bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Amygdala subnuclei are differentially affected in the different genetic and pathological forms of frontotemporal dementia
Authors: Bocchetta Martina , Iglesias Juan Eugenio , Cash David M. , Warren Jason D. , Rohrer Jonathan D. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractIntroductionFrontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder with multiple genetic and pathological causes. It is characterized by both cortical and subcortical atrophies, with previous studies showing early involvement of the amygdala. However, no prior study has specifically investigated the atrophy of different subnuclei of the amygdala.MethodsUsing an automated segmentation tool for T1‐weighted volumetric magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated amygdalar subnuclei (AS) involvement in a cohort of 132 patients with genetic or pathologically confirmed FTD (age: mean = 61 years (standard deviation = 8); disease duration: 5 (3) years) compared with 107 age‐matched controls.ResultsAS were affected in all genetic and pathological forms of FTD. MAPT mutations/FTDP‐17, Pick's disease, and transactive response DNA binding protein 43 kDa type C were the forms with the smallest amygdala (35%–50% smaller than controls in the most affected hemisphere, P < .0005). In most FTD groups, medial subnuclei (particularly the superficial, accessory basal and basal/paralaminar subnuclei) tended to be affected more than the lateral subnuclei, except for the progressive supranuclear palsy group, in which the corticoamygdaloid transition area was the least‐affected area.DiscussionDifferential involvement of the AS was seen in the different genetic and pathological forms of FTD. In general, the most affected subnuclei were the superficial, accessory basal and basal/paralaminar subnuclei, which form part of a network of regions that control reward and emotion regulation, functions known to be particularly affected in FTD.
Clinical profile and outcome of antibiotic lock therapy for bloodstream infections in pediatric hematology/oncology patients in a tertiary care hospital, Karachi, Pakistan
Authors: Qureshi Sonia , Fatima Paras , Mukhtar Aiman , Zehra Ale , Qamar Farah Naz 
Published: January 2019

Background:
Intravascular catheters are susceptible to infections, thus requiring catheter removal and leading to increased morbidity and costs. Antibiotic lock therapy (ALT) is a therapeutic technique that is used to salvage the catheter. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of antibiotic lock therapy in bloodstream infections in pediatric hematology/oncology patients in a tertiary care hospital, Karachi.

Methods:
A retrospective review was performed from January 2013 to December 2017 of pediatric he- matology/oncology patients with bloodstream infections and who received ALT at Aga Khan University Hospital. All cases of polymicrobial infections, catheter removal, or malfunction before the completion of ALT were excluded. Descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS version 20.

Results:
A total of nine hematology/oncology patients were eligible. The catheter was salvaged in 7/9 (77.8%) children, and in 2/9 (22.2%) cases, catheter was removed because of persistent bacteremia. The most common organism isolated was Staphylococcus non-aureus species (33.3%). Relapse with a similar pathogen occurred in 2 (22.2%) patients and 2 (22.2%) of them developed an exit-site infection.

Conclusion:
In our experience, in almost two thirds of the cases, the catheter was salvaged, but disappointingly, relapses were high when the infection was due to Staphylococcus spp. Although this is a small study, our results show that ALT can be a potential safe adjunctive strategy to treat catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI). However, we need larger prospective studies to test the safety and efficacy of ALT to develop specific ALT recommendations and guidelines particularly in children.
Predicting diagnosis and cognition with18F‐AV‐1451 tau PET and structural MRI in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Mattsson Niklas , Insel Philip S. , Donohue Michael , Jögi Jonas , Ossenkoppele Rik , Olsson Tomas , Schöll Michael , Smith Ruben , Hansson Oskar 
Published: January 2019

AbstractIntroductionThe relative importance of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tau positron emission tomography (PET) to predict diagnosis and cognition in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is unclear.MethodsWe tested 56 cognitively unimpaired controls (including 27 preclinical AD), 32 patients with prodromal AD, and 39 patients with AD dementia. Optimal classifiers were constructed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator with18F‐AV‐1451 (tau) PET and structural MRI data (regional cortical thickness and subcortical volumes).Results18F‐AV‐1451 in the amygdala, entorhinal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, fusiform, and inferior parietal lobule had 93% diagnostic accuracy for AD (prodromal or dementia). The MRI classifier involved partly the same regions plus the hippocampus, with 83% accuracy, but did not improve upon the tau classifier.18F‐AV‐1451 retention and MRI were independently associated with cognition.DiscussionOptimized tau PET classifiers may diagnose AD with high accuracy, but both tau PET and structural brain MRI capture partly unique information relevant for the clinical deterioration in AD.
Fail-safe optimization of beam structures
Authors: Lüdeker Julian Kajo , Kriegesmann Benedikt 
Published: January 2019

