bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Successful control of opioid‐refractory cancer pain with methadone in a patient with advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma: A case report
Authors: Sekido Katsuhisa , Tomihara Kei , Horikawa Hideyo , Tachinami Hidetake , Murakami Nozomu , Noguchi Makoto 
Published: March 2018

AbstractMethadone, a synthetic opioid agonist, is used for pain that is refractory to other opioids. However, limited data on its ability to control pain in patients with oral cancer are available. In this study, we present a case of recurrent oral cancer, in which pain was poorly controlled with high‐dose oxycodone but successfully controlled with methadone. A 36‐year‐old male patient was referred to our hospital for the treatment of recurrent oral cancer. His pain no longer responded to increased dosages of oxycodone, and thus oxycodone was switched to methadone. Ultimately, his pain was successfully controlled with methadone throughout his end‐of‐life stage.
Land, investments and public-private partnerships: what happened to the Beira Agricultural Growth Corridor in Mozambique?
Authors: Kaarhus Randi 
Published: March 2018

AbstractInfluential discourses present Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as essential for agricultural development in Africa; a parallel, critical debate on ‘land rushes’ has denounced Land Grabs, demanding increased accountability in FDI-based land deals. This article explores an initiative located in central Mozambique, the Beira Agricultural Growth Corridor (BAGC). It shows how the international fertiliser company Yara set out to enrol actors at different levels in business, governance and agricultural development into BAGC as a public-private partnership to promote commercial agriculture. Very soon, however, Yara made shifts in its engagement and market strategy, leaving the BAGC initiative to supporting donors and local producers. The analysis presented here shows how the tension between ‘patient-capital’ requirements, high risks and low immediate returns have shaped this case over time – in a context of a national political economy framed by extractive-resource dynamics.
The Long History of “Truth in Lending”
Authors: Fleming Anne 
Published: March 2018

Abstract:This article offers the first comprehensive history of the development of mandatory disclosure rules for the cost of consumer credit. In contrast to prior studies, which begin with the creation of federal disclosure rules in 1968, this story starts with state-level laws that were drafted before World War I. By looking back over a longer time period, it reveals the challenges involved in defining “truth” in lending, and how the perceived purpose of a regulatory technique like mandatory disclosure may change over time. Although the modern APR disclosure metric has come to seem natural and inevitable, history shows that lenders and policymakers once hotly debated the design of disclosure rules, with each faction claiming the mantle of “truth.” Moreover, policymakers did not always view disclosure as a means to increase price competition, obviating the need for direct price controls. Disclosure was once a complement to usury laws, rather than a substitute.
A New Triage Support Tool in Case of Explosion
Authors: Yavari-Sartakhti Olivier , Briche Frédérique , Jost Daniel , Michaud Nicolas , Bignand Michel , Tourtier Jean-Pierre 
Published: March 2018

