bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preliminary characterization of flint raw material used on prehistoric sites in NW Belgium
Authors: Fiers Géraldine , Halbrucker Éva , De Kock Tim , Laforce Brecht , Vandendriessche Hans , Messiaen Liesbeth , Vincze Laszlo , Crombé Philippe , Cnudde Veerle
Published: December 2018

This study aims at analyzing the mineralogical, chemical, and structural characteristics of flint raw material used for the production of prehistoric stone tools in NW Belgium. Understanding these characteristics is important to recognize their value for tool making and even tool use during prehistory. Due to its formation process, flint is defined by a wide variety of internal structures, chemical variations, and impurities. Moreover, alteration processes cause additional chemical and structural changes complicating the study of this material. Archaeological artifacts often display alteration features, mostly expressed as patination or burning, leading them to be regularly discarded from the functional analysis of lithic tools. By not incorporating these artifacts, our understanding of the investigated assemblage is biased. It is therefore important to investigate the influence of flint characteristics on its weathering behavior, and the impact of preservation of prehistoric use‐wear traces on flint artifacts. The characteristics of flint raw material and natural patination were studied using a combination of different techniques, such as macroscopic analysis, optical microscopy, X‐ray fluorescence, and high‐resolution X‐ray computed tomography. This resulted in a detailed description and distinction of the different flint variants used on prehistoric sites in NW Belgium and a good understanding of patination.
Would a Reasonable Person Now Accept the 1968 Harvard Brain Death Report? A Short History of Brain Death
Authors: Veatch Robert M.
Published: December 2018

When The Ad Hoc Committee of Harvard Medical School to Examine the Definition of Brain Death began meeting in 1967, I was a graduate student, with committee member Ralph Potter and committee chair Henry Beecher as my mentors. The question of when to stop life support on a severely compromised patient was not clearly differentiated from the question of when someone was dead. A serious clinical problem arose when physicians realized that a patient's condition was hopeless but life support perpetuated body function. Thus, the committee stated that its first purpose was to deal with the burdens on patients and families as well as on hospitals and on patients needing hospital beds occupied by comatose patients. They intuited the strategy of “defining” these patients as dead, thus legitimating treatment stoppage. They noted that this would also serve a second purpose. Although the dead donor rule had not yet been clearly articulated, they claimed that defining patients as dead would also address controversy over obtaining organs for transplant.

My mentors’ discussions related to my interest in the intersection between questions primarily of medical fact (When has a human brain irreversibly ceased functioning?) and nonmedical questions of social policy (Should we treat individuals with dead brains and beating hearts as dead humans?). It quickly became clear that most committee members did not appreciate the interplay of these questions.
Beecher Dépassé: Fifty Years of Determining Death, Legally
Authors: Capron Alexander M.
Published: December 2018

Five decades ago, Henry Knowles Beecher, a renowned professor of research anesthesiology, sought to solve a problem created by modern medicine. The solution proposed by Beecher and his colleagues on the Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School to Examine the Definition of Brain Death proved very influential.1 Indeed, other contemporaneous medical developments magnified its significance yet also made the solution it offered somewhat problematic. As we mark this fiftieth anniversary, at a time when concerns about the conceptual model on which its recommendations rested are being voiced by critics from medicine as well as philosophy, it is worthwhile to view the committee's report in relation to the problem that prompted its existence as well as the one to which it was quickly applied.
Brain Death: A Conclusion in Search of a Justification
Authors: Shewmon D. Alan
Published: December 2018

At its inception, “brain death” was proposed not as a coherent concept but as a useful one. The 1968 Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School to Examine the Definition of Brain Death gave no reason that “irreversible coma” should be death itself, but simply asserted that the time had come for it to be declared so. Subsequent writings by chairman Henry Beecher made clear that, to him at least, death was essentially a social construct, and society could define it however it pleased. The first widely endorsed attempt at a philosophical justification appeared thirteen years later, with a report from the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research and a seminal paper by James Bernat, Charles Culver, and Bernard Gert, which introduced the insightful tripartite scheme of concept, criterion, and tests for death. Their paper proposed that the correct concept of death is the “permanent cessation of functioning of the organism as a whole,” which tenuously remains the mainstream concept to this day. In this essay, I focus on this mainstream concept, arguing that equating brain death with death involves several levels of incoherence: between concept and criterion, between criterion and tests, between tests and concept, and between all of these and actual brain death praxis.
Conceptual Issues in DCDD Donor Death Determination
Authors: Bernat James L.
Published: December 2018

Despite the popularity, success, and growth of programs of organ donation after the circulatory determination of death (DCDD), a long‐standing controversy persists over whether the organ donor is truly dead at the moment physicians declare death, usually following five minutes of circulatory and respiratory arrest. Advocates of the prevailing death determination standard claim that the donor is dead when declared because of permanent cessation of respiration and circulation. Critics of this standard argue that while the cessation of respiration and circulation may be permanent, it may not be irreversible at the moment death is declared because, if cardiopulmonary resuscitation were performed, it might succeed. And because irreversibility of cessation of respiration and circulation is required by both the statute and the biological concept of death, the donor must be alive. Who is correct?

