bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of liver fibrosis using pharmacokinetic parameters of dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Li Zhiming , Sun Jihong , Chen Lumin , Huang Ning , Hu Peng , Hu Xi , Han Guocan , Zhou Yurong , Bai Weixian , Niu Tianye , Yang Xiaoming 
Published: December 2015

PurposeTo evaluate the pharmacokinetic parameters of dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE‐MRI) in diagnosing and staging liver fibrosis in rabbits.Materials and MethodsDCE‐MRI with gadodiamide (Gd‐DTPA‐BMA) was performed on a 3.0 Tesla, 60 cm bore MR scanner for rabbits with CCl4‐induced liver fibrosis, and an untreated control group. Fibrosis was staged according to the METAVIR system: control (F0; n = 13), nonadvanced fibrosis (F1–2; n = 15), and advanced fibrosis (F3–4; n = 12). The DCE‐MRI parameters Ktrans, kep, Ve, and vp were measured with a dual‐input extended Tofts model. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of Ktrans, Ve, and vp in staging liver fibrosis.ResultsBoth Ktrans and Ve decreased with increasing fibrosis stage. Ktrans of the control group was significantly different from that of the overall fibrosis group, nonadvanced group, and advanced group (P < 0.001 for all). Significant differences were found between Ve of the control group and that of the overall fibrosis and advanced groups (P = 0.019 and P = 0.009, respectively). For Ktrans, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCs) for discriminating the control group from the overall fibrosis and advanced fibrosis groups were 0.909 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.809–1.000), and 0.936 (95% CI,0.847–1.000), respectively. For discriminating between the control and nonadvanced fibrosis groups, the AUROC of Ktrans was 0.887 (95% CI, 0.762–1.000). The AUROCs of Ktrans were higher than those of Ve and vp for discriminating between the control and overall fibrosis groups, the control and nonadvanced fibrosis groups, and the control and advanced fibrosis groups. Pharmacokinetic parameters were negatively correlated with fibrosis stage (Ktrans, rho = ‐0.668, P < 0.001; Ve, rho = ‐0.438, P = 0.005; vp, rho = ‐0.360, P = 0.023).ConclusionAmong pharmacokinetic parameters of DCE‐MRI in our study, Ktrans was an excellent predictor for differentiating fibrotic livers from normal livers, and differentiating normal livers from nonadvanced or advanced fibrosis livers. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:98–104.
Evaluation of upper airway collapsibility using real‐time MRI
Authors: Wu Ziyue , Chen Weiyi , Khoo Michael C.K. , Davidson Ward Sally L. , Nayak Krishna S. 
Published: December 2015

PurposeTo develop and demonstrate a real‐time MRI method for assessing upper airway collapsibility in sleep apnea.Materials and MethodsData were acquired on a clinical 3 Tesla scanner using a radial CAIPIRIHNA sequence with modified golden angle view ordering and reconstructed using parallel imaging and compressed sensing with temporal finite difference sparsity constraint. Segmented airway areas together with synchronized facemask pressure were used to calculate airway compliance and projected closing pressure, Pclose, at four axial locations along the upper airway. This technique was demonstrated in five adolescent obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients, three adult OSA patients and four healthy volunteers. Heart rate, oxygen saturation, facemask pressure, and abdominal/chest movements were monitored in real‐time during the experiments to determine sleep/wakefulness.ResultsStudent's t‐tests showed that both compliance and Pclose were significantly different between healthy controls and OSA patients (P < 0.001). The results also suggested that a narrower airway site does not always correspond to higher collapsibility.ConclusionWith the proposed methods, both compliance and Pclose can be calculated and used to quantify airway collapsibility in OSA with an awake scan of 30 min total scan room time. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:158–167.
Ki67—An unsuitable marker of gastric cancer prognosis unmasks intratumoral heterogeneity
Authors: Böger Christine , Behrens Hans‐Michael , Röcken Christoph 
Published: December 2015

