bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The “collimator monitoring fill factor” of a two‐dimensional detector array, a measure of its ability to detect collimation errors
Authors: Stelljes Tenzin Sonam , Looe Hui Khee , Harder Dietrich , Poppe Björn 
Published: January 2017

PurposeTwo‐dimensional detector arrays are routinely used for constancy checks and treatment plan verification in photon‐beam radiotherapy. In addition to the spatial resolution of the dose profiles, the “coverage” of the radiation field with respect to the detection of any beam collimation deficiency appears as the second characteristic feature of a detector array. The here proposed “collimator monitoring fill factor” (CM fill factor) has been conceived to serve as a quantitative characteristic of this “coverage”.MethodsThe CM fill factor is defined as the probability of a 2D array to detect any collimator position error. Therefore, it is represented by the ratio of the “sensitive area” of a single detector, in which collimator position errors are detectable, and the geometrical “cell area” associated with this detector within the array. Numerical values of the CM fill factor have been Monte Carlo simulated for 2D detector arrays equipped with air‐vented ionization chambers, liquid‐filled ionization chambers and diode detectors and were compared with the “FWHM fill factor” defined by Gago‐Arias et al. (2012).ResultsFor arrays with vented ionization chambers, the differences between the CM fill factor and the FWHM fill factor are moderate, but occasionally the latter exceeds unity. For narrower detectors such as liquid‐filled ionization chambers and Si diodes and for small sampling distances, large differences between the FWHM fill factor and the CM fill factor have been observed. These differences can be explained by the shapes of the fluence response functions of these narrow detectors.ConclusionsA new parameter “collimator monitoring fill factor” (CM fill factor), applicable to quantitate the collimator position error detection probability of a 2D detector array, has been proposed. It is designed as a help in classifying the clinical performance of two‐dimensional detector arrays in photon‐beam radiotherapy.
Discriminating solitary cysts from soft tissue lesions in mammography using a pretrained deep convolutional neural network
Authors: Kooi Thijs , van Ginneken Bram , Karssemeijer Nico , den Heeten Ard 
Published: January 2017