Making two related distinctions clarifies the cause of the disagreement over whether the DCDD donor is dead and points to a possible resolution. First, in a determination of death, there is an important distinction between the permanent and the irreversible cessation of circulation and respiration—two associated phenomena that are often confounded. Second, there is an important distinction between the medical practice standard for death determination, in which physicians certify the permanent cessation of vital functions as sufficient for death declaration, and the underlying biological concept of death that requires the irreversible cessation of vital functions because death, by definition, is an irreversible event.
Rethinking Brain Death as a Legal Fiction: Is the Terminology the Problem?
Authors: Shah Seema K.
Published: December 2018

Brain death, or the determination of death by neurological criteria, has been described as a legal fiction. Legal fictions are devices by which the law treats two analogous things (in this case, biological death and brain death) in the same way so that the law developed for one can also cover the other. Some scholars argue that brain death should be understood as a fiction for two reasons: the way brain death is determined does not actually satisfy legal criteria requiring the permanent cessation of all brain function, and brain death is not consistent with the biological conception of death as involving the irreversible cessation of the functioning of an organism as a whole. Critics counter that the idea that brain death is a legal fiction is deceptive and undemocratic. I will argue that diagnosing brain death as a hidden legal fiction is a helpful way to understand its historical development and current status. For the legal‐fictions approach to be ethically justifiable, however, the fact that brain death is a legal fiction not aligned with the standard biological conception of death must be acknowledged and made transparent.
Respecting Choice in Definitions of Death
Authors: Ross Lainie Friedman
Published: December 2018

The definition of death was clearer one hundred years ago than it is today. People were declared dead if diagnosed with permanent cessation of both cardio‐circulatory function and respiratory function. But the definition has been muddled by the development of new technologies and interventions—first by cardiopulmonary resuscitation and ventilators, which were introduced in the mid‐twentieth century, and now by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which creates the ability to keep oxygenated blood circulating, with or without a beating heart or functioning lungs. In Defining Death: The Case for Choice, Robert Veatch and I argue that the definition of death should focus on “what change in a human being is so fundamental that we can say the individual is no longer with us as a member of the human community bearing rights such as the right not to be killed.” We assert that this decision is a normative issue about which different stakeholders may believe that different changes are fundamental, and we therefore propose that the optimal policy solution may be to allow stakeholders to choose their own definition within a reasonable range of options. There are three caveats that need to be highlighted regarding this approach.
Imposing Death: Religious Witness on Brain Death
Authors: Campbell Courtney S.
Published: December 2018

The bioethical, professional, and policy discourse over brain death criteria has been portrayed by some scholars as illustrative of the minimal influence of religious perspectives in bioethics. Three questions then lie at the core of my inquiry: What interests of secular pluralistic societies and the medical profession are advanced in examining religious understandings of criteria for determining death? Can bioethical and professional engagement with religious interpretations of death present substantive insights for policy discussions on neurological criteria for death? And finally, how extensive should the scope of policy accommodations be for deeply held religiously based dissent from neurological criteria for death? I begin with a short synopsis of a recent case litigated in Ontario, Canada, Ouanounou v. Humber River Hospital, to illuminate this contested moral terrain.
Lessons from the Case of Jahi McMath
Authors: Truog Robert D.
Published: December 2018

Jahi McMath's case has raised challenging uncertainties about one of the most profound existential questions that we can ask: how do we know whether someone is alive or dead? The case is striking in at least two ways. First, how can it be that a person diagnosed as dead by qualified physicians continued to live, at least in a biological sense, more than four years after a death certificate was issued? Second, the diagnosis of brain death has been considered irreversible; in fact, there has never been a case of a person correctly diagnosed as brain‐dead who improved to the point that the person no longer fulfilled the diagnostic criteria. If the neurologist Alan Shewmon is correct that, prior to her cardiac arrest in June 2018, McMath no longer met the criteria for brain death and was actually in a minimally conscious state, this case could have momentous implications for how we think about this diagnosis going forward. In this essay, I will offer a hypothesis that could, perhaps, explain both these aspects of the case. The hypothesis is based on differences in how we distinguish between biological and legal categories. The law tends to prefer to draw bright‐line distinctions between categories, whereas biological categories tend to fall along a spectrum, without sharp distinctions.
Recurrent unilateral peripheral facial palsy in a patient with an enlarged styloid process
Authors: Péus Dominik , Kollias Spyros S. , Huber Alexander M. , Huber Gerhard F.
Published: December 2018

Background

Recurrent peripheral facial paresis is a rare symptom that may be caused by multiple pathologic conditions.

Methods

We report a case of recurrent peripheral facial palsies caused by an ipsilateral enlarged styloid process. A surgical excision of the process was performed.

Results

The treatment was well tolerated. Postoperatively, no further recurrent paresis was observed.

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case study of an enlarged styloid process with facial paresis. A detailed workup, including imaging, should be performed in cases with recurrent facial paresis and/or cases with a history of trauma and facial paresis and, of course, to exclude a neoplastic etiology.
Primary Ewing sarcoma of the squamous temporal bone with intracranial and extracranial extension: A rare cause of sudden sensorineural hearing loss
Authors: Choi Sung‐Won , Ko Hoon
Published: December 2018

Background

Primary Ewing sarcoma of the cranial bone is rare, accounting for only 1% of all Ewing sarcomas. Primary Ewing sarcoma arising in the squamous temporal bone is particularly rare.

