchy of differentiation by creating their niche
Authors: Matsuda Shuichi , Yan Ting , Mizutani Akifumi , Sota Tatsuyuki , Hiramoto Yuki , Prieto‐Vila Marta , Chen Ling , Satoh Ayano , Kudoh Takayuki , Kasai Tomonari , Murakami Hiroshi , Fu Li , Salomon David S. , Seno Masaharu
Published: December 2013

The self‐renewal and differentiation properties of cancer stem cells (CSCs) are regulated and maintained by the CSC niche. However, the mechanism of this maintenance, especially the maintenance contributed by differentiated cancer cells, remains to be fully elucidated. Recently, we have established a model of CSCs, miPS‐LLCcm, from mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (miPSCs). In vitro cultured miPS‐LLCcm cells were autonomously balanced with stem‐like cells and differentiated cells including vascular endothelial cells. Under these conditions, the CSC properties appeared to be stable in the presence of the factor(s) secreted by the differentiated cells. The factor(s) activated Notch signaling and promoted self‐renewal of CSCs. In addition, the secreted factor(s) appeared to regulate the differentiation lineage of CSCs. Our results indicate that the differentiated progenies of CSCs containing vascular endothelium play important roles for regulating the CSC's properties. Therefore, miPS‐LLCcm cells create their own in vitro niche to maintain themselves in the hierarchy of differentiating CSCs.
A missense polymorphism in ATF6 gene is associated with susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma probably by altering ATF6 level
Authors: Wu Xiaopan , Xin Zhenhui , Zhang Wei , Zheng Sujun , Wu Jia , Chen Kangmei , Wang Huifen , Zhu Xilin , Li Zhuo , Duan Zhongping , Li Hui , Liu Ying
Published: December 2013

Accumulated evidences indicate that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) are associated with risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6) is an important modulator of the unfolded protein response (UPR), which is regarded to be involved in carcinogenesis. So we speculate that SNPs in ATF6 may be associated with susceptibility to HCC. We carried out a two‐stage association study in three independent case–control groups in a total of 1,082 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and 816 hepatitis B virus (HBV) related HCC patients in Han Chinese. Four SNPs which can represent all potential functional SNPs with MAF > 0.1 recorded in HapMap database in ATF6 gene were genotyped using TaqMan methods. Functional analyses were conducted to verify the biological significances of the associated SNP. We identified a missense SNP (rs2070150) was significantly associated with susceptibility to HCC (p = 0.008, 0.001 and 0.007 in Beijing_302, Beijing_You'an and Guangxi samples, respectively). This SNP was further validated in four independent groups of major HBV outcomes, indicating it may associate exclusively to HCC. ATF6 mRNA expression was significantly decreased as the disease progressed (p <0.001). Functional analyses show that the protective allele of rs2070150 could significantly increase the expression levels of ATF6 mRNA, as well as ATF6 regulated genes such as GRP78, XBP1 and CHOP. These findings indicate that a common missense SNP in ATF6 may contribute to susceptibility of HCC functionally.
Evaluating the performance of clinical criteria for predicting mismatch repair gene mutations in Lynch syndrome: A comprehensive analysis of 3,671 families
Authors: Steinke Verena , Holzapfel Stefanie , Loeffler Markus , Holinski‐Feder Elke , Morak Monika , Schackert Hans K. , Görgens Heike , Pox Christian , Royer‐Pokora Brigitte , von Knebel‐Doeberitz Magnus , Büttner Reinhard , Propping Peter , Engel Christoph ,   on behalf of the German HNPCC Consortium
Published: December 2013

Carriers of mismatch repair (MMR) gene mutations have a high lifetime risk for colorectal and endometrial cancers, as well as other malignancies. As mutation analysis to detect these patients is expensive and time‐consuming, clinical criteria and tumor‐tissue analysis are widely used as pre‐screening methods. The aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of commonly applied clinical criteria (the Amsterdam I and II Criteria, and the original and revised Bethesda Guidelines) and the results of tumor‐tissue analysis in predicting MMR gene mutations. We analyzed 3,671 families from the German HNPCC Registry and divided them into nine mutually exclusive groups with different clinical criteria. A total of 680 families (18.5%) were found to have a pathogenic MMR gene mutation. Among all 1,284 families with microsatellite instability‐high (MSI‐H) colorectal cancer, the overall mutation detection rate was 53.0%. Mutation frequencies and their distribution between the four MMR genes differed significantly between clinical groups (p < 0.001). The highest frequencies were found in families fulfilling the Amsterdam Criteria (46.4%). Families with loss of MSH2 expression had higher mutation detection rates (69.5%) than families with loss of MLH1 expression (43.1%). MMR mutations were found significantly more often in families with at least one MSI‐H small‐bowel cancer (p < 0.001). No MMR mutations were found among patients under 40‐years‐old with only colorectal adenoma. Familial clustering of Lynch syndrome‐related tumors, early age of onset, and familial occurrence of small‐bowel cancer were clinically relevant predictors for Lynch syndrome.
Effect of combined treatment with the epirubicin‐incorporating micelles (NC‐6300) and 1,2‐diaminocyclohexane platinum (II)‐incorporating micelles (NC‐4016) on a human gastric cancer model
Authors: Yamamoto Yoshiyuki , Hyodo Ichinosuke , Takigahira Misato , Koga Yoshikatsu , Yasunaga Masahiro , Harada Mitsunori , Hayashi Tatsuyuki , Kato Yasuki , Matsumura Yasuhiro
Published: December 2013

