bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multimodality assessment of upper airway obstruction in children with persistent obstructive sleep apnea after adenotonsillectomy
Authors: Clark Christopher , Ulualp Seckin O. 
Published: July 2016

Objectives/HypothesisChildren with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have multiple sites of upper airway obstruction (UAO). A wide variety of techniques has been used to evaluate UAO. Our aim was to compare findings of cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and drug‐induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) in identifying UAO sites in children with persistent OSA after adenotonsillectomy (AT).Study DesignRetrospective chart review.Material and MethodsThe medical records of children who underwent DISE and cine MRI were reviewed. Data pertaining to demographics, past medical history, body mass index, polysomnography, findings of DISE, and cine MRI were obtained.ResultsFifteen children (11 boys, 4 girls; age range, 7–18 years) were identified. Comorbid conditions were Down syndrome in nine patients, cerebral palsy in one, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in two, and asthma in three. Severity of OSA was moderate in five, and severe in 10. DISE and cine MRI showed the same UAO site in 10 patients: a single site (tongue) in nine and multiple sites (tongue and oropharynx/lateral walls) in one. DISE showed additional UAO sites undetected by cine MRI in three patients. Cine MRI showed additional UAO sites undetected by DISE in one patient. DISE and cine MRI showed different sites of obstruction in one patient.ConclusionsCine MRI and DISE documented single and multiple sites of UAO in children with persistent OSA after AT. Cine MRI and DISE findings were similar in the majority of the children. Assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of cine MRI and DISE in detecting sites of UAO merits further investigation.Level of Evidence4. Laryngoscope, 127:1224–1230, 2017
Investigation into the presence of human papillomavirus in patients with obstructive sleep apnea
Authors: Baldwin Brett J. , Chitale Dhananjay , Chen Kang Mei , Worsham Maria J. , Yaremchuk Kathleen 
Published: July 2016

Objectives/HypothesisThe human papillomavirus (HPV) is known to infect the tissues of the oropharynx as demonstrated in HPV‐positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). HPV has also been shown to induce benign lymphoid hypertrophy. We sought to investigate an association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the presence of HPV in palatine and lingual tonsillar oropharyngeal tissue.Study DesignCase series with chart review.MethodsThis retrospective laboratory‐based study of oropharyngeal tissue from patients with OSA included patients >18 years old who underwent surgical treatment for OSA at a single institution between January 2012 and May 2014. Surgical specimens of adequate size were analyzed for HPV6, 11, and 16 using real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction from DNA extracted from formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded tissue blocks. Student t test, Pearson χ2 test, and linear logistic regression were used to assess comparisons of body mass index (BMI), apnea‐hypopnea index (AHI), age, and gender between HPV‐positive and HPV‐negative groups.ResultsOf 99 cases included in the study, six were positive for HPV: two with HPV16 and four with HPV6. BMI, AHI, age, and gender showed no significant differences between the HPV‐positive and HPV‐negative groups. Logistic regression to predict HPV positivity accounting for each variable and multivariate analysis were not statistically significant.ConclusionsOur study did not show HPV to have a statistically significant association with OSA. None of the covariates analyzed (BMI, AHI, gender, age) predicted HPV positivity in surgically resected oropharyngeal tissue from OSA patients.Level of Evidence4 Laryngoscope, 127:1231–1234, 2017
Microbial Cells with a Fe3O4 Doped Hydrogel Extracellular Matrix: Manipulation of Living Cells by Magnetic Stimulus
Authors: Shi Xudian , Shi Zhijun , Wang Daming , Ullah Muhammad Wajid , Yang Guang 
Published: July 2016

