bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study with alginate suspension for laryngopharyngeal reflux disease
Authors: Tseng Wen‐Hsuan , Tseng Ping‐Huei , Wu Jia‐Feng , Hsu Ya‐Chin , Lee Ting‐Yi , Ni Yen‐Hsuan , Wang Hsiu‐Po , Hsiao Tzu‐Yu , Hsu Wei‐Chung 
Published: February 2018

ObjectiveTreatment for laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) is challenging because of delays in recognition and poor responsiveness to proton‐pump inhibitor therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of liquid alginate suspension for treating LPRD.MethodsA double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, prospective study comparing 8 weeks of treatment with Alginos Oral Suspension (TTY Biopharm Co. Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan) (sodium alginate 1,000 mg three times daily) with a placebo was conducted on patients who fulfilled the criteria of at least one symptom consistent with LPRD, a total reflux symptom index (RSI) score of > 10, and a total reflux finding score (RFS) of > 5. Those with erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease, as evidenced through screened transnasal upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, were excluded. Efficacy was assessed by RSI, RFS, and ambulatory multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH (MII‐pH) monitoring.ResultsA total of 80 patients aged 22 to 72 years were enrolled. Compared with baseline, both Alginos (TTY Biopharm Co. Ltd.) and the placebo significantly reduced the total RSI (P < 0.001) and the total number of reflux episodes shown by MII‐pH monitoring (P < 0.05) after 8 weeks of treatment. However, liquid alginate suspension was unable to show superiority over the placebo. The incidence of various adverse events from Alginos (TTY Biopharm Co. Ltd.) was relatively low (7.7%) and mild.ConclusionThis study showed that liquid alginate suspension was well tolerated by LPRD patients. It effectively improved symptoms and reflux numbers but was unable to show superiority over placebo. As observed in previous studies, a great placebo effect was present. The importance of lifestyle modification could not be overlooked.Level of Evidence2. Laryngoscope, 128:2252–2260, 2018
Completion lymphadenectomy for sentinel node positive cutaneous head & neck melanoma
Authors: Schmalbach Cecelia E. , Bradford Carol R. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe application and utility of melanoma sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has evolved significantly since its inception over two decades ago. The current focus has shifted from a staging modality to potentially a therapeutic intervention. Recent research to include large multi‐institutional randomized trials have attempted to answer the question: is a completion lymph node dissection (CLND) required following a positive SLNB? This review provides an evidence‐based, contemporary review of the utility of CLND for SLNB positive head and neck cutaneous melanoma patients.Level of EvidenceNA
Effect of high‐frequency near‐infrared diode laser irradiation on periodontal tissues during experimental tooth movement in rats
Authors: Gunji Hidemi , Kunimatsu Ryo , Tsuka Yuji , Yoshimi Yuki , Sumi Keisuke , Awada Tetsuya , Nakajima Kengo , Kimura Aya , Hiraki Tomoka , Hirose Naoto , Yanoshita Makoto , Tanimoto Kotaro 
Published: February 2018

Background and ObjectivesTooth movement during orthodontic treatment is associated with bone neoplasticity and bone resorption on the tension and pressure sides. Previous clinical studies have suggested that low‐power laser irradiation can accelerate tooth movement during orthodontic treatment, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we used a high‐frequency near‐infrared diode laser that generates less heat and examined the histologic changes in periodontal tissue during experimental tooth movement with laser irradiation.MethodsA nickel‐titanium closed coil was mounted between the maxillary left side first molar and incisor of rats to model experimental tooth movement. The laser‐irradiation and the control groups were set, and the amount of movement of the first molar on 7th and 14th days after the start of pulling of the first molar tooth on the maxillary left was measured by three‐dimensional analysis of µCT. After tooth movement, tissue samples from the mesial and tension sides were collected, and successive horizontal sections were prepared and examined using hematoxylin–eosin and TRAP staining and immunohistochemical staining for RANKL, OPG, ALP, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Changes in tissue temperature following laser irradiation were also examined.ResultsLaser irradiation significantly increased tooth movement compared with non‐irradiated controls. Histologic staining of the pressure‐side mesial root in laser‐irradiated rats revealed enhanced RANKL expression and increased numbers of TRAP‐positive cells compared with controls. By contrast, on the tension side, laser irradiation led to increased expression of ALP and PCNA. These data indicate that high‐frequency near‐infrared diode laser irradiation on the pressure side upregulates RANKL expression and accelerates osteoclast differentiation, facilitating bone resorption, whereas bone formation is induced on the tension side.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that high‐frequency near‐infrared diode laser irradiation of periodontal tissue leads to metabolic activation, which ultimately increases the rate of tooth movement. Lasers Surg. Med. 50:772–780, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Dispersion Polymerization of Substituted Acetylenes in the Presence of Chiral Source for Preparing Monodispersed Chiral Nanoparticles
Authors: Zhao Biao , Deng Jianping 
Published: February 2018

