bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Weight loss intervention reduces the risk of kidney stone formation in a rat model of metabolic syndrome
Authors: Sasaki Yumiko , Kohjimoto Yasuo , Iba Akinori , Matsumura Nagahide , Hara Isao
Published: January 2015

Objectives

To investigate the effect of weight loss intervention on the urinary stone risk parameters in a rat model of metabolic syndrome.

Methods

In a prevention study, 4‐week‐old male Otsuka Long‐Evans Tokushima “Fatty” rats were randomly assigned to three groups: control, food‐restricted and food‐restricted + exercise‐trained groups. In a treatment study, 24‐week‐old male Otsuka Long‐Evans Tokushima “Fatty” rats that had already developed type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to the same three groups. Blood and 24‐h urine chemistry were measured after 16 weeks.

Results

In both studies, food‐restricted and food‐restricted + exercise‐trained rats showed significantly higher urinary pH and higher excretion of urinary citrate than control rats. In the prevention study, ion‐activity products of calcium oxalate in the food‐restricted and food‐restricted + exercise‐trained groups were significantly lower than that of control rats. In the treatment study, ion‐activity products of calcium oxalate index in food‐restricted + exercise‐trained rats was significantly lower than that of control rats.

Conclusions

Weight loss intervention seems to reduce the risk of uric acid stone formation by improving low urine pH and calcium oxalate stone formation by increasing urinary citrate excretion. The present study provides the first theoretical evidence to support weight loss intervention programs for nephrolithiasis patients with metabolic syndrome.
Importance of scrotum pulling during diagnostic laparoscopy for impalpable testis
Authors: Im Young Jae , Jung Hyun Jin , Lee Yong Seung , Kim Sang Woon , Han Sang Won
Published: January 2015

Objectives

To evaluate the significance of a scrotum pulling maneuver during diagnostic laparoscopy for impalpable testis in order to determine whether an initial scrotal or inguinal incision should be carried out.

Methods

A total of 75 patients undergoing diagnostic laparoscopy were included in the present study. If the vas deferens and spermatic vessels were noted to enter the internal inguinal ring, the affected scrotum was pulled downwards and the movements of the cord structures were observed. If inferior movement of the cord structures at the internal inguinal ring were noted, a scrotal approach was preferred. In the absence of cord structure movement, an inguinal approach was carried out first.

Results

In 59 (76.6%) out of 77 impalpable testes, the spermatic vessels and vas deferens were noted to enter the internal inguinal ring. In 41 of the 59 cases (69.5%), the cord structures were observed to move inferiorly when the scrotum was pulled downwards. In these cases, a scrotal incision was carried out first. In 97% (40/41), a nubbin testis was found and was then excised. In 23% (18/59), the cord structures did not move on pulling the scrotum, and an inguinal approach was initially carried out on these cases. A viable testis was found on the inguinal canal in four cases, and a nubbin testis was excised in 14 cases.

Conclusions

In patients with impalpable testis undergoing diagnostic laparoscopy, identification of spermatic cord movement along the internal inguinal ring while pulling the scrotum downwards determines the most appropriate surgical approach. This maneuver might also prevent inappropriately placed skin incisions.
Bargaining and Efficiency in Sharecropping
Authors: Reiersen Jon
Published: January 2015

In this paper the Nash bargaining solution is used to derive solutions for the rental share and labour input in sharecropping. The bargaining is modeled as a two‐stage process. First there is a bargain about the rental share, and then a bargain about labour input. The power of the landlord to ensure an outcome favourable to himself may differ in the two stages. By imposing particular assumptions about this bargaining power, some popular models of sharecropping, that have been treated as completely separate in the literature, can be derived as special cases in our model. However, we also generate a new class of models. It is also demonstrated that it is not the tenant's influence in the labour input decision per se which causes inefficiency in sharecropping, but differences in the tenant's influence over different issues in the contract. This is in contrast to the popular view which states that if the tenant controls the level of labour input, sharecropping will result in an inefficient resource allocation.
Using Principal‐Agent Theory to Deal with Output Slippage in the European Union Set‐Aside Policy
Authors: Fraser Rob
Published: January 2015

This paper proposes modifications to the existing EU set‐aside policy which are designed to alleviate the problem of output slippage associated with heterogeneous land quality by using “incentive‐compatible” mechanisms drawn from principal‐agent theory. Specifically, it is suggested that there should be differential reference yields based on land quality to discourage the “adverse selection” of lower quality land for set‐aside, and that the scope of set‐aside monitoring should be expanded to include both the quantity and the quality of land set‐aside so as to discourage “moral hazard” problems. The potential of these modifications is illustrated using a numerical analysis, which is also used to evaluate the role of a range of factors which determine the set‐aside decision. Finally, an estimate of the “benefits” from reducing slippage required to justify the costs of including these modifications is provided.
A Note on Tests for Market Integration in a Multivariate Non‐Stationary Framework
Authors: Sanjuán Ana I. , Gil Jose M.
Published: January 2015

