bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ChemInform Abstract: Electrochemical Synthesis of Cyclopropanes
Authors: Elinson M. N. , Dorofeeva E. O. , Vereshchagin A. N. , Nikishin G. I.
Published: September 2015

Review: 72 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: The Wacker Oxidation
Authors: Michel Brian W. , Steffens Laura D. , Sigman Matthew S.
Published: September 2015

Review: application in organic synthesis; 450 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Direct Silylation Reactions of Inert C—H Bonds via Transition Metal Catalysis
Authors: Yang Yunhui , Wang Congyang
Published: September 2015

Review: 71 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Chemistry of 3‐Oxo‐N‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)butanamide and Related Compounds
Authors: Fadda Ahmed A. , Abdel‐Galil Ebrahim , Elattar Khaled M.
Published: September 2015

Review: 73 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Rhodium‐Catalyzed [5 + 2 + 1] Cycloaddition of Ene‐Vinylcyclopropanes and CO: Reaction Design, Development, Application in Natural Product Synthesis, and Inspiration for Developing New Reactions for Synthesis of Eight‐Membered Carbocycles
Authors: Wang Yi , Yu Zhi‐Xiang
Published: September 2015

Review: 66 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Hypervalent Iodine‐Based Trifluoromethylating Agents Made in Switzerland
Authors: Santschi Nico , Togni Antonio
Published: September 2015

Review: 43 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Reaction Dynamics in Astrochemistry: Low‐Temperature Pathways to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Interstellar Medium
Authors: Kaiser Ralf I. , Parker Dorian S. N. , Mebel Alexander M.
Published: September 2015

Review: 96 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Chemistry, Nutrition, and Health‐Promoting Properties of Hericium Erinaceus (Lion′s Mane) Mushroom Fruiting Bodies and Mycelia and Their Bioactive Compounds
Authors: Friedman Mendel
Published: September 2015

Review: 139 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Prenyltransferases as Key Enzymes in Primary and Secondary Metabolism
Authors: Winkelblech Julia , Fan Aili , Li Shu‐Ming
Published: September 2015

Review: 143 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Recent Advances of Cobalt(II/III) Redox Couples for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cell Applications
Authors: Giribabu Lingamallu , Bolligarla Ramababu , Panigrahi Mallika
Published: September 2015

Review: 119 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Efficiency Records in Mesoscopic Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells
Authors: Albero Josep , Atienzar Pedro , Corma Avelino , Garcia Hermenegildo
Published: September 2015

Review: [176 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Rational Material Design for Ultrafast Rechargeable Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Tang Yuxin , Zhang Yanyan , Li Wenlong , Ma Bing , Chen Xiaodong
Published: September 2015

Review: 54 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Glimpses of the Modification of Perovskite with Graphene‐Analogous Materials Inphotocatalytic Applications
Authors: Acharya Saumyaprava , Martha Satyabadi , Sahoo Prakash Chandra , Parida Kulamani
Published: September 2015

Review: such as H2 production and pollutant degradation; 133 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Assessing π‐Electron Contents of Rings in Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds
Authors: Furtula Boris
Published: September 2015

Review: 86 refs.
ChemInform Abstract: Molecular Designs for Controlling the Local Environments Around Metal Ions
Authors: Cook Sarah A. , Borovik A. S.
Published: September 2015

Review: 40 refs.
Area postrema undergoes dynamic postnatal changes in mice and humans
Authors: Gokozan Hamza Numan , Baig Faisal , Corcoran Sarah , Catacutan Fay Patsy , Gygli Patrick Edwin , Takakura Ana C. , Moreira Thiago S. , Czeisler Catherine , Otero José J.
Published: September 2015

The postnatal period in mammals represents a developmental epoch of significant change in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This study focuses on postnatal development of the area postrema, a crucial ANS structure that regulates temperature, breathing, and satiety, among other activities. We find that the human area postrema undergoes significant developmental changes during postnatal development. To characterize these changes further, we used transgenic mouse reagents to delineate neuronal circuitry. We discovered that, although a well‐formed ANS scaffold exists early in embryonic development, the area postrema shows a delayed maturation. Specifically, postnatal days 0–7 in mice show no significant change in area postrema volume or synaptic input from PHOX2B‐derived neurons. In contrast, postnatal days 7–20 show a significant increase in volume and synaptic input from PHOX2B‐derived neurons. We conclude that key ANS structures show unexpected dynamic developmental changes during postnatal development. These data provide a basis for understanding ANS dysfunction and disease predisposition in premature and postnatal humans. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:1259–1269, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Hierarchical emotional color theme extraction
Authors: Liu Shiguang , Luo Huarong
Published: September 2015