AbstractChiral helical polymer nanoparticles have constituted a significant category of advanced functional particles by creatively combining chirality with nanoscale size into one unity. However, their further progress has been confronted with intractable difficulties, especially due to the limited kinds and number of chiral monomers and the lack of effective and universal preparation methods. In this study, the first protocol, that is, dispersion polymerization, for preparing monodispersed, chiral helical polymer nanoparticles derived from substituted acetylenic monomers, is reported. The possible formation mechanism of polymer nanoparticles is proposed. More excitingly, achiral monomers subsequently undergo helix‐sense‐selective dispersion polymerization with d(l)‐lactide as chiral additive, directly leading to optically active helical polymer nanoparticles. The present study not only provides a novel approach for preparing chiral helical polymer nanoparticles but also significantly expands the type and number of monomers for constructing chiral nanoparticles.
Thermally Switchable Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer via Reversible Diels–Alder Reaction of π‐Conjugated Oligo‐(Phenylene Ethynylene)s
Authors: Ahner Johannes , Dahlke Jan , Pretzel David , Schubert Ulrich S. , Dietzek Benjamin , Hager Martin D. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe combination of reversible, dynamic covalent bonds and π‐conjugated oligo‐(phenylene ethynylene)s is utilized for exchange reactions between two acceptors and one donor containing copolymer in the solid state upon thermal treatment. The specific molecular design of the polymers allows upon thermally triggering the reshuffling of the π‐conjugated donor and acceptor moieties. Depending on the nature of the acceptor, an increased and a decreased fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), respectively, can be observed for the mixing of the copolymers or the demixing of a donor–acceptor copolymer.
Absorbed dose distributions from ophthalmic 106Ru/106Rh plaques measured in water with radiochromic film
Authors: Hermida‐López Marcelino , Brualla Lorenzo 
Published: February 2018

PurposeBrachytherapy with 106Ru/106Rh plaques offers good outcomes for small‐to‐medium choroidal melanomas and retinoblastomas. The dose measurement of the plaques is challenging, due to the small range of the emitted beta particles and steep dose gradients involved. The scarce publications on film dosimetry of 106Ru/106Rh plaques used solid phantoms. This work aims to develop a practical method for measuring the absorbed dose distribution in water produced by 106Ru/106Rh plaques using EBT3 radiochromic film.MethodsExperimental setups were developed to determine the dose distribution at a plane perpendicular to the symmetry axis of the plaque and at a plane containing the symmetry axis. One CCA and two CCX plaques were studied. The dose maps were obtained with the FilmQA Pro 2015 software, using the triple‐channel dosimetry method. The measured dose distributions were compared to published Monte Carlo simulation and experimental data.ResultsA good agreement was found between measurements and simulations, improving upon published data. Measured reference dose rates agreed within the experimental uncertainty with data obtained by the manufacturer using a scintillation detector, with typical differences below 5%. The attained experimental uncertainty was 4.1% (k = 1) for the perpendicular setup, and 7.9% (k = 1) for the parallel setup. These values are similar or smaller than those obtained by the manufacturer and other authors, without the need of solid phantoms that are not available to most users.ConclusionsThe proposed method may be useful to the users to perform quality assurance preclinical tests of 106Ru/106Rh plaques.
Material elemental decomposition in dual and multi‐energy CT via a sparsity‐dictionary approach for proton stopping power ratio calculation
Authors: Shen Chenyang , Li Bin , Chen Liyuan , Yang Ming , Lou Yifei , Jia Xun 
Published: February 2018

