bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the potential of effluent extracts from pulp and paper mills in Canada, Brazil, and New Zealand to affect fish reproduction: Estrogenic effects in fish
Authors: Orrego Rodrigo , Milestone Craig B. , Hewitt L. Mark , Guchardi John , Heid-Furley Tatiana , Slade Alison , MacLatchy Deborah L. , Holdway Douglas 
Published: November 2016

Abstract

The authors examined the potential of pulp mill effluent from pulp-producing countries (Canada, Brazil, New Zealand) to affect fish reproduction. Specifically, the estrogenic effects in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) pulse-exposed to 11 different mill effluent extracts (intraperitoneal injections of solid-phase extraction–dichloromethane nonpolar fraction). The results indicated that effluent extracts were estrogenic in juvenile trout irrespective of the gender, as reflected by increasing level of plasma vitellogenin (VTG; Brazil &gt; New Zealand &gt; Canada). Despite the high variability observed among mills, differences in VTG levels were related to the type of mill process (kraft &gt; elementary chlorine-free kraft &gt; thermomechanical pulping). Moreover, effluent treatments did not appear to significantly decrease VTG induction. A consistent estrogenic effect was observed in those mills that process a combination of feedstocks (softwood and hardwood), with the highest increase in VTG related to eucalyptus feedstock. The results demonstrate significant estrogenic effects of pulp mill effluents on chronically exposed juvenile trout, suggesting that in vivo metabolic activation of precursors is necessary to cause the observed increases in VTG levels. This molecular estrogenic response provides a useful starting point for predicting population-level impacts through the adverse outcome pathway methodology. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1547–1555. © 2016 SETAC
A toxicokinetic model for fish including multiphase sorption features
Authors: Larisch Wolfgang , Brown Trevor N. , Goss Kai-Uwe 
Published: November 2016

Abstract

In the scientific field of physiologically based toxicokinetic modeling the complexity of the model used depends on the complexity of the problem to be handled, leading to a broad range of existing models from simple 1-box models to complex multicompartment models. Most of these models work with lumped parameters, for example, an uptake efficiency parameter that can only be obtained with a fit of experimental data. The authors’ goal was a model that is completely based on well-defined physiological and physicochemical parameters. Lumped parameters fitted on training data sets would limit the model's applicability. This would enable a new view on process understanding for uptake, distribution, and elimination procedures. Eventual goals are a better localization of chemicals within the organism itself, and to set the stage for future extensions toward ionic compounds and active transport across membranes. The model evaluation reported in the present study has shown that uptake, clearance, and bioaccumulation data for nonpolar chemicals are well predicted. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1538–1546. © 2016 SETAC
Durability of Response to Zoledronate Treatment and Competing Mortality in Paget's Disease of Bone
Authors: Cundy Tim , Maslowski Katherine , Grey Andrew , Reid Ian R 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACT

There has been a marked secular trend in recent decades toward patients with Paget's disease presenting at a greater age and having less extensive skeletal involvement. Over a similar time frame more potent bisphosphonates with a long duration of effect have been developed, raising the prospect of many patients needing only once in a lifetime treatment. We studied a cohort of 107 patients who had been treated with intravenous zoledronate for the first time at a mean age of 76 years. Sequential measurements of the bone turnover marker procollagen-1 NT-peptide (P1NP) were made for up to 10 years. By 9 years, 64% showed some loss of zoledronate effect (defined as a doubling of P1NP from the nadir value after treatment), but only 14% had a biochemical relapse (defined as a P1NP value &gt;80 μg/L). The mortality rate was substantially greater than the relapse rate—by 10 years more than half the cohort had died (p &lt; 0.0001). We conclude that for the majority of older people with Paget's disease a single intravenous infusion of zoledronate will provide disease suppression for the remainder of their lives. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Abstract
The potent, long-acting, bisphosphonate zoledronate is now commonly used in the treatment of Paget's disease, but contemporary patients tend to present later in life and to have fewer bones involved than formerly. This work reports that up to 10 years after zoledronate treatment, patients with Paget's disease are nearly four times more likely to die (competing mortality) than suffer biochemical relapse. Most patients with Paget's disease will probably need such treatment only once.
A 60‐year reconstructed high‐resolution local meteorological data set in Central Sahel (1950–2009): evaluation, analysis and application to land surface modelling
Authors: Leauthaud C. , Cappelaere B. , Demarty J. , Guichard F. , Velluet C. , Kergoat L. , Vischel T. , Grippa M. , Mouhaimouni M. , Bouzou Moussa I. , Mainassara I. , Sultan B. 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACTThe Sahel has experienced strong climate variability in the past decades. Understanding its implications for natural and cultivated ecosystems is pivotal in a context of high population growth and mainly agriculture‐based livelihoods. However, efforts to model processes at the land–atmosphere interface are hindered, particularly when the multi‐decadal timescale is targeted, as climatic data are scarce, largely incomplete and often unreliable.This study presents the generation of a long‐term, high‐temporal resolution, multivariate local climatic data set for Niamey, Central Sahel. The continuous series spans the period 1950–2009 at a 30‐min timescale and includes ground station‐based meteorological variables (precipitation, air temperature, relative and specific humidity, air pressure, wind speed, downwelling long‐ and short‐wave radiation) as well as process‐modelled surface fluxes (upwelling long‐ and short‐wave radiation, latent, sensible and soil heat fluxes and surface temperature). A combination of complementary techniques (linear/spline regressions, a multivariate analogue method, artificial neural networks and recursive gap filling) was used to reconstruct missing meteorological data. The complete surface energy budget was then obtained for two dominant land cover types, fallow bush and millet, by applying the meteorological forcing data set to a finely field‐calibrated land surface model. Uncertainty in reconstructed data was expressed by means of a stochastic ensemble of plausible historical time series.Climatological statistics were computed at sub‐daily to decadal timescales and compared with local, regional and global data sets such as CRU and ERA‐Interim. The reconstructed precipitation statistics, ∼1 °C increase in mean annual temperature from 1950 to 2009, and mean diurnal and annual cycles for all variables were in good agreement with previous studies. The new data set, denoted NAD (Niamey Airport‐derived set) and publicly available, can be used to investigate the water and energy cycles in Central Sahel, while the methodology can be applied to reconstruct series at other stations.
Skill of ECMWF system‐4 ensemble seasonal climate forecasts for East Africa
Authors: Ogutu Geoffrey E. O. , Franssen Wietse H. P. , Supit Iwan , Omondi P. , Hutjes Ronald W.A. 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACTThis study evaluates the potential use of the ECMWF System‐4 seasonal forecasts (S4) for impact analysis over East Africa. For use, these forecasts should have skill and small biases. We used the 15‐member ensemble of 7‐month forecasts initiated every month, and tested forecast skill of precipitation (tp), near‐surface air temperature (tas) and surface downwelling shortwave radiation (rsds). We validated the 30‐year (1981–2010) hindcast version of S4 against the WFDEI reanalysis (WATCH Forcing Data ERA‐Interim) and to independent relevant observational data sets. Probabilistic skill is assessed using anomaly correlation, ranked probability skill score (RPSS) and the relative operating curve skill score (ROCSS) at both grid cell and over six distinct homogeneous rainfall regions for the three growing seasons of East Africa (i.e. MAM, JJA and OND).S4 exhibits a wet bias in OND, a dry bias in MAM and a mix of both in JJA. Temperature biases are similar in all seasons, constant with lead‐time and correlate with elevation. Biases in rsds correlate with cloud/rain patterns. Bias correction clears biases but does not affect probabilistic skills.Predictability of the three variables varies with season, location and lead‐time. The choice of validating dataset plays little role in the regional patterns and magnitudes of probabilistic skill scores. The OND tp forecasts show skill over a larger area up to 3 months lead‐time compared to MAM and JJA. Upper‐ and lower‐tercile tp forecasts are 20–80% better than climatology. Temperature forecasts are skillful for at least 3 months lead‐time and they are 40–100% better than climatology. The rsds is less skillful than tp and tas in all seasons when verified against WFDEI but higher in all lead months against the alternative datasets. The forecast system captures El‐Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)‐related anomalous years with region‐dependent skill.
Increased expression of interleukin‐23 associated with progression of colorectal cancer
Authors: Hu Wan‐Hsiang , Chen Hong‐Hwa , Yen Shao‐Lun , Huang Hsuan‐Ying , Hsiao Chang‐Chun , Chuang Jiin‐Haur 
Published: November 2016