Anticancer agent‐incorporating polymeric micelles accumulate effectively in tumors via the enhanced permeability and retention effect to exert potent antitumor effects. However, combined use of such micelles has not been elucidated. We compared the effect of combining the epirubicin‐incorporating micelle NC‐6300 and 1,2‐diaminocyclohexane platinum (II) (oxaliplatin parent complex)‐incorporating micelle NC‐4016 (NCs) with that of epirubicin and oxaliplatin (E/O) in 44As3Luc cells using the combination index method. The in vivo antitumor activities of NCs and E/O were evaluated in mice bearing 44As3Luc xenografts. Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed by high‐performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Cardiotoxicity of NC‐6300 and epirubicin was assessed by echocardiography. Neurotoxicity of NC‐4016 and oxaliplatin was evaluated by examining the paw withdrawal response to noxious mechanical stimuli. NCs showed a highly synergistic activity equivalent to E/O. In vivo, NCs exhibited higher antitumor activity in the subcutaneous tumor model and longer overall survival in the orthotopic tumor model than E/O (p < 0.001, p = 0.015, respectively). The intratumor concentrations of epirubicin and platinum were significantly higher following NCs than following E/O administration. Moreover, the micelles showed lower cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity than the corresponding conventional drugs. The combined use of the micelles was associated with remarkable efficacy and favorable toxicities in the human gastric cancer model, and warrants the conduct of clinical trials.
ANTECEDENT MOISTURE CONDITION (SCS) FREQUENCY ASSESSMENT: A CASE STUDY IN SOUTHERN ITALY
Authors: de Paola Francesco , Ranucci Antonio , Feo Angelo
Published: December 2013

This paper reports on a procedure used to define the joint probability distribution of two hydrological variables describing a meteoric event: the maximum intensity of the rain and the accumulation in the antecedent five days. The main goal is to define the frequency of occurrence of the three antecedent moisture condition classes of the SCS‐CN method connected to extreme intensity rain events, with reference to a very precise data set containing records with aggregation time of 10 min. In order to define the relation between the hydrological variables, the marginal distribution of the two variables was first identified and afterwards the global dependency structure was studied through the copula function.

Afterwards, according to data collected from rain gauge stations located in the Campania region, in southern Italy, and selecting peak‐intensity rain events higher than 20 mm h–1, the evidence was that the AMCI class is the most frequent, rather than the AMCIII class (the frequency of which is never above 26% in the vegetal dormant season and 12% in the vegetal growing season).

Such results lead to the conclusion that using the AMCIII class in design calculation, mainly in dry areas (like southern Italian regions), is not particularly suitable, while the use of AMCII is more advisable. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A STOCHASTIC INDEX METHOD FOR CALCULATING ANNUAL FLOW DURATION CURVES IN INTERMITTENT RIVERS
Authors: Rianna Maura , Efstratiadis Andreas , Russo Fabio , Napolitano Francesco , Koutsoyiannis Demetris
Published: December 2013

Flow duration curves are useful tools to estimate available surface water resources, at the basin scale. These represent the percentage of time during which discharge values are exceeded, irrespective of their temporal sequence. Annual flow duration curves are useful tools for evaluating all flow quantiles of a river and their confidence intervals, by removing the effects of variability from year to year. However, these tools fail to represent the hydrological regime of ephemeral rivers, since they cannot account for zero flows. In this work we propose a technique for calculating annual flow duration curves and their standard deviation in the case of intermittent rivers. In particular, we propose a generalization of the stochastic index method, in which we use the concept of total probability and order statistics. The method is proposed to determine the conditional distribution of positive flows, for given probability of dryness, and is implemented on three catchments in Italy and Greece, with low (<5%) and high (>40%) frequency of zero flows, respectively. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
FLOOD HAZARD ASSESSMENT VIA THRESHOLD BINARY CLASSIFIERS: CASE STUDY OF THE TANARO RIVER BASIN
Authors: Degiorgis Massimiliano , Gnecco Giorgio , Gorni Silvia , Roth Giorgio , Sanguineti Marcello , Taramasso Angela Celeste
Published: December 2013