This study aims to develop an effective method to control motile microorganisms and enable their manipulation as functional ‘live micro/nano robots'. A novel strategy based on Fe3O4 nanoparticle‐doped alginate hydrogel is developed to fashion an artificial extracellular matrix (ECM) for microbial cells (e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Flavobacterium heparinum). During this strategy, a single layer of alginate hydrogel is coated around the microbial cells doped with Fe3O4 nanoparticles to form the alg‐mag‐cells. Transmission electron microscopy shows that Fe3O4 nanoparticles are uniformly distributed in the hydrogel shell. Together with maintaining the cell activity and metabolism, the hydrogel coated microbial cells demonstrate high magnetic responsiveness in an external magnetic field and are able to form micro‐scaled patterns using the magnetic template designed in this study. This strategy provides a building block to fabricate advanced biological models, medical therapeutic products, and non‐medical biological systems using different microorganisms.image
Effect of blastocoel fluid reduction before vitrification on gene expression in mouse blastocysts
Authors: Kazemi Parinaz , Dashtizad Mojtaba , Shamsara Mehdi , Mahdavinezhad Forough , Hashemi Ehsan , Fayazi Samaneh , Hajarian Hadi 
Published: July 2016

SUMMARYArtificial collapse of the blastocoel cavity before vitrification can improve the quality of warmed embryos, yet how reduction of blastocoel fluid impacts formation of the blastocyst cell lineages is not clear. The present study assessed the effect of pre‐vitrification blastocoel fluid reduction on the survival, hatching rate, and the expression of genes related to apoptosis (Tp53), pluripotency (Pou5f1, Nanog), and differentiation (Cdx2, Eomes, Gata6) in mouse blastocysts. In vivo‐produced blastocysts were randomly divided into three groups: The first group was vitrified and warmed; the second group underwent artificial collapse of the blastocoel cavity prior to vitrification and warming; the third group served as the control, in which neither vitrification or artificial collapse was performed. The survival rate of treatment groups was similar to the control group, whereas the hatching rate of artificial collapse/vitrified blastocysts was significantly higher than vitrified blastocysts. Quantitative reverse‐transcription PCR analysis revealed a considerable reduction in the expression of Cdx2, Eomes, Gata6, Grb2, and Tp53 transcripts following artificial collapse/vitrification in comparison to the vitrification‐alone group; the abundance of Pou5f1 and Nanog, however, did not change. These results suggest that artificial collapse of the blastocoel cavity before vitrification leads to relatively normal expression of apoptosis and development‐related genes plus higher hatching rates. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 83: 735–742, 2016 © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Calculating the internodal transmissibilities using finite analytic method and its application for multi‐phase flow in heterogeneous porous media
Authors: Zheng X.‐L. , Liu Z.‐F. , Wang X.‐H. , Shi A.‐F. 
Published: July 2016

SummaryIn the traditional numerical reservoir simulations, the internodal transmissibility is usually defined as the harmonic mean of the permeabilities of the adjacent grids. This definition underestimates the phase flux and the speed of the saturation front, especially for the strong heterogeneous case. In this article, the internodal transmissibility is recalculated according to the nodal analytic solution. The redefined internodal transmissibility can be used directly to calculate the multiphase flow in the numerical reservoir simulations. Numerical examples show that, compared to the traditional numerical methods, the proposed scheme makes the convergences much faster as the refinement parameter increases, and the accuracy is independent of the heterogeneity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Assessment and tuning of data assimilation systems using passive observations
Authors: Marseille Gert‐Jan , Barkmeijer Jan , de Haan Siebren , Verkley Wim 
Published: July 2016

Independent observations can be used to diagnose and tune a data assimilation (DA) system. Analysis increments generally improve the model state near assimilated observations but degrade it further away. High‐resolution aircraft observations from Mode‐S Enhanced Surveillance (Mode‐S EHS) are used as an independent data source to verify increment degradation as a function of distance from assimilated observations. An adaptation of the inherently imperfect gain matrix in DA is proposed such that resulting analyses better fit the independent data source and as such draw model simulations closer to the true atmospheric state. It is found that the structure functions of the background‐error covariance matrix of the experimental mesoscale HARMONIE model are appropriate but too much weight is given to observations relative to the model background. The ECMWF model is well tuned with a slight overestimation of temperature information in the upper troposphere.Finally, a caveat is highlighted when comparing model forecasts from different experiments against observations. It is common practice to use the same observing system both in the analysis and for forecast verification. However, forecast verification is prone to sampling errors, yielding less favourable scores when using an independent data source. Avoidance of biased conclusions on the impact of observing systems, e.g. in observing system experiments (OSE), requires an independent data source (best practice) or a data source used in all experiments (best pragmatic practice) for verification of forecasts from different experiments.
Simulation of incompressible multiphase flows with complex geometry using etching multiblock method
Authors: Liu Haoran , Mu Kai , Ding Hang 
Published: July 2016