Artists usually carefully select different colors in artistic work so as to convey special visual and emotional feelings. Color theme extraction techniques can help users to acquire the color styles in an image. However, current color theme extraction methods ignore the emotional factors, and they can only provide a single theme result for an image as well, neither of which meet people's favor on different colors under different mood states. This article introduces the conception of emotional color theme, introduces the color emotion theory into color theme extraction, and proposes a novel emotion color theme extraction framework. To achieve these goals, we perform the theme extraction with emotion value of each pixel instead of color value. The emotional discrepancy is proposed between the colors in the theme to evaluate a color theme quality and prove it with color theme dataset. Then a data driven approach is adopted to optimize the color theme. Different from previous optimizing strategies, we built the emotional relation between the target theme and the candidate theme. Our method can enhance the color editing results of previous methods, e.g., for color transfer our results can demonstrate hierarchical emotions from a single reference image. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 41, 513–522, 2016
Evaluate transcript credit hours to determine campus cost‐effectiveness
Authors: Sutton Halley
Published: September 2015

CHICAGO — Does your institution allocate resources in a way that encourages student achievement and that is fiscally sound? The first step to answering that question is to calculate the revenue each program generates.
Review the top 7 things to know right now about campus security
Authors: Sutton Halley
Published: September 2015

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — With the nation's eye increasingly on how reports of sexual violence are handled on campus and steep fines being levied on institutions that are not up‐to‐date on mandated safety requirements, academic administrators can't afford to be out of the loop on the latest news about and innovations in campus security. At the recent American Association of Community Colleges annual conference, Kim Vansell, director of the National Center for Campus Public Safety; and Terry McCauley, public safety director of Oakland Community College and representative for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, covered the most immediate concerns facing campus security officials and gave suggestions for campuswide implementation policies to improve campus security. The seven topics below comprise the most important campus security concerns or innovations higher education institutions face today. Consider whether your school should be taking additional steps to address them.
Focus on university's strengths to renew vision
Authors: Sutton Halley
Published: September 2015

When Alison Galloway, Ph.D., was hired on as a faculty member at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1990, she was coming home. Although she was born in England, she and her family moved to California when Galloway was a young child. She grew up in Santa Cruz and stayed close through her undergraduate years, graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with her degree in anthropology with an emphasis in archaeology in 1975. Galloway's focus shifted from archaeology to forensic anthropology as she pursued her postgraduate studies, earning first her master's and then her doctorate from the University of Arizona in the subject. “Bones are the persons themselves telling me what their lives were like,” Galloway said.
Child ego state is associated with high prevalence of repeated hospitalizations in patients with heart failure
Authors: Yanagihara Kiyotaka , Kinugasa Yoshiharu , Shirota Kinya , Inoue Yoshiaki , Ishii Hiroshige , Tsunoda Fumiyo , Iwata Masaaki , Sugihara Shinobu , Takeda Shinya , Hirai Masayuki , Mimura Asao , Kato Masahiko , Yamamoto Kazuhiro
Published: September 2015

Aims

Inadequate self‐care management is a leading cause of re‐hospitalization in patients with heart failure (HF). Psychological factors such as some ego functions interfere with self‐care behaviour modification, leading to poor outcomes in patients with several chronic diseases. However, characteristics of ego states in patients with repeated hospitalization for HF remain undefined.

Methods and results

The present study enrolled 40 HF outpatients with previous history of HF hospitalization and receiving self‐care management. Patients' psychological characteristics were assessed by Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9) for screening depressive symptoms, and the Tokyo University Egogram (TEG) New Version II for analysing human behaviour based on five functional ego states; critical parent, nurturing parent, adult, free child, and adapted child (AC). Twelve patients (30.0%) had previous history of repeated (two or more) HF hospitalization. Most of them (75%) had a history of at least one or more re‐hospitalizations related to inadequate self‐care. Patients with repeated HF hospitalization had significantly lower AC score, which represents uncooperative and uncompromising behaviours, compared with those without repeated HF hospitalization (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in other parameters, including PHQ‐9, between the two groups.

Conclusions

Low AC ego state was associated with high prevalence of repeated hospitalization in patients with HF. Assessing ego functions may be helpful to tailor educational approaches in these patients.
The proteasome immunosubunits, PA28 and ER‐aminopeptidase 1 protect melanoma cells from efficient MART‐126‐35‐specific T‐cell recognition
Authors: Keller Martin , Ebstein Frédéric , Bürger Elke , Textoris‐Taube Kathrin , Gorny Xenia , Urban Sabrina , Zhao Fang , Dannenberg Tanja , Sucker Antje , Keller Christin , Saveanu Loredana , Krüger Elke , Rothkötter Hermann‐Josef , Dahlmann Burkhardt , Henklein Petra , Voigt Antje , Kuckelkorn Ulrike , Paschen Annette , Kloetzel Peter‐Michael , Seifert Ulrike
Published: September 2015