This contribution deals with the identification of flood hazards at the catchment scale. The aim is to distinguish flood‐exposed areas from marginal risk ones, and to extend available information on flood hazards to cover the whole catchment. Threshold binary classifiers based on six selected quantitative morphological features, derived from data stored in digital elevation models (DEMs), are used to investigate the relationships between morphology and the flooding hazard, as described in flood hazard maps. Results show that threshold binary classifier techniques should be taken into account when one is interested in an initial low‐cost detection of flood‐exposed areas. This may be needed, for example, in applications related to the insurance market, in which one is interested in estimating the flood hazard of specific areas for which limited information is available, or whenever a first flood hazard delineation is required to further address detailed investigations for flood mapping purposes. The method described in the paper has been tested on the basin of the Tanaro River. Results present a high degree of accuracy: indeed, the best classifier correctly identifies about 91% of flood‐exposed areas, whereas the percentage of the areas exposed to marginal risk that are incorrectly classified as flood‐exposed areas is about 16%. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
EVALUATION OF RAINFALL THRESHOLDS THROUGH ENTROPY: INFLUENCE OF BIVARIATE DISTRIBUTION SELECTION
Authors: Ridolfi Elena , Montesarchio Valeria , Rianna Maura , Sebastianelli Stefano , Russo Fabio , Napolitano Francesco
Published: December 2013

Floods cause severe damage worldwide in terms of human injury and have severe economic consequences, causing landslides, road accidents and inundation of agricultural areas. Non‐structural flood protection strategies offer the possibility to protect the land, preventing flood event effects. In particular, early warning systems can inform of flood occurrences. These systems can be based on the evaluation of a rainfall threshold value that is the rainfall amount that determines a critical discharge in a given river cross‐section. The alert is issued if the observed or forecast rainfall equals the threshold value without the support of online real‐time rainfall–runoff forecasting systems.

The critical rainfall threshold values are evaluated by a probabilistic methodology, considering the joint cumulative distribution of cumulated rainfall and the corresponding peak discharge, for different durations. To estimate the joint distributions two approaches are considered: the meta‐Gaussian and the copula functions.

The rainfall threshold values are estimated for the Mignone River basin (Italy). Results show that both joint distribution functions perform well in estimating the rainfall threshold values, as found from reliability analysis. In particular, the copula‐based approach leads to issuing the alert in advance. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Development of fore‐ and hindlimb muscles in GFP‐transgenic axolotls: Morphogenesis, the tetrapod bauplan, and new insights on the Forelimb‐Hindlimb Enigma
Authors: Diogo Rui , Tanaka Elly M.
Published: December 2013

The axolotl is becoming one of the most used model organisms in developmental and regenerative studies but no publication has described in detail the development of its forelimb and hindlimb muscles. We describe and illustrate the ontogeny of these muscles in transgenic axolotls that express GFP in muscle fibers and discuss our results and data previously obtained by us and by other authors about limb regeneration in axolotls and ontogeny in frogs and other tetrapods. Our observations and comparisons: (1) demonstrate radio‐ulnar and ventro‐dorsal morphogenetic gradients in the order of axolotl forelimb muscle formation and differentiation, while in axolotl hindlimb ontogeny there are only proximo‐distal and tibio‐fibular gradients; some of the axolotl gradients are therefore different from the ulno‐radial/fibulo‐tibial fore‐ and hindlimb and the dorso‐ventral hindimb ontogenetic morphogenetic gradients seen in frogs and amniotes such as chickens; (2) provide a potential explanation for the usual presence, in both limbs of taxa from all major tetrapod groups, of more radial/tibial muscles than ulnar/fibular muscles; (3) support the “in‐out” developmental mechanism of appendicular muscle formation; (4) offer new insights about the ancestral Bauplan of tetrapod limbs, including the striking similarity of the zeugopodial (forearm/leg) and autopodial (hand/foot) muscles of the two limbs and the ventro‐dorsal symmetry of the zeugopodial muscles of a same limb; and (5) provide further evidence to corroborate the hypothesis that these similarities are due to derived homoplastic events that occurred during the fins‐limbs transition and not due to forelimb–hindlimb serial homology. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 322B: 106–127, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity Evaluation of Novel Oxadiazino/Thiadiazino‐Indole and Oxadiazole/Thiadiazole Derivatives of 2‐Oxo‐2H‐benzopyran
Authors: Deokar H. , Chaskar J. , Chaskar A.
Published: December 2013