Abstract
The incompressible two-phase flows are simulated using combination of an etching multiblock method and a diffuse interface (DI) model, particularly in the complex domain that can be decomposed into multiple rectangular subdomains. The etching multiblock method allows natural communications between the connected subdomains and the efficient parallel computation. The DI model can consider two-phase flows with a large density ratio, and simulate the flows with the moving contact line (MCL) when a geometric formulation of the MCL model is included. Therefore, combination of the etching method and the DI model has potential to deal with a variety of two-phase flows in industrial applications. The performance is examined through a series of numerical experiments. The convergence of the etching method is firstly tested by simulating single-phase flows past a square cylinder, and the method for the multiphase flow simulation is validated by investing drops dripping from a pore. The numerical results are compared with either those from other researchers or experimental data. Good agreement is achieved. The method is also used to investigate the impact of a droplet on a grooved substrate and droplet generation in flow focusing devices.
A CORRELATION SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF NON-LIFE UNDERWRITING RISK IN SOLVENCY CAPITAL REQUIREMENT ESTIMATION
Authors: Bermúdez Lluís , Ferri Antoni , Guillén Montserrat 
Published: July 2016

AbstractThis paper analyses the impact of using different correlation assumptions between lines of business when estimating the risk-based capital reserve, the solvency capital requirement (SCR), under Solvency II regulations. A case study is presented and the SCR is calculated according to the standard model approach. Alternatively, the requirement is then calculated using an internal model based on a Monte Carlo simulation of the net underwriting result at a one-year horizon, with copulas being used to model the dependence between lines of business. To address the impact of these model assumptions on the SCR, we conduct a sensitivity analysis. We examine changes in the correlation matrix between lines of business and address the choice of copulas. Drawing on aggregate historical data from the Spanish non-life insurance market between 2000 and 2009, we conclude that modifications of the correlation and dependence assumptions have a significant impact on SCR estimation.
The Stress Field Due to an Edge Dislocation Interacting With Two Circular Inclusions
Authors: Chao C.-K. , Chen F.-M. , Lin T.-H. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractA general series solution to the problem of interacting circular inclusions in plane elastostatics is presented in this paper. The analysis is based on the use of the complex stress potentials of Muskhelishvili and the theorem of analytical continuation. The general forms of the complex potentials are derived explicitly for the circular inhomogeneities under arbitrary plane loading. Using the alternation technique, these general expressions were subsequently employed to treat the problem of an infinitely extended matrix containing two arbitrarily located inhomogeneities. The major contribution of the present proposed method is shown to be capable of yielding approximate closed-form solutions for multiple inclusions, thus providing the explicit dependence of the solution on the pertinent parameters. The result shows that the dislocation has a stable equilibrium position at a certain combination of material constants. The case of an inhomogeneity interacting with a circular hole under a remote uniform load is also investigated.
Radiocarbon Variation in Charcoal/Wood and Soil Fractions from a Loessic Setting in Central Alaska
Authors: Reuther Joshua D , Cherkinsky Alexander , Coffman Sam 
Published: July 2016