Methods

A 16‐year‐old male was seen with signs of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). After 1 week of SSNHL and new‐onset headache, imaging studies showed a mass that originated in the left squamous temporal bone with intracranial and extracranial extension. Histopathological study revealed that the mass was a Ewing sarcoma.

Results

The patient manifested the diagnostic EWSR1 mutation and was treated with adjuvant multidrug chemotherapy and focal radiotherapy after surgery according to the Children's Oncology Group interval compression arm of AEWS0031 with a regimen of vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide alternating with ifosfamide/etoposide.

Conclusions

This case showed an extremely uncommon location, as well as unusual symptoms of primary Ewing sarcoma.
Impact of social deprivation on the outcome of major head and neck cancer surgery in England: A national analysis
Authors: Mirza Adal H. , Aylin Paul , Middleton Steve , King Emma V. , Nouraei Reza A. R. , Repanos Costa
Published: December 2018

Background

Socioeconomic status plays an important role in the incidence and prognosis of many cancers. We examined the relationship between social deprivation and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing major surgery for head and neck cancer.

Methods

A retrospective population‐based observational study was performed. Patients undergoing head and neck surgical procedures in England between 2002 and 2012 were identified. This totaled 5051 patients in the less socially deprived (LSD) and 7282 in the more socially deprived (MSD) group.

Results

MSD patients were younger (61 vs 63) and were more likely to present with hypopharyngeal‐laryngeal cancers (41% vs 30%). They had higher burdens of morbidity and more frequently required emergency surgery (odds ratio [OR] 1.74 [95% CI 1.52‐1.99]). Following surgery, MSD patients had higher lengths of inpatient stay (OR 1.72 [95% CI 1.57‐1.88]) and higher proportions of both inpatient (OR 1.47 [95% CI 1.19‐1.82]) and overall mortality (OR 1.34 [95% CI 1.24‐1.45]).

Conclusion

Increasing socioeconomic deprivation is associated with poor health outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer.
Changes in incidence and prevalence of human papillomavirus in tonsillar and base of tongue cancer during 2000‐2016 in the Stockholm region and Sweden
Authors: Haeggblom Linnea , Attoff Tove , Yu Jingru , Holzhauser Stefan , Vlastos Andrea , Mirzae Leila , Ährlund‐Richter Andreas , Munck‐Wikland Eva , Marklund Linda , Hammarstedt‐Nordenvall Lalle , Ye Weimin , Ramqvist Torbjörn , Näsman Anders , Dalianis Tina
Published: December 2018

Background

Tonsillar and base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC/BOTSCC) has increased. In Stockholm, the proportion of human papillomavirus (HPV)‐positive cases and the incidence of TSCC rose between 1970 and 2006 then stabilized. Here, HPV‐prevalence, and TSCC/BOTSCC incidence 2000‐2016, in Stockholm and Sweden were followed.

Methods

Incidence data for 2000‐2016 were obtained from the Swedish Cancer Registry. TSCC/BOTSCC biopsies, 2013‐2016 from Stockholm, were examined for HPV DNA and p16INK4a, or data obtained from medical reports. For cases 2000‐2012, data were available from previous studies.

Results

The incidence of TSCC/BOTSCC has continued to rise in Stockholm and Sweden 2000‐2016, especially after 2008. HPV DNA and p16INK4a analysis was determined for 795 Stockholm cases from 2000 to 2016, with 72% being HPV DNA and p16INK4a positive 2013‐2016, and 70% positive 2000‐2016.

Conclusion

During 2000‐2016, especially after 2008, the incidence of TSCC/BOTSCC has continued to increase in Stockholm and Sweden, with an HPV‐prevalence of approximately 70% in Stockholm.
Derivation of heat transfer equations for a closed solar desalination pond to predict the produced mass of potable water
Authors: Farahbod Farshad
Published: December 2018

In many developing countries, access to clean and drinkable water is a major necessity. The sweetening of saline water in these areas is used to provide water for different requirements. The solar distillation is based on solar technology. The aim of this study is to calculate the efficiency of a solar desalination pond to produce freshwater. To achieve the purpose of research and validation of the obtained mathematical results, the experimental measurements are used. The conservation law of energy is considered and mathematics is applied to predict the required heat for the evaporation process. Finally, a new mass transfer equation on the basis of experimental data is introduced to predict the efficiency of solar desalination pond performance. The obtained results show the maximum deviation between the experimental and theoretical condensation rates. In October, the deviation is 4.93%, approximately, whereas, this deviation for June is 1.75%, approximately. So, the mathematical equation can predict the efficiency of a solar desalination pond precisely.
Experimental analysis and exergy efficiency of a conventional solar still with Fresnel lens and energy storage material
Authors: Sathyamurthy Ravishankar , El‐Agouz Elsayed
Published: December 2018