Background and ObjectivesDue to contradictious findings of previous studies regarding Ki67's value in gastric cancer (GC), we reevaluated the expression of Ki67 in whole tissue sections (WTS) and tissue microarrays (TMAs) of GC testing the following hypotheses: does Ki67 show intratumoral heterogeneity; are TMAs representative in the determination of the Ki67 proliferation index (PI); is the Ki67 PI subject to an intralaboratory variability; and is the Ki67 PI related to clinico‐pathological patient characteristics and/or prognostically relevant in GC.MethodsCorresponding WTS and TMAs samples from 315 GCs were stained immunohistochemically. The Ki67 PI evaluated on WTS was correlated with the Ki67 PI evaluated on TMAs, sample age, clinico‐pathological characteristics, and patient survival.ResultsThe overall amount of Ki67‐positive tumor cells did not depend on sample age. Three distinct, partly heterogeneous Ki67 expression patterns were observed. The mean Ki67 PI evaluated on TMAs differed on average minus 16.9% from the Ki67 PI evaluated on WTS. Ki67 in WTS correlated significantly with the Laurén phenotype and tumor grade, but not with patient survival.ConclusionTMAs carry the risk of a systematic underestimation of the Ki67 PI. Ki67 has no prognostic value in GC but might be a potential indicator of intratumoral heterogeneity. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;113:46–54. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Surgical Oncology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Predictors of high‐risk and low‐risk oral HPV infection in the United States
Authors: Orosco Ryan K. , Kedarisetty Suraj , Hecht Avram S. , Chang David C. , Coffey Charles S. , Weissbrod Philip A. 
Published: December 2015

Objectives/HypothesisDetermine predictors of high‐risk and low‐risk oral HPV infection in the United States.Study DesignRetrospective analyses of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cross‐sectional data of U.S. population from 2009 to 2012.MethodsDatabase queried for subjects aged 18 to 69 with oral rinse human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA data. Logistic regression identified factors associated with high‐risk and low‐risk infection. Covariates included age, gender, ethnicity, income‐to‐poverty (IP) ratio, sexual orientation, human immunodeficiency virus infection, other sexually transmitted infections, lifetime sexual partners, and lifetime oral sex partners.ResultsIn total, 9,256 subjects were identified with mean age of 42.1 years. Oral HPV infection was present in 8.1% (N = 747); 55.7% were high‐risk and 55.3% were low‐risk types, including 11% with both. Oral infection had a negative association with female gender (odds ratio [OR] 0.3, P < 0.001), IP ratio ≥ 3 (OR 0.7, P = 0.02), and one lifetime oral sex partner (OR 0.7, P = 0.03). Increasing oral sex behavior (6–21+ lifetime partners) was positively associated with oral HPV (OR 1.4–3.0, P = 0.03). Low‐risk infection had negative associations with female gender (OR 0.4, P < 0.001) and non‐Hispanic white ethnicity (OR 0.6, P = 0.02), IP ratio ≥ 3 (OR 0.6, P = 0.01), and positive association with > 20 sexual partners (all sex OR 1.7, P = 0.04; oral sex OR 1.9, P = 0.02). Predictors of high‐risk HPV infection included male gender and increasing oral sex partners.ConclusionIncreasing oral sex partners is positively associated with oral HPV infection; female sex and higher socioeconomic class are negatively associated. The risk‐factor profiles for high‐risk and low‐risk HPV types are distinct, with similar trends related to sexual behaviors.Level of Evidence4. Laryngoscope, 126:1365–1372, 2016