AbstractThe Healy’s Lucky Strike site in central Alaska has an exceptional Holocene loess-paleosol sequence that has afforded us the ability to look at variation in14C dating of soil organic matter (SOM) fractions in a high-latitude loess setting. Our work has focused on comparing the radiocarbon ages of charcoal and wood to base-soluble humic acids (HA) and base-insoluble soil residue (SR) fractions from bulk soil samples. Charcoal/wood ages were younger than HA ages reflecting the later stages of vegetation development at the surface of the soils prior to being covered by loess accumulation; the HA ages generally reflect the overall timing of soil formation and mean residence time of SOM. Soil residue ages are older than charcoal/wood and HA ages. SOM ages at this location become increasingly older than charcoal/wood ages with depth, reaching 750 to 8070 yr in difference and associated with weakly developed soils at the lowest depths. We suggest the drastic SOM age differences at this site result from the differential incorporation of small particles of coal throughout the sedimentary matrices introduced older contaminants to SR fractions.
Genetic differences amongHaplorchis taichuipopulations in Indochina revealed by mitochondrialCOX1sequences
Authors: Thaenkham U. , Phuphisut O. , Nuamtanong S. , Yoonuan T. , Sa-nguankiat S. , Vonghachack Y. , Belizario V.Y. , Dung D.T. , Dekumyoy P. , Waikagul J. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractHaplorchis taichuiis an intestinal heterophyid fluke that is pathogenic to humans. It is widely distributed in Asia, with a particularly high prevalence in Indochina. Previous work revealed that the lack of gene flow between three distinct populations of VietnameseH. taichuican be attributed to their geographic isolation with no interconnected river basins. To test the hypothesis that interconnected river basins allow gene flow between otherwise isolated populations ofH. taichui, as previously demonstrated for another trematode,Opisthorchis viverrini, we compared the genetic structures of seven populations ofH. taichuifrom various localities in the lower Mekong Basin, in Thailand and Laos, with those in Vietnam, using the mitochondrial cytochromecoxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene. To determine the gene flow between theseH. taichuipopulations, we calculated their phylogenetic relationships, genetic distances and haplotype diversity. Each population showed very low nucleotide diversity at this locus. However, high levels of genetic differentiation between the populations indicated very little gene flow. A phylogenetic analysis divided the populations into four clusters that correlated with the country of origin. The negligible gene flow between the Thai and Laos populations, despite sharing the Mekong Basin, caused us to reject our hypothesis. Our data suggest that the distribution ofH. taichuipopulations was incidentally associated with national borders.
Natural disturbance, vegetation patterns and ecological dynamics in tropical montane forests
Authors: Crausbay Shelley D. , Martin Patrick H. 
Published: July 2016

Abstract:Disturbance is a central process in forest dynamics, yet the role of natural disturbance in tropical montane forests (TMFs) has not been systematically addressed. We posit that disturbance in TMFs has a wider role than commonly acknowledged and its effects are distinctive because: (1) TMFs often have very low rates of productivity due to low resources, and so recovery from disturbance may be slow, (2) montane forests have marked environmental heterogeneity which interacts with disturbance, (3) a large percentage of TMFs are regularly exposed to high energy windstorms and landslides, and (4) TMFs contain a biogeographically rich mixture of tree species with divergent evolutionary histories that interact differently with different disturbance types. We reviewed the literature on natural disturbance in TMFs and found 119 peer-reviewed papers which met our search criteria. Our review shows that disturbance is widespread in TMFs with pronounced effects on structure, function, composition and dynamics. Disturbance is also evident in the ecology of TMF biota with clear examples of plant life-history traits adapted to disturbance, including disturbance-triggered germination, treefall gap strategies and resprouting ability. Important aspects of TMF disturbances are stochastic and site-specific, but there are broad patterns in disturbance type, frequency and severity along latitudinal, altitudinal and environmental gradients. Compared with the lowland tropics, TMF disturbances are more spatially structured, TMFs experience more disturbance types in a given area due to environmental complexity, and TMFs are much more prone to small-scale yet severe landslides as well the large and potentially catastrophic disturbances of cyclones, forest die-back and fire. On the whole, natural disturbance should assume a larger role in models of ecosystem processes and vegetation patterns in TMFs. An improved understanding of what creates variation in disturbance severity and post-disturbance recovery rates, how composition and diversity feedback on disturbance type and likelihood, and how global change will alter these dynamics are important priorities in future TMF ecology research.
A Note on the Most “Dangerous” and Skewest Class of Distributions
Authors: Benktander Gunnar 
Published: July 2016