Background and ObjectivesThe prognostic significance of interleukin‐23 in colorectal cancer remains unclear. We designed this study to investigate the association between colorectal cancer and interleukin‐23 (IL‐23) or interleukin‐23 receptor (IL‐23R) expression and the resulting clinical features and survival.MethodsImmunohistochemical staining was performed for IL‐23 and IL‐23R in colorectal cancer samples. H‐score was calculated to compare the expression of IL‐23 and IL‐23R. The median of H‐score was used as the cut‐off value to separate patients into high or low expression groups. The differences in clinicopathological features were evaluated. Cox regression hazard ratios were used for survival analysis.ResultsA total of 129 colorectal cancer patients were enrolled. H‐score for the late TNM stage patients was higher than that for the early TNM stage patients (P = 0.002). Patients with high IL‐23 expression were associated with advanced pathological T category (P < 0.001) and late TNM stage (P = 0.003). High IL‐23 expression was associated with poor 5‐year disease‐free survival and overall survival in patients (P = 0.048 and P = 0.028, respectively). Multivariate adjustment demonstrated a significant association between high IL‐23 expression and overall survival (hazard ratio = 1.865, P = 0.041).ConclusionsElevated IL‐23 expression was associated with poor outcome and can be used as a prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer. J. Surg. Oncol. 2017;115:208–212. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Analysis of streptokinase by validated liquid chromatography methods and correlation with an in vitro bioassay
Authors: Cardoso Clóvis Dervil Appratto , Perobelli Rafaela Ferreira , Xavier Bruna , Maldaner Fernanda Pavani Stamm , da Silva Francielle Santos , Dalmora Sérgio Luiz 
Published: November 2016

Reversed‐phase and size‐exclusion liquid chromatography methods were validated for the assessment of streptokinase. The reversed‐phase method was carried out on a Jupiter C4 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm id) maintained at 25°C. The mobile phase consisted of 50 mM sodium sulfate solution pH 7.0 and methanol (90:10, v/v), run isocratically at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The size‐exclusion method was carried out on a Protein KW 802.5 column (300 mm × 8.0 mm id), at 25°C. The mobile phase consisted of 40 mM sodium acetate solution pH 7.0, run isocratically at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Retention times were 19.3 min, and 14.1 min, and calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 0.25–250 μg/mL (25.75–25 750 IU/mL) (r2 = 0.9997) and 5–80 μg/mL (515–8240 IU/mL) (r2 = 0.9996), respectively, for reversed‐phase and size exclusion, with detection at 220 and 204 nm. Chromatographic methods were employed in conjunction with the in vitro bioassay for the content/potency assessment of Streptokinase, contributing to improve the quality control and ensure the efficacy of the biotherapeutic.
Thermo‐Responsive Complexes of c‐Myc Antisense Oligonucleotide with Block Copolymer of Poly(OEGMA) and Quaternized Poly(4‐Vinylpyridine)
Authors: Topuzogullari Murat , Elalmis Yeliz Basaran , Isoglu Sevil Dincer 
Published: November 2016

Solution behavior of thermo‐responsive polymers and their complexes with biological macromolecules may be affected by environmental conditions, such as the concentration of macromolecular components, pH, ion concentration, etc. Therefore, a thermo‐responsive polymer and its complexes should be characterized in detail to observe their responses against possible environments under physiological conditions before biological applications. To briefly indicate this important issue, thermo‐responsive block copolymer of quaternized poly(4‐vinylpyridine) and poly(oligoethyleneglycol methyl ether methacrylate) as a potential nonviral vector has been synthesized. Polyelectrolyte complexes of this copolymer with the antisense oligonucleotide of c‐Myc oncogene are also thermo‐responsive but, have lower LCST (lower critical solution temperature) values compared to individual copolymer. LCST values of complexes decrease with molar ratio of macromolecular components and presence of salt. Dilution of solutions also affects solution behavior of complexes and causes a significant decrease in size and an increase in LCST, which indicates possible effects of severe dilutions in the blood stream.
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Stability and sensitivity of waterT2obtained with IDEAL‐CPMG in healthy and fat‐infiltrated skeletal muscle
Authors: Sinclair Christopher D.J. , Morrow Jasper M. , Janiczek Robert L. , Evans Matthew R.B. , Rawah Elham , Shah Sachit , Hanna Michael G. , Reilly Mary M. , Yousry Tarek A. , Thornton John S. 
Published: November 2016