A series of novel oxadiazino/thiadiazino‐indole and oxadiazole/thiadiazole derivatives of 2‐oxo‐2H‐benzopyran were synthesized and evaluated for their antimicrobial activities against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Escherichia coli and two fungal species Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. The antibacterial activities were expressed as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC50) in microgram per milliliter. The title compounds 4b and 10b revealed promising antibacterial activity whereas 6d, 7d, 9d, and 10b exhibited significantly impressive antifungal activity.
Synthesis of New (Pyrazol‐3‐yl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole Derivatives by Unexpected Aromatization During Oxidative Cyclization of 4,5‐Dihydro‐1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carbohydrazones and Their Biological Activities
Authors: Jagadeesh Prathap K. , Himaja M. , Mali Sunil V. , Munirajasekhar D.
Published: December 2013

A series of novel 2‐(4‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐1H‐pyrazol‐3‐yl)‐5‐(Aryl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazoles were synthesized by unexpected aromatization during oxidative cyclization of 4‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carbohydrazones using chloramine‐T as an oxidant. The hydrazones were derived from 4‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carbohydrazide and various substituted aldehydes. The structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed by FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectral data. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antitubercular and antioxidant activities. All the compounds 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h and 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h showed good antitubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (minimum inhibitory concentration = 25 µg/mL for 4f and 4g, 50–100 µg/mL for the rest). However, all the compounds exhibited poor antioxidant activity against 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picryl‐hydrazil free radical.
Phosphorus bioavailability of biochars produced by thermo‐chemical conversion
Authors: Weber Bernd , Stadlbauer Ernst A. , Schlich Elmar , Eichenauer Sabrina , Kern Juergen , Steffens Diedrich
Published: December 2013

Recycling of P is a common strategy in efficient use of P. The aims of our investigation were to study the P extractability of biochars produced by low temperature conversion and to determine the effect of soda application on low‐temperature conversion of organic compounds and the bioavailability of P to rye grass (Lolium perenne L., cv. Grazer). In this study canola cake, dried distillers grains with solubles, and meat‐and‐bone meal were converted to biochars with thermo‐chemical conversion at 400°C. The P availability was measured in terms of solubility in water, 2% citric, and 2% formic acid, and in a pot experiment with rye grass (Lolium perenne L.) which was cut three times. Application of 8% (w/w) soda to the process of thermo‐chemical conversion of canola cake, dried distillers grains with soluble and meat‐and‐bone meal resulted in an increase of water‐, 2% citric‐, and 2% formic‐acid‐extractable P in the biochars. In contrast to the application of soda, addition of 12% wood ash (w/w) to the conversion of dried distillers grains with solubles resulted in a lower increase of water‐soluble P in the corresponding biochar compared to processing biochar without additives. Addition of biochar P (100 mg P [kg soil]–1) to a Luvisol resulted in an increase of CAL‐extractable soil P. The P uptake of rye grass from biochars produced with the addition of soda was as effective as basic slag and MgNH4 phosphate fertilizers and even better than rock phosphate.
Intralesional immunotherapy for melanoma
Authors: Hersey Peter , Gallagher Stuart
Published: December 2013

Intralesional immunotherapy of melanoma has two complementary aims. One is to cause regression of the injected metastasis. The other is to incite or modulate systemic immune responses in such a way that non‐injected metastases will also undergo regression. A number of phase 1 and phase II studies with cytokines, viral, or bacterial agents have been conducted but their use has remained sporadic and has not progressed to become established treatments. Two treatments have progressed to randomized phase III studies. The most promising of these is based on intralesional injection of a genetically modified herpes simplex virus (HSV) (T‐Vec). Initial results have shown a significant effect on durable response rates (DRR) but effects on overall survival remain under study. The second involved injection of plasmids coding for the HLA B7 antigen (Allovectin). Despite encouraging early results the treatment did not reach its endpoints and its use has been discontinued. A phase II study involving intralesional injection of oncolytic A21 coxsackie virus (Cavatak) is also under way and is showing promise. J. Surg. Oncol. 2014 109:320–326. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Laser speckle contrast analysis for quantifying the Allen test: A feasibility study
Authors: Sandker Stefan C. , Hondebrink Erwin , Grandjean Jan G. , Steenbergen Wiendelt
Published: December 2013

Background and Objective

The radial artery has become a routinely used conduit for coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Prior to surgery the Allen test is performed to test the patency of the ulnar artery. A positive Allen test, reperfusion >5 seconds, suggests an insufficient perfusion of the hand by the ulnar artery. In this study we investigated if laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) provides an objective determination of the reperfusion time.