Polymerization‐induced self‐assembly of block copolymer through dispersion RAFT polymerization in ionic liquid
Authors: Zhou Heng , Liu Chonggao , Gao Chengqiang , Qu Yaqing , Shi Keyu , Zhang Wangqing 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACTPolymerization‐induced self‐assembly of block copolymer through dispersion RAFT polymerization has been demonstrated to be a valid method to prepare block copolymer nano‐objects. However, volatile solvents are generally involved in this preparation. Herein, the in situ synthesis of block copolymer nano‐objects of poly(ethylene glycol)‐block‐polystyrene (PEG‐b‐PS) in the ionic liquid of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIN][PF6]) through the macro‐RAFT agent mediated dispersion polymerization is investigated. It is found that the dispersion RAFT polymerization of styrene in the ionic liquid of [BMIN][PF6] runs faster than that in the alcoholic solvent, and the dispersion RAFT polymerization in the ionic liquid affords good control over the molecular weight and the molecular weight distribution of the PEG‐b‐PS diblock copolymer. The morphology of the in situ synthesized PEG‐b‐PS diblock copolymer nano‐objects, e.g., nanospheres and vesicles, in the ionic liquid is dependent on the polymerization degree of the solvophobic block and the concentration of the fed monomer, which is somewhat similar to those in alcoholic solvent. It is anticipated that the dispersion RAFT polymerization in ionic liquid broads a new way to prepare block copolymer nano‐objects. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016, 54, 1517–1525
Hyperbranched polybenzoxazoles incorporated polybenzoxazoles for high‐performance and low‐Kmaterials
Authors: Wang Yan , Yu Junrong , Zhu Jing , Hu Zuming 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACTThis paper reports an effective approach for the fabrication of low‐kpolybenzoxazole (PBO) by covalent incorporation of hyperbranched PBO (HBPBO). Solubleo‐aminophenol‐terminated HBPBO was first synthesized by a one‐pot polycondensation, then covalently bonded to poly(hydroxyamide) ended with carbonyl chloride groups, PBO was finally obtained by thermal conversion of the precursor polymers. It was demonstrated that the thermal stability of PBO was not influenced by the incorporation of HBPBO due to their similar chemical compositions, while the glass transition temperature, elastic modulus and hardness were improved because of the linking effects of HBPBO to linear PBO chains. The dielectric constant of PBO was significantly reduced due to the disturbed chain packing of PBO by the globular HBPBO, and the intrinsic cavities in HBPBO, which increased free volume in the materials. Moreover, the material also exhibited reduced coefficient of thermal expansion as compared to neat PBO and low water absorption. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem.2016,54, 1623–1632
One‐year safety and efficacy of tobramycin powder for inhalation in patients with cystic fibrosis
Authors: Konstan Michael W. , Flume Patrick A. , Galeva Ivanka , Wan Robert , Debonnett Laurie M. , Maykut Robert J. , Angyalosi Gerhild 
Published: December 2015