PurposeIt is estimated that 7% of women in the western world will develop palpable breast cysts in their lifetime. Even though cysts have been correlated with risk of developing breast cancer, many of them are benign and do not require follow‐up. We develop a method to discriminate benign solitary cysts from malignant masses in digital mammography. We think a system like this can have merit in the clinic as a decision aid or complementary to specialized modalities.MethodsWe employ a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) to classify cyst and mass patches. Deep CNNs have been shown to be powerful classifiers, but need a large amount of training data for which medical problems are often difficult to come by. The key contribution of this paper is that we show good performance can be obtained on a small dataset by pretraining the network on a large dataset of a related task. We subsequently investigate the following: (a) when a mammographic exam is performed, two different views of the same breast are recorded. We investigate the merit of combining the output of the classifier from these two views. (b) We evaluate the importance of the resolution of the patches fed to the network. (c) A method dubbed tissue augmentation is subsequently employed, where we extract normal tissue from normal patches and superimpose this onto the actual samples aiming for a classifier invariant to occluding tissue. (d) We combine the representation extracted using the deep CNN with our previously developed features.ResultsWe show that using the proposed deep learning method, an area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of 0.80 can be obtained on a set of benign solitary cysts and malignant mass findings recalled in screening. We find that it works significantly better than our previously developed approach by comparing the AUC of the ROC using bootstrapping. By combining views, the results can be further improved, though this difference was not found to be significant. We find no significant difference between using a resolution of 100 versus 200 micron. The proposed tissue augmentations give a small improvement in performance, but this improvement was also not found to be significant. The final system obtained an AUC of 0.80 with 95% confidence interval [0.78, 0.83], calculated using bootstrapping. The system works best for lesions larger than 27 mm where it obtains an AUC value of 0.87.ConclusionWe have presented a computer‐aided diagnosis (CADx) method to discriminate cysts from solid lesion in mammography using features from a deep CNN trained on a large set of mass candidates, obtaining an AUC of 0.80 on a set of diagnostic exams recalled from screening. We believe the system shows great potential and comes close to the performance of recently developed spectral mammography. We think the system can be further improved when more data and computational power becomes available.
Brainstem reflex excitability changes in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Cengiz Bülent , Ercan Merve Bahar , İskender Mustafa , Kuruoğlu Hidayet Reha 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACTIntroduction: In this study we explored brainstem reflex excitability changes, blink reflex recovery cycles (BRRCs), and masseter inhibitory reflexes (MIRs) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: Fourteen ALS patients and 14 healthy control subjects were recruited. The BRRC was examined at interstimulus intervals (ISIs) of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 ms. The latencies and durations of silent period 1 (SP1) and silent period 2 (SP2) of the MIR were measured. Results: Decreased R2 area suppression was prominent in the ALS group at ISIs of 200, 300, and 400 ms (P < 0.02), whereas no significant differences between groups at 100, 500, and 600 ms ISIs (P > 0.05) were observed. SP2 duration was significantly prolonged in the ALS group compared with controls (P = 0.01). Conclusions: Brainstem inhibitory and excitatory interneuronal activity is altered in ALS, possibly brought about by physiological and morphological changes at the cortical or bulbar levels. Muscle Nerve 56: 925–929, 2017
Subacute demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy complicating Epstein–Barr virus infection in GATA2 haploinsufficiency
Authors: Kazamel Mohamed , Klein Christopher J. , Benarroch Eduardo E. , Patnaik Mrinal M. , Tracy Jennifer A. 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Autosomal dominant haploinsufficiency of GATA2 causes monocytopenia and natural killer cell lymphopenia, resulting in predisposition to mycobacterial, fungal, and viral infections. Methods: Herein we report on the clinical, serologic, electrophysiologic, and pathologic evaluations of a 29‐year‐old woman with GATA2 haploinsufficiency and active Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection complicated by subacute painful neuropathy. Results: Nerve conduction and electromyography studies showed predominantly demyelinating sensorimotor polyradiculoneuropathy. Lumbar spine MRI showed thickening and enhancement of the cauda equina nerve roots. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid anti‐IgG and IgM EBV capsid and nucleic acid antibodies were positive. Sural nerve biopsy showed microvasculitis and an increased frequency of fibers with segmental demyelination. Intravenous immunoglobulin and steroids improved the patient's neuropathy. Conclusion: GATA2 mutation–related immunodeficiency may predispose to EBV‐associated subacute demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy by both viral susceptibility and immune dysregulation. In patients who present in this manner, immunodeficiency syndromes should be considered when lymphomatous infiltration is excluded. Immunotherapy can be helpful. Muscle Nerve 57: 150–156, 2018
Recentralization and vertical alignment in the French health‐care system
Authors: Simonet Daniel 
Published: January 2017

AbstractIn foreign exemplars, key new public management (NPM) features such as decentralization and devolution of health‐care responsibilities had outcomes below expectations. Other NPM traits such as the patient as overseer of reforms or the empowerment of patient remained elusive. In France, the integration of public values such as greater participation of patients and local actors (NGOs and elected officials) and NPM‐driven private values such as performance evaluation has yet to be seen. Taking advantage of NPM's failings and austerity agenda, a French welfare elite regained control over health‐care policy decisions at the expense of regions and other local actors. NPM outcomes were below expectations. Austerity cures led to weakening of the regional decision spaces, which can be explained under the principal–agent relationship. Accountability shifted to managerial (the professionalization of hospital managers) and legal (governance via regulations) forms in a bid to restore central government control. A democratic recess results from the lack of public engagement in recent health reforms.
Evaluation of the efficacy of insecticidal coatings based on teflutrin and chlorpyrifos against Rhynchophorus ferrugineus
Authors: Pugliese Massimo , Rettori Andrea Alberto , Martinis Roberto , Al‐Rohily Khalid , Velate Suresh , Moideen Mohamed Ashraf , Al‐Maashi Ali 
Published: January 2017