Materials and Methods

When the hand is illuminated with coherent laser light, the backscattered light will result in an interference pattern consisting of bright and dark areas called speckles. This speckle pattern will change due to movement of red blood cells. LASCA uses these changes to visualize the perfusion during the Allen test. Reperfusion is measured on the palmar side of the hand. The reperfusion time is defined as the time from onset of reperfusion to maximum perfusion calculated by a polynomial curve fit. The reperfusion time of the hand of patients undergoing CABG (n = 30) is measured using LASCA and is compared to the conventional Allen test performed by the nurse practitioner.

Results

LASCA measurements showed a negative Allen test of both hands of 16 patients. Fourteen had a borderline reperfusion time of 5–6 seconds and/or a positive Allen test of one or both hands. No statistical significant difference was observed for the LASCA Allen test compared to the conventional Allen test, P = 0.549 for the left hand and P = 0.223 for the right hand.

Conclusion

LASCA is able to visualize perfusion of the hand and measure a quick, moderate, slow reperfusion response or no reperfusion. It is technically feasible to determine the reperfusion time of the hand. LASCA can be a useful and objective tool to assess ulnar collateral blood supply to the hand prior to harvesting of the radial artery as a bypass graft. Lasers Surg. Med. 46:186–192, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Gait impairment precedes clinical symptoms in spinocerebellar ataxia type 6
Authors: Rochester Lynn , Galna Brook , Lord Sue , Mhiripiri Dadirayi , Eglon Gail , Chinnery Patrick F.
Published: December 2013

Background

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6) is an inherited ataxia with no established treatment. Gait ataxia is a prominent feature causing substantial disability. Understanding the evolution of the gait disturbance is a key step in developing treatment strategies.

Methods

We studied 9 gait variables in 24 SCA6 (6 presymptomatic; 18 symptomatic) and 24 controls and correlated gait with clinical severity (presymptomatic and symptomatic).

Results

Discrete gait characteristics precede symptoms in SCA6 with significantly increased variability of step width and step time, whereas a more global gait deficit was evident in symptomatic individuals. Gait characteristics discriminated between presymptomatic and symptomatic individuals and were selectively associated with disease severity.

Conclusions

This is the largest study to include a detailed characterization of gait in SCA6, including presymptomatic subjects, allowing changes across the disease spectrum to be compared. Selective gait disturbance is already present in SCA6 before clinical symptoms appear and gait characteristics are also sensitive to disease progression. Early gait disturbance likely reflects primary pathology distinct from secondary changes. These findings open the opportunity for early evaluation and sensitive measures of therapeutic efficacy using instrumented gait analysis which may have broader relevance for all degenerative ataxias. © 2013 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Magnetic resonance support vector machine discriminates between Parkinson disease and progressive supranuclear palsy
Authors: Cherubini Andrea , Morelli Maurizio , Nisticó Rita , Salsone Maria , Arabia Gennarina , Vasta Roberta , Augimeri Antonio , Caligiuri Maria Eugenia , Quattrone Aldo
Published: December 2013

Background

The aim of the current study was to distinguish patients with Parkinson disease (PD) from those with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) at the individual level using pattern recognition of magnetic resonance imaging data.

Methods

We combined diffusion tensor imaging and voxel‐based morphometry in a support vector machine algorithm to evaluate 21 patients with PSP and 57 patients with PD.

Results

The automated algorithm correctly distinguished patients who had PD from those who had PSP with 100% accuracy. This accuracy value was obtained when white matter atrophy was considered. Diffusion parameters combined with gray matter atrophy exhibited 90% sensitivity and 96% specificity.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that automated pattern recognition can help distinguish patients with PSP from those with PD on an individual basis. © 2013 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Plasma levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors are associated with cognitive performance in Parkinson's disease
Authors: Rocha Natália Pessoa , Teixeira Antônio Lúcio , Scalzo Paula Luciana , Barbosa Izabela Guimarães , de Sousa Mariana Soares , Morato Isabela Boechat , Vieira Érica Leandro Marciano , Christo Paulo Pereira , Palotás András , Reis Helton José
Published: December 2013

