bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analysis of 473 US Head and Neck Cancer Trials (1996‐2014)
Authors: Devaiah Anand , Murchison Charles 
Published: November 2015

ObjectiveTo report on types of investigations being conducted in US clinical trials, the types of therapeutic investigations that predominate, and the publication rates.Study DesignRetrospective analysis.SettingsUS head and neck cancer clinical trials.Subjects and MethodsWe used the information available on ClinicalTrials.gov to identify trends in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma clinical trials to characterize the types of trials and treatments being investigated. The publication rate for these trials was also examined with PubMed.gov.ResultsOf the 473 trials analyzed, similar drug regimens have been used repeatedly in head and neck cancer clinical trials. Drug studies are highly represented, composing 62% of all trials. The most common drugs studied were cisplatin, cetuximab, and docetaxel. Among all head and neck cancer clinical trials, 33% included radiation therapy in their treatment, while 10% included a surgical component. Forty‐nine percent of trials had their results published in a medical journal, and 70% of the publications reported positive results.ConclusionHead and neck cancer trials are heavily weighted toward drug trials and demonstrate redundancy. Other therapies are underrepresented, especially surgery. There is a gap between the trials conducted and the rate of reporting, with an emphasis on positive results. Better balance in studying treatment modalities, less redundancy in clinical trials, and reporting all results have potential benefits for head and neck cancer and the public good.
A systematic review of reasons for gatekeeping in palliative care research
Authors: Kars Marijke C , van Thiel Ghislaine JMW , van der Graaf Rieke , Moors Marleen , de Graeff Alexander , van Delden Johannes JM 
Published: November 2015

Background: When healthcare professionals or other involved parties prevent eligible patients from entering a trial as a research subject, they are gatekeeping. This phenomenon is a persistent problem in palliative care research and thought to be responsible for the failure of many studies. Aim: To identify potential gatekeepers and explore their reasons for gatekeeping in palliative care research. Design: A ‘Review of Reasons’ based on the systematic Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses approach and a thematic synthesis. Data source: PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and PsycINFO from 2000 to May 20 2015 were searched. Studies in children (aged <18 years) and patients with dementia were excluded. Results: Thirty papers on gatekeeping in palliative care research were included. Five groups of potential gatekeepers were identified: healthcare professionals, research ethics committees, management, relatives and researchers. The fear of burdening vulnerable patients was the most reported reason for gatekeeping. Other reasons included ‘difficulty with disclosure of health status’, ‘fear of burdening the patient’s relatives’, ‘doubts about the importance or quality of the study’, ‘reticent attitude towards research and (research) expertise’ and ‘logistics’. In hospice and homecare settings, the pursuit of comfort care may trigger a protective attitude. Gatekeeping is also rooted in a (perceived) lack of skills to recruit patients with advanced illness. Conclusion: Gatekeeping is motivated by the general assumption of vulnerability of patients, coupled with an emphasis on the duty to protect patients. Research is easily perceived as a threat to patient well-being, and the benefits appear to be overlooked. The patients’ perspective concerning study participation is needed to gain a full understanding and to address gatekeeping in palliative care research.
Improved human–robot team performance through cross-training, an approach inspired by human team training practices
Authors: Nikolaidis Stefanos , Lasota Przemyslaw , Ramakrishnan Ramya , Shah Julie 
Published: November 2015

We design and evaluate a method of human–robot cross-training, a validated and widely used strategy for the effective training of human teams. Cross-training is an interactive planning method in which team members iteratively switch roles with one another to learn a shared plan for the performance of a collaborative task. We first present a computational formulation of the robot mental model, which encodes the sequence of robot actions necessary for task completion and the expectations of the robot for preferred human actions, and show that the robot model is quantitatively comparable to the mental model that captures the inter-role knowledge held by the human. Additionally, we propose a quantitative measure of robot mental model convergence and an objective metric of model similarity. Based on this encoding, we formulate a human–robot cross-training method and evaluate its efficacy through experiments involving human subjects [Formula: see text]. We compare human–robot cross-training to standard reinforcement learning techniques, and show that cross-training yields statistically significant improvements in quantitative team performance measures, as well as significant differences in perceived robot performance and human trust. Finally, we discuss the objective measure of robot mental model convergence as a method to dynamically assess human errors. This study supports the hypothesis that the effective and fluent teaming of a human and a robot may best be achieved by modeling known, effective human teamwork practices.
Product Differences in Intra-articular Hyaluronic Acids for Osteoarthritis of the Knee
Authors: Altman Roy D. , Bedi Asheesh , Karlsson Jon , Sancheti Parag , Schemitsch Emil 
Published: November 2015