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.), an important economic resource for many nations worldwide, has recently been threatened by the presence of different insect pests, like the red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus.RESULTSTwo products, a glue (polyvinyl acetate) and an oil (raw linseed oil) were used as coatings and applied together with a repellent and two insecticides (teflutrin and chlorpyrifos) at different dosages on two species of palm (P. dactylifera and P. canariensis). Phytotoxic effects of the treatments were evaluated in a greenhouse on 260 potted palms (130 P. dactylifera and 130 P. canariensis) and no negative effects were observed. Afterwards, a trial lasting 400 days was carried out in a nursery located in Sicily (south Italy), treating 572 potted palm trees (286 P. dactylifera and 286 P. canariensis) with an average diameter at the base of 18–20 cm. After 400 days, 48% of the untreated palms were infested, while only 3% of date palms and 7% of Canary palms treated with insecticide at lower dosages were infested.CONCLUSIONSThe application of an insecticide‐based coating is a good strategy to control and prevent the red palm weevil infestation, in particular on date palms. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Enhanced stego block chaining (ESBC) for low bandwidth channels
Authors: Khan Sahib , Ismail Muhammad , Khan Tawab , Ahmad Nasir 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThis paper presents a new enhanced stego block chaining (ESBC) technique for data hiding to address the bandwidth and transmission time issues of simple stego block chaining (SBC). In simple SBC data hiding method, the security of the hidden information is increased by increasing the number of stages, but the addition of each stage decreases the hiding capacity. This increases the size of the data needed to transmit the secret message and thus results in an increase in the required bandwidth and transmission time. The proposed ESBC technique addresses the bandwidth and transmission time issues of the simple SBC method. The output of the ESBC is a high quality stego image with peak signal‐to‐noise ratio above 40 dB and provides the same additional security as simple SBC but reduces the requirements of the bandwidth and transmission time by one half of that of the simple SBC and, thus, solves the hiding capacity issues of SBC for low bandwidth channels. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Prospective Investigation of the Impact of Distinct Posttraumatic (PTSD) Symptom Clusters on Suicidal Ideation
Authors: Panagioti Maria , Angelakis Ioannis , Tarrier Nicholas , Gooding Patricia 
Published: January 2017

AbstractInconsistent findings have been reported by previous cross-sectional studies regarding the association between specific posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters and suicidality. To advance the understanding of the role of specific PTSD symptoms in the development of suicidality, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the predictive effects of the three specific PTSD symptom clusters on suicidal ideation prospectively. Fifty-six individuals diagnosed with PTSD completed a two-stage research design, at baseline and 13–15 months follow-up. The clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS) was used to assess the severity of the PTSD symptom clusters and validated self-report measures were used to assess suicidal ideation, severity of depressive symptoms and perceptions of defeat entrapment. The results showed that only the hyperarousal symptom cluster significantly predicted suicidal ideation at follow-up after controlling for baseline suicidal ideation, severity of depressive symptoms and perceptions of defeat and entrapment. These findings suggest that both disorder-specific and transdiagnostic factors are implicated in the development of suicidal ideation in PTSD. Important clinical implications are discussed in terms of predicting and treating suicidality in those with PTSD.
Molecular Weight Distribution of Low Molecular Weight Polyols Derived from Fatty Acid Methyl Esters
Authors: Mohd Noor Mohd Azmil , Tuan Ismail Tuan Noor Maznee , Sendijarevic Vahid , Schiffman Christi M. , Sendijarevic Ibrahim , Ghazali Razmah , Idris Zainab 
Published: January 2017

AbstractA series of commercial polyether polyols with well‐defined molecular weights (MW) was used along with propylene glycol and dipropylene glycol as gel permeation chromatography (GPC) calibration standards to determine the MW and oligomeric composition of the synthesized low MW fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) polyols, having an MW of lower than 600 Da. This GPC analysis was compared to the one calibrated against the commercially‐available polystyrene (PS) standards and to the number‐average molecular weight (Mn) obtained via vapor pressure osmometry (VPO) technique. The MW of FAME polyols obtained with GPC calibrated against polyether polyols were closer to the Mn values obtained via VPO than the MW obtained via GPC calibrated against PS standards. Using the reliable GPC calibration, the MW distribution and the hydroxyl functionality of FAME polyols were determined with greater confidence.
Free motion of a body in a boundary layer or channel flow
Authors: Smith Frank T. 
Published: January 2017