In the classical definition skewness is departure from symmetry. It was therefore natural to measure skewness by using a normalized third moment μ3/σ3. This condensed measure, however, is not refined enough to be used as an operational instrument for studying various functions which might be used to describe actual claim distributions. This is true especially when the interest is concentrated towards the higher values of the variate.In their paper (1) Benktander-Segerdahl have suggested that the average excess claim m(x) as a function of the priority x should be used to reveal the characteristics of the tail of the distribution
where P(x) = 1 — H(x) denotes the distribution function.This statistic is very apt when comparing actual claim distributions with possible theoretical models. It is also useful when classifying these models.If, however, emphasis mainly is laid on classifying distributions according to their skewness, another statistic might be preferable. Let μ(x)dx denote the probability that a stochastic variable which is known to be at least equal to x, does not exceed x+dx. In other words, μ(x)dx represents the probability that a claim or the corresponding stochastic variable, which, when observed from the bottom, is “alive” at x, “dies” in the interval (x, x + dx). The lower this claims rate of mortality, the skewer and more dangerous is the claim distribution.
On the Difference between the Concepts “Compound” and “Composed” Poisson Processes
Authors: Philipson Carl 
Published: July 2016

In the discussion in the ASTIN Colloquium 1962, which followed my lecture on the numerical evaluation of the distribution functions defining some compound Poisson processes, a remark was made, which drew my attention to the paper quoted here below under reference number (1), On composed Poisson distributions I.As I have the impression that this remark may induce some confusion of the terms “compound” and “composed”, the more as the same French word (composé) is used for the two terms, a comparison between the two kinds of processes shall be made.1. The most general propositions of (1) are a theorem which concerns a general homogeneous Markoff process (1.c. § 2) and a theorem for the family {P(k,p)} of distribution functions of positive integervalued variables with mean p, where p runs over all non-negative numbers, and where the convolution of P(k,p1) and P(k,p2) is equal to P(k,p1 + p2) (l.c. § 3). By these propositions the characteristic functions corresponding in the 1st case to the distribution functions defining the homogeneous Markoff process, and in the 2nd case to the distribution functions belonging to the family {P(k,p)} can all be written in the same form, namely
where u is an entirely imaginary variable, p is the parameter of the process, respectively of P(k,p) and c1, c2 … non-negative constants such that converges. If, in the 1st case, converges, and as, in the 2nd case, this series converges, the distributions defined by these characteristic functions are called composed Poisson distributions, which define homogeneous composed Poisson processes.
The unearned no claim bonus
Authors: Welten C. P. 
Published: July 2016

1. The claims experience of a motorcar insurance is assumed to give some indication about the risk (basic claim frequency) of that insurance. The experience rating systems in motor insurance are based on this supposition. In these systems the premium to be paid in some year is a function of the individual claims experience of preceding years. That premium can be considered as the difference between:
— a basic premium, being the expected value of the premium to be paid for insurances with a basic claim frequency equal to the mean value of the basic claim frequency of the portfolio or the tariff class.— a positive or negative bonus; although in the negative case the word bonus is misleading this word will nevertheless be used for both cases in this paper.The bonus usually consists of at least the following components:a. a component concerning the individual claim frequency.b. an individual random factor.c. a collective random factor.Other factors, like the effect of the trend in the claim frequencies and the effect of the dependence of the claim frequency of age and experience of the driver are not taken into account in this paper.2. The meaning of the three components mentioned in section I can be demonstrated by the following example.The structure function U(χ) of the portfolio, being the distribution function of the individual basic claim frequencies χ is assumed to be defined by

representing a gamma distribution with expected value q and variance qb. The probability Pi for an insurance to have i claims in a certain year is supposed to be
In this formula the factor y has the same value for all insurances in the portfolio in a certain year but varies from year to year according to the distribution function G(y) with expected value 1 and variance .