bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the new continuous mononuclear cell collection protocol versus an older version on two different apheresis machines
Authors: Spoerl Silvia , Wäscher Dagmar , Nagel Stefanie , Peschel Christian , Verbeek Mareike , Götze Katharina , Krackhardt Angela M. 
Published: May 2018

BACKGROUNDCell separators are routinely used to collect CD34+ blood stem cells in the context of customized stem cell transplantation procedures. The Spectra Optia (Terumo BCT) is a novel development of the precursor instrument, the Cobe Spectra (Terumo BCT).STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSIn this report, 146 autologous and 42 allogeneic donors undergoing apheresis on the Cobe Spectra using the mononuclear cell (MNC) program 4.7 or on the Spectra Optia using the new continuous mononuclear cell (cMNC) program 11.2 are compared.RESULTSViability of cells and collection efficacy within the apheresis products was comparable for autologous and allogeneic products collected with the MNC or cMNC method. However, we found a reduced duration of the apheresis procedure and lower hematocrit within the apheresis products when using the cMNC in autologous and allogeneic donors. Moreover, allogeneic donors collected substantially more CD34+ cells per kilogram of body weight when using the cMNC method. Differences in platelets before and after apheresis were substantially smaller in this cohort when compared to the cohort collected with the MNC method. Neutrophil and platelet engraftment after autologous or allogeneic transplantation with a product collected with the MNC procedure was comparable to a transplantation with a product processed according to the cMNC method.CONCLUSIONComparison of the MNC (Cobe Spectra) and the cMNC (Spectra Optia) methods demonstrated an equal performance and outcome. However, advantages were present using the cMNC method with respect to apheresis duration and hematocrit within the apheresis product (autologous/allogeneic donors) and numbers of CD34+ cells collected, especially in allogeneic donors.
Update on cellular encapsulation
Authors: Smith Kate E. , Johnson Robert C. , Papas Klearchos K. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThere is currently a significant disparity between the number of patients who need lifesaving transplants and the number of donated human organs. Xenotransplantation is a way to address this disparity and attempts to enable the use of xenogeneic tissues have persisted for centuries. While immunologic incompatibilities have presented a persistent impediment to their use, encapsulation may represent a way forward for the use of cell‐based xenogeneic therapeutics without the need for immunosuppression. In conjunction with modern innovations such as the use of bioprinting, incorporation of immune modulating molecules into capsule membranes, and genetic engineering, the application of xenogeneic cells to treat disorders ranging from pain to liver failure is becoming increasingly realistic. The present review discusses encapsulation in the context of xenotransplantation, focusing on the current status of clinical trials, persistent issues such as antigen shedding, oxygen availability, and donor selection, and recent developments that may address these limitations.
Microstructure Features Contributing to Heat Affected Zone Damage in Grade 91 Steel Feature Type Cross-Weld Tests
Authors: Siefert John A. , Thomson Rachel C. , Parker Jonathan D. 
Published: May 2018