Coupling is considered between fluid flow and a freely moving body shorter than the development length in an oncoming boundary layer or channel flow but longer than the flow thickness. The body lies within the core of the flow. The coupling occurs between the inviscid-dominated displacement and the viscous–inviscid pressure, the latter acting to move the body. This interaction can be unstable. It is found however that three factors serve to stabilise the interaction as each one alters the decisive balance of angular momentum. One is a 10 % shift forward in the position of the centre of mass. The second is a degree of flexibility in the body shape by means of its response to the induced pressure force. Third is a slight streamwise movement of the body which is sufficient to modify the viscous–inviscid pressure response and again produce stabilisation. The effects are largely independent of the lateral position of the body.
Structural biology of supramolecular assemblies by magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy
Authors: Quinn Caitlin M. , Polenova Tatyana 
Published: January 2017

AbstractIn recent years, exciting developments in instrument technology and experimental methodology have advanced the field of magic-angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to new heights. Contemporary MAS NMR yields atomic-level insights into structure and dynamics of an astounding range of biological systems, many of which cannot be studied by other methods. With the advent of fast MAS, proton detection, and novel pulse sequences, large supramolecular assemblies, such as cytoskeletal proteins and intact viruses, are now accessible for detailed analysis. In this review, we will discuss the current MAS NMR methodologies that enable characterization of complex biomolecular systems and will present examples of applications to several classes of assemblies comprising bacterial and mammalian cytoskeleton as well as human immunodeficiency virus 1 and bacteriophage viruses. The body of work reviewed herein is representative of the recent advancements in the field, with respect to the complexity of the systems studied, the quality of the data, and the significance to the biology.
Normal-order reduction grammars
Authors: BENDKOWSKI MACIEJ 
Published: January 2017

AbstractWe present an algorithm which, for given n, generates an unambiguous regular tree grammar defining the set of combinatory logic terms, over the set {S, K} of primitive combinators, requiring exactly n normal-order reduction steps to normalize. As a consequence of Curry and Feys's standardization theorem, our reduction grammars form a complete syntactic characterization of normalizing combinatory logic terms. Using them, we provide a recursive method of constructing ordinary generating functions counting the number of SK-combinators reducing in n normal-order reduction steps. Finally, we investigate the size of generated grammars giving a primitive recursive upper bound.
SCHOOLS ON PARADE: PATRIOTISM AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF URBAN EDUCATION AT THE DAWN OF THE PROGRESSIVE ERA
Authors: Ewert Cody Dodge 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACTAs the scope and power of public school systems across the United States grew during the Progressive Era, so too did a popular belief that mass education could solve the major social and political problems of the day. This in part owes to school reformers’ efforts to frame public education as an inherently patriotic institution that if properly supported could move the nation forward while preserving its history and traditions. Their efforts centered on the Columbian School Celebration, a nationwide school parade corresponding with the four-hundredth anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the Americas. A case study focusing on a key place and time in this movement's history––Brooklyn, New York, in the early 1890s––this article explores how progressive educators in Brooklyn both used patriotism as a rhetorical device to excite popular support and proclaimed it the cornerstone of the modern urban schools they hoped to build. In so doing, it helps explain both the rise of large urban school systems and growing salience of educational matters in twentieth-century politics.
Cardiac afferent activity modulates the expression of racial stereotypes
Authors: Azevedo Ruben T. , Garfinkel Sarah N. , Critchley Hugo D. , Tsakiris Manos 
Published: January 2017