In this note relationships among agricultural prices are studied to offer a guide to the degree of market integration. Unlike many previous studies, which examine market integration using pairs of prices, we conduct testing in a multivariate framework to exploit the information embodied in the indirect price linkages. We focus on the formulation of hypotheses that identify the cointegration space using time series data on European pork and lamb markets. Results indicate that the national markets for pork are more closely integrated than those for lamb. Extraneous market information is exploited in an attempt to identify the cause of this segmentation in the European lamb market, although results do not support any of the hypotheses proposed.
Placing Families in Context: Challenges for Cross‐National Family Research
Authors: Yu Wei‐hsin
Published: January 2015

Cross‐national comparisons constitute a valuable strategy to assess how broader cultural, political, and institutional contexts shape family outcomes. One typical approach of cross‐national family research is to use comparable data from a limited number of countries, fit similar regression models for each country, and compare results across country‐specific models. Researchers increasingly are adopting a second approach, which requires merging data from many more societies and testing multilevel models using the pooled sample. Although the second approach has the advantage of allowing direct estimates of the effects of nation‐level characteristics, it is more likely to suffer from the problems of omitted‐variable bias, influential cases, and measurement and construct nonequivalence. The author discusses ways to improve the first approach's ability to infer macro‐level influences as well as how to deal with challenges associated with the second one. She also suggests choosing analytical strategies according to whether the data meet multilevel models' assumptions.
Minority Stress and Stress Proliferation Among Same‐Sex and Other Marginalized Couples
Authors: LeBlanc Allen J. , Frost David M. , Wight Richard G.
Published: January 2015

Drawing from 2 largely isolated approaches to the study of social stress—stress proliferation and minority stress—the authors theorize about stress and mental health among same‐sex couples. With this integrated stress framework, they hypothesized that couple‐level minority stressors may be experienced by individual partners and jointly by couples as a result of the stigmatized status of their same‐sex relationship—a novel concept. They also consider dyadic minority stress processes, which result from the relational experience of individual‐level minority stressors between partners. Because this framework includes stressors emanating from both status‐based (e.g., sexual minority) and role‐based (e.g., partner) stress domains, it facilitates the study of stress proliferation linking minority stress (e.g., discrimination), more commonly experienced relational stress (e.g., conflict), and mental health. This framework can be applied to the study of stress and health among other marginalized couples, such as interracial/ethnic, interfaith, and age‐discrepant couples.
Lessons from 50 years of curing childhood leukaemia
Authors: Cole Catherine Helen
Published: January 2015

One of the great success stories of modern medicine is undoubtedly the remarkable improvement in outcome for childhood cancer, achieved through the work of the co‐operative groups enrolling patients in randomised controlled trials. In 1965, survival was almost zero; now 5‐year survival rates exceed 80% in high‐income countries. The lessons learned in the care of patients with the most common malignancy in childhood – acute lymphoblastic leukaemia – have been used in all other cancers of childhood and more recently in the management of adults. These lessons can be broadly applied in medical practice, because elements of laboratory science in all branches of pathology, as well as a deep understanding of biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, genetics and molecular science, run through this story. Far from being a sad area of practice, paediatric haematology and oncology remains the champion of embedded clinical and translational research, diagnosis from bench to bedside and lifelong multidisciplinary management of the child and their family.
Pancreatitis in dogs and cats: definitions and pathophysiology
Authors: Watson P.
Published: January 2015

Pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, is commonly seen in dogs and cats and presents a spectrum of disease severities from acute to chronic and mild to severe. It is usually sterile, but the causes and pathophysiology remain poorly understood. The acute end of the disease spectrum is associated with a high mortality but the potential for complete recovery of organ structure and function if the animal survives. At the other end of the spectrum, chronic pancreatitis in either species can cause refractory pain and reduce quality of life. It may also result in progressive exocrine and endocrine functional impairment. There is confusion in the veterinary literature about definitions of acute and chronic pancreatitis and there are very few studies on the pathophysiology of naturally occurring pancreatitis in dogs and cats. This article reviews histological and clinical definitions and current understanding of the pathophysiology and causes in small animals by comparison with the much more extensive literature in humans, and suggests many areas that need further study in dogs and cats.
Contextualism about Evidential Support
Authors: Brown Jessica
Published: January 2015

In this paper, I examine a contextualist thesis that has been little discussed in comparison with contextualism about knowledge, namely contextualism about evidential support. This seems surprising since, prima facie, evidential support statements seem shifty in a way parallel to knowledge ascriptions. I examine but reject the suggestion that contrastivism about evidential support is motivated by arguments analogous to those used to motivate contrastivism about knowledge including sceptical closure arguments, the nature of inquiry, the existence of explicitly contrastive evidential support statements, and the intuitive shiftiness of some binary evidential support statements. I end by discussing the relations between contextualism about evidential support, evidence and knowledge. In particular, I argue that my discussion of contrastivism about evidential support undermines Neta's contextualist view about evidence, and his broader suggestion that the shiftiness of evidence statements explains the shiftiness of knowledge ascriptions.
Metabolic response of maize plants to multi‐factorial abiotic stresses
Authors: Sun C. X. , Li M. Q. , Gao X. X. , Liu L. N. , Wu X. F. , Zhou J. H.
Published: January 2015

