bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tree species and recovery time drives soil restoration after mining: A chronosequence study
Authors: Kim Songho , Zang Huadong , Mortimer Peter , Shi Lingling , Li Yunju , Xu Jianchu , Ostermann Anne 
Published: March 2018

AbstractOpen‐pit mining activities for metals and minerals have impacted vast areas of the Earth's surface and left behind highly disturbed and degraded landscapes. However, our understanding of tree species and recovery time on the restoration of biotic and abiotic soil properties remains incomplete. Topsoil (0–15 cm) was collected from plantations of 4 tree species: alder, acacia, pine, and cypress. A chronosequence of restoration was selected to assess the effect of recovery time: vegetation‐free postmining land (unrestored control), 5–10 years (young plantation), and 20–25 years (old plantation). The soil physicochemical characteristics and phospholipid fatty acids were analysed. After 20 years of restoration, the soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration increased, on average, from 1.4% to 4.7% for alder, cypress, and acacia. However, SOC was similar under pine plantations in unrestored control and at the late stage of restoration. The restoration of soil total nitrogen was faster than the SOC pools for all tree species investigated. Compared with that in the unrestored control, the total microbial biomass increased by 74% after 20–25 years of restoration. A similar increase was observed for bacterial biomass. The studied sites partly exhibited residues of trace elements that exceeded Chinese environmental quality standards (Cd, As, Cu, and Cr). However, only Cu affected the soil community; arbuscular mycorrhizal biomass decreased with an increase in Cu concentration. In conclusion, the recovery time, rather than the tree species, was the main determinant in the alteration of key soil physicochemical parameters in the restoration of phosphate‐mining‐degraded landscapes, at least during the first 20–25 years.
Effects of rotational prescribed burning and sheep grazing on moorland plant communities: Results from a 60‐year intervention experiment
Authors: Milligan Gregg , Rose Rob J. , O'Reilly John , Marrs Rob H. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThe effect of prescribed burning for conservation management of plant communities is controversial for moorlands growing on peat. These ecosystems provide many services that may be damaged by fire, hence it is important to fully assess its impact on all aspects of ecosystem structure and function experimentally over relatively long time‐scales. This paper describes change in community composition, major plant species, and plant functional types on moorland on peat in upland Britain over 60 years subject to 3 burning treatments after an initial burn in 1954/1955: no further burn and burning at 10‐ and 20‐year intervals (all ± sheep grazing). Data were analysed using multivariate and univariate methods. Vegetation composition and individual species abundance reflected the degree of disturbance. The least disturbed was dominated by Calluna vulgaris and pleurocarpous mosses, whereas the most disturbed treatment (burned every 10 years) had greater Eriophorum vaginatum, Sphagnum spp., acrocarpous mosses, liverworts, and lichens. The 20‐year treatment was intermediate in response disturbance. Repeated burning increased species abundance‐weighted Ellenberg values for moisture, reaction, light through time, and fertility; the exception was the 10‐year rotation for fertility. These confirm that prescribed burning is not deleterious to peat‐forming species (Eriophorum spp. and Sphagnum spp.), indeed these species were found in greater abundance in frequently burned treatments. It also confirms that a no‐burn policy will lead to increasing dominance of C. vulgaris, a flammable, fire‐adapted shrub, which increases summer wildfire risk. These results inform conservation management policy for moorland vegetation growing on peat; for this site, a 20‐year prescribed burning rotation is recommended.
An experimental investigation of a novel iron chelating protoporphyrin IX prodrug for the enhancement of photodynamic therapy
Authors: Anayo Lizette , Magnussen Anette , Perry Alexis , Wood Mark , Curnow Alison 
Published: March 2018