The immunodominant MART‐126(27)‐35 epitope, liberated from the differentiation antigen melanoma antigen recognized by T cells/melanoma antigen A (MART‐1/Melan‐A), has been frequently targeted in melanoma immunotherapy, but with limited clinical success. Previous studies suggested that this is in part due to an insufficient peptide supply and epitope presentation, since proteasomes containing the immunosubunits β5i/LMP7 (LMP, low molecular weight protein) or β1i/LMP2 and β5i/LMP7 interfere with MART‐126‐35 epitope generation in tumor cells. Here, we demonstrate that in addition the IFN‐γ‐inducible proteasome subunit β2i/MECL‐1 (multicatalytic endopeptidase complex‐like 1), proteasome activator 28 (PA28), and ER‐resident aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) impair MART‐126‐35 epitope generation. β2i/MECL‐1 and PA28 negatively affect C‐ and N‐terminal cleavage and therefore epitope liberation from the proteasome, whereas ERAP1 destroys the MART‐126‐35 epitope by overtrimming activity. Constitutive expression of PA28 and ERAP1 in melanoma cells indicate that both interfere with MART‐126‐35 epitope generation even in the absence of IFN‐γ. In summary, our results provide first evidence that activities of different antigen‐processing components contribute to an inefficient MART‐126‐35 epitope presentation, suggesting the tumor cell's proteolytic machinery might have an important impact on the outcome of epitope‐specific immunotherapies.
Improved oral absorption of (−)‐epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate via self‐double‐emulsifying solid formulation
Authors: Hu Caibiao , Wang Qiang , Zhao Guodong , Yao Wenbing , Xia Qiang
Published: September 2015

(−)‐Epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG), the main active ingredient from the green tea leaves (Camelia sinensis L.), is a hydrophilic drug with low‐oral bioavailability (BCS class III). A novel self‐double‐emulsifying drug delivery system (SDEDDS) in solid form was formulated to improve the oral absorption of EGCG. Solubility of EGCG was determined in various components including water, oils, and surfactants. Pseudo‐ternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify the most efficient self‐emulsification region. The EGCG‐SDEDDS in solid formulation rapidly formed fine water‐in‐oil‐in‐water emulsion. Furthermore, in vitro cellular experiments have shown increase in the cellular uptake of EGCG incorporated in SDEDDS compared to pure drug, and in an in vivo pharmacokinetic study in rats, the SDEDDS formulation exhibited 1.93‐fold greater area‐under‐curve value than that of the drug solution. Stability studies have shown that solid EGCG‐SDEDDS was stable up to 6 months under intermediate condition. These studies demonstrated that the novel SDEDDS in solid form could be a promising formulation strategy for the drug delivery of hydrophilic compounds with low‐oral bioavailability.

Practical applications: Solid SDEDDS could be used as a drug delivery system to encapsulate hydrophilic drug with low‐oral bioavailability. In vitro and in vivo experiments have shown increase uptake of EGCG incorporated in solid SDEDDS compared to pure drug. Solid SDEDDS also improved the storage stability of EGCG. Furthermore, the production procedure of SDEDDS is two‐step method, which is widespread and easy to handle. In regard to industrial production aspects, solid SDEDDS have the chance to be exploited as drug delivery system in commercial products. Hence, solid SDEDDS could be applicable delivery system for hydrophilic compounds with low‐oral bioavailability.

A novel self‐double‐emulsifying drug delivery system (SDEDDS) in solid form is prepared by the modified two‐step method. The system can spontaneously emulsify into w/o/w double emulsions in the aqueous media. Pharmacokinetic studies reveal that solid SDEDDS shows 1.93‐fold absorption of EGCG compared to EGCG solution.
Changing the way we identify parturients at risk for post‐operative C‐section pain
Authors: Epstein Jonathan N.
Published: September 2015

This commentary accompanies the following article: S. Orbach‐Zinger, A. Aviram, S. Fireman, T. Kadechenko, Z. Klein, N. Mazarib, A. Artiuch, A. Reuveni, A. Ioscovich, L.A. Eidelman, R. Landau (2015). Severe pain during local infiltration for spinal anaesthesia predicts post‐caesarean pain. Eur J Pain 19, 1382–1388.
Gas–liquid mass transfer studies in inverse fluidized bed biofilm reactor for the biodegradation of industrial effluent rich in phenolic compounds
Authors: Begum S. Sabarunisha , Radha K.V.
Published: September 2015

Gas–liquid mass transfer studies were carried out in inverse fluidized bed biofilm reactor (IFBBR) for the biodegradation of phenol. Studies were done to analyze the effect of superficial air velocity (Ug), gas holdup (ɛg), and biofilm characteristics such as biofilm thickness, biofilm dry density, suspended and attached biomass concentration, and bioparticle density on oxygen transfer rate (OTR) and gas–liquid volumetric mass transfer coefficient (kLa) for different superficial air velocities and various particle sizes (2.9, 3.5, and 3.8 mm). Average OTR and kLa was found to be high [(OTR)avg. = 0.0159 min−1; (kLa)avg.= 1.8823 g/(L min)] for the particle size of 3.5 mm at the optimum superficial air velocity (Ugm) of 0.220 m/s which created high turbulence with smaller bubble size. Higher volumetric mass transfer coefficient and OTR resulted in higher percentage of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal (98%) and phenol degradation (100%) in IFBBR. The gas holdup dominated over the smaller size bubbles resulting in higher mass (oxygen) transfer rate. Thin, dense, and stable biofilm was produced at Ugm. Above Ugm, thickness of the biofilm was increased where the detachment force did not control the outgrowth of biofilm anymore and thus the kLa was found to be decreasing. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 35: 433–438, 2016
A well‐balanced scheme to capture non‐explicit steady states in the Euler equations with gravity
Authors: Desveaux Vivien , Zenk Markus , Berthon Christophe , Klingenberg Christian
Published: September 2015