PurposeAccurate calculation of proton stopping power ratio (SPR) relative to water is crucial to proton therapy treatment planning, since SPR affects prediction of beam range. Current standard practice derives SPR using a single CT scan. Recent studies showed that dual‐energy CT (DECT) offers advantages to accurately determine SPR. One method to further improve accuracy is to incorporate prior knowledge on human tissue composition through a dictionary approach. In addition, it is also suggested that using CT images with multiple (more than two) energy channels, i.e., multi‐energy CT (MECT), can further improve accuracy. In this paper, we proposed a sparse dictionary‐based method to convert CT numbers of DECT or MECT to elemental composition (EC) and relative electron density (rED) for SPR computation.MethodA dictionary was constructed to include materials generated based on human tissues of known compositions. For a voxel with CT numbers of different energy channels, its EC and rED are determined subject to a constraint that the resulting EC is a linear non‐negative combination of only a few tissues in the dictionary. We formulated this as a non‐convex optimization problem. A novel algorithm was designed to solve the problem. The proposed method has a unified structure to handle both DECT and MECT with different number of channels. We tested our method in both simulation and experimental studies.ResultsAverage errors of SPR in experimental studies were 0.70% in DECT, 0.53% in MECT with three energy channels, and 0.45% in MECT with four channels. We also studied the impact of parameter values and established appropriate parameter values for our method.ConclusionThe proposed method can accurately calculate SPR using DECT and MECT. The results suggest that using more energy channels may improve the SPR estimation accuracy.
T1‐based sensing of mammographic density using single‐sided portable NMR
Authors: Tourell Monique C. , Ali Tonima S. , Hugo Honor J , Pyke Chris , Yang Samuel , Lloyd Thomas , Thompson Erik W. , Momot Konstantin I. 
Published: February 2018

PurposeA single‐sided NMR instrument was used to investigate the ability of the T1 relaxation constant to distinguish between regions of low and high mammographic density in human breast tissue.MethodsMeasurements were performed on 5 breast slices obtained from 3 women undergoing breast reduction surgery or prophylactic mastectomy.ResultsT1 values measured in regions of high mammographic density in both the full breast slices (T1 = 170 ± 30 ms) and excised regions (T1 = 160 ± 30 ms) were found to be significantly different (P < .001) from those measured in regions of low mammographic density, in which T1 = 120 ± 10 ms was observed both in full slices and excised regions. There was no statistically significant difference between the T1 values measured in the full breast slices and those measured in the excised regions.ConclusionThe findings suggest that portable NMR may provide a low‐cost means of assessing mammographic density in vivo.
An isogeometric extension of Trefftz method for elastostatics in two dimensions
Authors: Horák Martin , Patzák Bořek , Novák Jan 
Published: February 2018

SummaryIn this paper, an approach to blend the Hybrid‐Trefftz Finite Element Method (HTFEM) and the Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) called the Isogeometric Trefftz (IGAT) method is presented. The structure of the isogeometric extension of the Trefftz method is formally the same as for its conventional counterpart, except the approximation of the boundary displacements and geometry that are carried out using the Non‐Uniform Rational B‐Splines (NURBS) instead of polynomials. In other words, only the element boundaries are approximated using NURBS basis while the Trefftz approximation is used in the interior of the elements. For that reason, IGAT can be ranked alongside recently developed Isogeometric Boundary Element Method (IGABEM), the NURBS‐Enhanced Finite Element Method (NEFEM), the Isogeometric Local Maximum Entropy (IGA‐LME) method, and the Isogeometrically enhanced Scaled‐Boundary element method (SBFEM), which all use NURBS approximation at the domain boundary only. Theoretical conjectures made in this paper are accompanied by three examples that show that IGAT leads to excellent results using only a few elements.
The influence of using sodium dithionite as SARA agent in miniemulsion ATRP
Authors: Mendes Joana P. , Gois Joana R. , Trino Andreia S. M. , Catalão Francisco , Serra Arménio C. , Coelho Jorge F. J. 
Published: February 2018