ObjectivesNon‐melanoma skin cancers are the most frequently occurring type of cancer worldwide. They can be effectively treated using topical dermatological photodynamic therapy (PDT) employing protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) as the active photosensitising agent as long as the disease remains superficial. Novel iron chelating agents are being investigated to enhance the effectiveness and extend the applications of this treatment modality, as limiting free iron increases the accumulation of PpIX available for light activation and thus cell kill.MethodsHuman lung fibroblasts (MRC‐5) and epithelial squamous carcinoma (A431) cells were treated with PpIX precursors (aminolaevulinic acid [ALA] or methyl‐aminolevulinate [MAL]) with or without the separate hydroxypyridinone iron chelating agent (CP94) or alternatively, the new combined iron chelator and PpIX producing agent, AP2‐18. PpIX fluorescence was monitored hourly for 6 hours prior to irradiation. PDT effectiveness was then assessed the following day using the lactate dehydrogenase and neutral red assays.ResultsGenerally, iron chelation achieved via CP94 or AP2‐18 administration significantly increased PpIX fluorescence. ALA was more effective as a PpIX‐prodrug than MAL in A431 cells, corresponding with the lower PpIX accumulation observed with the latter congener in this cell type. Addition of either iron chelating agent consistently increased PpIX accumulation but did not always convey an extra beneficial effect on PpIX‐PDT cell kill when using the already highly effective higher dose of ALA. However, these adjuvants were highly beneficial in the skin cancer cells when compared with MAL administration alone. AP2‐18 was also at least as effective as CP94 + ALA/MAL co‐administration throughout and significantly better than CP94 supplementation at increasing PpIX fluorescence in MRC5 cells as well as at lower doses where PpIX accumulation was observed to be more limited.ConclusionsPpIX fluorescence levels, as well as PDT cell kill effects on irradiation can be significantly increased by pyridinone iron chelation, either via the addition of CP94 to the administration of a PpIX precursor or alternatively via the newly synthesized combined PpIX prodrug and siderophore, AP2‐18. The effect of the latter compound appears to be at least equivalent to, if not better than, the separate administration of its constituent parts, particularly when employing MAL to destroy skin cancer cells. AP2‐18 therefore warrants further detailed analysis, as it may have the potential to improve dermatological PDT outcomes in applications currently requiring enhancement. Lasers Surg. Med. 50:552–565, 2018. © 2018 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Unilateral problems for the wave equation with degenerate and localized nonlinear damping: well‐posedness and non‐stability results
Authors: Cavalcanti A. D. D. , Cavalcanti M. M. , Fatori L. H. , Silva M. A. Jorge 
Published: March 2018

AbstractUnilateral problems related to the wave model subject to degenerate and localized nonlinear damping on a compact Riemannian manifold are considered. Our results are new and concern two main issues: (a) to prove the global well‐posedness of the variational problem; (b) to establish that the corresponding energy functional is not (uniformly) stable to equilibrium in general, namely, the energy does not converge to zero on the trajectory of every solution, even if a full linear damping is taken in place.
Navier–Stokes equations with external forces in time‐weighted Besov spaces
Authors: Kozono Hideo , Shimizu Senjo 
Published: March 2018

AbstractWe show existence theorem of global mild solutions with small initial data and external forces in the time‐weighted Besov space which is an invariant space under the change of scaling. The result on local existence of solutions for large data is also discussed. Our method is based on the ‐ estimate of the Stokes equations in Besov spaces. Since we construct the global solution by means of the implicit function theorem, as a byproduct, its stability with respect to the given data is necessarily obtained.
A note on lattice ordered ‐algebras and Perron–Frobenius theory
Authors: Glück Jochen 
Published: March 2018

AbstractA classical result of Sherman says that if the space of self‐adjoint elements in a ‐algebra is a lattice with respect to its canonical order, then is commutative. We give a new proof of this theorem which shows that it is intrinsically connected with the spectral theory of positive operator semigroups. Our methods also show that some important Perron–Frobenius like spectral results fail to hold in any non‐commutative ‐algebra.
Short‐ and long‐term cost and utilization of health care resources in Parkinson's disease in the UK
Authors: Weir Sharada , Samnaliev Mihail , Kuo Tzu‐Chun , Tierney Travis S. , Walleser Autiero Silke , Taylor Rod S. , Schrag Anette 
Published: March 2018