Clarification of the metabolic mechanisms underlying multi‐stress responses in plants will allow further optimisation of crop breeding and cultivation to obtain high yields in an increasingly variable environment. Using NMR metabolomic techniques, we examined the metabolic responses of maize plants grown under different conditions: soil drought, soil salinity, heat and multiple concurrent stresses. A detailed time‐course metabolic profile was also performed on maize plants sampled 1, 3 and 7 days after initiation of soil drought and heat stress. The metabolic profile of maize plants subjected to soil drought was more similar to plants exposed to salt stress than to heat‐stressed plants. Drought‐stressed maize plants subjected to salt or heat stress showed distinct integrated metabolic profiles compared with those exposed to either stressor individually. These differences show the considerable metabolic plasticity of maize in response to different growth conditions. Moreover, glucose, fructose, malate, citrate, proline, alanine, aspartate, asparagine, threonine and one unknown compound fluctuated obviously between maize plants grown in controlled growth cabinet and a natural regime. These changes were associated with the TCA cycle and core nitrogen metabolism, and could be related to their multiple functions during plant growth. The evident stress‐induced trajectory of metabolic changes in maize indicated that the primary metabolic responses to soil drought, heat and combined drought and heat stresses occurred in a time‐dependent manner. Plasticity at the metabolic level may allow maize plants to acclimatise their metabolic ranges in response to changing environmental conditions.
Distinct regulation in inflorescence carbohydrate metabolism according to grapevine cultivars during floral development
Authors: Sawicki Mélodie , Jacquens Lucile , Baillieul Fabienne , Clément Christophe , Vaillant‐Gaveau Nathalie , Jacquard Cédric
Published: January 2015

Carbohydrate metabolism is important in plant sexual reproduction because sugar contents are determining factors for both flower initiation and floral organ development. In woody plants, flowering represents the most energy‐consuming step crucial to reproductive success. Nevertheless, in these species, the photosynthesis performed by flowers supplies the carbon required for reproduction. In grapevine (Vitis vinifera), the inflorescence has a specific status because this organ imports carbohydrates at the same time as it exports photoassimilates. In this study, fluctuations in carbohydrate metabolism were monitored by analyzing gas exchanges, photosynthetic electron transport capacity, carbohydrate contents and some activities of carbohydrate metabolism enzymes, in the inflorescences of Pinot noir and Gewurztraminer, two cultivars with a different sensitivity to coulure phenomenon. Our results showed that photosynthetic activity and carbohydrate metabolism are clearly different and differently regulated during the floral development in the two cultivars. Indeed, the regulation of the linear electron flow and the cyclic electron flow is not similar. Moreover, the regulation of PSII activity, with a higher Y(NPQ)/Y(NO) ratio in Gewurztraminer, can be correlated with the higher protection of the photosynthetic chain and consequently with the higher yield under optimal conditions of this cultivar. At least, our results showed a higher photosynthetic activity and a better protection of PSI in Pinot noir during the floral development.
Codes in context: How states, markets, and civil society shape adherence to global labor standards
Authors: Toffel Michael W. , Short Jodi L. , Ouellet Melissa
Published: January 2015

Transnational business regulation is increasingly implemented through private voluntary programs – such as certification regimes and codes of conduct – that diffuse global standards. However, little is known about the conditions under which companies adhere to these standards. We conduct one of the first large‐scale comparative studies to determine which international, domestic, civil society, and market institutions promote supply chain factories' adherence to the global labor standards embodied in codes of conduct imposed by multinational buyers. We find that suppliers are more likely to adhere when they are embedded in states that participate actively in the International Labour Organization treaty regime and that have stringent domestic labor law and high levels of press freedom. We further demonstrate that suppliers perform better when they serve buyers located in countries where consumers are wealthy and socially conscious. These findings suggest the importance of overlapping state, civil society, and market governance regimes to meaningful transnational regulation.
Amphotericin B deoxycholate nasal spray administered to hematopoietic stem cell recipients with prior fungal colonization of the upper airway passages is associated with low rates of invasive fungal infection
Authors: Trifilio S.M. , Heraty R. , Zomas A. , Zhou Z. , Fong J.L. , Liu D. , Zhao C. , Zhang J. , Mehta J.
Published: January 2015

Background

Invasive fungal infections cause major problems during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Fungal colonization of the upper airway passages occurs frequently, and may serve as a portal of entry for potentially life‐threatening fungal infections, especially in immunocompromised patients.

Methods

A clinical practice was instituted at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago in 2005, to administer amphotericin B deoxycholate nasal spray (ABNS) 0.5% to all HSCT recipients with fungal colonization of their nasal passages, in addition to standard oral antifungal prophylaxis.

Results

Among 1945 HSCT patients treated during the study period, 109 patients were identified with positive fungal surveillance cultures.