This paper describes a numerical discretization of the compressible Euler equations with a gravitational potential. A pertinent feature of the solutions to these inhomogeneous equations is the special case of stationary solutions with zero velocity, described by a nonlinear partial differential equation, whose solutions are called hydrostatic equilibria. We present a well‐balanced method, meaning that besides discretizing the complete equations, the method is also able to maintain all hydrostatic equilibria. The method is a finite volume method, whose Riemann solver is approximated by a so‐called relaxation Riemann solution that takes all hydrostatic equilibria into account. Relaxation ensures robustness, accuracy, and stability of our method, because it satisfies discrete entropy inequalities. We will present numerical examples, illustrating that our method works as promised. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A vertex‐centered linearity‐preserving discretization of diffusion problems on polygonal meshes
Authors: Wu Jiming , Gao Zhiming , Dai Zihuan
Published: September 2015

This paper introduces a vertex‐centered linearity‐preserving finite volume scheme for the heterogeneous anisotropic diffusion equations on general polygonal meshes. The unknowns of this scheme are purely the values at the mesh vertices, and no auxiliary unknowns are utilized. The scheme is locally conservative with respect to the dual mesh, captures exactly the linear solutions, leads to a symmetric positive definite matrix, and yields a nine‐point stencil on structured quadrilateral meshes. The coercivity of the scheme is rigorously analyzed on arbitrary mesh size under some weak geometry assumptions. Also, the relation with the finite volume element method is discussed. Finally, some numerical tests show the optimal convergence rates for the discrete solution and flux on various mesh types and for various diffusion tensors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Optimization of the ADER‐DG method in GPU applied to linear hyperbolic PDEs
Authors: Castro Cristóbal E. , Behrens Jörn , Pelties Christian
Published: September 2015

We optimized the Arbitrary accuracy DErivatives Riemann problem (ADER) ‐ Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) numerical method using the CUDA‐C language to run the code in a graphic processing unit (GPU). We focus on solving linear hyperbolic partial–differential equations where the method can be expressed as a combination of precomputed matrix multiplications becoming a good candidate to be used on the GPU hardware. Moreover, the method is arbitrarily high order involving intensive work on local data, a property that is also beneficial for the target hardware. We compare our GPU implementation against CPU versions of the same method observing similar convergence properties up to a threshold where the error remains fixed. This behavior is in agreement with the CPU version, but the threshold is slightly larger than in the CPU case. We also observe a big difference when considering single and double precisions where in the first case, the threshold error is significantly larger. Finally, we did observe a speed‐up factor in computational time that depends on the order of the method and the size of the problem. In the best case, our novel GPU implementation runs 23 times faster than the CPU version. We used three partial–differential equation to test the code considering the linear advection equation, the seismic wave equation, and the linear shallow water equation, all of them considering variable coefficients. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Assessment and acceleration of binding energy calculations for protein–ligand complexes by the fragment molecular orbital method
Authors: Otsuka Takao , Okimoto Noriaki , Taiji Makoto
Published: September 2015

In the field of drug discovery, it is important to accurately predict the binding affinities between target proteins and drug applicant molecules. Many of the computational methods available for evaluating binding affinities have adopted molecular mechanics‐based force fields, although they cannot fully describe protein–ligand interactions. A noteworthy computational method in development involves large‐scale electronic structure calculations. Fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method, which is one of such large‐scale calculation techniques, is applied in this study for calculating the binding energies between proteins and ligands. By testing the effects of specific FMO calculation conditions (including fragmentation size, basis sets, electron correlation, exchange‐correlation functionals, and solvation effects) on the binding energies of the FK506‐binding protein and 10 ligand complex molecule, we have found that the standard FMO calculation condition, FMO2‐MP2/6‐31G(d), is suitable for evaluating the protein–ligand interactions. The correlation coefficient between the binding energies calculated with this FMO calculation condition and experimental values is determined to be R = 0.77. Based on these results, we also propose a practical scheme for predicting binding affinities by combining the FMO method with the quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) model. The results of this combined method can be directly compared with experimental binding affinities. The FMO and QSAR combined scheme shows a higher correlation with experimental data (R = 0.91). Furthermore, we propose an acceleration scheme for the binding energy calculations using a multilayer FMO method focusing on the protein–ligand interaction distance. Our acceleration scheme, which uses FMO2‐HF/STO‐3G:MP2/6‐31G(d) at Rint = 7.0 Å, reduces computational costs, while maintaining accuracy in the evaluation of binding energy. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Analytical gradients for MP2, double hybrid functionals, and TD‐DFT with polarizable embedding described by fluctuating charges
Authors: Carnimeo Ivan , Cappelli Chiara , Barone Vincenzo
Published: September 2015

