bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Objective Scatter Index: Working Toward a New Quantification of Cataract?
Authors: Galliot Florence , Patel Sunni R. , Cochener Béatrice 
Published: February 2016

PURPOSE:
To investigate the associations between clinical cataract classifications, quality of life (QOL), and the objective loss of ocular transparency in patients presenting with clinical cataracts.

METHODS:
In this prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study, 1,768 eyes of 1,768 patients (mean age: 72.5 years; range: 28 to 93 years) referred for cataract assessment were enrolled. Visual acuity was measured before slit-lamp examination to determine the severity of lens opacification using the Lens Opacities Classification System III. Patients were asked to complete the Visual Function Index (VF-14) questionnaire. Ocular transparency was quantified by Objective Scatter Index (OSI) and was measured by the HD Analyzer (Visiometrics SL, Terrassa, Spain). Association and categorical data analysis were performed between each measured parameter alongside cross-tabulation analyses to determine sensitivity and efficiency of the HD Analyzer.

RESULTS:
High OSI levels corresponded slightly with a lower visual acuity value and corresponded better with lower VF-14 scores. OSI scores were strongly associated with cataract classification and severity. Cross-tabulation analysis revealed a high sensitivity and efficiency index for the OSI with these clinically validated parameters illustrating good agreement overall for the OSI in determining cataract.

CONCLUSIONS:
The OSI measured by the HD Analyzer is a sensitive and efficient tool to be considered in the early detection of cataract in patients.

[
J Refract Surg.
2016;32(2):96–102.]
Comparison of Central Corneal Thickness Between Fourier-Domain OCT, Very High-Frequency Digital Ultrasound, and Scheimpflug Imaging Systems
Authors: Yap Timothy E. , Archer Timothy J. , Gobbe Marine , Reinstein Dan Z. 
Published: February 2016

PURPOSE:
To compare corneal thickness measurements between three imaging systems.

METHODS:
In this retrospective study of 81 virgin and 58 post-laser refractive surgery corneas, central and minimum corneal thickness were measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT), very high-frequency digital ultrasound (VHF digital ultrasound), and a Scheimpflug imaging system. Agreement between methods was analyzed using mean differences (bias) (OCT – VHF digital ultrasound, OCT – Scheimpflug, VHF digital ultrasound – Scheimpflug) and Bland–Altman analysis with 95% limits of agreement (LoA).

RESULTS:

Virgin cornea mean central corneal thickness was 508.3 ± 33.2
µ
m (range: 434 to 588
µ
m) for OCT, 512.7 ± 32.2
µ
m (range: 440 to 587
µ
m) for VHF digital ultrasound, and 530.2 ± 32.6
µ
m (range: 463 to 612
µ
m) for Scheimpflug imaging. OCT and VHF digital ultrasound showed the closest agreement with a bias of −4.37
µ
m, 95% LoA ±12.6
µ
m. Least agreement was between OCT and Scheimpflug imaging with a bias of −21.9
µ
m, 95% LoA ±20.7
µ
m. Bias between VHF digital ultrasound and Scheimpflug imaging was −17.5
µ
m, 95% LoA ±19.0
µ
m. In post-laser refractive surgery corneas, mean central corneal thickness was 417.9 ± 47.1
µ
m (range: 342 to 557
µ
m) for OCT, 426.3 ± 47.1
µ
m (range: 363 to 563
µ
m) for VHF digital ultrasound, and 437.0 ± 48.5
µ
m (range: 359 to 571
µ
m) for Scheimpflug imaging. Closest agreement was between OCT and VHF digital ultrasound with a bias of −8.45
µ
m, 95% LoA ±13.2
µ
m. Least agreement was between OCT and Scheimpflug imaging with a bias of −19.2
µ
m, 95% LoA ±19.2
µ
m. Bias between VHF digital ultrasound and Scheimpflug imaging was −10.7
µ
m, 95% LoA ±20.0
µ
m. No relationship was observed between difference in central corneal thickness measurements and mean central corneal thickness. Results were similar for minimum corneal thickness.