AbstractBackground: There is currently no robust long‐term data on costs of treating patients with Parkinson's disease. The objective of this study was to report levels of health care utilization and associated costs in the 10 years after diagnosis among PD patients in the United Kingdom.Methods: We undertook a retrospective population‐based cohort study using linked data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink and Hospital Episode Statistics databases. Total health care costs of PD patients were compared with those of a control group of patients without PD selected using 1:1 propensity score matching based on age, sex, and comorbidity.Results: Between 1994 and 2013, 7271 PD patients who met study inclusion criteria were identified in linked Clinical Practice Research Datalink‐Hospital Episode Statistics; 7060 were matched with controls. The mean annual health care cost difference (at 2013 costs) between PD patients and controls was £2471 (US$3716) per patient in the first year postdiagnosis (P < 0.001), increasing to £4004 (US$6021) per patient (P < 0.001) 10 years following diagnosis because of higher levels of use across all categories of health care utilization. Costs in patients with markers of advanced PD (ie, presence of levodopa‐equivalent daily dose > 1100 mg, dyskinesias, falls, dementia, psychosis, hospital admission primarily due to PD, or nursing home placement) were on average higher by £1069 (US$1608) per patient than those with PD without these markers.Conclusions: This study provides comprehensive estimates of health care costs in PD patients based on routinely collected data. Health care costs attributable to PD increase in the year following diagnosis and are higher for patients with indicators of advanced disease. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Genotype‐phenotype correlations, dystonia and disease progression in spinocerebellar ataxia type 14
Authors: Chelban Viorica , Wiethoff Sarah , Fabian‐Jessing Bjørn K. , Haridy Nourelhoda A. , Khan Alaa , Efthymiou Stephanie , Becker Esther B. E. , O'Connor Emer , Hersheson Joshua , Newland Katrina , Hojland Allan Thomas , Gregersen Pernille A. , Lindquist Suzanne G. , Petersen Michael B. , Nielsen Jørgen E. , Nielsen Michael , Wood Nicholas W. , Giunti Paola , Houlden Henry 
Published: March 2018

ABSTRACTBackground: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 14 is a rare form of autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia caused by mutations in protein kinase Cγ gene. Clinically, it presents with a slowly progressive, mainly pure cerebellar ataxia.Methods: Using next generation sequencing, we screened 194 families with autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia and normal polyglutamine repeats. In‐depth phenotyping was performed using validated clinical rating scales neuroimaging and electrophysiological investigations.Results: We identified 25 individuals from 13 families carrying pathogenic mutations in protein kinase Cγ gene. A total of 10 unique protein kinase Cγ gene mutations have been confirmed of which 5 are novel and 5 were previously described. Our data suggest that the age at onset is highly variable; disease course is slowly progressive and rarely associated with severe disability. However, one third of patients presented with a complex ataxia comprising severe focal and/or task‐induced dystonia, peripheral neuropathy, parkinsonism, myoclonus, and pyramidal syndrome. The most complex phenotype is related to a missense mutation in the catalytic domain in exon 11.Conclusion: We present one of the largest genetically confirmed spinocerebellar ataxia type 14 cohorts contributing novel variants and clinical characterisation. We show that although protein kinase Cγ gene mutations present mainly as slowly progressive pure ataxia, more than a third of cases had a complex phenotype. Overall, our case series extends the phenotype and suggests that protein kinase Cγ gene mutations should be considered in patients with slowly progressive autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia, particularly when myoclonus, dystonia, or mild cognitive impairment are present in the absence of polyglutamine expansion. © 2018 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Application of the Movement Disorder Society prodromal criteria in healthy G2019S‐LRRK2 carriers
Authors: Mirelman Anat , Saunders‐Pullman Rachel , Alcalay Roy N. , Shustak Shiran , Thaler Avner , Gurevich Tanya , Raymond Deborah , Mejia‐Santana Helen , Orbe Reilly Martha , Ozelius Laurie , Clark Lorraine , Gana‐Weisz Mali , Bar‐Shira Anat , Orr‐Utreger Avi , Bressman Susan B. , Marder Karen , Giladi Nir ,   the AJ LRRK2 Consortium
Published: March 2018