A polarizable quantum mechanics (QM)/ molecular mechanics (MM) approach recently developed for Hartree–Fock (HF) and Kohn–Sham (KS) methods has been extended to energies and analytical gradients for MP2, double hybrid functionals, and TD‐DFT models, thus allowing the computation of equilibrium structures for excited electronic states together with more accurate results for ground electronic states. After a detailed presentation of the theoretical background and of some implementation details, a number of test cases are analyzed to show that the polarizable embedding model based on fluctuating charges (FQ) is remarkably more accurate than the corresponding electronic embedding based on a fixed charge (FX) description. In particular, a set of electronegativities and hardnesses has been optimized for interactions between QM and FQ regions together with new repulsion–dispersion parameters. After validation of both the numerical implementation and of the new parameters, absorption electronic spectra have been computed for representative model systems including vibronic effects. The results show remarkable agreement with full QM computations and significant improvement with respect to the corresponding FX results. The last part of the article provides some hints about computation of solvatochromic effects on absorption spectra in aqueous solution as a function of the number of FQ water molecules and on the use of FX external shells to improve the convergence of the results. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Computational Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Psychotherapists Growing Older: A Study of Senior Practitioners
Authors: Orlinsky David E. , Rønnestad Michael Helge
Published: September 2015

A sample of 1,102 psychotherapists aged 60 years and older was selected from the multinational database of the Society for Psychotherapy Research Collaborative Research Network. These older therapists were first described in terms of gender, generation, years in practice, civil status, professional background, and theoretical orientation. To compare them on practice‐related characteristics with cohorts of younger therapists, the following age‐based taxonomy was developed: young adult (21 < 30); prime adult (30 < 45); mature adult (45 < 60); senior adult (60 to 90). Senior adults were further differentiated into young old (60 to 66), mid old (67 to 74), and long old (75 to 90). Comparisons between therapist age groups were made regarding practice setting, quality of therapeutic involvement, current use of supervision and personal therapy, currently experienced professional growth, personal life quality, and perceived aspects of self in close personal relationships. Given a series of positive results favoring senior adults as a group, and even long old compared to young old, it is suggested that these hardy “surviving” therapists typically have succeeded in mastering the developmental tasks of previous phases of professional development.
Sonographic appearances of the postoperative testis
Authors: Attieh Ali , Benelli Andrea , Bertolotto Michele , Simonato Alchiede , Carmignani Giorgio , Derchi Lorenzo E.
Published: September 2015

Purpose

To describe the sonographic findings observed in the testis in patients who have undergone testicle‐sparing surgery and surgical biopsies.

Methods

We reviewed the color Doppler sonographic findings from 14 patients after testicular interventions: 2 open biopsy procedures for infertility and 12 testicle‐sparing surgical procedures (1 for spontaneous intratesticular hemorrhage and 11 for small tumors). Ten patients had benign tumors; one had a malignancy. Three patients were symptomatic; all others were studied as follow‐up.

Results

Hypoechoic and hypovascular lesions at site of surgery were seen in 10 of the 11 patients after tumorectomy; no changes were observed in one patient. The lesions were either linear or an irregularly triangular shape, located at the surgical site, and interpreted as scars. Retraction of the testicular surface was detected in two cases. In the eight patients who underwent follow‐up, lesions disappeared in one case, became smaller in two, and remained stable in five. Of the two patients who underwent biopsy, one developed peritesticular hematoma, and both had late hypoechoic scars in the testis.

Conclusions

Hypoechoic and hypovascular scars are a “normal” postoperative pattern after testicle‐sparing surgery. They are either linear or triangular, with rectilinear margins. Such findings need to be correctly interpreted and not misinterpreted as recurrences. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:12–16, 2016
Sonographic diagnosis of acute cholecystitis in patients with symptomatic gallstones
Authors: Borzellino Giuseppe , Massimiliano Motton AP , Minniti Federica , Montemezzi Stefania , Tomezzoli Anna , Genna Michele
Published: September 2015

Purpose

The aim of the retrospective study was to assess the diagnostic ultrasound (US) criteria for acute cholecystitis in patients admitted for symptomatic gallbladder stones.

Methods

The medical records of 186 patients who had undergone cholecystectomy within 24 hours after an US examination were reviewed. Acute cholecystitis was defined on the basis of pathology findings. The correlation between standardized US signs and final diagnosis of acute cholecystitis was assessed with univariate and multivariate analyses. The diagnostic values of US based on the correlated signs were then calculated.

Results

The prevalence of acute cholecystitis was 52.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 42.8–64.2). Three US signs were found to be predictive of acute cholecystitis: gallbladder distension, wall edema, and pericholecystic fluid collection. When none of the US signs were registered, sonography proved to have a 72.4% (95% CI, 59.1–83.3) negative predictive value. When registering two or three signs, sonography had positive predictive values of 78% (95% CI, 56.3–92.5) and 100% (95% CI, 58.9–100), respectively. With just one sign, the positive predictive value was 57.6% (95% CI, 47.2–67.4), and such a finding was furthermore observed in only 53.2% of the cases.