Quantifying muscle waterT2(T2‐water) independently of intramuscular fat content is essential in establishingT2‐water as an outcome measure for imminent new therapy trials in neuromuscular diseases. IDEAL‐CPMG combines chemical shift fat–water separation withT2relaxometry to obtain such a measure. Here we evaluate the reproducibility andB1sensitivity of IDEAL‐CPMGT2‐water and fat fraction (f.f.) values in healthy subjects, and demonstrate the potential of the method to quantifyT2‐water variation in diseased muscle displaying varying degrees of fatty infiltration.The calf muscles of 11 healthy individuals (40.5 ± 10.2 years) were scanned twice at 3 T with an inter‐scan interval of 4 weeks using IDEAL‐CPMG, and 12 patients with hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HypoPP) (42.3 ± 11.5 years) were also imaged. An exponential was fitted to the signal decay of the separated water and fat components to determineT2‐water and the fat signal amplitude muscle regions manually segmented.Overall mean calf‐level muscleT2‐water in healthy subjects was 31.2 ± 2.0 ms, without significant inter‐muscle differences (p = 0.37). Inter‐subject and inter‐scan coefficients of variation were 5.7% and 3.2% respectively forT2‐water and 41.1% and 15.4% for f.f. Bland–Altman mean bias and ±95% coefficients of repeatability were forT2‐water (0.15, −2.65, 2.95) ms and f.f. (−0.02, −1.99, 2.03)%. There was no relationship betweenT2‐water (ρ = 0.16,p = 0.07) or f.f. (ρ = 0.03,p = 0.7761) andB1error or any correlation betweenT2‐water and f.f. in the healthy subjects (ρ = 0.07,p = 0.40). In HypoPP there was a measurable relationship betweenT2‐water and f.f. (ρ = 0.59,p < 0.001).IDEAL‐CPMG provides a feasible way to quantifyT2‐water in muscle that is reproducible and sensitive to meaningful physiological changes withoutpost hocmodeling of the fat contribution. In patients, IDEAL‐CPMG measured elevations inT2‐water and f.f. while showing a weak relationship between these parameters, thus showing promise as a practical means of quantifying muscle water in patient populations.
Effects of directed architecture in epoxy functionalized prepolymers for photocurable thin films
Authors: Scholte Jon P. , Ki Kim Soon , Lester Christopher L. , Guymon C. Allan 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACTCationic photopolymerization has become increasingly important in thin‐film applications for advantages including no oxygen inhibition and rapid polymerization rates. Photocurable cationic thin film properties are often modulated by incorporation of oligomeric and prepolymer materials, but little work has directly examined the effect of prepolymer structure and reactive group placement on the thermomechanical properties of the final material. To explore the role of molecular architecture, epoxy functionalized butyl acrylate gradient copolymers were synthesized with reactive groups in end segments or randomly distributed along the prepolymer chain. Polymerized end functionalized formulations exhibit moduli almost double that of random functionalized oligomer formulations. In addition, inclusion of end functionalized prepolymers decreases creep of resulting thin films by a factor of 10. Furthermore, decreasing the concentration of the cross‐linking diluent in end functionalized prepolymer systems results in amorphous networks with significantly lower mechanical strength. Increasing reactive groups at the ends of prepolymers produces stronger materials without affecting tensile elongation at break. These properties indicate that the structured oligomers facilitate the formation of continuous hard domains with high cross‐link density with inclusions of soft, flexible domains of low cross‐link density. This study demonstrates that the prepolymer architecture governs network formation and ultimate properties. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem.2017,55, 144–154
Red and near infrared fluorescent conjugated polyelectrolytes for biomedical applications
Authors: Liu Jie , Liu Bin 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACTRed and near infrared (NIR) fluorescent conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) have attracted increasing attention in the past few years due to their potential applications in biomedical fields. Specifically, red and NIR fluorescent CPEs with special functionalities exhibit great promises in targeted tumor cell imaging and detection of disease‐related biomarkers. In addition, smart agents combining image and therapeutic actions have also been successfully demonstrated for some red and NIR emissive CPEs. In this mini review, we attempt to offer a brief description of the synthetic methods for red and NIR CPEs, and focus predominantly on the rationale behind the molecular design and their applications in biomedical research. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 519–532
Solid–liquid–vapor etching of silicon nanostructures using hydrogen plasma
Authors: Steinbach Annina M. , Kazemi Samira B. , Strehle Steffen 
Published: November 2016