Conclusion

Breakthrough fungal infections occurred in only 2 patients (2%), thus in this select group of HSCT recipients, ABNS administration is associated with a very low rate of breakthrough infection.
Invasive aquatic plants in the aquarium and ornamental pond industries: a risk assessment for southernOntario (Canada)
Authors: Azan S , Bardecki M , Laursen A E
Published: January 2015

An assessment of the invasive risk associated with the establishment and dispersal of plants available in the aquarium and ornamental pond industries in the Greater Toronto area (Canada) was made. In the risk model, sales volumes of individual taxa were used as a proxy for propagule pressure, to assess pathway risk potential. Organism risk potential, the ability to become established and disperse associated with a release, was assessed using an analysis of the biological traits of the species. Discriminant correspondence analysis was used to predict which biological traits were useful in discriminating native plants from alien invasive plants and alien non‐invasive plants. Importantly, a relatively small number of biological traits appear to be useful in predicting whether an alien aquatic plant had the characteristics that would support establishment and/or dispersal in new environments. Aquatic plants distributed by the industries that are cold tolerant, able to propagate by fragments and use a number of dispersal methods are of particular concern as potential invaders. The model identified 11 alien plants in the trade that have a high risk of becoming invasive, and an additional 52 with moderately high risk.
Experimental Investigation on Unsteady Pressure Pulsation in a Centrifugal Pump With Special Slope Volute
Authors: Zhang Ning , Yang MinGuan , Gao Bo , Li Zhong , Ni Dan
Published: January 2015

Rotor–stator interaction, a major source of high amplitude pressure pulsation and flow-induced vibration in the centrifugal pump, is detrimental to stable operation of pumps. In the present study, a slope volute is investigated to explore an effective method to reduce high pressure pulsation level, and its influence on flow structures is analyzed using numerical simulation. The stress is placed on experimental investigation of unsteady pressure pulsation inside the slope volute pump. For that purpose, pressure pulsations are extracted at nine locations along the slope volute casing covering sensitive pump regions. Results show that distinct pressure pulsation peaks at fBPF, together with nonlinear components are captured. These peaks are closely related to the position of pressure transducer and operating conditions of the pump. The improvement of rotational speed of the impeller results in rapid increase of pressure fluctuation amplitude at fBPF and corresponding root mean square (RMS) value within 10–500 Hz. A comparison with conventional spiral volute pump is implemented as well, and it is demonstrated that slope volute contributes significantly to the decline of pressure pulsation level.
Analyzing Drive Cycles for Hybrid Electric Vehicle Simulation and Optimization
Authors: Geller Benjamin M. , Bradley Thomas H.
Published: January 2015

System design tools including simulation and component optimization are an increasingly important component of the vehicle design process, placing more emphasis on early stages of design to reduce redesign and enable more robust design. This study focuses on the energy use and power management simulations used in vehicle design and optimization. Vehicle performance is most often evaluated in simulation, physical testing, and certification using drive cycle cases (also known as dynamometer schedules or drive schedules). In vehicle optimization studies, the information included in each drive cycle has been shown to influence the attributes of the optimized vehicle, and including more drive cycles in simulation optimizations has been shown to improve the robustness of the optimized design. This paper aims to quantitatively understand the effect of drive cycles on optimization in vehicle design and to specify drive cycles that can lead to robust vehicle design with minimal simulation. Two investigations are performed in service of this objective; investigation 1 tests how different combinations of drive cycles affect optimized vehicle performance and design variables (DV); investigation 2 evaluates the use of stochastic drive cycles for improving the robustness of vehicle designs without adding computational cost to the design and optimization process.
Optimization of a Wind-Integrated Microgrid System With Equipment Sizing and Dispatch Strategy Under Resource Uncertainty
Authors: Hung Tzu-Chieh , Chan Kuei-Yuan
Published: January 2015

The global quest for energy sustainability has motivated the development of efficiently transforming various renewable natural resources, such as wind, into energy. This transformation requires long-term planning, and we are interested in how to make systematic decisions when the dependency on the existing power plant decreases, toward eventual microgrid systems. The present study investigates the upgrading of an existing power system into one with a wind-integrated microgrid. The standard approach applies wind resource assessment to determine suitable wind farm locations with high energy potential and then develops specific dispatch strategies to meet the power demand for the wind-integrated system with low cost, high reliability, and low impact on the environment. However, the uncertainties in wind resource result in fluctuating power generation. The installation of additional energy storage devices is thus needed in the dispatch strategy to ensure a stable power supply. The present work proposes a design procedure for obtaining the optimal rated power of the wind farm and the size of storage devices considering wind resource assessment and dispatch strategy under uncertainty. Two wind models are developed from real-world wind data and apply in the proposed optimization framework. Based on comparisons of system reliability between the optimal results and real operating states, an appropriate wind model can be chosen to represent the wind characteristics of a particular region. Results show that the wind model in the optimization framework should consider the uncertainties of wind resource to maintain high system reliability. The proposed method provides a gradual planning of a power system and leads the existing power system toward energy sustainability.
Framework for Key Influences on Tensile Strain Capacity of Flawed Girth Welds
Authors: Hertelé Stijn , Denys Rudi , Horn Anthony , Van Minnebruggen Koen , De Waele Wim
Published: January 2015