Conclusions

The sonografic diagnosis of acute cholecystitis may be achieved by registering only three standardized US signs. Nevertheless, in patients admitted for symptomatic gallstones, US is of some utility in less than half of those patients. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:152–158, 2016
Contrast‐enhanced sonography for the identification of benign and malignant thyroid nodules: Systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Ma Xuelei , Zhang Binglan , Ling Wenwu , Liu Rongjun , Jia Hongyuan , Zhu Fuping , Wang Mengyao , Liu Haoqiu , Huang Jingwen , Liu Lei
Published: September 2015

Purpose

The use of contrast‐enhanced sonography (CEUS) has yielded promising results in the differentiation of thyroid nodules. We conducted this meta‐analysis to assess its performance in identifying and distinguishing between benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

Methods

PubMed, Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies published through the end of December 2013. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, diagnostic odds ratio, and area under the curve were calculated.

Results

A total of 13 studies were included in this meta‐analysis. For the diagnosis of malignant thyroid nodules worldwide, the overall mean rates of sensitivity and specificity of CEUS were 90% (95% confidence interval [CI], 88–93%) and 86% (95% CI, 83–89%), respectively. The summary diagnostic odds ratio was 52.83 (95% CI, 21.71–128.55), and the area under the curve for the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.94 (95% CI, 0.90–0.98).

Conclusions

This meta‐analysis indicates that CEUS may be a valuable supplemental method, with high rates of sensitivity and specificity, to use for identifying and distinguishing between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:199–209, 2016
Association between sonographic appearances of breast cancers and their histopathologic features and biomarkers
Authors: Costantini Melania , Belli Paolo , Bufi Enida , Asunis Anna Maria , Ferra Enrico , Bitti Grazia Tomasa
Published: September 2015

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate potential associations between invasive breast cancer sonographic (US) findings and histopathologic patterns and biomarkers.

Methods

One hundred consecutive women with invasive breast cancer treated in the Breast Diagnostic Center of Brotzu Hospital in Cagliari, Italy, from January to October 2013, were retrospectively evaluated. Two experienced breast radiologists independently evaluated hard copies of US examinations performed during the US‐guided biopsy procedure. Tumor characteristics were assessed by using the BI‐RADS US lexicon. For each patient, the results of histopathologic examination, tumor grading, hormone‐receptor status, HER2, and Ki67 were considered. US characteristics were compared with histopathologic features and biomarkers. Statistical analysis was performed.

Results

Low‐grade tumors were statistically significantly associated with spiculated margins (p = 0.002) and hyperechoic halos (p < 0.001). High‐grade tumors were associated with abrupt interfaces, nonspiculated margins, and absence of posterior acoustic shadowing. Malignant breast masses with spiculated margins were significantly associated with hormone‐receptor positivity (p = 0.009). The most frequent tumor grade was G3 in the HER2 + and triple‐negative subgroups. Patients with G3 tumors were significantly younger than those with G1 or G2 disease (51.3 ± 9.5 years versus 58.7 ± 12.6 years; p = 0.004).

Conclusions

Histopathologic patterns and breast cancer biomarkers determine differences in US imaging that can guide radiologists in better understanding the development of breast cancer and its prognosis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:26–33, 2016
Synthesis of Pyranopyrazoles under Eco‐friendly Approach by Using Acid Catalysis
Authors: Reddy Guda Mallikarjuna , Raul Garcia Jarem
Published: September 2015

Multicomponent synthesis of pyranopyrazole derivatives by using montmorillonite K‐10 as a reusable green acid catalyst under eco‐friendly method in the presence of eco‐friendly solvent leads to novel protocol. Moreover, catalyst could be reused five times for the reaction without noticeable loss of activity. The scope of this path was to develop new synthetic molecules by using green catalysis for further screenings such as starting molecules for organic electronic materials and biological assays.
Quantitative palaeotemperature estimates based on fossil chydorid ephippia: calibration and validation of a novel method for northern lakes
Authors: Luoto Tomi P. , Nevalainen Liisa , Kultti Seija , Sarmaja‐Korjonen Kaarina
Published: September 2015

To fully utilize palaeolimnological archives for tracking past environmental changes, methodological advances are necessary. We present a novel method to quantitatively reconstruct past summer air temperatures based on fossil chydorid (Cladocera: Chydoridae) ephippia assemblages. We examined a 76‐lake training set from Finland for chydorid ephippia distribution to develop a transfer function for summer air temperatures. Subsequently, we tested its usability in downcore reconstructions by inferring Holocene temperatures from Lake Arapisto in southern Finland. Significant climate‐related variation was found in the distribution and abundance of chydorid ephippia in the training set. A transfer function for palaeotemperature reconstructions was developed using the partial least squares technique, which showed favourable performance statistics, enabling the test use of the model in a downcore reconstruction. The ephippia assemblages were responding to the Holocene climate development in the Lake Arapisto core. The ephippium‐inferred temperatures correlated closely with the previously available independent palaeoclimate data from Lake Arapisto and from an adjacent lake, although the early Holocene samples had poor modern analogues in the training set. The use of fossil chydorid ephippia in palaeoclimatological reconstructions is a promising tool and it can contribute as a valuable addition for multiproxy assessments of past climate changes.
Estimation of total soluble solids in grape berries using a hand‐held NIR spectrometer under field conditions
Authors: Urraca Ruben , Sanz‐Garcia Andres , Tardaguila Javier , Diago Maria P
Published: September 2015

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have reported the potential of near infrared (NIR) spectral analysers for monitoring the ripeness of grape berries as an alternative to wet chemistry methods. This study covers various aspects regarding the calibration and implementation of predictive models of total soluble solids (TSS) in grape berries using laboratory and in‐field collected NIR spectra.