AbstractDeafness frequently observed in explosion victims, currently following terrorist attack, is a barrier to communication between victims and first responders. This may result in a delay in the initial triage and evacuation. In such situations, Paris Fire Brigade (Paris, France) proposes the use of assistance cards to help conscious, but deafened patients at the site of an attack where there may be numerous victims.Yavari-SartakhtiO, BricheF, JostD, MichaudN, BignandM, TourtierJP. A new triage support tool in case of explosion. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(2):213–214.
Dropping the Curtain: The Religious-Secular Party Cleavage in German Morality Politics
Authors: Euchner Eva-Maria , Preidel Caroline 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThis study examines the religious-secular party cleavage in German morality politics from a new perspective by tracing politicization patterns at the individual level. It builds on the idea of issue competition and explores whether conflicts between Christian Democrats and secular parties align with the traditional denominational divide between Catholics and non-Catholics or with religiosity. By means of logistic regressions of Member of Parliaments’ politicization behavior in the German Bundestag (1998–2002) with regard to three morality policies, the study provides evidence that German politics is still structured by a conflict between Catholics and non-Catholics, whereas the influence of religiosity is secondary. If party competition is at work, non-Catholics draw attention to morality policies, while Catholics refrain from doing so. This finding contradicts research pointing to a decreasing significance of Catholicism for Christian Democracy. Moreover, the study proposes an innovative way to re-examine party cleavages at the individual level and in between elections.
Micro-scale fusion in dense relativistic nanowire array plasmas
Authors: Curtis Alden , Calvi Chase , Tinsley James , Hollinger Reed , Kaymak Vural , Pukhov Alexander , Wang Shoujun , Rockwood Alex , Wang Yong , Shlyaptsev Vyacheslav N. , Rocca Jorge J. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractNuclear fusion is regularly created in spherical plasma compressions driven by multi-kilojoule pulses from the world’s largest lasers. Here we demonstrate a dense fusion environment created by irradiating arrays of deuterated nanostructures with joule-level pulses from a compact ultrafast laser. The irradiation of ordered deuterated polyethylene nanowires arrays with femtosecond pulses of relativistic intensity creates ultra-high energy density plasmas in which deuterons (D) are accelerated up to MeV energies, efficiently driving D–D fusion reactions and ultrafast neutron bursts. We measure up to 2 × 106 fusion neutrons per joule, an increase of about 500 times with respect to flat solid targets, a record yield for joule-level lasers. Moreover, in accordance with simulation predictions, we observe a rapid increase in neutron yield with laser pulse energy. The results will impact nuclear science and high energy density research and can lead to bright ultrafast quasi-monoenergetic neutron point sources for imaging and materials studies.
An Epidemiological Human Disease Network Derived from Disease Co-occurrence in Taiwan
Authors: Jiang Yefei , Ma Shuangge , Shia Ben-Chang , Lee Tian-Shyug 
Published: March 2018

AbstractIn “classic” biomedical research, diseases have usually been studied individually. The pioneering human disease network (HDN) studies jointly consider a large number of diseases, analyse their interconnections, and provide a more comprehensive description of diseases. However, most of the existing HDN studies are based on molecular information and can only partially describe disease interconnections. Building on the unique Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), in this study, we construct the epidemiological HDN (eHDN), where two diseases are concluded as interconnected if their observed probability of co-occurrence deviating that expected under independence. Advancing from the existing HDN, the eHDN can also accommodate non-molecular connections and have more important practical implications. Building on the network construction, we examine important network properties such as connectivity, module, hub, and others and describe their temporal patterns. This study is among the first to systematically construct the eHDN and can have important implications for human disease research and health care and management.
Optical pulse width modulation based TDM-PON monitoring with asymmetric loop in ONUs
Authors: Zhang Xuan , Sun Xiaohan 
Published: March 2018

AbstractWe propose a time division multiplexing passive optical network (TDM-PON) monitoring scheme based on the optical pulse width modulation (OPWM) by using a simple asymmetric loop (AL) located near the optical network unit (ONU). Various pulse widths can be easily obtained by configuring the appropriate length of the patchcord used to generate the path difference between two branches of a 1 × 2 splitter. Different wavelengths can be assigned to the same pulse width, which can further increase the network size. The optimized parameters of the AL are investigated and analysis models are established. The calculation results show that the proposed scheme has smaller correlation distance (CD) and lower multiple-customers interference probability (MCIP) than the periodic coding (PC) scheme. A simplified PON system with 8 ONUs is set up to experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed scheme. The network recognition processing used to identify the reflected monitoring signals in the proposed scheme is simple, especially compared with the reduced complexity maximum likelihood sequence estimation (RC-MLSE) used in the typical PC scheme.
Detection of mutations in MYOC, OPTN, NTF4, WDR36 and CYP1B1 in Chinese juvenile onset open-angle glaucoma using exome sequencing
Authors: Huang Chukai , Xie Lijing , Wu Zhenggen , Cao Yingjie , Zheng Yuqian , Pang Chi-Pui , Zhang Mingzhi 
Published: March 2018