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and often disabling joint disorder among adults that may result in impaired activity and daily function. A variety of treatment options are currently available and prescribed for knee OA depending on the severity of the disorder and physician preference. Intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IA-HA) injection is a treatment for knee OA that reportedly provides numerous biochemical and biological benefits, including shock absorption, chondroprotection, and anti-inflammatory effects within the knee. Clarity is needed as to whether the available IA-HA products should be considered for therapy as a group or whether there are significant differences in the products that need to be considered in treatment of OA of the knee. Purpose: To determine whether there are differences in efficacy and safety with respect to intrinsic properties of available IA-HA injections for knee OA. Study Design: Meta-analysis. Methods: A comprehensive literature search of the Medline, EMBASE, and PubMed databases was conducted for all existing randomized trials of IA-HA. The primary outcome measure analyzed was the mean pain score at the reported follow-up nearest to 26 weeks after injection. Pooled efficacy and safety results were recorded for subgroupings of HA product characteristics. Results: A total of 68 studies were included for analysis. Products with an average molecular weight ≥3000 kDa provided favorable efficacy results when compared with products of an average molecular weight <3000 kDa. Products with a molecular weight ≥3000 kDa demonstrated significantly fewer discontinuations due to treatment-related adverse events than did ≤1500 kDa counterparts, while trial discontinuation rates were similar between biological fermentation–derived HA products and avian-derived HA. The results did not demonstrate a significant difference in the occurrence of effusion across molecular weight subgroups. Additionally, biological fermentation–derived HA had a significantly smaller incidence of effusion than did avian-derived HA. Biological fermentation–derived HA demonstrated fewer acute flare-ups at the injection site than did avian-derived HA products, while high-molecular-weight products demonstrated the highest rate of injection site flare-up. Conclusion: Despite similarities, IA-HA products should not be treated as a group, as there are differences in IA-HA products that influence both efficacy and safety. In the available literature, IA-HA products with a molecular weight ≥3000 kDa and those derived from biological fermentation relate to superior efficacy and safety—factors that may influence selection an IA-HA product for OA of the knee.
Comparison of Patellar Tendon and Hamstring Tendon Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Webster Kate E. , Feller Julian A. , Hartnett Nigel , Leigh Warren B. , Richmond Anneka K. 
Published: November 2015

Background: Numerous studies have compared patellar tendon (PT) and hamstring tendon (HS) anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions in the short to midterm, but fewer long-term results have been published. Hypothesis: There will be no difference in functional outcome between ACL reconstruction performed with PT and HS grafts, but PT grafts will have more donor site morbidity. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: Sixty-five patients undergoing ACL reconstruction were randomized to receive either a PT graft or a 4-strand HS graft. Early results were reported at 4, 8, 12, 24, and 36 months. Forty-seven patients (22 of 31 PT and 25 of 34 HS) were reviewed at a mean of 15.3 years. Results: Four graft ruptures (1 PT, 3 HS) and 6 contralateral ACL injuries (4 PT, 2 HS) occurred in the group that was reviewed. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups for any of the variables measured. There was a similar incidence of anterior knee pain and kneeling pain in both groups. The previously observed increased extension deficit in the PT group at 3 years was not present at 15 years, and there was no significant between-group difference in knee laxity. A higher proportion of patients in the PT group were participating in sport on a weekly basis (73% PT, 48% HS; P = .05). There was no difference in the degree of osteoarthritis between the groups. Conclusion: This randomized controlled trial showed that HS and PT ACL reconstructions have comparable results at an average 15-year follow-up. Contrary to the study hypothesis, some of the graft differences seen at earlier review were not present at 15 years, and patients with PT grafts were more active in sport participation. Overall, both graft types provided good long-term subjective and objective outcomes.
Identifying Challenging Job and Environmental Demands of Older Nurses Within the National Health Service
Authors: Durosaiye Isaiah Oluremi , Hadjri Karim , Liyanage Champika Lasanthi 
Published: November 2015

Objectives: To explore the existing theoretical contexts of the job and environmental demands of the nursing profession in the National Health Service (NHS) and to investigate how these job and environmental demands impact on the personal constructs of older nurses within the NHS. Background: Nursing is the single most widely practiced profession in the healthcare sector in the United Kingdom. However, nurses contend with challenging job and environmental demands on a daily basis, which deplete them of personal constructs (or resources) required to stay in the profession. Methods: A multilevel exploratory qualitative research design was employed. Ten managers were interviewed for the preliminary study, based on which the three characteristics of an age-friendly NHS workplace were established: health, retirement, and flexibility. Then an in-depth literature review revealed that the most adversely affected job within the NHS was the nursing profession. Finally, a focus group study was undertaken with six older nurses working in the NHS. Results: The most compelling finding of this study is that older nurses would generally not want to stay on the job if they had to work in the ward area. The physical, cognitive, and sensory constructs of older nurses are negatively affected by the job and environmental demands of the ward areas. Conclusions: Understanding how these job and environmental demands of the workplace affect an older nurse’s personal constructs may help support a better design of nurse work and the wards and help extend the working lives of older nurses in the NHS.
Role of interferon-γ and cytotoxic T lymphocytes in intraocular tumor rejection
Authors: Ligocki Ann J , Brown Joseph R , Niederkorn Jerry Y 
Published: November 2015