CONCLUSIONS:
Central and minimum corneal thickness was measured thinnest by OCT and thickest by Scheimpflug imaging in both groups. A clinically significant bias existed between Scheimpflug imaging and the other two modalities.

[
J Refract Surg.
2016;32(2):110–116.]
Effects of Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Pretreatment on Pupil Diameter: A Comparison Between Three Laser Platforms
Authors: Diakonis Vasilios F. , Yesilirmak Nilufer , Sayed-Ahmed Ibrahim O. , Warren Daniel P. , Kounis George A. , Davis Zachary , Cabot Florence , Yoo Sonia H. , O'Brien Terrence P. , Donaldson Kendall E. 
Published: February 2016

PURPOSE:
To assess pupil diameter before and after femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) pretreatment and compare the outcomes of three laser platforms.

METHODS:
This prospective observational case series included consecutive patients scheduled to undergo cataract extraction using FLACS between August 2013 and February 2015. All eyes received FLACS pretreatment using three laser platforms: LenSx (Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Fort Worth, TX), Catalys (Abbott Medical Optics Inc., Santa Ana, CA), and Victus (Bausch & Lomb, Inc., Rochester, NY). The same protocol for preoperative medical mydriasis was used for all patients, and pupil diameter was assessed immediately before and 3 minutes after FLACS using a surgical ruler.

RESULTS:

A total of 198 eyes of 161 patients were included in the study. Mean pupillary miosis was 1.42 ± 1.26 mm for the LenSx, 0.66 ± 0.89 mm for the Catalys, and 0.14 ± 0.34 mm for the Victus groups. Furthermore, 8 of the 198 eyes (4.0%) demonstrated a pupil diameter of less than 5 mm after FLACS and 48 eyes (24.24%) demonstrated a pupil diameter of 6 mm or less. There was a statistically significant decrease in pupil diameter for all groups individually (
P
< .05). There was also a statistically significant difference among the three groups (
P
< .05), with LenSx inducing the highest degree of miosis, followed by Catalys, and finally Victus. A correlation between the pupil diameter before FLACS and degree of FLACS-induced miosis was demonstrated (
P
< .05), with larger pupil diameter before FLACS associated with greater miosis.

CONCLUSIONS:
FLACS pretreatment seems to induce significant pupillary miosis with all laser platforms assessed in this study. The decrease in pupil diameter after FLACS reached clinical significance for cataract extraction (< 5 mm) in 4.0% of cases, whereas 20.2% of eyes demonstrated small pupil diameter (≤ 6 mm) after FLACS pretreatment.

[
J Refract Surg
. 2016;32(2):84–88.]
A Leukocyte Immune-Type Receptor Subset Is a Marker of Antiviral Cytotoxic Cells in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus
Authors: Taylor Erin B. , Moulana Mohadetheh , Stuge Tor B. , Quiniou Sylvie M. A. , Bengten Eva , Wilson Melanie 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, leukocyte immune type receptors (LITRs) represent a multigene family that encodes Ig superfamily proteins that mediate activating or inhibitory signaling. In this study, we demonstrate the use of mAb CC41 to monitor viral cytotoxic responses in catfish and determine that CC41 binds to a subset of LITRs on the surface of catfish clonal CTLs. Homozygous gynogenetic catfish were immunized with channel catfish virus (CCV)–infected MHC-matched clonal T cells (G14D-CCV), and PBL were collected at various times after immunization for flow cytometric analyses. The percentage of CC41+ cells was significantly increased 5 d after primary immunization with G14D-CCV and at 3 d after a booster immunization as compared with control fish only injected with G14D. Moreover, CC41+ cells magnetically isolated from the PBL specifically killed CCV-infected targets as measured by 51Cr release assays and expressed messages for CD3γδ, perforin, and at least one of the CD4-like receptors as analyzed by RNA flow cytometry. When MLC effector cells derived from a G14D-CCV–immunized fish were preincubated with CC41 mAb, killing of G14D-CCV targets was reduced by ∼40%, suggesting that at least some LITRs have a role in target cell recognition and/or cytotoxicity. The availability of a LITR-specific mAb has allowed, to our knowledge for the first time, functional characterization of LITRs in an autologous system. In addition, the identification of an LITR subset as a cytotoxic cell marker will allow for more effective monitoring of catfish immune responses to pathogens.
Industrial Design: Aesthetical Dynamics and Visual Alphabetization of Material Culture – Redefined
Authors: Obasuyi Osa-Francis Efe 
Published: February 2016