AbstractJuvenile onset open-angle glaucoma (JOAG) affects patients before 40 years of age, causing high intraocular pressure and severe optic nerve damage. To expand the mutation spectrum of the causative genes in JOAG, with a view to identify novel disease-causing mutations, we investigated MYOC, OPTN, NTF4, WDR36 and CYP1B1 in a cohort of 67 unrelated Chinese JOAG patients. Whole exome sequencing was used to identify possible pathogenic mutations, which were further excluded in normal controls. After sequencing and the use of a database pipeline, as well as predictive assessment filtering, we identified a total of six mutations in three genes, MYOC, OPTN and CYP1B1. Among them, 2 heterozygous mutations in MYOC (c. 1109C > T, p. (P370L); c. 1150G > C, p. (D384H)), 2 heterozygous mutations in OPTN (c. 985A > G, p.(R329G); c. 1481T > G, p. (L494W)) and 2 homozygous mutations in CYP1B1 (c. 1412T > G, p.(I471S); c. 1169G > A, p.(R390H)) were identified as potentially causative mutations. No mutation was detected in NTF4 or WDR36. Our results enrich the mutation spectra and frequencies of MYOC, OPTN and CYP1B1 in JOAG among the Chinese population. Further studies are needed to address the pathogenicity of each of the mutations detected in this study.
Time-resolved measurements of fast electron recirculation for relativistically intense femtosecond scale laser-plasma interactions
Authors: Green J. S. , Booth N. , Dance R. J. , Gray R. J. , MacLellan D. A. , Marshall A. , McKenna P. , Murphy C. D. , Ridgers C. P. , Robinson A. P. L. , Rusby D. , Scott R. H. H. , Wilson L. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractA key issue in realising the development of a number of applications of high-intensity lasers is the dynamics of the fast electrons produced and how to diagnose them. We report on measurements of fast electron transport in aluminium targets in the ultra-intense, short-pulse (<50 fs) regime using a high resolution temporally and spatially resolved optical probe. The measurements show a rapidly (≈0.5c) expanding region of Ohmic heating at the rear of the target, driven by lateral transport of the fast electron population inside the target. Simulations demonstrate that a broad angular distribution of fast electrons on the order of 60° is required, in conjunction with extensive recirculation of the electron population, in order to drive such lateral transport. These results provide fundamental new insight into fast electron dynamics driven by ultra-short laser pulses, which is an important regime for the development of laser-based radiation and particle sources.
Ultrafast surface modification of Ni3S2 nanosheet arrays with Ni-Mn bimetallic hydroxides for high-performance supercapacitors
Authors: Zou Xu , Sun Qing , Zhang Yuxin , Li Guo-Dong , Liu Yipu , Wu Yuanyuan , Yang Lan , Zou Xiaoxin 
Published: March 2018

AbstractAmorphous Ni-Mn bimetallic hydroxide film on the three-dimensional nickle foam (NF)-supported conductive Ni3S2 nanosheets (denoted as Ni-Mn-OH@Ni3S2/NF) is successfully synthesized by an ultrafast process (5 s). The fascinating structural characteristic endows Ni-Mn-OH@Ni3S2/NF electrodes better electrochemical performance. The specific capacitance of 2233.3 F g−1 at a current density of 15 A g−1 can achieve high current density charge and discharge at 20/30 A g−1 that the corresponding capacitance is 1529.16 and 1350 F g−1, respectively. As well as good cycling performance after 1000 cycles can maintain 72% at 15 A g−1. The excellent performance can be attributed to unique surface modification nanostructures and the synergistic effect of the bimetallic hydroxide film. The impressive results provide new opportunity to produce advanced electrode materials by simple and green route and this material is expected to apply in high energy density storage systems.
G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Gpr17 Regulates Oligodendrocyte Differentiation in Response to Lysolecithin-Induced Demyelination
Authors: Lu Changqing , Dong Lihua , Zhou Hui , Li Qianmei , Huang Guojiao , Bai Shu jun , Liao Linchuan 
Published: March 2018