ABSTRACTBackgroundIn 2015, the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Task Force recommended research criteria for the estimation of prodromal PD.ObjectivesWe aimed to evaluate, for the first time, the criteria in first‐degree relatives of Ashkenazi Jewish G2019S‐LRRK2 PD patients, who are considered a population at risk for developing PD, and assess the sensitivity and specificity of the criteria in identifying phenoconverters.MethodsParticipants were evaluated longitudinally over a period of 5 years (average follow‐up: 49.2 ± 12.3 months). Likelihood ratios and probability estimations were calculated based on the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Research Criteria for Prodromal Parkinson's Disease markers and examined for each assessment point.ResultsOne hundred twenty healthy carriers (49.53 ± 13.4 years; 54% female) and 111 healthy noncarriers (48.43 ± 15.79 years; 49% female) participated in this study. Probability scores were significantly higher in healthy carriers than healthy noncarriers (P < 0.0001). Of the 20 participants (8.6%) who met criteria for probable prodromal PD at baseline, 17 were healthy carriers. Participants who reached the threshold were older (P < 0.0001), had higher UPDRS‐III (P < 0.001), lower cognitive function (P = 0.001), and more nonmotor symptoms (P < 0.0001), compared to those who did not. Ten participants were diagnosed with incident PD within 5 years from baseline resulting in a specificity of 91.82% (95% confidence interval: 86.69‐96.94), sensitivity of 80% (95% confidence interval: 55.21‐100), positive predictive value of 47.06% (95% confidence interval: 23.33‐70.79), and negative predictive value of 98.06% (95% confidence interval: 95.39‐100). All 10 phenoconvertors were G2019S‐LRRK2 carriers.ConclusionsThe results showed the utility of using the criteria and high sensitivity and specificity in identifying prodromal PD in this high‐risk unique cohort. These results may be valuable for future disease modification clinical trials. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Intraoperative use of indocyanine green angiography for selecting the more reliable perforator of the anterolateral thigh flap: A comparison study
Authors: La Padula Simone , Hersant Barbara , Meningaud Jean Paul 
Published: March 2018

IntroductionAnatomical variability of anterolateral thigh flap (ALT) perforators has been reported. The aim of this study is to assess if the use of intraoperative indocyanine green angiography (iICGA) can help surgeons to choose the ALT flap best perforator to be preserved.Patients and methodsA retrospective study was conducted in 28 patients with open tibial fracture, following a road traffic crash, who had undergone ALT flap. Patients were classified into two groups: ICGA group (iICGA was used to select the more reliable perforator) and control group. The mean tissue loss size of the ICGA group (n = 13, 11 men and 2 women, mean age: 52 ± 6 years) was of 16.6 cm × 12.2 cm. The mean defect size of the control group (n = 15, 14 men and 1 women, mean age: 50 ± 5.52 years) was of 15.3 cm × 11.1 cm. Statistical analysis was performed to analyze and compare the results.ResultsICGA allowed preserving only the most functional perforator, that provided the best ALT flap perfusion in 10 out of the 13 cases (77%). ICGA allowed a significant operative time reduction (160 ± 23 vs. 202 ± 48 minutes; P < .001). One case of distal necrosis was observed in the ICGA group (mean follow‐up 12.3 months), while partial skin necrosis occurred in three cases of the control group (mean follow‐up 13.1 months); P = .35. No additional coverage was required and a successful bone healing was observed in both groups.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that iICGA is an effective method that allows to select the most reliable ALT flap perforators and to reduce operative time.
Metabolic Regulation of Methionine Restriction in Diabetes
Authors: Yin Jie , Ren Wenkai , Chen Shuai , Li Yuying , Han Hui , Gao Jing , Liu Gang , Wu Xin , Li Tiejun , Woo Kim Sung , Yin Yulong 
Published: March 2018

AbstractAlthough the effects of dietary methionine restriction have been investigated in the physiology of aging and diseases related to oxidative stress, the relationship between methionine restriction (MR) and the development of metabolic disorders has not been explored extensively. This review summarizes studies of the possible involvement of dietary methionine restriction in improving insulin resistance, glucose homeostasis, oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), and inflammation, with an emphasis on the fibroblast growth factor 21 and protein phosphatase 2A signals and autophagy in diabetes. Diets deficient in methionine may be a useful nutritional strategy in patients with diabetes.
Changes in Plasma Metabolite Concentrations after a Low‐Glycemic Index Diet Intervention
Authors: Hernández‐Alonso Pablo , Giardina Simona , Cañueto Daniel , Salas‐Salvadó Jordi , Cañellas Nicolau , Bulló Mònica 
Published: March 2018