The emergence of industrial Design and Designers in postmodern Europe obviously changed the Aesthetical Dynamics and visual redefinition, reordering or the visual alphabetization of the man-made environment and material culture forever. Hence the need and trust for this paper. The focus of the paper is an attempt at broadly describing or defining what visual Alphabetization means which could be put thus: Visual alphabetization is that skilful ability of the designer to carefully and logically arranged the visual elements or design elements (in a given product) like colour, material, form, branding, or the degree of the play of light and shade or lighting to generate maximum visual impact, in its uniqueness and differentiation from other products. In the body of the paper it was established that, Visual alphabetization represents that ability of the designer to come away from the Notion that a “Loud design” is “Good design”. Rather nowadays there is a reordering of thinking of the contemporary designer that have begun to explore or look out for designing objects that recede from our attention, rather than attract or command/demand attention. From its findings, the paper recommends the application of contemporary techniques and material in products design which would create that almost “ghost-like” feeling about any given product that in effect will exhibit such mystique that seems to draw/drag the consumer /user to that subtle allure of the products structure and obscurity all at once but in a much less forceful manner.Keywords: Aesthetic differentiation, Cultural Dialectics, Ephemeral, Mimesis, Man-made/Built Environment, Visual Alphabetization
Climate Change and Infectious Diseases in Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State, Nigeria
Authors: Abaje IB , Abdullahi N , Jeje OG 
Published: February 2016

This study examines the impact of climate change on the prevalence of cholera and malaria in Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina state. Monthly and annual trends of climatic data (temperature and rainfall) and infectious diseases (cholera and malaria) from 1985-2014 were analyzed and plotted in order to determine the degree of congruence between the climatic data and the prevalence of cholera and malaria in the study area. Linear trend line equation was used in determining the monthly and annual changes in both temperature and rainfall, and the prevalence of cholera and malaria. The result revealed that as the rainfall and temperature is increasing from 1985 to 2014, likewise the occurrences of cholera and malaria diseases kept on increasing. The highest occurrences of cholera and malaria cases were recorded in 2013 and 2014, while the months of July, August, September and October recorded the highest occurrence of both malaria and cholera with a single peak in August. Further findings revealed that the yearly occurrence of the diseases for the months of July, August, September and October has been increasing from 1985 to 2014. The study recommends that people should avoid drinking water directly from ponds and rivers without been treated, and government should sink bore holes in rural communities in order to reduce the risk of cholera. Treated mosquito nets should be provided in order to reduce the risk of malaria and the monthly sanitation program should be encouraged and intensified.Keywords: cholera, malaria, rainfall, temperature, trends
Lessons Learned in Designing and Implementing a Computer-Adaptive Test for English
Authors: Burston Jack , Neophytou Maro 
Published: February 2016

