bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Piper nigrum Oil – Determination of Selected Terpenes for Quality Evaluation
Authors: Wang Mei , Chittiboyina Amar , Parcher Jon , Ali Zulfiqar , Ford Paul , Zhao Jianping , Avula Bharathi , Wang Yan-Hong , Khan Ikhlas 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThe growing demand and commercial value of black pepper (Piper nigrum) has resulted in considerable interest in developing suitable and cost-effective methods for chemical characterization and quality evaluation purposes. In the current study, an extensive set of oil samples (n = 23) that were extracted by steam distillation from black pepper seeds was investigated to compare the chemical profiles of samples originating from nine major producing countries, as well as to identify potential chemical markers for quality evaluation. The twenty-two most abundant volatile compounds, mainly terpenes, in these oils were determined by conventional GC/MS analysis. Principal component analysis with this set of data revealed distinct clusters for samples that originated from China and Malaysia. Relatively low concentrations of sabinene (< 0.2%) and high concentrations of 3-carene (10.9 – 21.1%) were observed in these samples, respectively, compared to oil samples from other countries. The enantiomeric distributions of key terpene markers, viz., β-pinene, sabinene, limonene, and terpinen-4-ol, were determined by chiral GC/MS analysis. Interestingly, for these four monoterpenes, levo-isomers were found to be predominant, emphasizing the highly conserved enzymatic processes occurring in P. nigrum. Moreover, consistent enantiomeric ratios ((−) isomer/(+) isomer) of 92.2 ± 3.0% for β-pinene, 94.8 ± 2.8% for sabinene, 60.7 ± 1.1% for limonene, and 78.3 ± 1.3% for terpinen-4-ol were observed, independent of geographical location. These results demonstrate the potential of using stereospecific compositions as chiral signatures for establishing the authenticity and quality of black pepper oil.
Recent Developments in Polyene Cyclizations and Their Applications in Natural Product Synthesis
Authors: Barrett Anthony , Ma Tsz-Kan , Mies Thomas 
Published: November 2018

Cascade polyene cyclization reactions are highly efficient and elegant bioinspired transformations that involve simultaneous multiple bond constructions to rapidly generate complex polycyclic molecules. This review summarizes the most prominent work on a variety of cationic and radical cascade cyclizations and their applications in natural product synthesis published between 2014 and 2018.1	Introduction2	Cationic Polyene Cyclizations2.1	Lewis Acid Mediated Polyene Cyclizations2.2	Brønsted Acid Mediated Polyene Cyclizations2.3	Halogen Electrophile Initiated Polyene Cyclizations2.4	Sulfur Electrophile Initiated Polyene Cyclizations2.5	Transition-Metal-Mediated Cationic Polyene Cyclizations3	Radical Polyene Cyclizations3.1	Transition-Metal-Mediated Radical Polyene Cyclizations3.2	Photocatalyst-Mediated Polyene Cyclizations4	Origin of Stereocontrol in Polyene Cyclizations5	Conclusion
Right Potency Matters: A Case Report of Homoeopathic Treatment of Verruca Palmaris
Authors: Barik Bidyabhusan , Hati Akshaya , Paital Biswaranjan , Sahoo Amulya 
Published: November 2018

AbstractWarts are caused by human papilloma viruses (HPV) that can affect any part of the body including hands and feet. Verruca palmaris (VP) is a common manifestation due to HPV infection in keratinocytes of the palms. In the conventional system of medicine, VP is commonly managed through cauterisation, cryosurgery, surgical removal or topical ointments, which have many limitations. Scientific documentation for the treatment of VP by homoeopathic medicines is very scanty. In this context, the present case report is of a 40-year-old male patient, who had multiple warts on his right palm for more than 2 years. The patient was treated previously with allopathic medications and external applications, without any significant improvement. Homoeopathic remedy (i.e. Natrum mur) was initially administered in 30C potency for 30 days, but no improvement was observed in the patient. Interestingly, when the potency was increased to 200C, a speedy recovery was observed and the patient was fully cured within 3 months. Therefore, it can be concluded from the case study that VP, when treated on the basis of the totality of symptoms, with an accurately selected remedy in suitable potency results in cure. In this particular case, Natrum mur worked well for warts on the palm. Most importantly, it was observed in this case that the selection of right potency is very essential and it should match correctly with the susceptibility of the patient to result in rapid cure.
Important sociocultural aspects of diabetes mellitus in Qatar: A rapidly developing Arab gulf state
Authors: Soliman Ashraf , Alali Maryam , Alzyoud Mahmoud , Awwa Ahmed , Alhumaidi Noora , Sabt Aml 
Published: November 2018