ABSTRACTThe supplemental activator and reducing agent atom transfer radical polymerization (SARA ATRP) of butyl acrylate (nBA) and styrene (Sty) using miniemulsion is reported for the first time. The polymerization was carried out in the presence of Cu(II)Br2‐based catalytic systems using EHA6TREN or BPMODA* and sodium dithionite (Na2S2O4) as SARA agent. Kinetic data revealed a controlled polymerization for both monomers, with a very stringent control over the molecular weight distribution (Ð ≤ 1.2) but low monomer conversion. Reaction conditions were optimized in an attempt to understand the kinetics of polymerization, aiming to increase the final monomer conversion while maintaining the control over the polymerization. Self‐chain extension reactions revealed low chain end fidelity, which corroborate the impossibility of increasing monomer conversion even after the judicious variation of the main polymerization parameters (monomers, surfactant, deactivator, and Na2S2O4 concentrations, and its method of addition). The data presented suggest a particular feature of Na2S2O4 in these polymerization systems involving the significant formation of dead chains ends, which has never been observed for any other reported system using this SARA agent. In contrast, control ARGET miniemulsion experiments under the same reaction conditions and using ascorbic acid as reducing agent allowed to achieve high monomer conversions. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018, 56, 879–888
Side‐chain glycylglycine‐based polymer for simultaneous sensing and removal of copper(II) from aqueous medium
Authors: Choudhury Neha , Mete Sourav , Kambalapalli Srikanth , De Priyadarsi 
Published: February 2018

ABSTRACTSince glycylglycine (Gly‐Gly) residue in the N‐terminal region of human prion protein, a copper binding protein, binds with Cu(II), N‐terminus Gly‐Gly side‐chain containing water soluble block copolymer was synthesized and used for simultaneous sensing and removal of Cu(II) ion from aqueous medium. The polymer has amide nitrogen atom and ester carbonyl group as potential binding sites in the side‐chain Gly‐Gly pendants. Job's plot experiment confirms 2:1 binding stoichiometry of polymer with Cu(II). This polymer is able to sense parts per billion level of Cu(II) very selectively in an aqueous medium and remove Cu(II) ions quantitatively by precipitating out the Cu(II) via complex formation in the pH range 7–9. The binding mode of polymer with Cu(II) in polymer‐Cu(II) complex was characterized by 1H NMR, FTIR, and UV–vis spectroscopy. The attachment of Cu(II) in the polymer‐Cu(II) complex was confirmed by cyclic voltammetry experiment. Cu(II) release from the complex was achieved at pH 5 due to the protonation of amide nitrogen atoms in the Gly‐Gly moiety. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018, 56, 914–921
Controllable synthesis of bio‐based polylactide diols using an organocatalyst in solvent‐free conditions
Authors: Li Hui , Gu Lin 
Published: February 2018

ABSTRACTControllable synthesis of bio‐based polylactide (PLA) diols was realized by the ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide (LA) in the presence of 1,4‐butanediol (BDO) using 1,8‐diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene (DBU) as an organocatalyst in solvent‐free conditions. The catalytic activity and conversion of LA could reach ∼1 kg g−1 DBU and >97%, respectively, and the polymerization yielded polymers with narrow polydispersity index (PDI) (1.15–1.29). Interestingly, the number average molecular weight (Mn) of the obtained PLA diol was in excellent linear relation with the molar ratio of LA and BDO, and hence can be precisely controlled. The structure of the diol was clearly confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR, FTIR, and MALDI‐TOF mass spectra, proving BDO as an initiation‐transfer agent to participate in the polymerization. Kinetic study of the ROP demonstrates a pseudo‐first‐order kinetic model and a controlled “living” nature. Notably, it is found that the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the diol significantly depends on the Mn. Furthermore, various chain transfer agents and organocatalysts can also be used to successfully synthesize well‐defined PLA diols. Especially, functional bio‐based dihydric alcohols such as 2,5‐furandimethanol (FDMO)‐initiated ROP in this system could result in fully bio‐based PLA diols with functionality. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018, 56, 968–976
Fault detection and fault‐tolerant control over signal‐to‐noise ratio constrained channels
Authors: Guo Fumin , Ren Xuemei , Li Zhijun , Han Cunwu 
Published: February 2018