ScopeTo examine whether a low‐glycemic index (LGI) diet improves a set of plasma metabolites related to different metabolic diseases, and comparison to a high‐glycemic index (HGI) diet and a low‐fat (LF) diet.Methods and resultsA parallel, randomized trial with three intervention diets: an LGI diet, an HGI diet, and an LF diet. A total of 122 adult overweight and obese subjects were enrolled in the study for 6 months. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at the end of the intervention. The plasma metabolomic profile of 102 subjects was analyzed using three different approaches: GC/quadrupole‐TOF, LC/quadrupole‐TOF, and nuclear magnetic resonance. Both univariate and multivariate analysis were performed. Serine levels were significantly higher following the LGI diet compared to both the HGI and LF diets (q = 0.002), whereas leucine (q = 0.015) and valine (q = 0.024) were lower in the LGI diet compared to the LF diet. A set of two sphingomyelins, two lysophosphatidylcholines, and six phosphatidylcholines were significantly modulated after the LGI diet compared to the HGI and LF diets (q < 0.05). Significant correlations between changes in plasma amino acids and lipid species with changes in body weight, glucose, insulin, and some inflammatory markers are also reported.ConclusionThese results suggest that an LGI diet modulates certain circulating amino acids and lipid levels. These findings may explain the health benefits attributed to LGI diets in metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
Deep nets vs expert designed features in medical physics: An IMRT QA case study
Authors: Interian Yannet , Rideout Vincent , Kearney Vasant P. , Gennatas Efstathios , Morin Olivier , Cheung Joey , Solberg Timothy , Valdes Gilmer 
Published: March 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to compare the performance of Deep Neural Networks against a technique designed by domain experts in the prediction of gamma passing rates for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy Quality Assurance (IMRT QA).MethodA total of 498 IMRT plans across all treatment sites were planned in Eclipse version 11 and delivered using a dynamic sliding window technique on Clinac iX or TrueBeam Linacs. Measurements were performed using a commercial 2D diode array, and passing rates for 3%/3 mm local dose/distance‐to‐agreement (DTA) were recorded. Separately, fluence maps calculated for each plan were used as inputs to a convolution neural network (CNN). The CNNs were trained to predict IMRT QA gamma passing rates using TensorFlow and Keras. A set of model architectures, inspired by the convolutional blocks of the VGG‐16 ImageNet model, were constructed and implemented. Synthetic data, created by rotating and translating the fluence maps during training, was created to boost the performance of the CNNs. Dropout, batch normalization, and data augmentation were utilized to help train the model. The performance of the CNNs was compared to a generalized Poisson regression model, previously developed for this application, which used 78 expert designed features.ResultsDeep Neural Networks without domain knowledge achieved comparable performance to a baseline system designed by domain experts in the prediction of 3%/3 mm Local gamma passing rates. An ensemble of neural nets resulted in a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.70 ± 0.05 and the domain expert model resulted in a 0.74 ± 0.06.ConclusionsConvolutional neural networks (CNNs) with transfer learning can predict IMRT QA passing rates by automatically designing features from the fluence maps without human expert supervision. Predictions from CNNs are comparable to a system carefully designed by physicist experts.
Observation of untoward 3Jcc correlations in 1,1‐ADEQUATE spectra of pyrimidine analogs: Avoiding potential interpretation pitfalls
Authors: Kim Hai‐Young , Saurí Josep , Cohen Ryan D. , Martin Gary E. 
Published: March 2018

Recently, it has been reported that large nJCC correlations can sometimes be observed in 1,1‐ADEQUATE spectra with significant intensity, which opens the possibility of structural misassignment. In this work, we have focused on pyrimidine‐based compounds, which exhibit multiple bond correlations in the 1,1‐ADEQUATE experiment as a consequence of 3JCC coupling constants greater than 10 Hz. Results are supported by both the experimental measurement of 3JCC coupling constants in question using J‐modulated‐ADEQUATE and density functional theory calculations.