Abstract
The eye is normally an immunosuppressive environment. This condition is better known as immune privilege and protects the eye from immune-mediated inflammation of tissues that cannot regenerate. However, immune privilege creates a dilemma for the eye when intraocular neoplasms arise. In some cases, immune privilege is suspended, resulting in the immune rejection of intraocular tumors. This study employed a mouse model in which interferon-γ–dependent intraocular tumor rejection occurs. We tested the hypothesis that this rejection requires interferon-γ for the generation and functional capacity of cytotoxic T lymphocyte–mediated rejection of intraocular tumors. Tumors grew progressively in the eyes of interferon-γ knockout mice, even though the mice generated tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses in the periphery. However, interferon-γ knockout mice rejected tumors that were introduced into extraocular sites. Subcutaneous tumor immunization before intraocular challenge led to tumor rejection and preservation of the eye in wild-type mice. By contrast, tumors grew progressively in the eyes of interferon-γ knockout mice despite their ability to generate peripheral tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes as well as the capacity of CD8+ T cells to enter the eye as shown by the presence of CD8 and perforin message and CD3+CD8+ leukocytes within the tumor-bearing eye. We found that cytotoxic T lymphocytes generated in wild-type mice and adoptively transferred into interferon-γ knockout mice mediated the rejection of intraocular tumors in interferon-γ knockout hosts. The results indicate that interferon-γ is critical for the initial priming and differentiation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes residing in the periphery to produce the most effect antitumor function within the eye.
Platelet-neutrophil complex formation—a detailed in vitro analysis of murine and human blood samples
Authors: Mauler Maximilian , Seyfert Julia , Haenel David , Seeba Hannah , Guenther Janine , Stallmann Daniela , Schoenichen Claudia , Hilgendorf Ingo , Bode Christoph , Ahrens Ingo , Duerschmied Daniel 
Published: November 2015

Abstract
Platelets form complexes with neutrophils during inflammatory processes. These aggregates migrate into affected tissues and also circulate within the organism. Several studies have evaluated platelet-neutrophil complexes as a marker of cardiovascular diseases in human and mouse. Although multiple publications have reported platelet-neutrophil complex counts, we noticed that different methods were used to analyze platelet-neutrophil complex formation, resulting in significant differences, even in baseline values. We established a protocol for platelet-neutrophil complex measurement with flow cytometry in murine and human whole blood samples. In vitro platelet-neutrophil complex formation was stimulated with ADP or PMA. We tested the effect of different sample preparation steps and cytometer settings on platelet-neutrophil complex detection and noticed false-positive counts with increasing acquisition speed. Platelet-neutrophil complex formation depends on platelet P-selectin expression, and antibody blocking of P-selectin consequently prevented ADP-induced platelet-neutrophil complex formation. These findings may help generating more comparable data among different research groups that examine platelet-neutrophil complexes as a marker for cardiovascular disease and novel therapeutic interventions.
An Acoustical Simulation for the Muffler of Reciprocating Compressors Using the FEM Method
Authors: Chiu Min-Chie , Chang Ying-Chun , Xie Ji-Lin 
Published: November 2015

A reciprocating compressor is commonly used in industry. However, because it is extremely noisy and harmful to the ears, a noise control mechanism is necessary. Eight kinds of noise control strategies used with the reciprocating compressor are explored, and COMSOL, a numerical analysis software, is adopted for acoustical analysis in the paper. The primary purpose of this research is to assess the influence of seven noise control strategies for the suction/discharge muffler of a reciprocating compressor. Results have shown that the noise control strategies can efficiently improve the acoustical performance of the suction/discharge mufflers.
LC-MS/MS Measurement of Parathyroid Hormone–Related Peptide
Authors: Kushnir Mark M , Rockwood Alan L , Strathmann Frederick G , Frank Elizabeth L , Straseski Joely A , Meikle A Wayne 
Published: November 2015