AbstractSocio-cultural factors can profoundly influence diabetes control in diabetic patients. Qatar is an oil-rich country characterized by rapid urbanization. Excessive consumption of fast food, sedentary rich life style with totally air-conditioned housing, luxury cars, servants, and little outdoors activities and exercise due to hot weather most of the year have led to an epidemic of obesity and high prevalence of type 2 DM and negatively interfered with metabolic control. Increased incidence of divorce (around 40%) appears to be a risk factor for repeated diabetic keto-acidosis and poor control in children with type 1 DM. In addition, the high prevalence vitamin D deficiency and its possible depressive effect on insulin secretion may be associated with poor diabetes control.
Contrasting temporal difference and opportunity cost reinforcement learning in an empirical money-emergence paradigm
Authors: Lefebvre Germain , Nioche Aurélien , Bourgeois-Gironde Sacha , Palminteri Stefano 
Published: November 2018

Significance
In the present study, we applied reinforcement learning models that are not classically used in experimental economics to a multistep exchange task of the emergence of money derived from a classic search-theoretic paradigm for the emergence of money. This method allowed us to highlight the importance of counterfactual feedback processing of opportunity costs in the learning process of speculative use of money and the predictive power of reinforcement learning models for multistep economic tasks. Those results constitute a step toward understanding the learning processes at work in multistep economic decision-making and the cognitive microfoundations of the use of money.
The authoritarian origins of well-organized opposition parties: The rise of Chadema in Tanzania
Authors: Paget Dan 
Published: November 2018

Abstract
This article concerns the organizational expansion undertaken by the opposition party, Chadema, in Tanzania between 2003 and 2015. It argues that Chadema’s extensive party-building enabled it to mobilize on the ground. These organizational developments, as much as elite action, underpinned recent changes in the party system and the opposition’s improved showing in recent elections. Chadema established branches even though many of the prerequisite circumstances typically recognized in the literature were absent. This makes Chadema a deviant case and this deviance has implications for the historical institutionalist literature on party-building. This article complicates Rachel Riedl’s account of state substitution. She links the incorporation or substitution of social actors to different paths of party system institutionalization. This article demonstrates that the character and consequences of state substitution depend upon the balance of power between state and social actors. It also builds on accounts by Adrienne LeBas and others that when social actors are strong, they can endow opposition parties with resources which make branch establishment possible, and when they are weak, they can only act as surrogate party branches. This article illustrates that when social actors are absent from partisan politics, parties have no way to organize except by founding green-site branches.
Widespread co-occurrence of multiple ploidy levels in fragile ferns (Cystopteris fragilis complex; Cystopteridaceae) probably stems from similar ecology of cytotypes, their efficient dispersal and inter-ploidy hybridization
Authors: Hanušová Kristýna , Čertner Martin , Urfus Tomáš , Koutecký Petr , Košnar Jiří , Rothfels Carl J , Jarolímová Vlasta , Ptáček Jan , Ekrt Libor 
Published: November 2018