A key influence factor in the strain-based assessment of pipeline girth weld flaws is weld strength mismatch. Recent research has led to a framework for tensile strain capacity as a function of weld flow stress (FS) overmatch. This framework is built around three parameters: the strain capacity of an evenmatching weldment, the sensitivity of strain capacity to weld FS overmatch, and the strain capacity at gross section collapse (GSC). A parametric finite element study of curved wide plate (CWP) tests has been performed to identify the influence of various characteristics on each of these three parameters. This paper focuses on flaw depth, tearing resistance of the weld, stress–strain behavior of the base metal, and weld geometry. Influences of these characteristics are mostly found to be limited to one or two of the three framework parameters. A preliminary structure is proposed for equations that further develop the strain capacity framework.
Composition and work function relationship in Os–Ru–W ternary alloys
Authors: Swartzentruber Phillip D. , Detisch Michael J. , Balk T. John
Published: January 2015

Os–Ru thin films with varying concentrations of W were sputter deposited in order to investigate their structure–property relationships. The films were analyzed with x-ray diffraction to investigate their crystal structures, and a Kelvin probe to investigate their work functions. An Os–Ru–W film with ∼30 at. % W yielded a work function maximum of approximately 5.38 eV. These results align well with other studies that found work function minima from thermionic emission data on M-type cathodes with varying amounts of W in the coatings. Furthermore, the results are consistent with other work explaining energy-level alignment and charge transfer of molecules on metal oxides. This may shed light on the mechanism behind the “anomalous effect” first reported by Zalm et al., whereby a high work function coating results in a low work function for emitting cathode surfaces. An important implication of this work is the potential for the Kelvin probe to evaluate the effectiveness of dispenser cathode coatings.
Reactive magnetron sputtered hafnium oxide layers for nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices
Authors: Mroczyński Robert , Szymańska Magdalena , Głuszewski Wojciech
Published: January 2015

The feasibility of the application of double-gate dielectric stacks with fabricated by r.f. reactive magnetron sputtering hafnium oxide layers in nonvolatile semiconductor memory (NVSM) devices was investigated. Significant retention time was demonstrated. A very broad memory window (extrapolated at 10 years) of flat-band voltage (UFB) value of the order of 2.6 V was obtained. Moreover, the stability of the electrical characteristics of metal–insulator–semiconductor structures after gamma and electron irradiation have been observed, which proved that the investigated double-gate dielectric stacks are promising for future applications in NVSM radiation-hard devices.
Monte Carlo simulations of patient dose perturbations in rotational‐type radiotherapy due to a transverse magnetic field: A tomotherapy investigation
Authors: Yang Y. M. , Geurts M. , Smilowitz J. B. , Sterpin E. , Bednarz B. P.
Published: January 2015

Purpose:

Several groups are exploring the integration of magnetic resonance (MR) image guidance with radiotherapy to reduce tumor position uncertainty during photon radiotherapy. The therapeutic gain from reducing tumor position uncertainty using intrafraction MR imaging during radiotherapy could be partially offset if the negative effects of magnetic field‐induced dose perturbations are not appreciated or accounted for. The authors hypothesize that a more rotationally symmetric modality such as helical tomotherapy will permit a systematic mediation of these dose perturbations. This investigation offers a unique look at the dose perturbations due to homogeneous transverse magnetic field during the delivery of Tomotherapy® Treatment System plans under varying degrees of rotational beamlet symmetry.

Methods:

The authors accurately reproduced treatment plan beamlet and patient configurations using the Monte Carlo code geant4. This code has a thoroughly benchmarked electromagnetic particle transport physics package well‐suited for the radiotherapy energy regime. The three approved clinical treatment plans for this study were for a prostate, head and neck, and lung treatment. The dose heterogeneity index metric was used to quantify the effect of the dose perturbations to the target volumes.

Results:

The authors demonstrate the ability to reproduce the clinical dose–volume histograms (DVH) to within 4% dose agreement at each DVH point for the target volumes and most planning structures, and therefore, are able to confidently examine the effects of transverse magnetic fields on the plans. The authors investigated field strengths of 0.35, 0.7, 1, 1.5, and 3 T. Changes to the dose heterogeneity index of 0.1% were seen in the prostate and head and neck case, reflecting negligible dose perturbations to the target volumes, a change from 5.5% to 20.1% was observed with the lung case.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrated that the effect of external magnetic fields can be mitigated by exploiting a more rotationally symmetric treatment modality.
Feasibility of a unified approach to intensity‐modulated radiation therapy and volume‐modulated arc therapy optimization and delivery
Authors: Hoover Douglas A. , MacFarlane Michael , Wong Eugene , Battista Jerry J. , Chen Jeff Z.
Published: January 2015

Purpose:

To study the feasibility of unified intensity‐modulated arc therapy (UIMAT) which combines intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric‐modulated arc therapy (VMAT) optimization and delivery to produce superior radiation treatment plans, both in terms of dose distribution and efficiency of beam delivery when compared with either VMAT or IMRT alone.