SummaryThis paper investigates the problems of fault detection (FD) and fault‐tolerant control for a class of discrete‐time systems with signal‐to‐noise ratio constrained channels. For the purpose of detecting the fault, an observer‐based FD scheme is proposed by using a descriptor system approach. In this scheme, an augmented robust FD filter is designed such that the residual generation system is admissible and the estimations of the system state and fault are both obtained; then, a dynamic threshold is constructed based on stochastic characteristics of the channel noise, a constant α is introduced to reduce the conservatism of threshold, and false alarm rate of the threshold is given. Subsequently, in order to keep the post‐fault system robust asymptotically stable, an output feedback fault‐tolerant control strategy is established on the basis of the fault estimation information. Finally, two simulation examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.
The stripping process can be slow: Part I
Authors: Gao Pu , Molloy Michael 
Published: February 2018

AbstractGiven an integer k, we consider the parallel k‐stripping process applied to a hypergraph H: removing all vertices with degree less than k in each iteration until reaching the k‐core of H. Take H as : a random r‐uniform hypergraph on n vertices and m hyperedges with the uniform distribution. Fixing with , it has previously been proved that there is a constant such that for all m = cn with constant , with high probability, the parallel k‐stripping process takes iterations. In this paper, we investigate the critical case when . We show that the number of iterations that the process takes can go up to some power of n, as long as c approaches sufficiently fast. A second result we show involves the depth of a non‐k‐core vertex v: the minimum number of steps required to delete v from where in each step one vertex with degree less than k is removed. We will prove lower and upper bounds on the maximum depth over all non‐k‐core vertices.
Extremes of the internal energy of the Potts model on cubic graphs
Authors: Davies Ewan , Jenssen Matthew , Perkins Will , Roberts Barnaby 
Published: February 2018

AbstractWe prove tight upper and lower bounds on the internal energy per particle (expected number of monochromatic edges per vertex) in the anti‐ferromagnetic Potts model on cubic graphs at every temperature and for all . This immediately implies corresponding tight bounds on the anti‐ferromagnetic Potts partition function. Taking the zero‐temperature limit gives new results in extremal combinatorics: the number of q‐colorings of a 3‐regular graph, for any , is maximized by a union of 's. This proves the d = 3 case of a conjecture of Galvin and Tetali.
Digit Tip Regeneration: Merging Regeneration Biology with Regenerative Medicine
Authors: Dolan Connor P. , Dawson Lindsay A. , Muneoka Ken 
Published: February 2018

Summary
Regeneration Biology is the study of organisms with endogenous regenerative abilities, whereas Regenerative Medicine focuses on engineering solutions for human injuries that do not regenerate. While the two fields are fundamentally different in their approach, there is an obvious interface involving mammalian regeneration models. The fingertip is the only part of the human limb that is regeneration-competent and the regenerating mouse digit tip has emerged as a model to study a clinically relevant regenerative response. In this article, we discuss how studies of digit tip regeneration have identified critical components of the regenerative response, and how an understanding of endogenous regeneration can lead to expanding the regenerative capabilities of nonregenerative amputation wounds. Such studies demonstrate that regeneration-incompetent wounds can respond to treatment with individual morphogenetic agents by initiating a multi-tissue response that culminates in structural regeneration. In addition, the healing process of nonregenerative wounds are found to cycle through nonresponsive, responsive and nonresponsive phases, and we call the responsive phase the Regeneration Window. We also find the responsiveness of mature healed amputation wounds can be reactivated by reinjury, thus nonregenerated wounds retain a potential for regeneration. We propose that regeneration-incompetent injuries possess dormant regenerative potential that can be activated by targeted treatment with specific morphogenetic agents. We believe that future Regenerative Medicine-based-therapies should be designed to promote, not replace, regenerative responses.
Dicarboxylic Acid‐Functionalized MCM‐41 with Embedded Palladium Nanoparticles as an Efficient Heterogeneous Catalyst for C–C Coupling Reactions
Authors: Amini Mostafa Mohammadpour , Mohammadkhani Abolfazl , Bazgir Ayoob 
Published: February 2018

AbstractPalladium nanoparticles were supported on 1,2‐dicarboxylic acid‐functionalized MCM‐41 (Pd@DCA‐MCM) and characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) measurements. The Pd@DCA‐MCM nanocomposite exhibited good performance as a reusable catalyst in selected coupling reactions.