RESULTS

The performance of the calibration models obtained under laboratory conditions indicated that at least 700 berry samples are required to assure enough prediction accuracy. A statistically significant error reduction (ΔRMSECV = 0.1°Brix) with P < 0.001 was observed when measuring berries without epicuticular wax, which was negligible from a practical point of view. Under field conditions, the prediction errors (RMSEP = 1.68°Brix, and SEP = 1.67°Brix) were close to those obtained with the laboratory dataset (RMSEP = 1.42°Brix, SEP = 1.40°Brix).

CONCLUSION

This work clarifies several methodological factors to develop a protocol for in‐field assessing TSS in grape berries using an affordable, non‐invasive, portable NIR spectral analyser. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
Impacts of degree of milling on the appearance and aroma characteristics of raw rice
Authors: Rodríguez‐Arzuaga Mariana , Cho Sungeun , Billiris María A , Siebenmorgen Terry , Seo Han‐Seok
Published: September 2015

BACKGROUND

Little has been reported about the sensory impact of degree of milling (DOM) on raw, uncooked rice. This study focuses on the effects of DOM, which was measured by surface lipid content (SLC), on appearance and aroma attributes of raw rice, as well as the appearance of cooked rice; greater DOM leads to lesser SLC levels.

RESULTS

Milled‐rice samples with SLCs of 0.64, 0.59, 0.42 and 0.25%, as well as brown rice (2.27% total lipid content), were evaluated by trained panelists on three appearance‐ and five aroma‐related attributes of raw rice, as well as four appearance‐related attributes of the resultant cooked rice. All milled‐rice samples, varying in SLC level from 0.64% to 0.25%, differed from brown rice with respect to raw‐rice and cooked‐rice appearance and aroma attributes. A significant sensory difference among the four raw‐rice samples was present only in the degree of whiteness; however, such a difference was absent once the samples were cooked. When cooked, highly milled rice (0.25% SLC) was rated glossier than either lightly milled rice (0.64% SLC) or brown rice.

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrated that sensory impacts of DOM on raw rice were present between brown rice and milled‐rice samples, but not among the milled‐rice samples varying in SLC level from 0.64% to 0.25%. The overall findings indicate that consumers may not detect appearance‐ or aroma‐related differences among raw‐rice samples ranging in SLC from 0.64% to 0.25%. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
A family of constrained pressure residual preconditioners for parallel reservoir simulations
Authors: Liu Hui , Wang Kun , Chen Zhangxin
Published: September 2015

Large‐scale reservoir simulations are extremely time‐consuming because of the solution of large‐scale linear systems arising from the Newton or Newton–Raphson iterations. The problem becomes even worse when highly heterogeneous geological models are employed. This paper introduces a family of multi‐stage preconditioners for parallel black oil simulations, which are based on the famous constrained pressure residual preconditioner. Numerical experiments demonstrate that our preconditioners are robust, efficient, and scalable. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Design of the DOVE (Determining Effects of Platelet Inhibition on Vaso‐Occlusive Events) trial: A global Phase 3 double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled, multicenter study of the efficacy and safety of prasugrel in pediatric patients with sickle cell anemia utilizing a dose titration strategy
Authors: Hoppe Carolyn C. , Styles Lori , Heath Lori E. , Zhou Chunmei , Jakubowski Joseph A. , Winters Kenneth J. , Brown Patricia B. , Rees David C. , Heeney Matthew M.
Published: September 2015

Background

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder characterized by painful vaso‐occlusive crises (VOC) with limited treatment options, particularly for children. Emerging knowledge of the pathophysiology of SCD suggests antiplatelet therapies may hold promise for treatment of VOC. Multiple small studies have evaluated antiplatelet agents on the frequency of VOC with varying results, but there has not been an adequately powered study to definitively determine the effect of antiplatelet agents on VOC. Prasugrel, a third‐generation thienopyridine that irreversibly inhibits platelet activation and aggregation, is approved in adults with acute coronary syndrome managed with percutaneous coronary intervention.

Procedure

Determining Effects of Platelet Inhibition on Vaso‐Occlusive Events (DOVE) is a double‐blind, randomized study with planned enrollment of >220 children from 14 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, designed to test the hypothesis that prasugrel reduces the rate of VOC in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) (homozygous hemoglobin S [HbSS] and hemoglobin Sβ0 thalassemia [HbSβ0]). Secondary study endpoints include reductions in rate and intensity of vaso‐occlusive pain as recorded in daily electronic diaries. Safety assessments include incidence of hemorrhagic events requiring medical intervention and treatment‐emergent adverse events. DOVE incorporates a dose‐titration strategy to reduce potential bleeding risks inherent with antiplatelet therapy while maintaining blinded treatment assignment.