Methods:

An inverse planning algorithm for UIMAT was prototyped within the pinnacle treatment planning system (Philips Healthcare). The IMRT and VMAT deliveries are unified within the same arc, with IMRT being delivered at specific gantry angles within the arc. Optimized gantry angles for the IMRT and VMAT phases are assigned automatically by the inverse optimization algorithm. Optimization of the IMRT and VMAT phases is done simultaneously using a direct aperture optimization algorithm. Five treatment plans each for prostate, head and neck, and lung were generated using a unified optimization technique and compared with clinical IMRT or VMAT plans. Delivery verification was performed with an ArcCheck phantom (Sun Nuclear) on a Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator (Varian Medical Systems).

Results:

In this prototype implementation, the UIMAT plans offered the same target dose coverage while reducing mean doses to organs at risk by 8.4% for head‐and‐neck cases, 5.7% for lung cases, and 3.5% for prostate cases, compared with the VMAT or IMRT plans. In addition, UIMAT can be delivered with similar efficiency as VMAT.

Conclusions:

In this proof‐of‐concept work, a novel radiation therapy optimization and delivery technique that interlaces VMAT or IMRT delivery within the same arc has been demonstrated. Initial results show that unified VMAT/IMRT has the potential to be superior to either standard IMRT or VMAT.
Manipulations to the Alcohol and Sodium Content of Beer for Postexercise Rehydration
Authors: Desbrow Ben , Cecchin Danielle , Jones Ashleigh , Grant Gary , Irwin Chris , Leveritt Michael
Published: January 2015

The addition of 25 mmol·L−1 sodium to low alcohol (2.3% ABV) beer has been shown to enhance post exercise fluid retention compared with full strength (4.8% ABV) beer with and without electrolyte modification. This investigation explored the effect of further manipulations to the alcohol and sodium content of beer on fluid restoration following exercise. Twelve male volunteers lost 2.03 ± 0.19% body mass (mean ± SD) using cycling-based exercise. Participants were then randomly allocated a different beer to consume on four separate occasions. Drinks included low alcohol beer with 25 mmol·L−1 of added sodium [LightBeer+25], low alcohol beer with 50 mmol·L−1 of added sodium [LightBeer+50], midstrength beer (3.5% ABV) [Mid] or midstrength beer with 25 mmolL−1 of added sodium [Mid+25]. Total drink volumes in each trial were equivalent to 150% of body mass loss during exercise, consumed over a 1h period. Body mass, urine samples and regulatory hormones were obtained before and 4 hr after beverage consumption. Total urine output was significantly lower in the LightBeer+50 trial (1450 ± 183 ml) compared with the LightBeer+25 (1796 ± 284 ml), Mid+25 (1786 ± 373 ml) and Mid (1986 ± 304 ml) trials (allp < .05). This resulted in significantly higher net body mass following the LightBeer+50 trial (-0.97 ± 0.17kg) compared with all other beverages (LightBeer+25 (-1.30 ± 0.24 kg), Mid+25 (-1.38 ± 0.33 kg) and Mid (-1.58 ± 0.29 kg), all p < .05). No significant changes to aldosterone or vasopressin were associated with different drink treatments. The electrolyte concentration of low alcohol beer appears to have more significant impact on post exercise fluid retention than small changes in alcohol content.
Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) questionnaires for young to middle-aged adults with hip and groin disability: a systematic review of the clinimetric evidence
Authors: Thorborg K , Tijssen M , Habets B , Bartels E M , Roos E M , Kemp J , Crossley K M , Hölmich P
Published: January 2015

Background/aim

To recommend Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) questionnaires to measure hip and groin disability in young-aged to middle-aged adults.

Methods

A systematic review was performed in June 2014. The methodological quality of the studies included was determined using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments list (COSMIN) together with standardised evaluations of measurement properties of each PRO.

Results

Twenty studies were included. Nine different questionnaires for patients with hip disability, and one for hip and groin disability, were identified. Hip And Groin Outcome Score (HAGOS), Hip Outcome Score (HOS), International Hip Outcome Tool-12 (IHOT-12) and IHOT-33 were the most thoroughly investigated PROs and studies including these PROs reported key aspects of the COSMIN checklist. HAGOS and IHOT-12 were based on studies with the least ratings of poor study methodology (23% and 31%, respectively), whereas IHOT-33 and HOS had a somewhat larger distribution (46%). These PROs all contain adequate measurement qualities for content validity (except HOS), test–retest reliability, construct validity, responsiveness and interpretability. No information or poor quality rating on methodological aspects made it impossible to fully evaluate the remaining PROs at present.