Abstract
In the current work, a fail-safe optimization of beam structures is carried out. This approach may provide an insight into the robustness of lattice structures. The use of beam elements allows a commonly used engineering approach for obtaining a fail-safe design to be applied. This consists of removing one beam element at a time and optimizing the remaining structure. At the end of the process, the maximum beam radii are used for the final design. This approach is computationally extremely expensive for lattice structures, as it requires one optimization per removed beam. In our contribution, we show that the design obtained from this approach does not actually achieve the desired fail-safe behaviour. We therefore apply a multi-model approach in which the fail-safe requirement is an optimization constraint. This is still computationally demanding and therefore, methods for reducing the number of failure cases to be considered within the optimization are discussed. Furthermore, the p-norm is applied to the stress constraints to reduce the computational effort for the gradient calculation. Reduction of failure cases and use of the p-norm have opposite effects on the conservatism of the result and therefore compensate each other to some extent.
Highlights Stress constrained optimization of beam structures. Evaluation of different approaches for fail-safe design. Strategies for efficiency improvement (reducing failure cases/p-norm).
The Alzheimer's disease THErapy with NEuroaid (ATHENE) study protocol: Assessing the safety and efficacy of Neuroaid II (MLC901) in patients with mild‐to‐moderate Alzheimer's disease stable on cholinesterase inhibitors or memantine—A randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial
Authors: Chen Christopher L.H. , Sharma Purabi Reang , Tan Boon Yeow , Low Casuarine , Venketasubramanian Narayanaswamy 
Published: January 2019

AbstractBackgroundDementia is a large and growing health care burden globally, and its major cause is Alzheimer's disease (AD). MLC901 (Neuroaid II) is a simplified form of MLC601 (Neuroaid), a Traditional Chinese Medicine with neuroprotective and neuroproliferative properties in cellular and animal models of brain injury. MLC601 has been shown to modulate amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing in human neuroblastoma cell cultures and increase the levels of soluble APPα. In addition, MLC901 has been shown to reduce tau phosphorylation in vitro. Hence, MLC901 may have possible multimodal actions and a disease‐modifying effect in AD. In previous clinical studies, MLC601 has shown promising effects in AD.ObjectiveTo investigate the safety and efficacy of MLC901 add‐on therapy to standard treatment in mild‐to‐moderate probable AD patients stable on standard treatment and to evaluate if MLC901 has a disease‐modifying effect in AD.MethodsThis is a 6‐month randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial in mild‐to‐moderate probable AD where MLC901 will be given as an add‐on therapy to standard AD treatment, followed by an extension study for another 6 months, where all subjects will be treated with open‐label MLC901 in addition to standard treatment. The primary outcome is safety as measured by adverse events, vital signs, electrocardiogram, laboratory tests, and physical and neurological examinations. Secondary outcomes evaluating cognition, behavior, and activities of daily living at various time points include the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale–cognitive subscale, Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study–Clinical Global Impression of Change, Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study–Activities of Daily Living Inventory, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, and Mini–Mental State Examination.ConclusionMLC901 has the potential to improve cognition in AD patients. It may also have a role in delaying disease progression. This study will be the first to provide safety and efficacy data for MLC901 in mild‐to‐moderate probable AD patients already receiving standard therapy.
Amyloid β perturbs elevated heme flux induced with neuronal development
Authors: Vidal Chantal , Daescu Kelly , Fitzgerald Keely E. , Starokadomska Anna , Bezprozvanny Ilya , Zhang Li 
Published: January 2019

AbstractIntroductionHeme is a central molecule in mitochondrial respiration and ATP generation in neuronal cells. Thus, we assessed the importance of altered heme metabolism in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis.MethodsTo investigate the role of altered heme metabolism in AD, we identified heme‐related proteins whose expression is altered in AD patients and mouse models exhibiting amyloid pathology. We detected the levels of proteins involved in heme synthesis, uptake, degradation, and function during neuronal differentiation and characterized the effects of Aβ.ResultsWe found that the expression levels of the rate‐limiting heme synthetic enzyme ALAS1 and heme degradation enzyme HO‐2 are selectively decreased in AD patients and mice. Aβ selectively reduces the levels of HO‐2 and heme degradation, which are elevated to support neuronal functions in fully differentiated neuronal cells.DiscussionOur data show that lowered heme metabolism, particularly the decreased levels of heme degradation and HO‐2, is likely a very early event in AD pathogenesis.
Epistemic Pluralism: From Systems to Stances
Authors: GANERI JONARDON 
Published: January 2019

AbstractDrawing on insights from the epistemological work of the Jaina philosophers of classical India, I argue in defense of epistemic pluralism, the view that there are different but equally valid ways of knowing the world. The version of epistemic pluralism I defend is stance pluralism, a pluralism about epistemic stances or perspectives, understood to be policies or stratagems of knowing. I reject the view that the correct way to characterize epistemic pluralism is as consisting in a pluralism about epistemic systems.
Influence of feeding whole maize, differing in endosperm hardness, on the performance, nutrient utilisation and digestive tract development of broiler starters
Authors: Singh Y. , Ravindran V. 
Published: January 2019