AbstractOligodendrocytes are the myelin-producing cells of the central nervous system (CNS). A variety of brain disorders from “classical” demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, schizophrenia, depression, Down syndrome and autism, are shown myelination defects. Oligodendrocyte myelination is regulated by a complex interplay of intrinsic, epigenetic and extrinsic factors. Gpr17 (G protein-coupled receptor 17) is a G protein-coupled receptor, and has been identified to be a regulator for oligodendrocyte development. Here, we demonstrate that the absence of Gpr17 enhances remyelination in vivo with a toxin-induced model whereby focal demyelinated lesions are generated in spinal cord white matter of adult mice by localized injection of LPC(L-a-lysophosphatidylcholine). The increased expression of the activated form of Erk1/2 (phospho-Erk1/2) in lesion areas suggested the potential role of Erk1/2 activity on the Gpr17-dependent modulation of myelination. The absence of Gpr17 enhances remyelination is correlate with the activated Erk1/2 (phospho-Erk1/2).Being a membrane receptor, Gpr17 represents an ideal druggable target to be exploited for innovative regenerative approaches to acute and chronic CNS diseases.
Prediction and interpretation of deleterious coding variants in terms of protein structural stability
Authors: Ancien François , Pucci Fabrizio , Godfroid Maxime , Rooman Marianne 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThe classification of human genetic variants into deleterious and neutral is a challenging issue, whose complexity is rooted in the large variety of biophysical mechanisms that can be responsible for disease conditions. For non-synonymous mutations in structured proteins, one of these is the protein stability change, which can lead to loss of protein structure or function. We developed a stability-driven knowledge-based classifier that uses protein structure, artificial neural networks and solvent accessibility-dependent combinations of statistical potentials to predict whether destabilizing or stabilizing mutations are disease-causing. Our predictor yields a balanced accuracy of 71% in cross validation. As expected, it has a very high positive predictive value of 89%: it predicts with high accuracy the subset of mutations that are deleterious because of stability issues, but is by construction unable of classifying variants that are deleterious for other reasons. Its combination with an evolutionary-based predictor increases the balanced accuracy up to 75%, and allowed predicting more than 1/4 of the variants with 95% positive predictive value. Our method, called SNPMuSiC, can be used with both experimental and modeled structures and compares favorably with other prediction tools on several independent test sets. It constitutes a step towards interpreting variant effects at the molecular scale. SNPMuSiC is freely available at https://soft.dezyme.com/.
A Novel Hierarchical Template Matching Model for Cardiac Motion Estimation
Authors: Bhalodiya Jayendra M. , Palit Arnab , Tiwari Manoj K. , Prasad Sanjay K. , Bhudia Sunil K. , Arvanitis Theodoros N. , Williams Mark A. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractCardiovascular disease diagnosis and prognosis can be improved by measuring patient-specific in-vivo local myocardial strain using Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Local myocardial strain can be determined by tracking the movement of sample muscles points during cardiac cycle using cardiac motion estimation model. The tracking accuracy of the benchmark Free Form Deformation (FFD) model is greatly affected due to its dependency on tunable parameters and regularisation function. Therefore, Hierarchical Template Matching (HTM) model, which is independent of tunable parameters, regularisation function, and image-specific features, is proposed in this article. HTM has dense and uniform points correspondence that provides HTM with the ability to estimate local muscular deformation with a promising accuracy of less than half a millimetre of cardiac wall muscle. As a result, the muscles tracking accuracy has been significantly (p < 0.001) improved (30%) compared to the benchmark model. Such merits of HTM provide reliably calculated clinical measures which can be incorporated into the decision-making process of cardiac disease diagnosis and prognosis.
Dressed state dynamics of two-component Bose-Einstein Condensates in state-dependent potentials
Authors: Ye Qinzhou , Huang Jiahao , Zhuang Min , Zhong Honghua , Lee Chaohong 
Published: March 2018