This study focuses on the experimental investigation and exergy analysis of a modified solar still (MSS) with convex lenses on glass cover to collect the solar radiation at the focus on surface water. A comparative analysis of the performance and yield of the MSS with convex lenses and the conventional single slope SS were carried out for the same climatic condition of Tanta (Egypt). Similarly, the effect of modification in the SS using convex lenses, with or without black stones, on the freshwater yield is experimentally investigated. The results indicated that the lenses focus the solar radiation to the water placed in the basin and increase the water‐glass temperature difference (T
w –
 T
g). The yield of freshwater from the MSS with the convex lenses is comparatively higher than that of the conventional SS (26.64%). In addition to convex lenses in the inner cover surface, freshwater yield improved by 35.55% by adding blue stones as energy material inside the basin under constant water mass of 30 kg. The maximum exergy efficiency of the SS with lenses and blue stones was 11.7%, while the SS with lenses alone was 4%. The quality of freshwater produced after desalination was well within the World Health Organization standards. The total dissolved solids and pH after desalination were 22 mg/L and 8.08, respectively.
Checking compliance of semantic web applications with RDFS‐semantics
Authors: Colucci Simona , Donini Francesco M. , Di Sciascio Eugenio
Published: December 2018

Web applications calling themselves “Semantic” count in the hundreds, yet there is no clear definition about what this qualification should stand for. Semantic web applications may range from those just using Resource Description Framework (RDF) as a data interchange format, to those taking all RDF‐S consequences into account. Moreover, even with the simplest semantics, RDF data may contain blank nodes, which should be treated appropriately as existential variables—but might not. In this paper, we propose a general framework of yes/no experiments whose result tell, in a black‐box fashion, how “Semantic” can be considered a given Web application. Our experiments measure the sensitivity of the application to syntactic variations of data which are equivalent under RDF‐S‐semantics. We show how our experiments can be run on a real application, namely, RapidMiner with LODExtension. We show how RapidMiner passes most of the tests (but for blank nodes), but highlight a weakness of the workflow repository‐retrieval‐exploitation that may make the application fail in some cases.
Downregulated microRNA‐27b attenuates lipopolysaccharide‐induced acute lung injury via activation of NF‐E2‐related factor 2 and inhibition of nuclear factor κB signaling pathway
Authors: Huang Yan , Huang Lixue , Zhu Guangfa , Pei Zhenye , Zhang Wenmei
Published: December 2018

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life‐threatening, diffuse heterogeneous lung injury characterized by acute onset, pulmonary edema, and respiratory failure. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a leading cause for ALI and when administered to a mouse it induces a lung phenotype exhibiting some of the clinical characteristics of human ALI. This study focused on investigating whether microRNA‐27b (miR‐27b) affects ALI in a mouse model established by LPS‐induction and to further explore the underlying mechanism. After model establishment, the mice were treated with miR‐27b agomir, miR‐27b antagomir, or D‐ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (an inhibitor of nuclear factor‐E2‐related factor 2 [Nrf2]) to determine levels of miR‐27b, Nrf2, nuclear factor kappa‐light‐chain‐enhancer of activated B cells nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB), p‐NF‐κB, and heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1). The levels of interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined. The results of luciferase activity suggested that Nrf2 was a target gene of miR‐27b. It was indicated that the Nrf2 level decreased in lung tissues from ALI mice. The downregulation of miR‐27b decreased the levels of IL‐1β, IL‐6, and TNF‐α in BALF of ALI mice. Downregulated miR‐27b increased Nrf2 level, thus enhancing HO‐1 level along with reduction of NF‐κB level as well as the extent of NF‐κB phosphorylation in the lung tissues of the transfected mice. Pathological changes were ameliorated in LPS‐reduced mice elicited by miR‐27b inhibition. The results of this study demonstrate that downregulated miR‐27b couldenhance Nrf2 and HO‐1 expressions, inhibit NF‐κB signaling pathway, which exerts a protective effect on LPS‐induced ALI in mice.
Parathyroid hormone‐related peptide (1–34) promotes tooth eruption and inhibits osteogenesis of dental follicle cells during tooth development
Authors: Zhang Jiawei , Liao Lijun , Li Yuyu , Xu Yang , Guo Weihua , Tian Weidong , Zou Shujuan
Published: December 2018

Dental follicle cells (DFCs) activate and recruit osteoclasts for tooth development and tooth eruption, whereas DFCs themselves differentiate into osteoblasts to form alveolar bone surrounding tooth roots through the interaction with Hertwig's epithelial root sheath (HERS). Also during tooth development, parathyroid hormone‐related peptide (PTHrP) is expressed surrounding the tooth germ. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effect of PTHrP (1–34) on bone resorption and osteogenesis of DFCs in vitro and in vivo. In vitro studies demonstrated that DFCs cocultured with HERS cells expressed higher levels of BSP and OPN than the DFCs control group, whereas cocultured DFCs treated with PTHrP (1–34) had lower expressions of ALP, RUNX2, BSP, and OPN than the cocultured DFCs control group. Moreover, we found PTHrP (1–34) inhibited osteogenesis of cocultured DFCs by inactivating the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway. PTHrP (1–34) also increased the expression of RANKL/OPG ratio in DFCs. Consistently, in vivo study found that PTHrP (1–34) accelerated tooth eruption and inhibited alveolar bone formation. Therefore, these results suggest that PTHrP (1–34) accelerates tooth eruption and inhibits osteogenesis of DFCs by inactivating Wnt/β‐catenin pathway.
Quantitative susceptibility mapping of articular cartilage in patients with osteoarthritis at 3T
Authors: Wei Hongjiang , Lin Huimin , Qin Le , Cao Steven , Zhang Yuyao , He Naying , Chen Weibo , Yan Fuhua , Liu Chunlei
Published: December 2018

Background

Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) has recently been applied in humans to quantify the magnetic susceptibility of collagen fibrils in the articular cartilage.