AbstractBackground and AimsPolyploidy has played an important role in the evolution of ferns. However, the dearth of data on cytotype diversity, cytotype distribution patterns and ecology in ferns is striking in comparison with angiosperms and prevents an assessment of whether cytotype coexistence and its mechanisms show similar patterns in both plant groups. Here, an attempt to fill this gap was made using the ploidy-variable and widely distributed Cystopteris fragilis complex.MethodsFlow cytometry was used to assess DNA ploidy level and monoploid genome size (Cx value) of 5518 C. fragilis individuals from 449 populations collected over most of the species’ global distributional range, supplemented with data from 405 individuals representing other related species from the complex. Ecological preferences of C. fragilis tetraploids and hexaploids were compared using field-recorded parameters and database-extracted climate data.Key ResultsAltogether, five different ploidy levels (2x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 8x) were detected and three species exhibited intraspecific ploidy-level variation: C. fragilis, C. alpina and C. diaphana. Two predominant C. fragilis cytotypes, tetraploids and hexaploids, co-occur over most of Europe in a diffuse, mosaic-like pattern. Within this contact zone, 40 % of populations were mixed-ploidy and most also contained pentaploid hybrids. Environmental conditions had only a limited effect on the distribution of cytotypes. Differences were found in the Cx value of tetraploids and hexaploids: between-cytotype divergence was higher in uniform-ploidy than in mixed-ploidy populations.ConclusionsHigh ploidy-level diversity and widespread cytotype coexistence in the C. fragilis complex match the well-documented patterns in some angiosperms. While ploidy coexistence in C. fragilis is not driven by environmental factors, it could be facilitated by the perennial life-form of the species, its reproductive modes and efficient wind dispersal of spores. Independent origins of hexaploids and/or inter-ploidy gene flow may be expected in mixed-ploidy populations according to Cx value comparisons.
BGSA: a bit-parallel global sequence alignment toolkit for multi-core and many-core architectures
Authors: Zhang Jikai , Lan Haidong , Chan Yuandong , Shang Yuan , Schmidt Bertil , Liu Weiguo 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Motivation
Modern bioinformatics tools for analyzing large-scale NGS datasets often need to include fast implementations of core sequence alignment algorithms in order to achieve reasonable execution times. We address this need by presenting the BGSA toolkit for optimized implementations of popular bit-parallel global pairwise alignment algorithms on modern microprocessors.

Results
BGSA outperforms Edlib, SeqAn and BitPAl for pairwise edit distance computations and Parasail, SeqAn and BitPAl when using more general scoring schemes for pairwise alignments of a batch of sequence reads on both standard multi-core CPUs and Xeon Phi many-core CPUs. Furthermore, banded edit distance performance of BGSA on a Xeon Phi-7210 outperforms the highly optimized NVBio implementation on a Titan X GPU for the seed verification stage of a read mapper by a factor of 4.4.

Availability and implementation
BGSA is open-source and available at https://github.com/sdu-hpcl/BGSA.

Supplementary information
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
G4HunterApps
Authors: Lacroix Laurent 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Motivation
In order to help G4Hunter users and make it more accessible, I have developed a set of small applications within the Shiny/R framework.

Results
Each application fulfils simple tasks ranging from computing the G4Hunter score for a sequence or a list of sequence to extracting sequences with a G4Hunter score above a threshold for a sequence up to 5 Mb or a list of short sequences. The application can be installed either on the user computer within Rstudio or on a Rstudio server.

Availability and implementation
The source code for the ShinyApps is available on GitHub (https://github.com/LacroixLaurent).
Identification of master regulator genes of UV response and their implications for skin carcinogenesis
Authors: Shen Yao , Chan Gabriel , Xie Michael , Zeng Wangyong , Liu Liang 
Published: November 2018