Inflammatory mechanisms have been implicated in a series of neuropsychiatric conditions, including behavioral disturbances, cognitive dysfunction, and affective disorders. Accumulating evidence also strongly suggests their involvement in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to evaluate plasma levels of inflammatory biomarkers, and their association with cognitive performance and other non‐motor symptoms of PD. PD patients and control individuals were subjected to various psychometric tests, including the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). Biomarker plasma levels were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). PD patients exhibited worse performance on MMSE and the programming task of FAB, and presented higher soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (sTNFR) plasma levels than control individuals. Among PD patients, increased sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 concentrations were associated with poorer cognitive test scores. After multiple linear regression, sTNFR1 and education remained a significant predictor for FAB scores. Our data suggest that PD is associated with a proinflammatory profile, and sTNFRs are putative biomarkers of cognitive performance, with elevated sTNFR1 levels predicting poorer executive functioning in PD patients. © 2013 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Protein transport across the small intestine in food allergy
Authors: Reitsma Marit , Westerhout Joost , Wichers Harry J. , Wortelboer Heleen M. , Verhoeckx Kitty C. M.
Published: December 2013

In view of the imminent deficiency of protein sources for human consumption in the near future, new protein sources need to be identified. However, safety issues such as the risk of allergenicity are often a bottleneck, due to the absence of predictive, validated and accepted methods for risk assessment. The current strategy to assess the allergenic potential of proteins focuses mainly on homology, stability and cross‐reactivity, although other factors such as intestinal transport might be of added value too. In this review, we present an overview of the knowledge of protein transport across the intestinal wall and the methods currently being used to measure this. A literature study reveals that protein transport in sensitised persons occurs para‐cellularly with the involvement of mast cells, and trans‐cellularly via enterocytes, while in non‐sensitised persons micro‐fold cells and enterocytes are considered most important. However, there is a lack of comparable systematic studies on transport of allergenic proteins. Knowledge of the multiple protein transport pathways and which model system can be useful to study these processes may be of added value in the risk assessment of food allergenicity.
A finite element analysis on fluid motion in librating triaxial ellipsoids
Authors: Chan Kit H. , He Yinnian , Zhang Keke , Zou Jun
Published: December 2013

Fluid motion driven by planetary libration may play a key role in maintaining the magnetism of synchronous planets and moons that are thermally or chemically nonconvective. We present a fully discrete finite element method on a triaxial ellipsoidal domain for simulating a three‐dimensional nonlinear flow in a latitudinally librating triaxial ellipsoidal cavity, for which the usual pseudospectral method with the poloidal‐toroidal decomposition is difficult because of nonspherical geometry. Stability of the time‐dependent finite element solutions with two different temporal schemes are studied, and their error estimates of optimal order are established. The corresponding numerical simulation is implemented for the second‐order implicit scheme, offering an insight into the practical aspect of the proposed finite element method. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 30: 1518–1537, 2014
A stochastic approximation for fully nonlinear free boundary parabolic problems
Authors: Bayraktar Erhan , Fahim Arash
Published: December 2013

We present a stochastic numerical method for solving fully nonlinear free boundary problems of parabolic type and provide a rate of convergence under reasonable conditions on the nonlinearity. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 30: 902–929, 2014
The Use of Avian Resources by the Forgotten Slaves of Tromelin Island (Indian Ocean)
Authors: Laroulandie V. , Lefèvre C.
Published: December 2013

On 31 July 1761, theUtile, a French slave ship from theCompagnie française des Indes, illegally loaded with Malagasy slaves, was shipwrecked on the desert islet of Tromelin. Two months after the disaster, the French crew left the island on a boat constructed from the wreckage and abandoned the slaves. Fifteen years later, Chevalier de Tromelin rescued eight survivors. An archaeological excavation recently conducted by M. Guérout and T. Romon revealed how the forgotten slaves adapted themselves to this hostile environment. The Malagasy survived using natural resources of the islet and material from theUtile. This paper, based on the archaeozoological analysis of almost 18 000 bird bones, focuses on their use of avian resources. The Malagasy survivors captured numerous individuals from a breeding colony of sooty ternOnychoprion fuscatus, as indicated by the presence of medullary bone and immature birds. Cut marks and localised burning at the bone extremities testify to the cooking method used. Under‐representation of the bones from the distal extremity of the wing, together with the rare written archives collected after the rescue, give evidence of the utilisation of feathers as raw material. An estimate of the total number of terns and eggs that were collected, compared with historical and modern ornithological observations, allows us to discuss the consequences of human predation on the disappearance of the sooty tern colony from Tromelin Island. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Marker (+) CNS germ cell tumors in remission: Are surveillance MRI scans necessary?
Authors: Martinez Sybila , Khakoo Yasmin , Gilheeney Stephen , Kramer Kim , Wolden Suzanne , Souweidane Mark , Dunkel Ira J.
Published: December 2013

Background

Patients with marker (+) CNS germ cell tumors are usually followed with both surveillance MRI scans and serum tumor markers. We hypothesized that patients with elevated serum tumor markers at diagnosis who achieve a complete biochemical and radiological remission may not need surveillance MRI scans.