<span>This paper describes the lessons learned in designing and implementing a computer-adaptive test (CAT) for English. The early identification of students with weak L2 English proficiency is of critical importance in university settings that have compulsory English language course graduation requirements. The most efficient means of diagnosing the L2 English ability of incoming students is by means of a computer-based test since such evaluation can be administered quickly, automatically corrected, and the outcome known as soon as the test is completed. While the option of using a commercial CAT is available to institutions with the ability to pay substantial annual fees, or the means of passing these expenses on to their students, language instructors without these resources can only avail themselves of the advantages of CAT evaluation by creating their own tests. As is demonstrated by the E-CAT project described in this paper, this is a viable alternative even for those lacking any computer programing expertise. However, language teaching experience and testing expertise are critical to such an undertaking, which requires considerable effort and, above all, collaborative teamwork to succeed. A number of practical skills are also required. Firstly, the operation of a CAT authoring programme must be learned. Once this is done, test makers must master the art of creating a question database and assigning difficulty levels to test items. Lastly, if multimedia resources are to be exploited in a CAT, test creators need to be able to locate suitable copyright-free resources and re-edit them as needed.</span>
Insects and the city: what island biogeography tells us about insect conservation in urban areas
Authors: Fattorini S. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract. Habitat fragmentation caused by urbanization is considered a prominent threat to biodiversity. Urban development creates a mosaic of natural fragments which can be occupied by organisms able to survive in small spaces. These fragments are a set of habitat islands separated by less suitable non-native habitats. Because of their isolation, communities of urban green spaces can be investigated using hypotheses developed in island biogeography. The "equilibrium theory of island biogeography" (ETIB) allows the formulation of some predictions about how various characteristics of green spaces (such as their area, shape, level of isolation, environmental heterogeneity, age) should influence species richness. Many studies found support for ETIB predictions, but results varied considerably according to the species' sensitivity to patch size, matrix characteristics, and history of the city. In some cases ETIB predictions were falsified. These contrasting results warn against making generalizations on conservation strategies only based on ETIB models. On the other hand, the ETIB may represent a useful framework for urban conservation, especially for small animals like insects, if the roles of other factors, such as the surrounding landscape, the specific needs of the species under study, and the history of the urbanization process, are taken into account.
“A Certain Tourelle on London Wall … Was Granted … for Him to Inhabit the Same”: London Anchorites and the City Wall
Authors: Dowding Clare M. 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
In common with many other medieval English towns and cities, London contained a large number of churches in a relatively small area, and as in many other locations, many of these churches hosted hermits and anchorites at various times. However, what has not often been noted is that many of these anchorholds and hermitages were located on or near the enclosing city wall or its gates and that the period during which there was an anchoritic presence somewhere on the boundary of the City of London covered almost 350 years. It can therefore be argued that as well as a ring of stone, throughout the medieval period there was also a ring of prayer surrounding the city and that even those who had not taken formal vows were thus part of an enclosed community.
Rewriting Liminal Geographies: Crusader Sermons, the Katherine Group, and the Scribe of MS Bodley 34
Authors: Kim Dorothy 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
Much of the Katherine Group's critical history has centered on its West Midlands regionalism and dialect. This article disrupts this regional focus to think more internationally. What is this manuscript's place among the more international events and religious trends sweeping continental Europe in relation to the Crusades? This article will focus on crusader sermons and their connection to the Katherine Group in order to reframe the reading of the manuscript. The author evaluates the Katherine Group's participation in international crusading rhetoric and how it performs an imaginative version of “geopiety.” The author also examines the scribal note at St. Juliana's end and how it directly borrows from a popular circulating crusader sermon. This English text is casting itself as part of an international genre fixated on a different geography—the eastern Mediterranean—that highlights the geographic and generic liminality of these texts.
Intersections of Courtly Romance and the Anchoritic Tradition: Chevelere Assigne and Ancrene Wisse
Authors: Chewning Susannah Mary 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
The literature produced during the Middle English period in England is varied and diverse. It is held together, in part, by language, though dialect and regional differences do contribute to the diversity. However, the audience of these works, whether they are secular romances or devotional treatises, would have been similar; in fact, there would have been much overlap. This essay addresses two Middle English works—Chevelere Assigne, a chivalric romance, and Ancrene Wisse, an anchoritic treatise—arguing that there is a great deal more shared by the two works (and genres) than just language. Positing that both works might have been read by the same audience—anchorites pre- and post-enclosure—I will argue that anchoritic texts echo the metaphors and themes of chivalric romance, particularly those associated with maternity, language, and gender. Drawing on the works themselves, shared imagery, and shared representations of motherhood, desire, and the natural world, I will offer an explanation of the shared aspects of these genres as part of the diverse and complex culture of the early Middle Ages.