AbstractSolar UV radiation is a major environmental risk factor for skin cancer. Despite decades of robust and meritorious investigation, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying UV-induced skin carcinogenesis remain incomplete. We previously performed comprehensive transcriptomic profiling in human keratinocytes following exposure to different UV radiation conditions to generate UV-specific gene expression signatures. In this study, we utilized Virtual Inference of Protein Activity by Enriched Regulon (VIPER), a robust systems biology tool, on UV-specific skin cell gene signatures to identify master regulators (MRs) of UV-induced transcriptomic changes. We identified multiple prominent candidate UV MRs, including forkhead box M1 (FOXM1), thyroid hormone receptor interactor 13 and DNA isomerase II alpha, which play important roles in cell cycle regulation and genome stability. MR protein activity was either activated or suppressed by UV in normal keratinocytes. Intriguingly, many of the UV-suppressed MRs were activated in human skin squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), highlighting their importance in skin cancer development. We further demonstrated that selective inhibition of FOXM1, whose activity was elevated in SCC cells, was detrimental to SCC cell survival. Taken together, our study uncovered novel UV MRs that can be explored as new therapeutic targets for future skin cancer treatment.
Referral of patients for fractional flow reserve using quantitative flow ratio
Authors: Smit Jeff M , Koning Gerhard , van Rosendael Alexander R , El Mahdiui Mohammed , Mertens Bart J , Schalij Martin J , Jukema J Wouter , Delgado Victoria , Reiber Johan H C , Bax Jeroen J , Scholte Arthur J 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Aims
Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) is a recently developed technique to calculate fractional flow reserve (FFR) based on 3D quantitative coronary angiography and computational fluid dynamics, obviating the need for a pressure-wire and hyperaemia induction. QFR might be used to guide patient selection for FFR and subsequent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) referral in hospitals not capable to perform FFR and PCI. We aimed to investigate the feasibility to use QFR to appropriately select patients for FFR referral.

Methods and results
Patients who underwent invasive coronary angiography in a hospital where FFR and PCI could not be performed and were referred to our hospital for invasive FFR measurement, were included. Angiogram images from the referring hospitals were retrospectively collected for QFR analysis. Based on QFR cut-off values of 0.77 and 0.86, our patient cohort was reclassified to ‘no referral’ (QFR ≥0.86), referral for ‘FFR’ (QFR 0.78–0.85), or ‘direct PCI’ (QFR ≤0.77). In total, 290 patients were included. Overall accuracy of QFR to detect an invasive FFR of ≤0.80 was 86%. Based on a QFR cut-off value of 0.86, a 50% reduction in patient referral for FFR could be obtained, while only 5% of these patients had an invasive FFR of ≤0.80 (thus, these patients were incorrectly reclassified to the ‘no referral’ group). Furthermore, 22% of the patients that still need to be referred could undergo direct PCI, based on a QFR cut-off value of 0.77.

Conclusion
QFR is feasible to use for the selection of patients for FFR referral.
Advance care planning for patients with cancer in the palliative phase in Dutch general practices
Authors: Ermers Daisy J M , van Bussel Karin J H , Perry Marieke , Engels Yvonne , Schers Henk J 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Background
Advance care planning (ACP) is a crucial element of palliative care. It improves the quality of end-of-life care and reduces aggressive and needless life-prolonging medical interventions. However, little is known about its application in daily practice. This study aims to examine the application of ACP for patients with cancer in general practice.

Methods
We performed a retrospective cohort study in 11 general practices in the Netherlands. Electronic patient records (EPRs) of deceased patients with colorectal or lung cancer were analysed. Data on ACP documentation, correspondence between medical specialist and GP, and health care use in the last year of life were extracted.

Results
Records of 163 deceased patients were analysed. In 74% of the records, one or more ACP items were registered. GPs especially documented patients’ preferences for euthanasia (58%), palliative sedation (46%) and preferred place of death (26%). Per patient, GPs received on average six letters from medical specialists. These letters mainly contained information regarding medical treatment and rarely ACP items. In the last year of life, patients contacted the GP over 30 times, and 51% visited the emergency department at least once, of whom 54% in the last month.

Conclusions
Registration of ACP items in GPs’ EPRs appeared to be limited. ACP elements were rarely subject of communication between primary and secondary care, which may impact the continuity of patient care during the last year of life. More emphasis on registration of ACP items and better exchange of information regarding patients’ preferences are needed.
Climate sensitivities and uncertainties in food-web pathways supporting larval bluefin tuna in subtropical oligotrophic oceans
Authors: Landry Michael R , Beckley Lynnath E , Muhling Barbara A 
Published: November 2018