Procedure

We retrospectively identified 31 patients with CNS germ cell tumors who presented with an elevated serum tumor marker at the time of diagnosis. We reviewed the records of those patients who (1) achieved a complete biochemical and radiological remission and (2) later suffered tumor recurrence to determine whether the recurrence was detectable biochemically, radiologically, or via both modalities.

Results

Nine patients suffered tumor recurrence following initial remission. All 9 had elevated serum tumor markers at recurrence and 8 had MRI evidence of recurrence. The 1 patient with isolated biochemical evidence of recurrence developed MRI evidence of recurrence 15 months later without intervening treatment. One other patient (not one of the 9) had a secondary malignancy (anaplastic astrocytoma) identified by brain MRI scan.

Conclusions

Patients with CNS germ cell tumors who present with elevated serum tumor markers at diagnosis and achieve a complete biochemical and radiological remission may not need surveillance MRI scans to monitor for recurrence, but MRI scans may be considered to monitor for secondary malignancy. If other series replicate these findings, surveillance via monitoring of serum tumor markers only could be done and omission or reduction of the frequency of surveillance MRI scans could save a significant amount of money. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014;61:853–854. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Complex New Product Development Projects: How the Project Manager's Information Sharing with Core Actors Changes over Time
Authors: Jepsen Lisbeth Brøde
Published: December 2013

A heavily burdened project manager must ensure effective information sharing with actors inside and outside the organization because this is a necessary condition for a new product development (NPD) project to achieve its objectives. Knowledge, however, on who actually assists a project manager with the information sharing during NPD projects is limited; therefore, this study of longitudinal objective email data (4658 emails) during a NPD project contributes to theory and practice by advancing our understanding of when and how the project manager establishes relationships with different core actors inside and outside the organization to promote the information sharing.
Bemisia tabaci females from the Mediterranean (Q) species detect and avoid laying eggs in the presence of pyriproxyfen, a juvenile hormone analogue
Authors: Moshitzky Pnina , Morin Shai
Published: December 2013

BACKGROUND

Pyriproxyfen, a juvenile hormone analogue, disrupts embryogenesis, metamorphosis and adult formation in Bemisia tabaci, but does not directly affect adult females. The effect of pyriproxyfen on egg‐laying preference and performance of B. tabaci females and the influence of resistance to pyriproxyfen on these reproductive behaviours were studied.

RESULTS

Choice experiments utilising cotton plants treated and not treated with pyriproxyfen revealed a significant preference for egg laying on non‐treated plants both by resistant and susceptible females. No‐choice assays indicated a reduction of ∼60% in the number of eggs laid on pyriproxyfen‐treated plants by both resistant and susceptible females. The reduction in oviposition on treated plants was not accompanied with reduced expression of the vitellogenin gene or a delay in oocyte maturation, but significant accumulation of mature oocytes in the ovaries was observed, and could be reversed by transferring the females to non‐treated plants.

CONCLUSION

Pyriproxyfen caused reduced oviposition and enhanced mature oocyte accumulation in pyriproxyfen‐resistant and pyriproxyfen‐susceptible females. These findings can be explained by two alternative mechanisms: pyriproxyfen‐regulated physiological arrest of oviposition, involving hormonal regulation of myotrophic factors, or the hierarchy‐threshold behavioural theory of host choice, in which pyriproxyfen‐treated plants are defined as low‐quality hosts. Aspects of application are discussed. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry
Ultra‐thin (002)‐oriented Al‐doped zinc oxide transparent electrode grown on oxygen‐controlled homo‐seed layer
Authors: Wang Muqin , Yang Ye , Lan Pinjun , Zhu Ke , Huang Jinhua , Lu Yuehui , Tan Ruiqin , Song Weijie
Published: December 2013

Highly (002)‐oriented Al‐doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films with the thickness of less than 200 nm have been deposited on an oxygen‐controlled homo‐seed layer at 200 °C by DC magnetron sputtering. With the homo‐seed layer being employed, the full‐width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (002) diffraction peak for the AZO ultra‐thin films decreased from 0.33° to 0.22°, and, the corresponding average grain size increased from 26.8 nm to 43.0 nm. The XRD rocking curves revealed that the AZO ultra‐thin film grown on the seed layer deposited in atmosphere of O2/Ar of 0.09 exhibited the most excellent structural order. The AZO ultra‐thin film with homo‐seed layer reached a resistivity of 4.2 × 10–4 Ω cm, carrier concentration of 5.2 × 1020 cm–3 and mobility of 28.8 cm2 V–1 s–1. The average transmittance of the AZO ultra‐thin film with homo‐seed layer reached 85.4% in the range of 380–780 nm including the substrate. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Accounting for correlated error in the assimilation of high‐resolution sounder data
Authors: Weston P. P. , Bell W. , Eyre J. R.
Published: December 2013