Purpose

To determine the ability of QSM to detect cartilage matrix degeneration between normal and early knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients.

Study Type

Prospective.

Population

Twenty‐four patients with knee OA and 24 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls.

Field Strength/Sequence

3D gradient echo, T1 turbo spin echo, and proton density‐weighted (PDw) spectral attenuated inversion recovery (SPAIR) sequence at 3.0T.

Assessment

Scan–rescan reproducibility of the susceptibility values in the cartilage was assessed in control subjects. Cartilage thickness, volume, mean, and standard deviation (SD) of susceptibility values of the cartilage compartments were compared between normal and OA patients. The relationship between magnetic susceptibility values and cartilage lesion grading based on MR images was studied.

Statistical Tests

The Wilcoxon Rank‐Sum test was used to compare cartilage thickness, volume, mean, and SD of susceptibility values between control subjects and OA patients. A Spearman rank correlation was performed to study the relationship between the mean and SD of susceptibility values and the cartilage thinning grades.

Results

The SD of magnetic susceptibility values in the knee cartilage was significantly lower in OA patients compared with healthy controls, and it decreased with more severe MR grades of cartilage thinning degeneration. Significant correlations between the SD of susceptibility values and cartilage thinning grades were observed with R2 = 0.64 and P = 0.000, R2 = 0.47 and P = 0.002, R2 = 0.52 and P = 0.001, R2 = 0.42 and P = 0.0006, and R2 = 0.67 and P = 0.000 for medial femoral condyle (MFC), lateral femoral condyle (LFC), medial tibia (MT), lateral tibia (LT), and patella, respectively. No significant difference was found in cartilage volume (P = 0.17, P = 0.13, P = 0.20, P = 0.25, and P = 0.18 for MFC, LFC, MT, LT, and patella, respectively) and thickness (P = 0.31, P = 0.19, P = 0.16, P = 0.09, and P = 0.22 for MFC, LFC, MT, LT, and patella, respectively) between OA patients and healthy controls.

Data Conclusion

The variations of susceptibility values in the knee cartilage decrease with the degree of cartilage degeneration. QSM may be a sensitive indicator for alteration of the collagen network and shows potential to detect cartilage degeneration at early stage.

Level of Evidence: 2

Technical Efficacy: Stage 3

J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018.
Rapid Radial T1 and T2 Mapping of the Hip Articular Cartilage With Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting
Authors: Cloos Martijn A. , Assländer Jakob , Abbas Batool , Fishbaugh James , Babb James S. , Gerig Guido , Lattanzi Riccardo
Published: December 2018

Background

Quantitative MRI can detect early changes in cartilage biochemical components, but its routine clinical implementation is challenging.

Purpose

To introduce a novel technique to measure T1 and T2 along radial sections of the hip for accurate and reproducible multiparametric quantitative cartilage assessment in a clinically feasible scan time.

Study Type

Reproducibility, technical validation.

Subjects/Phantom

A seven‐compartment phantom and three healthy volunteers.

Field Strength/Sequence

A novel MR pulse sequence that simultaneously measures proton density (PD), T1, and T2 at 3 T was developed. Automatic positioning and semiautomatic cartilage segmentation were implemented to improve consistency and simplify workflow.

Assessment

Intra‐ and interscanner variability of our technique was assessed over multiple scans on three different MR scanners.

Statistical Tests

For each scan, the median of cartilage T1 and T2 over six radial slices was calculated. Restricted maximum likelihood estimation of variance components was used to estimate intrasubject variances reflecting variation between results from the two scans using the same scanner (intrascanner variance) and variation among results from the three scanners (interscanner variance).

Results

The estimation error for T1 and T2 with respect to reference standard measurements was less than 3% on average for the phantom. The average interscanner coefficient of variation was 1.5% (1.2–1.9%) and 0.9% (0.0–3.7%) for T1 and T2, respectively, in the seven compartments of the phantom. Total scan time in vivo was 7:13 minutes to obtain PD, T1, and T2 maps along six radial hip sections at 0.6 × 0.6 × 4.0 mm3 voxel resolution. Interscanner variability for the in vivo study was 1.99% and 5.46% for T1 and T2, respectively. in vivo intrascanner variability was 1.15% for T1 and 3.24% for T2.

Data Conclusion

Our method, which includes slice positioning, model‐based parameter estimation, and cartilage segmentation, is highly reproducible. It could enable employing quantitative hip cartilage evaluation for longitudinal and multicenter studies.

Level of Evidence: 1

Technical Efficacy: Stage 1

J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:810–815.
Separation, biochemical characterization and salt‐tolerant mechanisms of alkaline protease from Aspergillus oryzae
Authors: Gao Xianli , Yin Yiyun , Yan Jingkun , Zhang Junke , Ma Haile , Zhou Cunshan
Published: December 2018

BACKGROUND

The salt tolerance of proteases secreted by Aspergillus oryzae 3.042 closely relates to the utilization of raw materials and the quality of soy sauce. However, little is known about the salt‐tolerant proteases and their salt‐tolerant mechanisms.