AbstractCompared with high-latitude seas, the ecological implications of climate change for top consumers in subtropical regions are poorly understood. One critical area of knowledge deficiency is the nature of food-web connections to larvae during their vulnerable time in the plankton. Bluefin tuna (BFT) are highly migratory temperate species whose early life stages are spent in ultra-oligotrophic subtropical waters. Dietary studies of BFT larvae provide evidence of prey-limited growth coupled with strong selection for specific prey types—cladocerans and poecilostomatoid copepods—whose paradoxical or poorly resolved trophic characteristics do not fit the conventional understanding of open-ocean food-web structure and flows. Current knowledge consequently leaves many uncertainties in climate change effects, including the possibility that increased nitrogen fixation by Trichodesmium spp. might enhance resiliency of BFT larvae, despite a projected overall decline in system productivity. To advance understanding and future predictions, the complementary perspectives of oceanographers and fisheries researchers need to come together in studies that focus on the trophic pathways most relevant to fish larvae, the factors that drive variability in spawning regions, and their effects on larval feeding, growth, and survival.
Wearing Off Response to OnabotulinumtoxinA in Chronic Migraine: Analysis in a Series of 193 Patients
Authors: Quintas Sonia , García-Azorín David , Heredia Patricia , Talavera Blanca , Gago-Veiga Ana Beatriz , Guerrero Ángel L 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Objective
Long-term real-life studies have supported a cumulative effect of OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) for the prophylactic treatment of chronic migraine (CM) during consecutive cycles, and individual adaptations have been described to improve clinical response.

Methods
This was a cohort longitudinal retrospective study of consecutive adult patients from the Headache Unit of the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid and the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa (Madrid) on OnabotA treatment for chronic migraine from May 2012 to December 2017. All patients were followed for 24 weeks. Full-length response to OnabotA was defined as ≥50% reduction in headache days for at least 12 weeks, and wearing off response was defined as a clinical response but with duration shorter than 10 weeks. We have analyzed the incidence and clinical predictors of this wearing off response.

Results
A total of 193 patients were included, of whom 91 (47.1%) were considered full-length responders and 45 (23.3%) wearing off responders. No statistically significant clinical predictors (including demographic variables and baseline headache characteristics) of full-length response or wearing off response were detected in our study. An increase in dose during the second treatment cycle was attempted in 68.9% of the wearing off patients, achieving a longer duration of response of up to 12 weeks in 74.2%.

Conclusions
Wearing off response to OnabotA during the first treatment cycle is not uncommon in patients with CM. Increasing the dose in subsequent cycles could improve clinical response, but further multicenter long-term studies are needed to establish predictors and solutions to this problem.
Governance under the Gun: Spillover Effects of Hedge Fund Activism*
Authors: Gantchev Nickolay , Gredil Oleg R , Jotikasthira Chotibhak 
Published: November 2018

Abstract
Hedge fund activism is associated with improvements in the governance and performance of targeted firms. In this article, we show that these positive effects of activism reach beyond the targets, as nontargeted peers make similar improvements under the threat of activism. Peers with higher threat perception, as measured by director connections to past targets, are more likely to increase leverage and payout, decrease capital expenditures and cash, and improve return on assets and asset turnover. As a result, their valuations improve, and their probability of being targeted declines. Our results are not explained by time-varying industry conditions or competition effects whereby improved targets force their product market rivals to become more competitive.
A SIMPLIFIED METHOD FOR THE WATER-EQUIVALENT DIAMETER CALCULATION TO ESTIMATE PATIENT DOSE IN CT EXAMINATIONS
Authors: Anam Choirul , Arif Idam , Haryanto Freddy , Widita Rena , Lestari Fauzia P , Adi Kusworo , Dougherty Geoff 
Published: November 2018

AbstractWe proposed and evaluated a water-equivalent diameter calculation without using a region of interest (ROI), (Dw,t) and compared it with the results of using a ROI fitted to the patient border (Dw,f). Evaluations were carried out on thoracic and head CT images. We found that the difference between Dw,t and Dw,f was within 5% for all images in the head region, and most images were within 5% (27 of the 30 patients, 90%) in the thoracic region. We also proposed a method to automatically detect and eliminate the patient table (or head support) from images and evaluated the water-equivalent diameter values after the table had been removed (Dw,nt). This method was able to recognize and remove the patient table from all images used. By removing the table, the water-equivalent diameter (Dw,nt) became more accurate and the difference from Dw,f was within 5% for all images (head and thoracic images).