SummaryThis is an integrated analysis of data from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) aged 6–21 years who were treated with up to seven cycles of tobramycin powder for inhalation (TIPTM) over a period of at least 1 year. Safety and key efficacy endpoints were analyzed. Results: The improvement in lung function and decrease in sputum P. aeruginosa (Pa) density from baseline were sustained over the 1‐year treatment period. The number of adverse events (AEs) was low and did not increase with additional cycles of TIP treatment. Some increase in tobramycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was observed, but there was no significant increase in emergence of resistant strains based on the parenteral breakpoint for tobramycin. Conclusion: Efficacy of TIP was maintained for up to seven cycles. Long‐term treatment with TIP was generally safe and well tolerated with no increase in AEs. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2016;51:372–378. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Genetic variants in cell cycle control pathway confer susceptibility to aggressive prostate carcinoma
Authors: Kibel Adam S. , Ahn Jiyoung , Isikbay Masis , Klim Aleksandra , Wu William S. , Hayes Richard B. , Isaacs William B. , Daw E. Warwick 
Published: December 2015

BACKGROUNDBecause a significant number of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) are diagnosed with disease unlikely to cause harm, genetic markers associated with clinically aggressive PCa have potential clinical utility. Since cell cycle checkpoint dysregulation is crucial for the development and progression of cancer, we tested the hypothesis that common germ‐line variants within cell cycle genes were associated with aggressive PCa.METHODSVia a two‐stage design, 364 common sequence variants in 88 genes were tested. The initial stage consisted of 258 aggressive PCa patients and 442 controls, and the second stage added 384 aggressive PCa Patients and 463 controls. European‐American and African‐American samples were analyzed separately. In the first stage, SNPs were typed by Illumina Goldengate assay while in the second stage SNPs were typed by Pyrosequencing assays. Genotype frequencies between cases and controls were compared using logistical regression analysis with additive, dominant and recessive models.RESULTSEleven variants within 10 genes (CCNC, CCND3, CCNG1, CCNT2, CDK6, MDM2, SKP2, WEE1, YWHAB, YWHAH) in the European‐American population and nine variants in 7 genes (CCNG1, CDK2, CDK5, MDM2, RB1, SMAD3, TERF2) in the African‐American population were found to be associated with aggressive PCa using at least one model. Of particular interest, CCNC (rs3380812) was associated with risk in European‐American cohorts from both institutions. CDK2 (rs1045435) and CDK5 (rs2069459) were associated with risk in the African‐American cohorts from both institutions. Lastly, variants within MDM2 and CCNG1 were protective for aggressive PCa in both ethnic groups.CONCLUSIONSThis study confirms that polymorphisms within cell cycle genes are associated with clinically aggressive PCa. Validation of these markers in additional populations is necessary, but these markers may help identify patients at risk for potentially lethal carcinoma. Prostate 76:479–490, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
NF‐κB and androgen receptor variant expression correlate with human BPH progression
Authors: Austin David C. , Strand Douglas W. , Love Harold L. , Franco Omar E. , Jang Alex , Grabowska Magdalena M. , Miller Nicole L. , Hameed Omar , Clark Peter E. , Fowke Jay H. , Matusik Robert J. , Jin Ren J. , Hayward Simon W. 
Published: December 2015

BACKGROUNDBenign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common, chronic progressive disease. Inflammation is associated with prostatic enlargement and resistance to 5α‐reductase inhibitor (5ARI) therapy. Activation of the nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) pathway is linked to both inflammation and ligand‐independent prostate cancer progression.METHODSNF‐κB activation and androgen receptor variant (AR‐V) expression were quantified in transition zone tissue samples from patients with a wide range of AUASS from incidental BPH in patients treated for low grade, localized peripheral zone prostate cancer to advanced disease requiring surgical intervention. To further investigate these pathways, human prostatic stromal and epithelial cell lines were transduced with constitutively active or kinase dead forms of IKK2 to regulate canonical NF‐κB activity. The effects on AR full length (AR‐FL) and androgen‐independent AR‐V expression as well as cellular growth and differentiation were assessed.RESULTSCanonical NF‐κB signaling was found to be upregulated in late versus early stage BPH, and to be strongly associated with non‐insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Elevated expression of AR‐variant 7 (AR‐V7), but not other AR variants, was found in advanced BPH samples. Expression of AR‐V7 significantly correlated with the patient AUASS and TRUS volume. Forced activation of canonical NF‐κB in human prostatic epithelial and stromal cells resulted in elevated expression of both AR‐FL and AR‐V7, with concomitant ligand‐independent activation of AR reporters. Activation of NF‐κB and over expression of AR‐V7 in human prostatic epithelial cells maintained cell viability in the face of 5ARI treatment.CONCLUSIONActivation of NF‐κB and AR‐V7 in the prostate is associated with increased disease severity. AR‐V7 expression is inducible in human prostate cells by forced activation of NF‐κB resulting in resistance to 5ARI treatment, suggesting a potential mechanism by which patients may become resistant to 5ARI therapy.Prostate 76:491–511, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Control Charts for Process Dispersion Parameter under Contaminated Normal Environments
Authors: Ali Amjid , Mahmood Tahir , Nazir Hafiz Zafar , Sana Iram , Akhtar Noureen , Qamar Sadia , Iqbal Muhammad 
Published: December 2015

Control charts are important statistical tool used to monitor fluctuations in the process location and dispersion parameters. The issues relating to the appropriate choice of control charts for the effective detection of process variability are addressed, and different control chart structures, such as Shewhart‐type, exponentially weighted moving average and cumulative sum are explored under ideal assumption of normality and contaminated normal environments, and hence, those control charts structures are identified which are more capable to detect aberrant changes in the process dispersion. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Recent advances in hybrid graphene‐BN planar structures
Authors: Kan Min , Li Yawei , Sun Qiang 
Published: December 2015