Grade 91 steel has been widely utilized in power plants over the last 20 years. Its specification for worldwide power plant construction has dramatically increased since the acceptance of Code Case 1943 for this material in 1983. Recent evaluation of a combination of ex-service Grade 91 steel components and virgin material has provided a unique opportunity to independently assess the performance of a combination of base metals and weldments. This approach has been grounded in the fundamental objective of identifying and quantifying metallurgical risk factors in 9%Cr creep strength enhanced ferritic (CSEF) steels and in Grade 91 steel in particular.
Identification of metallurgical risk factors is essential in the integration of a meaningful life management strategy for complex 9%Cr CSEF steels. In particular, there is a need to link the damage developed either in-service or through well-controlled testing to features in the material. These features may include, but not be limited to, carbonitride precipitates (and distribution of these phases along grain boundaries, e.g. M23C6 and MX-type), inclusions developed as a consequence of the steel making process (such as MnS, Al-rich or complex Ca-modified) and intermetallic phases which evolve in-service (Laves or Z-phase) or through product forming (AlN or BN). Identification and linking of these particles to damage is considered a critical need for widely used 9%Cr CSEF steels as Grade 91 steel can show widely variable behavior with respect to creep ductility whilst Grade 92 shows a marked and consistent trend to low creep ductility.
In this study, the evaluation of damage is detailed for an ex-service Grade 91 steel heat which exhibited a marked susceptibility to the evolution of in-service damage. This evaluation focuses on the evolution of HAZ damage under well-controlled, uniaxial creep test conditions using feature, cross-weld creep tests. For interrupted and failed samples, evaluation of damage was performed using state-of-the-art scanning electron microscopy (SEM) based techniques. Particular emphasis was made to link the post-test condition with the as-fabricated weldment and the parent material condition. It will be shown that there is a significant population of cavities associated with second phase particles, and particularly inclusions and intermetallic phases resulting from steel making and product manufacturing processes.
Creep Rupture Analysis of Candidate Steels for the Traveling Wave Reactor
Authors: Xu Cheng 
Published: May 2018

TerraPower has developed sophisticated computational analysis tools to support the design and fabrication of high temperature components to be used in the Traveling Wave Reactor (TWR). One of the key material properties required to predict material damage and remaining lifetime of key in-reactor components is the thermal creep rupture time. Although TerraPower optimized ferritic-martensitic (FM) HT9 steel has shown consistent improvement in yield stress and creep rupture strength through uniaxial tensile tests, extrapolations of existing test data are still needed to fully support the complex analysis used in the TWR design.
Traditional Larson-Miller analysis for creep rupture was used to compare the TerraPower optimized HT9 steel to the existing historical database. The results of the Larson-Miller analysis were compared to the results from the Wilshire analysis to explore the relative advantages and disadvantages of each method. The best estimate values for fitting constants and activation energies were determined for both methods, taking into account the effects of the higher yield stress observed in TerraPower optimized HT9 compared to historic HT9.
Likewise, the best estimate creep rupture stresses for TerraPower optimized HT9 at various times and temperatures were determined by extrapolations using both the Larson-Miller and Wilshire analysis. The allowable stresses of historical and TerraPower optimized HT9 steels were compared to those of existing materials (9Cr-1Mo-V) in the ASME high temperature code. The comparison of analysis methods and rupture stresses demonstrate that TerraPower FM steel thermal creep performance and analysis methods are comparable to existing ASME qualified materials for high temperature applications.
Changing research methodology: Two case studies of Critical Realism informing social work doctoral research
Authors: Peter Shajimon , Park Lynne Soon-Chean 
Published: May 2018

INTRODUCTION: Critical Realism (CR) has much to offer to social work research because of its recognition of the existence of objective and subjective realities. Bhaskar (1978) classifies these levels of reality as the empirical, the actual and the real. Empirical realities emerge from our experience of the world and include our subjective constructions. The underlying real reality is seen as a productive force, causing the empirical to appear. Researchers using CR methodology can employ an analytic process called retroduction. This approach involves moving back and forth from the empirical to the real to identify causal mechanisms that drive the empirical to manifest.APPROACH: This research brief is the outcome of a research methodology literature review undertaken by two doctoral students who employ CR perspectives. Their research proposals have been used as case studies to demonstrate the usefulness of CR in informing social work research. These findings were presented at the ANZSWWER international symposium held at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.FINDINGS: CR uncovers the epistemic fallacy of reducing ontology to the realm of epistemology. The totalising truth claims of both objectivism and subjectivism are replaced with an alternative conception of stratified forms of reality – the real, actual and empirical. Reality exists both objectively and subjectively. This enables researchers to bridge social constructionism and structural causation. It allows for study that explores the subjective considerations of respondents while examining the objective existence of causal mechanisms such as social structures, systems or processes. CONCLUSION: CR offers an alternative that social work researchers have long been searching for: to engage meaningfully in studies that examine perceived realities at the empirical level and the causal mechanisms that lie behind them.
Germicidal Activity against Carbapenem/Colistin-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Using a Quantitative Carrier Test Method
Authors: Kanamori Hajime , Rutala William A. , Gergen Maria F. , Sickbert-Bennett Emily E. , Weber David J. 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACT

Susceptibility to germicides for carbapenem/colistin-resistant
Enterobacteriaceae
is poorly described. We investigated the efficacy of multiple germicides against these emerging antibiotic-resistant pathogens using the disc-based quantitative carrier test method that can produce results more similar to those encountered in health care settings than a suspension test. Our study results demonstrated that germicides commonly used in health care facilities likely will be effective against carbapenem/colistin-resistant
Enterobacteriaceae
when used appropriately in health care facilities.
Autoregulation of the Streptococcus mutans SloR Metalloregulator Is Constitutive and Driven by an Independent Promoter
Authors: Monette Patrick , Brach Richard , Cowan Annie , Winters Roger , Weisman Jazz , Seybert Foster , Goguen Kelsey , Chen James , Glasfeld Arthur , Spatafora Grace 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTStreptococcus mutans, one of ∼600 bacterial species in the human oral cavity, is among the most acidogenic constituents of the plaque biofilm. Considered to be the primary causative agent of dental caries,S. mutansharbors a 25-kDa SloR metalloregulatory protein which controls metal ion transport across the bacterial cell membrane to maintain essential metal ion homeostasis. The expression of SloR derives in part from transcriptional readthrough of thesloABCoperon, which encodes a Mn2+/Fe2+ABC transport system. Here we describe the details of thesloABCpromoter that drives this transcription as well as those for a novel independent promoter in an intergenic region (IGR) that contributes to downstreamsloRexpression. Reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) studies support the occurrence ofsloRtranscription that is independent ofsloABCexpression, and the results of 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5′ RACE) revealed asloRtranscription start site in the IGR, from which the −10 and −35 promoter regions were predicted. The results of gel mobility shift assays support direct SloR binding to the IGR, albeit with a lower affinity than that for SloR binding to thesloABCRpromoter. The function of thesloRpromoter was validated by semiquantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) experiments. Interestingly,sloRexpression was not significantly affected when bacteria were grown in the presence of a high manganese concentration, whereas expression of thesloABCoperon was repressed under these conditions. The results ofin vitrotranscription studies support the occurrence of SloR-mediated transcriptional activation ofsloRand repression ofsloABC. Taken together, these findings implicate SloR as a bifunctional regulator that repressessloABCpromoter activity and encouragessloRtranscription from an independent promoter.IMPORTANCETooth decay is a ubiquitous infectious disease that is especially pervasive in underserved communities worldwide.S. mutans-induced carious lesions cause functional, physical, and/or esthetic impairment in the vast majority of adults and in 60 to 90% of schoolchildren in industrialized countries. Billions of dollars are spent annually on caries treatment, and productivity losses due to absenteeism from the workplace are significant. Research aimed at alleviatingS. mutans-induced tooth decay is important because it can address the socioeconomic disparity that is associated with dental cavities and improve overall general health, which is inextricably linked to oral health. Research focused on theS. mutansSloR metalloregulatory protein can guide the development of novel therapeutics and thus alleviate the burden of dental cavities.
T Cell-Derived Lymphotoxin Is Essential for the Anti-Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Humoral Immune Response
Authors: Yang Kaiting , Liang Yong , Sun Zhichen , Xue Diyuan , Xu Hairong , Zhu Mingzhao , Fu Yang-Xin , Peng Hua 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTB cell-derived lymphotoxin (LT) is required for the development of follicular dendritic cell clusters for the formation of primary and secondary lymphoid follicles, but the role of T cell-derived LT in antibody response has not been well demonstrated. We observed that lymphotoxin β-receptor (LTβR) signaling is essential for optimal humoral immune response and protection against an acute herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection. Blocking the LTβR pathway caused poor maintenance of germinal center B (GC-B) cells and follicular helper T (Tfh) cells. Using bone marrow chimeric mice and adoptive transplantation, we determined that T cell-derived LT played an indispensable role in the humoral immune response to HSV-1. Upregulation of gamma interferon by the LTβR-Ig blockade impairs the sustainability of Tfh-like cells, leading to an impaired humoral immune response. Our findings have identified a novel role of T cell-derived LT in the humoral immune response against HSV-1 infection.IMPORTANCEImmunocompromised people are susceptible to HSV-1 infection and lethal recurrence, which could be inhibited by anti-HSV-1 humoral immune response in the host. This study sought to explore the role of T cell-derived LT in the anti-HSV-1 humoral immune response using LT-LTβR signaling-deficient mice and the LTβR-Ig blockade. The data indicate that the T cell-derived LT may play an essential role in sustaining Tfh-like cells and ensure Tfh-like cells' migration into primary or secondary follicles for further maturation. This study provides insights for vaccine development against infectious diseases.
Bone Marrow Is a Major Parasite Reservoir in Plasmodium vivax Infection
Authors: Obaldia Nicanor , Meibalan Elamaran , Sa Juliana M. , Ma Siyuan , Clark Martha A. , Mejia Pedro , Moraes Barros Roberto R. , Otero William , Ferreira Marcelo U. , Mitchell James R. , Milner Danny A. , Huttenhower Curtis , Wirth Dyann F. , Duraisingh Manoj T. , Wellems Thomas E. , Marti Matthias 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACT

Plasmodium vivax
causes heavy burdens of disease across malarious regions worldwide. Mature
P. vivax
asexual and transmissive gametocyte stages occur in the blood circulation, and it is often assumed that accumulation/sequestration in tissues is not an important phase in their development. Here, we present a systematic study of
P. vivax
stage distributions in infected tissues of nonhuman primate (NHP) malaria models as well as in blood from human infections. In a comparative analysis of the transcriptomes of
P. vivax
and
Plasmodium falciparum
blood-stage parasites, we found a conserved cascade of stage-specific gene expression despite the greatly different gametocyte maturity times of these two species. Using this knowledge, we validated a set of conserved asexual- and gametocyte-stage markers both by quantitative real-time PCR and by antibody assays of peripheral blood samples from infected patients and NHP (
Aotus
sp.). Histological analyses of
P. vivax
parasites in organs of 13 infected NHP (
Aotus
and
Saimiri
species) demonstrated a major fraction of immature gametocytes in the parenchyma of the bone marrow, while asexual schizont forms were enriched to a somewhat lesser extent in this region of the bone marrow as well as in sinusoids of the liver. These findings suggest that the bone marrow is an important reservoir for gametocyte development and proliferation of malaria parasites.

IMPORTANCE
Plasmodium vivax
malaria continues to cause major public health burdens worldwide. Yet, significant knowledge gaps in the basic biology and epidemiology of
P. vivax
malaria remain, largely due to limited available tools for research and diagnostics. Here, we present a systematic examination of tissue sequestration during
P. vivax
infection. Studies of nonhuman primates and malaria patients revealed enrichment of developing sexual stages (gametocytes) and mature replicative stages (schizonts) in the bone marrow and liver, relative to those present in peripheral blood. Identification of the bone marrow as a major
P. vivax
tissue reservoir has important implications for parasite diagnosis and treatment.
Loss of Ethanolamine Utilization in Enterococcus faecalis Increases Gastrointestinal Tract Colonization
Authors: Kaval Karan Gautam , Singh Kavindra V. , Cruz Melissa R. , DebRoy Sruti , Winkler Wade C. , Murray Barbara E. , Garsin Danielle A. 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACT

Enterococcus faecalis
is paradoxically a dangerous nosocomial pathogen and a normal constituent of the human gut microbiome, an environment rich in ethanolamine.
E. faecalis
carries the
eut
(ethanolamine utilization) genes, which enable the catabolism of ethanolamine (EA) as a valuable source of carbon and/or nitrogen. EA catabolism was previously shown to contribute to the colonization and growth of enteric pathogens, such as
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium and enterohemorrhagic
Escherichia coli
(EHEC), in the gut environment. We tested the ability of
eut
mutants of
E. faecalis
to colonize the gut using a murine model of gastrointestinal (GI) tract competition and report the surprising observation that these mutants outcompete the wild-type strain.

IMPORTANCE
Some bacteria that are normal, harmless colonizers of the human body can cause disease in immunocompromised patients, particularly those that have been heavily treated with antibiotics. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that promote or negate these organisms’ ability to colonize. Previously, ethanolamine, found in high concentrations in the GI tract, was shown to promote the colonization and growth of bacteria associated with food poisoning. Here, we report the surprising, opposite effect of ethanolamine utilization on the commensal colonizer
E. faecalis
, namely, that loss of this metabolic capacity made it a better colonizer.
Investigation on flow oscillation modes and aero-acoustics generation mechanism in cavity
Authors: Yang Dang-Guo , Lu Bo , Cai Jin-Sheng , Wu Jun-Qiang , Qu Kun , Liu Jun 
Published: May 2018

Unsteady flow and multi-scale vortex transformation inside a cavity of L/D = 6 (ratio of length to depth) at Ma = 0.9 and 1.5 were studied using the numerical simulation method of modified delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES) in this paper. Aero-acoustic characteristics for the cavity at same flow conditions were obtained by the numerical method and 0.6 m by 0.6 m transonic and supersonic wind-tunnel experiments. The analysis on the computational and experimental results indicates that some vortex generates from flow separation in shear-layer over the cavity, and the vortex moves from forward to downward of the cavity at some velocity, and impingement of the vortex and the rear-wall of the cavity occurs. Some sound waves spread abroad to the cavity fore-wall, which induces some new vortex generation, and the vortex sheds, moves and impinges on the cavity rear-wall. New sound waves occur. The research results indicate that sound wave feedback created by the impingement of the shedding-vortices and rear cavity face leads to flow oscillations and noise generation inside the cavity. Analysis on aero-acoustic characteristics inside the cavity is feasible. The simulated self-sustained flow-oscillation modes and peak sound pressure on typical frequencies inside the cavity agree well with Rossiter’s and Heller’s predicated results. Moreover, the peak sound pressure occurs in the first and second flow-oscillation modes and most of sound energy focuses on the low-frequency region. Compared with subsonic speed (Ma = 0.9), aerodynamic noise is more intense at Ma = 1.5, which is induced by compression wave or shock wave in near region of fore and rear cavity face.
A Model for Make-or-Buy Decisions in Engineering Design Services Sector: A Case Study from Turkey
Authors: Ediz Z. Aytan , Öner M. Atilla , Erdem Y. Can , Kaplan Nesimi 
Published: May 2018

Make-or-buy decision is an important factor affecting the profitability of the firms in all sectors. The goal of this study is to propose a model for firms in engineering design services sector for make-or-buy decisions. A survey was conducted to determine the importance percentages given in an engineering company in make-or-buy decisions and a model was developed. The results of the case study show intriguing clusters of company personnel.As the lack of consensus among company managers and personnel may inhibit the successful implementation of the developed strategy, we use K-Means Clustering to determine the different perspectives of different groups of employees (managers, senior engineers, junior engineers, technical and administrative support personnel) which may contribute to the understanding of social dynamics of decision making within the company. 4-cluster and 5-cluster analysis results indicate the need for further study on the dynamics of cluster membership.