RESULTS

In this study, we isolated and identified a salt‐tolerant alkaline protease (AP, approximately 29 kDa) produced by A. oryzae 3.042. It was considered as a metal‐ion‐independent serine protease. The optimum and stable pH values were both pH 9.0 and the optimum temperature was 40 °C. Over 20% relative activity of AP remained in the presence of 3.0 mol L−1 NaCl after 7 days, but its Km and Vmax were only mildly influenced by the presence of 3.0 mol L−1 NaCl, indicating its outstanding salt tolerance. Furthermore, AP was more stable than non‐salt‐tolerant protease at high salinity. The salt‐tolerant mechanisms of AP could be due to more salt bridges, higher proportion of ordered secondary structures and stronger hydrophobic amino acid residues in the interior.

CONCLUSIONS

The above results are vital for maintaining, activating and/or modulating the activity of AP in high‐salt environments. They would also provide theoretical guidance for the modification of AP and the engineering of A. oryzae 3.042 so as to secrete more AP. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry
Ultrasound‐Guided Fine‐Needle Aspiration With Optional Core Needle Biopsy of Head and Neck Lymph Nodes and Masses: Comparison of Diagnostic Performance in Treated Squamous Cell Cancer Versus All Other Lesions
Authors: Wagner Jason M. , Monfore Natosha , McCullough Austin J. , Zhao Lichao , Conrad Rachel D. , Krempl Greg A. , Alleman Anthony M.
Published: December 2018

Objectives

To evaluate the diagnostic performance of ultrasound (US)‐guided fine‐needle aspiration with optional core needle biopsy of head and neck lymph nodes and masses, with attention to differences between biopsy of treated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and biopsy of other lesions.

Methods

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained, and the need for consent was waived for this retrospective study. All 861 US‐guided biopsies of head and neck lymph nodes and masses performed between March 1, 2012, and May 16, 2016, were reviewed.

Results

Of the 861 biopsies, 53 targeted SCC with residual masses after treatment. The biopsy procedures yielded benign or malignant pathologic results in 71.7% (38 of 53) of treated SCC and 90.7% (733 of 808) of all other lesions (P < .001). A reference standard based on subsequent pathologic results or clinical and imaging follow‐up was established in 68.4% of procedures. In cases with benign or malignant biopsy results and a subsequent reference standard, the sensitivity values for malignancy were 87.5% (95% confidence interval, 64.0%–96.5%) in treated SCC and 98.3% (95% confidence interval, 96.0%–99.3%) in all other cases (P = .047), and the specificity values were 63.6% (95% confidence interval, 35.4%–84.8%) in treated SCC and 99.5% (95% confidence interval, 97.3%–99.9%) in all other cases (P < .001). There were no major complications related to the biopsy procedures.

Conclusions

Excluding treated SCC, US‐guided fine‐needle aspiration with optional core needle biopsy of head and neck lymph nodes and masses has excellent diagnostic performance. Needle biopsy of head and neck SCC with a residual mass after therapy has a high rate of nondiagnostic samples, suboptimal sensitivity, and poor specificity.
The black brant population is declining based on mark recapture
Authors: Sedinger James S. , Riecke Thomas V. , Leach Alan G. , Ward David H.
Published: December 2018

Annual survival and recruitment in black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) have declined since the 1990s, yet aerial surveys of the global population have been stable or even increasing over the past decade. We used a combination of a Lincoln estimator based on harvest information and band recoveries, and marked‐unmarked ratios in bag checks in 1 harvest area in Mexico to estimate the number of adults in the population during 1992–2015. We produced weighted means from the 2 kinds of estimates for years in which we had data for both, with weights equal to the inverse of the variance of the individual estimates. We treated the black brant population as consisting of 2 subpopulations. One population consisted of breeding black brant on the Yukon‐Kuskokwim Delta (YKD), Alaska, USA, and the other consisted of Arctic (northern Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia) breeders, and nonbreeders and failed breeders from the YKD that underwent molt migration to the Arctic. For the global population estimates, we assessed potential bias due to differential marking and harvest of the 2 subpopulations, which was approximately 1%, probably because band recovery rates were similar for the 2 subpopulations. Population estimates declined from 229,980 (average for 1999–2002) to 161,504 (average for 2012–2015). Population estimates based on estimated harvest were variable but more stable in the later years of the study, when larger numbers of brant hunters were included in the sample. We suggest that the combination of Lincoln estimates and bag check data provides a reasonable and cost effective approach to monitoring the population. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.
Postural Abnormality in Parkinson's Disease: A Large Comparative Study With General Population
Authors: Ando Yoshihito , Fujimoto Ken‐ichi , Ikeda Ken , Utsumi Hiroya , Okuma Yasuyuki , Oka Hisayoshi , Kamei Satoshi , Kurita Akira , Takahashi Kazushi , Nogawa Shigeru , Hattori Nobutaka , Hirata Koichi , Fukui Toshiya , Yamazaki Kaoru , Yamamoto Toshimasa , Yoshii Fumihito
Published: December 2018

Background

Postural abnormalities in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and unimpaired elderly are not well differentiated. Factors related to postural abnormality associated with PD are controversial.

Objective

We assessed differences in postural change between PD patients and unimpaired elderly and elucidated factors related to abnormal posture in PD patients.

Methods

We measured the dropped head angle (DHA), anterior flexion angle (AFA), and lateral flexion angle (LFA) of the thoracolumbar spine of an unprecedented 1,117 PD patients and 2,732 general population participants (GPPs) using digital photographs. Two statistical analyses were used for elucidating factors related to these angles.