Among the hotly investigated two‐dimensional (2D) materials, the hybrid graphene‐BN sheet is of special interest in the single‐atomic sheet family. Since graphene and BN sheet are the two most widely studied 2D materials, and they have the least lattice mismatch with each other while exhibiting very distinctive properties. Therefore, the hybridization between them provides unique flexibilities in tuning the properties which can change from nonmagnetic to ferromagnetic and from semiconducting to half‐metallic. The most impressive trait is that different from the functionalized graphene and BN sheet by hydrogenation, fluorination, or metal doping for the band engineering, the hybrid graphene‐BN sheet with similar properties remains single‐atomic. The combinations of different patterns with different sizes make the hybrid sheet rich in functionalities going beyond other 2D materials. In this overview, we briefly summarize the recent advances in hybrid graphene‐BN sheet, focusing on the modulations of physical and chemical properties by changing the hybrid configurations. Future research directions in this field are also discussed. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2016, 6:65–82. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1237This article is categorized under:

Structure and Mechanism > Computational Materials Science
Survival After Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair in a Population with a Low Incidence of Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Sevilla Nerea , Clara Albert , Diaz‐Duran Carles , Ruiz‐Carmona Carlos , Ibañez Sara 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBackground
Endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) is a prophylactic procedure, so the decision to operate should consider, as recent guidelines suggest, the life expectancy of the patient. Several models for predicting life span have been already designed, but little is known about how intervened patients evolve in Southern European Countries, where the incidence of coronary artery disease, the main cause of death among these subjects, is low.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of 176 consecutive patients who underwent elective EVAR at the Vascular Surgery Department of the Hospital del Mar (Barcelona, Spain) during 2000–2014. Cox regressions were performed to identify preoperative factors associated with long‐term survival after EVAR, and a risk model was developed.ResultsThree‐ and five‐year survival rates were 73.9 and 53.9 %, respectively. During the follow‐up, 72 deaths (40.9 %) were registered, cancer being the most frequent cause (41.7 %). Preoperative variables negatively associated with long‐term survival were serum creatinine ≥150 µmol/L (HR 2.5; 95 % CI 1.4–4.2), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR 1.9; 95 % CI 1.2–3.1), atrial fibrillation (HR 2.0; 95 % CI 1.2–3.4), and prior cancer history (HR 1.9; 95 % CI 1.2–3.1). Distal pulses present in both lower limbs were marginally associated with survival (HR 0.65; 95 % CI 0.4–1.07). The survival predictive model showed a good discrimination capacity (C statistic = 0.703; 95 % CI 0.641–0.765).ConclusionsLong‐term survival of patients submitted to EVAR in our setting was worse than expected and markedly related to cancer. Our study suggests that predictive models for long‐term survival after EVAR may be influenced by regional characteristics of the intervened population. This effect should be taken in consideration in the decision‐making process of these patients.
Low Levels of HDL in Fragile X Syndrome Patients
Authors: Lisik Małgorzata Z. , Gutmajster Ewa , Sieroń Aleksander L. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractFragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of familial mental retardation and one of the leading known causes of autism. The mutation responsible for FXS is a large expansion of the CGG repeats in the promoter region of the FMR1 gene resulting in the transcriptional silencing of the gene in the pathophysiology of Fragile X syndrome was hypothesized. 23 male patients affected by Fragile X syndrome (full mutation in the FMR1 gene) and 24 controls were included in the study. The serum levels of HDL‐C were lower in FXS patients (p < 0.001). The serum levels triacylglycerols were higher in FXS patients (p = 0.007) Further study involving larger samples are necessary to confirm the results and define the health implications for abnormal lipid levels in FXS patients.
Micro‐level processes of identity development: Intra‐individual relations between commitment and exploration
Authors: van der Gaag Mandy A.E. , de Ruiter Naomi M.P. , Kunnen E. Saskia 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACTWe investigate intra‐individual processes of identity at the micro level. With an intensive longitudinal design in the general context of higher education, we explore associations between changes in pivotal identity concepts: commitment and exploration and elaborate on how we conceptualize these concepts on a micro level. With our within‐individual empirical approach, we revealed a large amount of variation between individuals with respect to the associations between exploration and commitment processes. At the same time, similarities were found amongst individuals, which help extend and clarify existing findings regarding identity development. Our findings highlight the necessity to, firstly, distinguish between micro‐ and macro‐level identity processes. Secondly, and in the same vein, our findings emphasize the heterogeneous nature of micro‐level identity processes, and the necessity to use a within individual approach to study these processes.