Conclusions

DOVE presents a unique opportunity to determine whether antiplatelet therapy reduces frequency of patient‐reported VOC and daily vaso‐occlusive pain in a global study of children with SCA. Pediatr Blood Cancer © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Synthesis and characterization of silver/zein nanocomposites and their application
Authors: Ghazy Omayma A. , Nabih Shimaa , Abdel‐Moneam Yasser K. , Senna Magdy M.
Published: September 2015

Zein nanoparticles were prepared by the liquid‐liquid dispersion method. The particles were used as templates for growing silver nanoparticles by reduction of silver ions using gamma radiation. The dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results indicated that the obtained zein nanoparticles have spherical shape with a homogeneous particle size distribution and an average particle size of 60 nm. The factors affecting the silver nanoparticle deposition on zein nanoparticles were studied. Among these factors, irradiation dose, silver ion concentration, and zein polymer content were evaluated. The formation of the nanocomposite was detected using UV–vis spectroscopy and TEM. The surface plasmon resonance peak was found to be sensitive to the concentration of the zein and AgNO3 solutions. A blue shift was observed as the zein content was increased, while a red shift took place upon increasing the AgNO3 concentration. The TEM imaging indicated that the silver particles are nanosized, spherical in shape and adsorbed on the surface of zein particles. The Zein/silver nancomposites were applied for the antimicrobial test against E. coli and found to have high antibacterial activity. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:E9–E15, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers
First trimester prediction of HELLP syndrome
Authors: Oliveira Natacha , Poon Liona C. , Nicolaides Kypros H. , Baschat Ahmet A.
Published: September 2015

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate first‐trimester maternal characteristics and biomarkers in pregnancies that subsequently develop HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets) syndrome.

Method

Maternal history, biochemical, and biophysical parameters were compared between women who developed HELLP, preeclampsia (PE) without HELLP and controls. After determination of significant variables through univariate analysis a first‐trimester prediction model was obtained by applying logistic regression analysis. Performance of the model was evaluated.

Results

Twenty participants with HELLP were compared with 147 patients that developed PE without HELLP and 2810 controls. Women with HELLP were more likely Caucasian, nulliparous and presented a higher mean arterial pressure (MAP) when compared with controls. As opposing to women who developed HELLP, women who developed PE without HELLP were more likely of African–American origin and presented an even higher first‐trimester MAP. Enrollment biochemical and biophysical parameters were similar between HELLP and PE or controls. Ethnicity, nulliparity, history of previous PE, history of previous HELLP syndrome, and first‐trimester MAP were primary risk factors. A prediction rule for HELLP syndrome had an area under the curve of 0.80, with 75% sensitivity for 79% specificity.

Conclusion

The majority of pregnancies that develop HELLP syndrome can be predicted in the first trimester. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An electron microscopy journey in the study of microtubule structure and dynamics
Authors: Nogales Eva
Published: September 2015

Eva Nogales is the winner of the 2015 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Award.Abstract

Structural characterization of microtubules has been the realm of three‐dimensional electron microscopy and thus has evolved hand in hand with the progress of this technique, from the initial 3D reconstructions of stained tubulin assemblies, and the first atomic model of tubulin by electron crystallography of 2D sheets of protofilaments, to the ever more detailed cryoelectron microscopy structures of frozen‐hydrated microtubules. Most recently, hybrid helical and single particle image processing techniques, and the latest detector technology, have lead to atomic models built directly into the density maps of microtubules in different functional states, shading new light into the critical process of microtubule dynamic instability.
Expression, purification, and functional characterization of the insulin‐responsive facilitative glucose transporter GLUT4
Authors: Kraft Thomas E. , Hresko Richard C. , Hruz Paul W.
Published: September 2015

The insulin‐responsive facilitative glucose transporter GLUT4 is of fundamental importance for maintenance of glucose homeostasis. Despite intensive effort, the ability to express and purify sufficient quantities of structurally and functionally intact protein for biophysical analysis has previously been exceedingly difficult. We report here the development of novel methods to express, purify, and functionally reconstitute GLUT4 into detergent micelles and proteoliposomes. Rat GLUT4 containing FLAG and His tags at the amino and carboxy termini, respectively, was engineered and stably transfected into HEK‐293 cells. Overexpression in suspension culture yielded over 1.5 mg of protein per liter of culture. Systematic screening of detergent solubilized GLUT4‐GFP fusion protein via fluorescent‐detection size exclusion chromatography identified lauryl maltose neopentyl glycol (LMNG) as highly effective for isolating monomeric GLUT4 micelles. Preservation of structural integrity and ligand binding was demonstrated via quenching of tryptophan fluorescence and competition of ATB‐BMPA photolabeling by cytochalasin B. GLUT4 was reconstituted into lipid nanodiscs and proper folding was confirmed. Reconstitution of purified GLUT4 with amphipol A8‐35 stabilized the transporter at elevated temperatures for extended periods of time. Functional activity of purified GLUT4 was confirmed by reconstitution of LMNG‐purified GLUT4 into proteoliposomes and measurement of saturable uptake of D‐glucose over L‐glucose. Taken together, these data validate the development of an efficient means to generate milligram quantities of stable and functionally intact GLUT4 that is suitable for a wide array of biochemical and biophysical analyses.