AbstractContrary to the well established vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism widely used for the metal‐catalyzed bottom‐up synthesis of nanowires, the reversed solid–liquid–vapor (SLV) mechanism is rarely studied. Solid–liquid–vapor etching allows in principle to create nanowire‐shaped holes, which would significantly expand the toolbox of bottom‐up synthesis methods towards complex nanostructure assembly. Here, we aimed to realize SLV etching of single‐crystalline silicon using a hydrogen plasma for etching instead of corrosive gases. We were able to demonstrate that the etching of holes using reactive hydrogen species is in principle feasible but requires deliberate adjustment of the process parameters. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of catalyst size, etching time and hydrogen flow rate on the process and discuss the theoretical background of the SLV mechanism.
Multi‐crystalline silicon solar cells with metal‐assisted nano‐texturing using HNO3 as hole injection agent
Authors: Es Fırat , Baytemir Gülsen , Kulakci Mustafa , Turan Raşit 
Published: November 2016

In this study, metal‐assisted etching (MAE) with nitric acid (HNO3) as a hole injecting agent has been employed to texture multi‐crystalline silicon wafers. It was previously proven that addition of HNO3 enabled control of surface texturing so as to form nano‐cone shaped structures rather than nanowires. The process parameters optimized for optically efficient texturing have been applied to multi‐crystalline wafers. Fabrication of p‐type Al:BSF cells have been carried out on textured samples with thermal SiO2/PECVD‐SiNx stack passivation and screen printed metallization. Firing process has been optimized in order to obtain the best contact formation. Finally, jsc enhancement of 0.9 mA/cm2 and 0.6% absolute increase in the efficiency have been achieved. This proves that the optimized MAE texture process can be successfully used in multi‐crystalline wafer texturing with standard passivation methods.
J –V curves and SEM images of the nano and iso‐textured samples. jsc enhancement of 0.9 mA/cm2 together with 0.6% absolute efficiency gain was observed on nano‐textured samples.magnified imageJ –V curves and SEM images of the nano and iso‐textured samples. jsc enhancement of 0.9 mA/cm2 together with 0.6% absolute efficiency gain was observed on nano‐textured samples.
Toward enhanced wireless coexistence in ISM band via temporal characterization and modelling of 802.11b/g/n networks
Authors: Rajab Samer A. , Balid Walid , Refai Hazem H. 
Published: November 2016

AbstractThis paper presents extensive experimental characterization and empirical modelling of 802.11 temporal behavior. A detailed characterization of 802.11b/g/n homogeneous and heterogeneous network traffic patterns is featured, including idle time distribution and channel utilization. A complete modelling of 802.11 networks in the 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical band is also presented. Such information can assist the development of other wireless technologies aiming to utilize the crowded Industrial, Scientific, and Medical band more efficiently and to achieve enhanced wireless coexistence. In this work, models are derived for both homogeneous and heterogeneous 802.11 network idle time distributions. Also presented is a case study utilizing 802.15.4 ZigBee transmitter packet size that was adaptively modified based on channel idle time distribution. Results demonstrate superior ZigBee performance and significant enhancement in throughput. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.