AbstractINTRODUCTIONParathyroid hormone–related peptide (PTHrP) is involved in activating pathways, allowing tumor cells to form bone metastases. Measurement of PTHrP is used for the diagnosis and clinical management of patients suspected of hypercalcemia of malignancy. We developed an LC-MS/MS method for measuring PTHrP, established sex-specific reference intervals, and assessed the method's performance.METHODSPTHrP was enriched from plasma samples with rabbit polyclonal anti-PTHrP antibody conjugated to magnetic beads. Enriched PTHrP was digested with trypsin, and PTHrP-specific tryptic peptide was analyzed with 2-dimensional LC-MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring mode.RESULTSThe lower limit of quantification was 0.6 pmol/L, and the upper limit of linearity was 600 pmol/L. Total imprecision was &lt;10%. Very poor agreement was observed with the RIA (n = 207; Deming regression RIA = 0.059 × LC-MS/MS − 1.8, r = 0.483; Sy|x = 3.9). Evaluation of the clinical performance of the assay using samples from patients with and without hypercalcemia (n = 199) resulted in an area under the ROC curve of 0.874. In sets of consecutively analyzed routine samples of patients assessed for hypercalcemia, the PTHrP positivity rate by RIA (n = 1376) was 1.9%, and 26.6% by LC-MS/MS (n = 1705). Concentrations were below the lower limit of quantification in 95.6% of the samples by RIA and 2.0% by LC-MS/MS.CONCLUSIONSPTHrP is a normal constituent in circulating blood and its concentrations are substantially underestimated by commercial RIAs, causing false-negative results in samples from patients suspected of hypercalcemia. Our observations suggest a link between increased concentrations of PTHrP in postmenopausal women with low body mass index and increased incidence of osteoporosis.
Genetic background of urinary incontinence – state-of-the-art and perspectives
Authors: Stangel-Wjcikiewicz Klaudia , Piwowar Monika 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe paper presents an overview of the current studies attempting to determine the genetic background of urinary incontinence (UI) problems. The overview referred to the adaptations of biomedical literature from Medline, life science journals, and online books were searched from the earliest date possible to March 2015. Genetic variability studies (mostly with the use of single nucleotide polymorphism) in the context of UI are discussed. The authors indicate the variability of polymorphic forms of proteins, whose modified function may be related to the observed phenotypic symptoms: UI. The paper includes a discussion of the varied level of gene expression and the issue of defective process of the development of the urinary system in the context of UI disorders. The literature does not present any general, unequivocal description of the relationship between the genetic background and phenotype as UI. It is suggested that the methods of integration of data from various techniques (e.g. high throughputs) in reference to social, demographic, and other data may be the way of the approach used for the effective description of the relationship between genetic background and observed UI.
Public Outcry and Police Behavior
Authors: DeAngelo Gregory , McCannon Bryan C. 
Published: November 2015

Abstract
Numerous empirical studies have documented policing behavior and response to public opinion, social norms, changing laws, neighborhood context and a litany of other subject areas. What is missing from this literature is a general theoretical framework that explains the conflicting goals of properly applying the law and responding to social norms and the consequences of the law. We build a theoretical framework where law enforcement officials care about both reputation and performance. Outside evaluations assess the quality of the decision making of the officers, but can be influenced by strategic challenging of the sanctioning by the suspected violators. We first establish that reputational concerns can distort law enforcement, encouraging either over-enforcement or under-enforcement of the law, depending on the prior beliefs of violations and the observed signal. Introducing strategic challenging by the violator eliminates over-enforcement and allows for an even larger reduction in application of the law by less-skilled officers. Connections to empirical findings of distortions in law enforcement, along with an extension to deterrence are highlighted.
Design of Controller in Double Feedback Control Loop – An Analysis with Heuristic Algorithms
Authors: Suresh Manic K. , Rajinikanth V. , Ananthasivam Sarath , Suresh Uma 
Published: November 2015

Abstract
In this paper, heuristic algorithm based optimization approach is proposed to design the PID controller in Double Feedback Control Loop (DFCL) for a class of stable and unstable Single Input Single Output (SISO) process models. In this work, a three dimensional search is attempted and the heuristic algorithm is employed to find the best possible values for inner loop proportional gain (Kp1), outer loop integral gain (Ki), and derivative gain (Kd). A weighted sum of Objective Function (OF) is considered to guide the optimization search in order to attain the global best values. A comparative analysis is presented between heuristic algorithms, such as Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Bacterial Foraging Optimization (BFO) and Firefly Algorithm (FA). From this experimental study, it is confirmed that, FA based DFCL offers better performance in reference tracking and disturbance rejection operations with reduced error values for most of the considered process models compared with the alternatives. The statistical significance of the FA is also verified using Wilcoxon’s rank test.