Until January 2013, data from the high‐resolution sounder IASI were assimilated with a diagonal observation‐error covariance matrix within the Met Office 4D‐Var assimilation scheme, assuming no correlation between channels. The errors were inflated to account indirectly for known inter‐channel error correlations. This is sub‐optimal as it artificially down‐weights observations from these instruments. The true nature of these correlations for IASI are estimated here using data from the Met Office 4D‐Var assimilation scheme and a posteriori diagnostics based on analysis and background departures. The diagnosed matrices are symmetrised and reconditioned, to make them suitable for use in the operational assimilation scheme. These matrices have been tested in full assimilation experiments. The results of these experiments show that using the new matrices improves forecast accuracy due to more weight in the assimilation being given to the IASI observations, particularly those from water‐vapour‐sensitive channels.
A comparative DFT study on the mechanism of olefin epoxidation catalyzed by substituted binuclear peroxotungstates ([SeO4WO(O2)2MO(O2)2]n− (M = TiIV, VV, TaV, MoVI, WVI, TcVII, and ReVII))
Authors: Zhu Bo , Lang Zhong Ling , Yan Li Kai , Janjua Muhammad Ramzan Saeed Ashraf , Su Zhong Min
Published: December 2013

The selective epoxidation of olefins catalyzed by substituted binuclear peroxotungstates ([SeO4WO(O2)2MO(O2)2]n− (M = TiIV, VV, TaV, MoVI, WVI, TcVII, and ReVII)) are investigated at the density functional theory level. The computational results reveal that the activation barrier corresponding to the oxygen transfer to the ethylene step decreases with M = V > Ti > Ta > Mo > W > Tc > Re. The Re and Tc substituted species can effectively improve the catalytic activity with lower Gibbs free energy barriers of 22.53 and 25.82 kcal/mol relative to the others under normal conditions. This suggests that Re and Tc center peroxo complexes would improve the catalytic performance. The higher activity of the substituted species is directly attributed to the lower energy of the σ*(OO) orbital. The reaction barriers in epoxidation process are rationalized by analyzing the atomic charge, the OO bond length, and the interaction between the substituted metal and the peroxo group of the precursor complexes. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Mapping, Planning, and Sample Detection Strategies for Autonomous Exploration
Authors: Das Arun , Diu Michael , Mathew Neil , Scharfenberger Christian , Servos James , Wong Andy , Zelek John S. , Clausi David A. , Waslander Steven L.
Published: December 2013

This paper presents algorithmic advances and field trial results for autonomous exploration and proposes a solution to perform simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), complete coverage, and object detection without relying on GPS or magnetometer data. We demonstrate an integrated approach to the exploration problem, and we make specific contributions in terms of mapping, planning, and sample detection strategies that run in real‐time on our custom platform. Field tests demonstrate reliable performance for each of these three main components of the system individually, and high‐fidelity simulation based on recorded data playback demonstrates the viability of the complete solution as applied to the 2013 NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge.
Wide brick tunnel randomization – an unequal allocation procedure that limits the imbalance in treatment totals
Authors: Kuznetsova Olga M. , Tymofyeyev Yevgen
Published: December 2013

In open‐label studies, partial predictability of permuted block randomization provides potential for selection bias. To lessen the selection bias in two‐arm studies with equal allocation, a number of allocation procedures that limit the imbalance in treatment totals at a pre‐specified level but do not require the exact balance at the ends of the blocks were developed. In studies with unequal allocation, however, the task of designing a randomization procedure that sets a pre‐specified limit on imbalance in group totals is not resolved. Existing allocation procedures either do not preserve the allocation ratio at every allocation or do not include all allocation sequences that comply with the pre‐specified imbalance threshold. Kuznetsova and Tymofyeyev described the brick tunnel randomization for studies with unequal allocation that preserves the allocation ratio at every step and, in the two‐arm case, includes all sequences that satisfy the smallest possible imbalance threshold. This article introduces wide brick tunnel randomization for studies with unequal allocation that allows all allocation sequences with imbalance not exceeding any pre‐specified threshold while preserving the allocation ratio at every step. In open‐label studies, allowing a larger imbalance in treatment totals lowers selection bias because of the predictability of treatment assignments. The applications of the technique in two‐arm and multi‐arm open‐label studies with unequal allocation are described. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.