Results

In GPPs, age was correlated with DHA, AFA, and LFA. DHAs, AFAs, and LFAs of PD patients and age‐matched GPPs were 21.70° ± 14.40° and 13.13° ± 10.79°, 5.98° ± 12.67,°and − 3.82° ± 4.04°, and 0.86° ± 4.25° and 1.33° ± 2.16°, respectively. In PD patients, factors related to DHA were age, male sex, and H & Y stage during ON time. Factors related to AFA were age, duration of disease, H & Y stage during ON and OFF times, pain, vertebral disease, and bending to the right. A factor related to LFA was AFA.

Conclusions

DHA and AFA of GGPs correlated with age and were larger in PD patients than those with in GPPs. Some PD patients showed angles far beyond the normal distribution. Thus, factors associated with disease aggravation affected postural abnormality in PD patients.
Mechanical tuning of eighth‐mode substrate integrated waveguide (EMSIW) resonator antenna
Authors: Grine Farouk , Benhabiles Mohamed T. , Amrani Hamza , Riabi Mohamed L.
Published: December 2018

In this article, a new mechanical tuning of Eighth‐Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide (EMSIW) resonator antenna at microwave frequency is proposed. The resonant frequency of the EMSIW is tuned when introducing a metal screw in different positions of air holes. Numerical analyses were performed using the commercial electromagnetic simulator: Ansoft HFSS. The variation of the resonant frequency when changing the position of the screw on the entire edge of EMSIW is investigated. The radiation patterns, radiation efficiency, and gain are investigated in both E‐plane and H‐plane. In order to validate the simulated results, the proposed concept is designed, manufactured, and measured as an experimental example in three different positions of screw. The experimental results show a homogeneous agreement with the simulation. Simulation and measurements agree with tuning range of the resonator up to 3.3 GHz.
An on‐chip low‐loss reconfigurable transformer for multimode power amplifiers
Authors: Son Dong‐Hee , Ahn Hyunjin , Nam Ilku , Lee Ockgoo
Published: December 2018

This article presents an on‐chip reconfigurable transformer to obtain low loss performance in both high‐power (HP) and low‐power (LP) modes. In this configuration, according to the output power level, the number of segments of the primary winding is selectively chosen to change the input impedance of the transformer. The multimode operation of the proposed transformer is analyzed using the proposed segment‐based lumped model. In addition, the corresponding complete segment‐based lumped model is developed to estimate its performance accurately. The reconfigurable transformer is fabricated using GaAs HBT technology. The modeled and measured results are consistent. The measured insertion losses at 2.4 GHz are 0.96 and 0.85 dB in the HP and LP modes, respectively. The measured impedance transformation is from a load of 50 to 7.7 Ω in the HP mode, while it is from a load of 50 to 21.1 Ω in the LP mode.
A novel wideband pattern reconfigurable antenna using switchable parasitic stubs
Authors: Jose Melvin C. , Chithra Devi R. , Sreeja B. S. , Meraline S. , Radha S.
Published: December 2018

A novel printed wideband pattern reconfigurable antenna using electronically switchable parasitic stubs is presented in this communication. The proposed antenna is compact, made of a low‐cost FR‐4 substrate and operates from 1.88 to 2.55 GHz with −10 dB impedance bandwidth. This antenna used only two PIN diodes and a simple bias control circuit without any vias or dc lines. It has the feature of improved gain, efficiency and two opposite directional patterns radiated in positive or negative x‐axis in the azimuth plane. It has the group delay variations within 2 ns for the wideband operation. The proposed antenna was fabricated and validated for its pattern diversity performance.
Genetic predisposition to colorectal cancer: syndromes, genes, classification of genetic variants and implications for precision medicine
Authors: Valle Laura , Vilar Eduardo , Tavtigian Sean V , Stoffel Elena M
Published: December 2018

This article reviews genes and syndromes associated with predisposition to colorectal cancer (CRC), with an overview of gene variant classification. We include updates on the application of preventive and therapeutic measures, focusing on the use of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and immunotherapy. Germline pathogenic variants in genes conferring high or moderate risk to cancer are detected in 6–10% of all CRCs and 20% of those diagnosed before age 50. CRC syndromes can be subdivided into nonpolyposis and polyposis entities, the most common of which are Lynch syndrome and familial adenomatous polyposis, respectively. In addition to known and novel genes associated with highly penetrant CRC risk, identification of pathogenic germline variants in genes associated with moderate‐penetrance cancer risk and/or hereditary cancer syndromes not traditionally linked to CRC may have an impact on genetic testing, counseling, and surveillance. The use of multigene panels in genetic testing has exposed challenges in the classification of variants of uncertain significance. We provide an overview of the main classification systems and strategies for improving these. Finally, we highlight approaches for integrating chemoprevention in the care of individuals with genetic predisposition to CRC and use of targeted agents and immunotherapy for treatment of mismatch repair‐deficient and hypermutant tumors. Copyright © 2018 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Efficient cooling of hot spots in injection molding. A biomimetic cooling channel versus a heat‐conductive mold material and a heat conductive plastics
Authors: Berger Gerald R. , Zorn David , Friesenbichler Walter , Bevc Franz , Bodor Christian J.
Published: December 2018