AbstractDressed potentials realized by coupling state-dependent bare potentials with external fields have important applications in trapping and manipulating atoms. Here, we study the dynamics of dressed states for coupled two-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in state-dependent potentials. Through both analytical and numerical methods, we find that the dressed state dynamics sensitively depend on both the inter-component coupling strength and the initial state. If the inter-component coupling is strong enough and the initial wave packet is located at the potential minimum, the dressed states can be decoupled and the Josephson oscillations and macroscopic quantum self-trapping appear. However, if the initial wave packet is located far away from the potential minimum, the wave packet will acquire a large kinetic energy and Landau-Zener transitiozs between the dressed states occur at the avoided-crossing point. Further, we give the validity ranges and conditions for the formation of adiabatic potentials, where the influences of Landau-Zener transitions can be ignored. Our results give an insight on how the inter-component coupling affects the dressed state dynamics and how to realize adiabatic potentials with BECs in state-dependent potentials.
Origami-based self-folding of co-cultured NIH/3T3 and HepG2 cells into 3D microstructures
Authors: He Qian , Okajima Takaharu , Onoe Hiroaki , Subagyo Agus , Sueoka Kazuhisa , Kuribayashi-Shigetomi Kaori 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThis paper describes an origami-inspired self-folding method to form three-dimensional (3D) microstructures of co-cultured cells. After a confluent monolayer of fibroblasts (NIH/3T3 cells) with loaded hepatocytes (HepG2 cells) was cultured onto two-dimensional (2D) microplates, degradation of the alginate sacrificial layer in the system by addition of alginate lyase triggered NIH/3T3 cells to self-fold the microplates around HepG2 cells, and then 3D cell co-culture microstructures were spontaneously formed. Using this method, we can create a large number of 3D cell co-culture microstructures swiftly with ease in the same time. We find that HepG2 cells confined in the 3D cell co-culture microstructures have an ability to enhance the secreted albumin compared to 2D system in a long culture period. The result indicates that the origami-based cell self-folding technique presented here is useful in regenerative medicine and the preclinical stage of drug development.
Energy allocation and behaviour in the growing broiler chicken
Authors: Tickle Peter G. , Hutchinson John R. , Codd Jonathan R. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractBroiler chickens are increasingly at the forefront of global meat production but the consequences of fast growth and selection for an increase in body mass on bird health are an ongoing concern for industry and consumers. To better understand the implications of selection we evaluated energetics and behaviour over the 6-week hatch-to-slaughter developmental period in a commercial broiler. The effect of posture on resting metabolic rate becomes increasingly significant as broilers grow, as standing became more energetically expensive than sitting. The proportion of overall metabolic rate accounted for by locomotor behaviour decreased over development, corresponding to declining activity levels, mean and peak walking speeds. These data are consistent with the inference that broilers allocate energy to activity within a constrained metabolic budget and that there is a reducing metabolic scope for exercise throughout their development. Comparison with similarly sized galliforms reveals that locomotion is relatively energetically expensive in broilers.
Imaging single DNA molecules for high precision NIPT
Authors: Dahl Fredrik , Ericsson Olle , Karlberg Olof , Karlsson Filip , Howell Mathias , Persson Fredrik , Roos Fredrik , Stenberg Johan , Ahola Tarja , Alftrén Ida , Andersson Björn , Barkenäs Emelie , Brandner Birgit , Dahlberg Jenny , Elfman Sara , Eriksson Magnus , Forsgren Per-Ola , Francois Niels , Gousseva Anna , Hakamali Faizan , Janfalk-Carlsson Åsa , Johansson Henrik , Lundgren Johanna , Mohsenchian Atefeh , Olausson Linus , Olofsson Simon , Qureshi Atif , Skarpås Björn , Sävneby Anna , Åström Eva , Öhman Ove , Westgren Magnus , Kopp-Kallner Helena , Fianu-Jonasson Aino , Syngelaki Argyro , Nicolaides Kypros 
Published: March 2018

AbstractCell-free DNA analysis is becoming adopted for first line aneuploidy screening, however for most healthcare programs, cost and workflow complexity is limiting adoption of the test. We report a novel cost effective method, the Vanadis NIPT assay, designed for high precision digitally-enabled measurement of chromosomal aneuploidies in maternal plasma. Reducing NIPT assay complexity is achieved by using novel molecular probe technology that specifically label target chromosomes combined with a new readout format using a nanofilter to enrich single molecules for imaging and counting without DNA amplification, microarrays or sequencing. The primary objective of this study was to assess the Vanadis NIPT assay with respect to analytical precision and clinical feasibility. Analysis of reference DNA samples indicate that samples which are challenging to analyze with low fetal-fraction can be readily detected with a limit of detection determined at <2% fetal-fraction. In total of 286 clinical samples were analysed and 30 out of 30 pregnancies affected by trisomy 21 were classified correctly. This method has the potential to make cost effective NIPT more widely available with more women benefiting from superior detection and false positive rates.