AbstractNegative racial stereotypes tend to associate Black people with threat. This often leads to the misidentification of harmless objects as weapons held by a Black individual. Yet, little is known about how bodily states impact the expression of racial stereotyping. By tapping into the phasic activation of arterial baroreceptors, known to be associated with changes in the neural processing of fearful stimuli, we show activation of race-threat stereotypes synchronized with the cardiovascular cycle. Across two established tasks, stimuli depicting Black or White individuals were presented to coincide with either the cardiac systole or diastole. Results show increased race-driven misidentification of weapons during systole, when baroreceptor afferent firing is maximal, relative to diastole. Importantly, a third study examining the positive Black-athletic stereotypical association fails to demonstrate similar modulations by cardiac cycle. We identify a body–brain interaction wherein interoceptive cues can modulate threat appraisal and racially biased behaviour in context-dependent ways.
Genetic Polymorphisms of rs3077 and rs9277535 in HLA-DP associated with Systemic lupus erythematosus in a Chinese population
Authors: Zhang Junlong , Zhan Wenli , Yang Bin , Tian Anning , Chen Lin , Liao Yun , Wu Yongkang , Cai Bei , Wang Lanlan 
Published: January 2017

AbstractAlthough the SLE risk gene loci of HLA-DR and HLA-DQ within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region has been gradually revealed by recent Genome-Wide Association studies (GWAS), the association of HLA-DP polymorphisms with SLE was minimally reported. Considering that the variants in rs3077 and rs9277535 in the HLA-DP region could influence the immune response by affecting antigen presentation of HLA class II molecules to CD4+ T cells, the present study aimed to explore the role of HLA-DP polymorphisms in SLE. In total, samples from 335 SLE patients and 635 healthy controls were collected and genotyped by a polymerase chain reaction-high resolution melting (PCR-HRM) assay. A significant positive correlation was observed between the SNP rs3077, rs9277535 of HLA-DP and SLE susceptibility (rs3077, OR = 0.74, 95%CI = 0.60–0.91, P = 0.004; rs9277535, OR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.59–0.88, P = 0.001). Rs3077 polymorphism was corelated to IL-17, INF-γ and cutaneous vasculitis (P = 0.037, P = 0.020 and P = 0.006, respectively). Additionally, rs3077 AA genotype carriers showed lower concentration of inflammatory cytokines and lower cutaneous vasculitis incidence than did the other two genotype. No significant association was observed between rs9277535 and cytokines or any clinical features. In conclusion, HLA-DP polymorphisms (rs3077 and rs9277535) were associated with SLE susceptibility and the levels of some inflammatory cytokines in SLE patients.
Estrogen related receptor is required for the testicular development and for the normal sperm axoneme/mitochondrial derivatives in Drosophila males
Authors: Misra Snigdha , Pandey Anuj Kumar , Gupta Snigdha , Kumar Ajay , Khanna Priyanka , shankar Jai , Ravi Ram Kristipati 
Published: January 2017

AbstractEstrogen related receptors (ERRs), categorized as orphan nuclear receptors, are critical for energy homeostasis and somatic development. However, significance of ERRs in the development of reproductive organs/organelles/cells remain poorly understood, albeit their homology to estrogen receptors. In this context, here, we show that knockdown of ERR in the testes leads to improperly developed testes with mis-regulation of genes (aly, mia, bruce, bam, bgcn, fzo and eya) involved in spermatogenesis, resulting in reduced male fertility. The observed testicular deformity is consistent with the down-regulation of SOX-E group of gene (SOX100B) in Drosophila. We also show dispersion/disintegration of fusomes (microtubule based structures associated with endoplasmic reticulum derived vesicle, interconnecting spermatocytes) in ERR knockdown testes. A few ERR knockdown testes go through spermatogenesis but have significantly fewer sperm. Moreover, flagella of these sperm are defective with abnormal axoneme and severely reduced mitochondrial derivatives, suggesting a possible role for ERR in mitochondrial biogenesis, analogous to mammalian ERRα. Interestingly, similar knockdown of remaining seventeen nuclear receptors did not yield a detectable reproductive or developmental defect in Drosophila. These findings add newer dimensions to the functions envisaged for ERR and provide the foundation for deciphering the relevance of orphan nuclear receptors in ciliopathies and testicular dysgenesis.