This study aimed at optimizing the injection molding process of an automotive oil filter housing made from PA6.6. Mass accumulations in its design intensely increased the cooling time. In a first successful approach, a copper alloy mold insert (λ = 106 Wm−1 K−1) that contains two externally cooled heat‐conducting copper pins (λ = 310 Wm−1 K−1) was installed. We hypothesized that a biomimetic cooling channel structure in a steel mold insert would even perform superior. Using simulation software Sigmasoft® v5.0, the mold insert materials (steel Bohler X20Cr13, Ampcoloy® 83), the plastics grade PA66‐GF35 (λ = 0.27 Wm−1 K−1 or λ = 0.40 Wm−1 K−1), and three cooling designs were evaluated for their impact on cooling the hot spots in the part: the copper pin‐system, a conformal cooling channel, and blood‐vessel like channels. In the latter, the major artery branches into two sub‐arteries, which further divide into two capillary tubes each. The capillaries merge into two sub‐veins and those fuse in the major vein again. As expected, the plastics heat conductivity dominates the cooling. The biomimetic (blood‐vessel) channels, as hypothesized, cooled the major hot spot more efficient than the conformal channel and the copper pin system do. In detail, compared to the heat‐conductive insert, the cycle time may be reduced by 10 s, in spite of the lower heat conductivity λ (23.5 Wm−1 K−1) of the steel insert. Using the biomimetic (blood‐vessel) structure in a heat‐conductive mold insert would reduce the cycle time by a further second. However, raising the heat conductivity of the plastics would save another 15s. Experimental tests proved the cooling efficiency. Nevertheless, cooling channels only perform well, if they are close enough to the mass accumulation. In conclusion, transferring biologic cooling structures to injection molding seems to be promising. Ongoing advances in Additive Manufacturing will help to efficiently implement these structures into mold inserts for injection molding. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:E180–E188, 2019. © 2018 The Authors. Polymer Engineering & Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Plastics Engineers.
Building Semantic Networks: The Impact of a Vocabulary Intervention on Preschoolers’ Depth of Word Knowledge
Authors: Hadley Elizabeth B. , Dickinson David K. , Hirsh‐Pasek Kathy , Golinkoff Roberta Michnick
Published: December 2018

In this study, the authors examined the impact of a vocabulary intervention designed to support vocabulary depth, or the building of semantic networks, in preschool children (n = 30). The authors further investigated the effect of specific instructional strategies on growth in vocabulary depth. The intervention employed shared book reading and guided play methods to teach words in conceptually linked categories, such as taxonomic and thematic groups. Using a within‐subjects design, analyses indicated that the intervention had significant positive effects on children's depth of vocabulary knowledge. Children showed significantly greater growth in vocabulary depth for words taught in taxonomies as compared with words taught in themes. Three types of semantic information were learned more deeply for taxonomy words as compared with theme words: information about category membership, perceptual features, and object function. Results suggest that fostering deep vocabulary knowledge involves not only teaching single word entities but also introducing systems of conceptually related words to build semantic networks.
Microarray analysis has no additional value in fetal aberrant right subclavian artery: description of 268 pregnancies and systematic literature review
Authors: Sagi‐Dain L. , Singer A. , Josefsberg S. , Peleg A. , Lev D. , Samra N. Nasser , Bar‐Shira A. , Zeligson S. , Maya I. , Ben‐Shachar S.
Published: December 2018

Objectives

Fetal aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA) is a relatively common sonographic finding. Several studies have reported a significant association between ARSA and Down syndrome, as well as 22q11.2 microdeletion. The objective of this study was to assess the risk of abnormal chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) findings in a large cohort of pregnancies with fetal ARSA as an isolated, as well as a non‐isolated, sonographic anomaly. A secondary objective was to review the literature, examining the frequency of chromosomal microarray aberrations in fetuses with isolated ARSA.

Methods

Data from all pregnancies referred for invasive testing and CMA due to sonographic diagnosis of fetal ARSA, between 2013 and 2017, were obtained retrospectively from the computerized database of the Israeli Ministry of Health. The rate of clinically significant CMA findings in these fetuses was compared to that in a local control population of 2752 low‐risk pregnancies with normal ultrasound and serum screening results. In addition, a literature search was conducted in PubMed, from inception to February 2018, of original studies in the English language describing the frequency and nature of microscopic and submicroscopic aberrations in fetuses with isolated ARSA.

Results

Of 246 pregnancies with isolated ARSA that underwent CMA analysis, a clinically significant finding was detected in one (0.4%) pregnancy (trisomy 21). This rate did not differ significantly from that in the control population (P = 0.1574). Of 22 fetuses with non‐isolated ARSA, one (4.5%) additional case of trisomy 21 was noted. The frequency of trisomy 21 in this cohort also did not differ from that in the control population (relative risk, 5.5 (95% CI, 0.8–37.6)). The literature search yielded 13 additional relevant papers, encompassing 333 cases of isolated ARSA. Of 579 cases overall (including those of the present study), 13 (2.2%) cases of trisomy 21 were detected, with no cases of 22q11.2 microdeletion.

Conclusion

While an association may exist between non‐isolated ARSA and Down syndrome, isolated ARSA might better serve as a soft marker for Down syndrome, rather than a routine indication for invasive prenatal testing. Copyright © 2018 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.