SummaryUse of whole wheat, along with compounded feeds, for poultry feeding is a common practice in many parts of the world. However, studies investigating the use of other grains are limited. In the present study, the influence of including whole maize, with differing hardness, in broiler diets on the performance, nutrient utilisation and digestive tract development was examined. The experimental design was a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, evaluating maize hardness (hard, semi-hard or soft) with diets based on ground maize or 115 g/kg whole maize replacing ground maize. The three maize cultivars were ground in a hammer mill to pass through a 4 mm sieve and six diets were developed based on one of the three cultivars. Following mixing, all diets were cold pelleted through a 3 mm die. Each of the six diets was fed to six replicate cages (eight birds per cage) from day 1 to 21 post-hatch. Maize hardness and whole maize inclusion had no effect (P>0.05) on weight gain. Maize hardness influenced (P<0.05) feed intake and feed per gain, while these two parameters were unaffected (P>0.05) by the inclusion of whole maize. The apparent metabolisable energy (AME) was unaffected (P>0.05) by maize hardness and whole maize inclusion. Maize hardness increased the ileal digestibility of nitrogen (P<0.05) and starch (P=0.06). The relative weight of the gizzard was greater (P<0.05) in birds fed hard and semi-hard maize compared to soft maize, and was greater (P<0.05) when whole maize was included. These results indicated that 115 g/kg of ground maize can be replaced by whole maize in broiler starter diets with no adverse effects on growth performance and thus can reduce the cost of feed manufacture.
Stylonurine eurypterids from the Strud locality (Upper Devonian, Belgium): new insights into the ecology of freshwater sea scorpions
Authors: Lamsdell James C , Lagebro Linda , Edgecombe Gregory D , Budd Graham E , Gueriau Pierre 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe Upper Famennian (Upper Devonian) Strud locality has yielded very abundant and diversified flora as well as vertebrate and arthropod faunas. The arthropod fauna, mostly recovered from fine shales deposited in a calm, confined floodplain habitat including temporary pools, has delivered a putative insect and various crustaceans including eumalacostracans and notostracan, spinicaudatan and anostracan branchiopods. Here we present the Strud eurypterids, consisting of semi-articulated juvenile specimens assigned to Hardieopteridae recovered from the pool and floodplain deposits, as well as larger isolated fragments of potential adults recovered from stratigraphically lower, coarser dark sandy layers indicative of a higher-energy fluvial environment. The Strud fossils strongly suggest that, as proposed for some Carboniferous eurypterids, juvenile freshwater eurypterids inhabited sheltered nursery pools and migrated to higher-energy river systems as they matured.
Natural disasters and economic growth in Northeast Brazil: evidence from municipal economies of the Ceará State
Authors: de Oliveira Victor Hugo 
Published: January 2019

AbstractBased on an unexplored data set on disasters in Brazil, the current study shows that the direct damage of natural disasters reduces the GDP growth rate of municipal economies in Ceará state, Northeast Brazil. The agriculture and service sectors are the most affected economic sectors, while the industrial sector remains unaffected by environmental shocks. Economic growth is particularly responsive to the occurrence of large natural disasters that lead municipalities to declare a state of emergency or public calamity. Regarding public policies, water supply infrastructure increases the resilience of the output growth of services to droughts, whereas disaster microinsurance helps to mitigate the effects of droughts and floods on the economic growth of agriculture in a Brazilian state where family farming is predominant and highly vulnerable to natural disasters.
Coupling Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and Atom Probe Tomography for Atomic Diffusion and Segregation Measurements
Authors: Portavoce Alain , Hoummada Khalid , Chow Lee 
Published: January 2019