Conclusions

HAGOS, HOS, IHOT-12 and IHOT-33 can be recommended for assessment of young-aged to middle-aged adults with pain related to the hip joint, undergoing non-surgical treatment or hip arthroscopy. At present, HAGOS is the only PRO also aimed for young-aged to middle-aged adults presenting with groin pain and is recommended for use in this population.

Trial registration number

CRD42014009995.
Access to weight reduction interventions for overweight and obese patients in UK primary care: population-based cohort study
Authors: Booth Helen P , Prevost A Toby , Gulliford Martin C
Published: January 2015

Objectives

To investigate access to weight management interventions for overweight and obese patients in primary care.

Setting

UK primary care electronic health records.

Participants

A cohort of 91 413 overweight and obese patients aged 30–100 years was sampled from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Patients with body mass index (BMI) values ≥25 kg/m2recorded between 2005 and 2012 were included. BMI values were categorised using WHO criteria.

Interventions

Interventions for body weight management, including advice, referrals and prescription of antiobesity drugs, were evaluated.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The rate of body weight management interventions and time to intervention were the main outcomes.

Results

Data were analysed for 91 413 patients, mean age 56 years, including 55 094 (60%) overweight and 36 319 (40%) obese, including 4099 (5%) with morbid obesity. During the study period, 90% of overweight patients had no weight management intervention recorded. Intervention was more frequent among obese patients, but 59% of patients with morbid obesity had no intervention recorded. Rates of intervention increased with BMI category. In morbid obesity, rates of intervention per 1000 patient years were: advice, 60.2 (95% CI 51.8 to 70.4); referral, 75.7 (95% CI 69.5 to 82.6) and antiobesity drugs 89.9 (95% CI 85.0 to 95.2). Weight management interventions were more often accessed by women, older patients, those with comorbidity and those in deprivation. Follow-up of body weight subsequent to interventions was infrequent.

Conclusions

Limited evidence of weight management interventions in primary care electronic health records may result from poor recording of advice given, but may indicate a lack of patient access to appropriate body weight management interventions in primary care.
Identifying postoperative atrial fibrillation in cardiac surgical patients posthospital discharge, using iPhone ECG: a study protocol
Authors: Lowres Nicole , Freedman S Ben , Gallagher Robyn , Kirkness Ann , Marshman David , Orchard Jessica , Neubeck Lis
Published: January 2015

Introduction

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) occurs in 30–40% of patients after cardiac surgery. Identification of recurrent postoperative AF is required to initiate evidence-based management to reduce the risk of subsequent stroke. However, as AF is often asymptomatic, recurrences may not be detected after discharge. This study determines feasibility and impact of a self-surveillance programme to identify recurrence of postoperative AF in the month of posthospital discharge.

Methods and analysis

This is a feasibility study, using a cross-sectional study design, of self-screening for AF using a hand-held single-lead iPhone electrocardiograph device (iECG). Participants will be recruited from the cardiothoracic surgery wards of the Royal North Shore Hospital and North Shore Private Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Cardiac surgery patients admitted in sinus rhythm and experiencing a transient episode of postoperative AF will be eligible for recruitment. Participants will be taught to take daily ECG recordings for 1 month posthospital discharge using the iECG and will be provided education regarding AF, including symptoms and health risks. The primary outcome is the feasibility of patient self-monitoring for AF recurrence using an iECG. Secondary outcomes include proportion of patients identified with recurrent AF; estimation of stroke risk and patient knowledge. Process outcomes and qualitative data related to acceptability of patient's use of the iECG and sustainability of the screening programme beyond the trial setting will also be collected.

Ethics and dissemination

Primary ethics approval was received on 25 February 2014 from Northern Sydney Local Health District Human Resource Ethics Committee, and on 17 July 2014 from North Shore Private Hospital Ethics Committee. Results will be disseminated via forums including, but not limited to, peer-reviewed publications and presentation at national and international conferences.

Trial registration number

ACTRN12614000383662.
Herpesvirus in the oral cavity of children with leukaemia and its impact on the oral bacterial community profile
Authors: Bezerra Tacíria M , Ferreira Dennis C , Carmo Flávia L , Pinheiro Raquel , Leite Deborah C A , Cavalcante Fernanda S , Belinho Raquel A , Peixoto Raquel S , Rosado Alexandre S , dos Santos Kátia R N , Castro Gloria F B A
Published: January 2015

Aims

This cross-sectional study investigated the association between eight herpesviruses and the bacterial community profiles from the oral cavity of children with and without leukaemia.

Methods

Sixty participants (aged 3–13), divided into the leukaemia group (LG) and healthy group (HG), were evaluated. Collection of medical data, intraoral examination and collection of clinical specimens were carried out. Single PCR and nested-PCR techniques were used to identify the viral types; denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and real-time PCR techniques were used to evaluate the profile and abundance of bacterial communities.