An Experiment in “Neurohistory”: Reading Emotions in Aelred's De Institutione Inclusarum (Rule for a Recluse)
Authors: Bourke Julia 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
This article is a case study in the methodology of “neurohistory,” combining a traditional cultural historical approach to anchoritic guidance writing with the discipline of modern neuroscience. It focuses on the guide De Institutione Inclusarum (ca. 1160) by the Cistercian Aelred of Rievaulx. The essay begins with an explanation of “devotional reading,” in which texts provide meditative scripts for the reader. Following an overview of the text, one meditation on caritas prescribed by Aelred is examined in detail and compared with the meditations used in modern neuroscientific studies of compassion and empathy. The article then addresses the drawbacks and common criticisms of this methodology, before indicating possible areas of future research.
Actual defect observation results of an extreme-ultraviolet blank mask by coherent diffraction imaging
Authors: Harada Tetsuo , Hashimoto Hiraku , Amano Tsuyoshi , Kinoshita Hiroo , Watanabe Takeo 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography poses a number of challenges, one of which is the production of a defect-free mask. To observe the defects on an EUV mask in a quantitative phase image, we have developed a microcoherent EUV scatterometry microscope. The intensity and phase images of the defects are reconstructed using ptychography. We observe four actual defects on an EUV blank mask using the microscope. The reconstructed shapes of the actual defects correspond well to those measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our microscope should therefore function as an essential review tool in characterizing defects.
Extraction of contact resistance and channel parameters from the electrical characteristics of a single bottom-gate/top-contact organic transistor
Authors: Takagaki Shunsuke , Yamada Hirofumi , Noda Kei 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
A parameter extraction procedure for staggered-type organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), in which only the electrical characteristics of a single device are needed, was newly considered. The existing differential method and the transition voltage method for evaluating contact and channel parameters in OFETs were complementarily combined. The calibration of the total resistance between the source and the drain was also incorporated to compensate discrepancies in the total resistances calculated from output and transfer characteristics, caused by the existence of nonignorable contact resistance and carrier traps. By using our proposed method, gate-voltage-dependent contact resistance and channel mobility in the linear regime were evaluated for bottom-gate/top-contact pentacene thin-film transistors, and the channel-length dependence of these parameters was investigated. A series of results of parameter extraction confirm the validity of our proposed method, which is advantageous in avoiding the influences of characteristic variations that are frequently observed in practical OFET devices.
Critical regime for the insulator–metal transition in highly ordered conjugated polymers gated with ionic liquid
Authors: Ito Hiroshi , Harada Tomonori , Tanaka Hisaaki , Kuroda Shin-ichi 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
We report the room-temperature and low-temperature transport properties of a poly(2,5-bis(3-hexadecylthiophene-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PBTTT) film gated with an ionic liquid based on 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide at different annealing temperatures of the PBTTT film. By annealing the film up to 235 °C and subsequently cooling it, we observed a ribbonlike structure, as reported. For the 235-°C-annealed (ribbon phase) film, we could apply a higher voltage without any decrease in the channel conductivity than for the 180-°C-annealed (terrace phase) film. As a result, a charge mobility as high as 10 cm2 V−1 s−1 was achieved for the ribbon-phase film. The power-law behavior of the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity at low temperatures, indicating the critical regime for the insulator–metal transition, was observed. The ribbon-phase film exhibits an even weaker temperature dependence with a smaller exponent of β = 0.10 than the terrace-phase film.
Is type-D personality trait(s) or state? An examination of type-D temporal stability in older Israeli adults in the community
Authors: Zohar Ada H. 
Published: February 2016

Background.Type D personality was suggested as a marker of poorer prognosis for patients of cardiovascular disease. It is defined by having a score of 10 or more on both sub-scales of the DS14 questionnaire, Social Inhibition (SI) and Negative Affectivity (NA). As Type D was designed to predict risk, its temporal stability is of prime importance.Methods.Participants in the current study were 285 community volunteers, who completed the DS14, and other personality scales, at a mean interval of six years.Results.The prevalence of Type D did not change. The component traits of Type D showed rank order stability. Type D caseness temporal stability was improved by using the sub-scales product as a criterion. Logistic hierarchical regression predicting Type D classification from Time1 demonstrated that the best predictors were Time1 scores on NA and SI, with the character trait of Cooperation, and the alexithymia score adding some predictive power.Conclusions.The temporal stability of the component traits, and of the prevalence of Type D were excellent. Temporal stability of Type D caseness may be improved by using a product threshold, rather than the current rule. Research is required in order to formulate the optimal timing for Type D measurement for predictive purposes.