AbstractFor a long time, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was the only technique allowing impurity concentrations below 1 at% to be precisely measured in a sample with a depth resolution of few nanometers. For example, SIMS is the classical technique used in microelectronics to study dopant distribution in semiconductors and became, after radiotracers were forsaken, the principal tool used for atomic transport characterization (diffusion coefficient measurements). Due to the lack of other equivalent techniques, sometimes SIMS could be used erroneously, especially when the analyzed solute atoms formed clusters, or for interfacial concentration measurements (segregation coefficient measurements) for example. Today, concentration profiles measured by atom probe tomography (APT) can be compared to SIMS profiles and allow the accuracy of SIMS measurements to be better evaluated. However, APT measurements can also carry artifacts and limitations that can be investigated by SIMS. After a summary of SIMS and APT measurement advantages and disadvantages, the complementarity of these two techniques is discussed, particularly in the case of experiments aiming to measure diffusion and segregation coefficients.
Significant improvement of reverse leakage current characteristics of Si-based homoepitaxial InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diodes
Authors: Lee Moonsang , Lee Hyun Uk , Song Keun Man , Kim Jaekyun 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe nature of reverse leakage current characteristics in InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) on freestanding GaN crystals detached from a Si substrate is investigated for the first time, using temperature-dependent current-voltage (T-I-V) measurement. It is found that the Si-based homoepitaxial InGaN/GaN LEDs exhibit a significant suppression of the reverse leakage current without any additional processes. Their conduction mechanism can be divided into variable-range hopping and nearest neighbor hopping (NNH) around 360 K, which is enhanced by Poole-Frenkel emission. The analysis of T-I-V curves of the homoepitaxial LEDs yields an activation energy of carriers of 35 meV at −10 V, about 50% higher than that of the conventional ones (Ea = 21 meV at −10 V). This suggests that our homoepitaxial InGaN/GaN LEDs bears the high activation energy as well as low threading dislocation density (about 1 × 106/cm2), effectively suppressing the reverse leakage current. We expect that this study will shed a light on the high reliability and carrier tunneling characteristics of the homoepitaxial InGaN/GaN blue LEDs produced from a Si substrate and also envision a promising future for their successful adoption by LED community via cost-effective homoepitaxial fabrication of LEDs.
10Be age constraints on latest Pleistocene and Holocene cirque glaciation across the western United States
Authors: Marcott Shaun A. , Clark Peter U. , Shakun Jeremy D. , Brook Edward J. , Davis P. Thompson , Caffee Marc W. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractWell-dated records of alpine glacier fluctuations provide important insights into the temporal and spatial structure of climate variability. Cirque moraine records from the western United States have historically been interpreted as a resurgence of alpine glaciation in the middle-to-late Holocene (i.e., Neoglaciation), but these moraines remain poorly dated because of limited numerical age constraints at most locations. Here we present 130 10Be ages on 19 moraines deposited by 14 cirque glaciers across this region that have been interpreted as recording these Neoglacial advances. Our 10Be chronology indicates instead that these moraines were deposited during the latest Pleistocene to earliest Holocene, with several as old as 14–15ka. Our results thus show that glaciers retreated from their Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) extent into cirques relatively early during the last deglaciation, experienced small fluctuations during the Bølling–Allerød–Younger Dryas interval, and remained within the maximum limit of the Little Ice Age (LIA) advance of the last several centuries throughout most of the Holocene. Climate modeling suggests that increasing local summer insolation and greenhouse gases were the primary controls on early glacier retreat from their LGM positions. We then infer that subsequent intrinsic climate variability and Younger Dryas cooling caused minor fluctuations during the latest Pleistocene, while the LIA advance represents the culmination of a cooling trend through the Holocene in response to decreasing boreal summer insolation.
Peri-Operative Eltrombopag or Immune Globulin for Patients with Immune Thrombocytopaenia (The Bridging ITP Trial): Methods and Rationale
Authors: Arnold Donald , Jamula Erin , Heddle Nancy , Cook Richard , Hsia Cyrus , Sholzberg Michelle , Lin Yulia , Kassis Jeannine , Blostein Mark , Larratt Loree , Amini Sufia , Schipperus Martin , Carruthers Julie , Lane Shannon , Li Na , Kelton John 
Published: January 2019

Background The Bridging ITP Trial is an open-label randomized trial designed to compare the oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist eltrombopag and intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) for patients with immune thrombocytopaenia (ITP) who require an increase in platelet count before elective surgery. Here, we report the study methods and rationale.
Methods We designed a multi-centre, non-inferiority randomized trial comparing daily oral eltrombopag starting 3 weeks pre-operatively, and IVIG administered 1 week pre-operatively for patients with ITP requiring a platelet count increase prior to surgery. Starting dose of eltrombopag is 50 mg daily with a weekly pre-operative dose titration schedule, and treatment is continued for 1 week after surgical haemostasis is achieved. IVIG is administered at a dose of 1 to 2 g/kg 1 week pre-operatively with the allowance for a second dose within 1 week after surgical haemostasis. The objective of the study is to demonstrate non-inferiority of eltrombopag for the primary endpoint of achieving the pre-operative platelet count threshold (50 × 109/L for minor surgery; or 100 × 109/L for major surgery) and sustaining platelet count levels above the threshold for 1 week after surgical haemostasis is achieved, without the use of rescue treatment. Secondary endpoints include thrombosis, bleeding and patient satisfaction.
Conclusion The Bridging ITP Trial will evaluate the efficacy and safety of eltrombopag as an alternative to IVIG in the peri-operative setting for patients with ITP. The protocol was designed to provide a management strategy that can be applied in clinical practice.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01621204.