Results

All the children with leukaemia were positive for at least one type of herpesvirus, compared with healthy participants (33.3%; p<0.000). Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV; 46.7%), human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7; 20%) and HHV-8 (77.3%) were in higher prevalence in the LG (p≤0.01). Children with leukaemia had positive associations with the presence of HCMV, HHV-7 and HHV-8 in the oral cavity when under chemotherapy (p<0.05). There was a qualitative (means of DGGE bands) and quantitative (means of 16S rRNA gene abundance) difference in relation to the bacterial community between the two groups (p<0.05).

Conclusions

Based on the results, the prevalence of herpesviruses and the qualitative bacterial profiles was higher in children with leukaemia and HCMV, HHV-7 and HHV-8 were related to the use of chemotherapy. Moreover, HHV-6 was correlated with an increased bacterial community profile in patients with leukaemia (p<0.05). More attention should be paid to the oral health of these individuals, mainly those under chemotherapy, in order to prevent infections by opportunistic pathogens.
SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY OF ℛ- AND 𝒥-TRIVIAL REGULAR LANGUAGES
Authors: BRZOZOWSKI JANUSZ , LI BAIYU
Published: January 2015

The syntactic complexity of a subclass of the class of regular languages is the maximal cardinality of syntactic semigroups of languages in that class, taken as a function of the state complexity n of these languages. We prove that n! and ⌊e(n − 1)⌋. are tight upper bounds for the syntactic complexity of ℛ- and 𝒥-trivial regular languages, respectively.
ITERATION OF INVERTIBLE TRANSDUCTIONS
Authors: SUTNER K.
Published: January 2015

We study iterated transductions defined by a class of invertible Mealy automata over the binary alphabet. It is shown that in some cases the resulting orbit relation is rational and we determine the complexity of several natural computational problems associated with the iterated transductions. In particular, we show how to compute timestamps and coordinates.
LIMITED AUTOMATA AND REGULAR LANGUAGES
Authors: PIGHIZZINI GIOVANNI , PISONI ANDREA
Published: January 2015

Limited automata are one-tape Turing machines that are allowed to rewrite the content of any tape cell only in the first d visits, for a fixed constant d. In the case d = 1, namely, when a rewriting is possible only during the first visit to a cell, these models have the same power of finite state automata. We prove state upper and lower bounds for the conversion of 1-limited automata into finite state automata. In particular, we prove a double exponential state gap between nondeterministic 1-limited automata and one-way deterministic finite automata. The gap reduces to a single exponential in the case of deterministic 1-limited automata. This also implies an exponential state gap between nondeterministic and deterministic 1-limited automata. Another consequence is that 1-limited automata can have less states than equivalent two-way nondeterministic finite automata. We show that this is true even if we restrict to the case of the one-letter input alphabet. For each d ≥ 2, d-limited automata are known to characterize the class of context-free languages. Using the Chomsky-Schützenberger representation for contextfree languages, we present a new conversion from context-free languages into 2-limited automata.
Computational characterization of organometallic ligands coordinating metal: Case of azopyridine ligands
Authors: Affi Sopi Thomas , Bamba Kafoumba , Ziao Nahossé
Published: January 2015

Azpy (2-phenylazopyridine), Nazpy (2-pyridylazonaphtol), Mazpy (2,6-diméthyl-2-phenylazopyridine) and Dazpy (2-phenylazo-4,6-dimethylpyridine) are four pyridylazo ligands that are characterized by density functional theory (DFT) theoretical investigation either in gas or in condensed phases. As they display at least three heteroatoms donors of electrons, hydrogen bond basicity has been experimented via energy and geometrical descriptors to determine which of the donors will link to metal so as to form metallic complexes. The pyridinic Nitrogen ( N py ) and that close to the substituent linked to azo group ( N 2) are the most available with almost the same energy to authorize coordination with metal. Before, prediction of Azpy synthesis was undertaken. 1H NMR was also performed. They showed that the conformational trans or E2-azpy was the most stable existing ligand. Nonetheless, this structure undergoes a modification on behalf of the conformational cis or E1-azpy that is the suitable ligand to provide with two nitrogen atoms with the same energy. Regarding this observation, all calculations were undertaken on the conformational E1 of each pyridylazo ligand. Therefore, the results obtained were consistent with the experimental analysis confirming that all of the four ligands are bidentates. In consequence, all the pyridylazo ligands can be assumed to connect to the metal by two nitrogen atoms forming five membered ring regardless the azo group's substituent nature.
Patterns of Convergence Within the Emerging Bioeconomy — The Case of the Agricultural and Energy Sector
Authors: Golembiewski B. , Sick N. , Bröring S.
Published: January 2015

In light of an emerging bioeconomy, fading boundaries between the so far distinct agricultural and energy sector indicate a convergence process leading to a new competitive setting between established value chains requiring dynamic capabilities of the affected firms. On the basis of understanding convergence as a process within research-intensive industries, patent analyses can be applied to identify whether there are trends of convergence associated with the emerging bioeconomy. This study focuses on examining the nexus of agricultural and energy sector with regard to German biogas technologies. Although different disciplinary activities within the field of biogas can be confirmed, for now, biogas (as well as other bioenergy) applications rather seem to build a sub-segment within the energy value chain than to form a new inter-industry segment.