bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide concentration for diagnosis of acute heart failure with renal insufficiency
Authors: Khan Naila Atik , Hoque Md. Mozammel , Biswas Subrata Kumar , Alam Mohammad Masum , Ashraf Mohammad Shahed 
Published: July 2016

Background : Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is the diagnostic tool for acute heart failure (AHF).This natriu­retic peptide level depends on renal function, through renal metabolism and excretion. Therefore we examined the effect ofrenal impairment on plasma BNP level during diagnosis of AHF.Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the effect of renal dysfunction on plasma BNP level and to determine appropriate cutoff value of plasma BNP to diagnose the patients of AHF with renal insufficiency.Methods: This cross sectional analytical study was conducted in the Depart­ment of Biochemistry Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). The study was done among 90 AHF patients selected from cardiology emergency department during the period of July 2012 to June 2013. After enrollment plasma BNP concentration was measured and eGFR was estimated from serum creatinine by the four parameter Modifica­tion of Diet and Renal Disease (MORD) equation and then grouped into two groups on the basis of empirical cut off value of eGFR 60 ml/min/1.73 m2Results: In this study a significant negative correlation was found between plasma BNP evel and eGFR (P<0.001 ), with higher BNP levels observed as eGFR declined. The optimal BNP cutoff value for diagno­sis of AHF patients with renal insufficiency was 824 pg/ml. At this cutoff level AHF with renal insufficiency could be diagnosed with sensitivity and specificity of 84% and 71 %, respectively.Conclusions: By adjusting the cutoff value, plasma BNP can be used to diagnose AHF with renal insufficiency with an acceptable sensitivity and specificity.
THE PANCHROMATIC HUBBLE ANDROMEDA TREASURY. XV. THE BEAST: BAYESIAN EXTINCTION AND STELLAR TOOL*
Authors: Gordon Karl D. , Fouesneau Morgan , Arab Heddy , Tchernyshyov Kirill , Weisz Daniel R. , Dalcanton Julianne J. , Williams Benjamin F. , Bell Eric F. , Bianchi Luciana , Boyer Martha , Choi Yumi , Dolphin Andrew , Girardi Léo , Hogg David W. , Kalirai Jason S. , Kapala Maria , Lewis Alexia R. , Rix Hans-Walter , Sandstrom Karin , Skillman Evan D. 
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT
We present the Bayesian Extinction And Stellar Tool (BEAST), a probabilistic approach to modeling the dust extinguished photometric spectral energy distribution of an individual star while accounting for observational uncertainties common to large resolved star surveys. Given a set of photometric measurements and an observational uncertainty model, the BEAST infers the physical properties of the stellar source using stellar evolution and atmosphere models and constrains the line of sight extinction using a newly developed mixture model that encompasses the full range of dust extinction curves seen in the Local Group. The BEAST is specifically formulated for use with large multi-band surveys of resolved stellar populations. Our approach accounts for measurement uncertainties and any covariance between them due to stellar crowding (both systematic biases and uncertainties in the bias) and absolute flux calibration, thereby incorporating the full information content of the measurement. We illustrate the accuracy and precision possible with the BEAST using data from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury. While the BEAST has been developed for this survey, it can be easily applied to similar existing and planned resolved star surveys.
STRATEGIES IN SEISMIC INFERENCE OF SUPERGRANULAR FLOWS ON THE SUN
Authors: Bhattacharya Jishnu , Hanasoge Shravan M. 
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT
Observations of the solar surface reveal the presence of flows with length scales of around 35 Mm, commonly referred to as supergranules. Inferring the subsurface flow profile of supergranules from measurements of the surface and photospheric wavefield is an important challenge faced by helioseismology. Traditionally, the inverse problem has been approached by studying the linear response of seismic waves in a horizontally translationally invariant background to the presence of the supergranule; following an iterative approach that does not depend on horizontal translational invariance might perform better, since the misfit can be analyzed post iterations. In this work, we construct synthetic observations using a reference supergranule and invert for the flow profile using surface measurements of travel times of waves belonging to modal ridges f (surface gravity) and p
1 through p
7 (acoustic). We study the extent to which individual modes and their combinations contribute to infer the flow. We show that this method of nonlinear iterative inversion tends to underestimate the flow velocities, as well as inferring a shallower flow profile, with significant deviations from the reference supergranule near the surface. We carry out a similar analysis for a sound-speed perturbation and find that analogous near-surface deviations persist, although the iterations converge faster and more accurately. We conclude that a better approach to inversion would be to expand the supergranule profile in an appropriate basis, thereby reducing the number of parameters being inverted for and appropriately regularizing them.
CONSTRAINING THE AGE AND DISTANCE OF THE GALACTIC SUPERNOVA REMNANT G156.2+5.7 BY Hα EXPANSION MEASUREMENTS
Authors: Katsuda Satoru , Tanaka Masaomi , Morokuma Tomoki , Fesen Robert , Milisavljevic Dan 
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT
We present deep Hα images of portions of the X-ray bright, but optically faint, Galactic supernova remnant G156.2+5.7, revealing numerous and delicately thin non-radiative filaments, which mark the location of the remnant’s forward shock. These new images show that these filaments have a complex structure not visible on previous lower resolution optical images. By comparing Hα images taken in 2004 at the McDonald Observatory and in 2015–2016 at the Kiso Observatory, we set a stringent 1σ upper limit of expansion to be

yr−1. This proper motion, combined with a shock speed of 500 km s−1, inferred from X-ray spectral analyses, gives a distance of ≳1.7 kpc. In addition, a simple comparison of expansion indices of several supernova remnants allows us to infer the age of the remnant to be a few tens of thousands years old. These estimates are more straightforward and reliable than any other previous studies, and clearly rule out the possibility that G156.2+5.7 is physically associated with part of the Taurus–Auriga cloud and dust complex at a distance of 200–300 pc.
CONFRONTING STANDARD MODELS OF PROTO-PLANETARY DISKS WITH NEW MID-INFRARED SIZES FROM THE KECK INTERFEROMETER
Authors: Millan-Gabet Rafael , Che Xiao , Monnier John D. , Sitko Michael L. , Russell Ray W. , Grady Carol A. , Day Amanda N. , Perry R. B. , Harries Tim J. , Aarnio Alicia N. , Colavita Mark M. , Wizinowich Peter L. , Ragland Sam , Woillez Julien 
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT
We present near- and mid-infrared (MIR) interferometric observations made with the Keck Interferometer Nuller and near-contemporaneous spectro-photometry from the infrared telescope facilities (IRTFs) of 11 well-known young stellar objects, several of which were observed for the first time in these spectral and spatial resolution regimes. With au-level spatial resolution, we first establish characteristic sizes of the infrared emission using a simple geometrical model consisting of a hot inner rim and MIR disk emission. We find a high degree of correlation between the stellar luminosity and the MIR disk sizes after using near-infrared data to remove the contribution from the inner rim. We then use a semi-analytical physical model to also find that the very widely used “star + inner dust rim + flared disk” class of models strongly fails to reproduce the spectral energy distribution (SED) and spatially resolved MIR data simultaneously; specifically a more compact source of MIR emission is required than results from the standard flared disk model. We explore the viability of a modification to the model whereby a second dust rim containing smaller dust grains is added, and find that the 2-rim model leads to significantly improved fits in most cases. This complexity is largely missed when carrying out SED modeling alone, although detailed silicate feature fitting by McClure et al. recently came to a similar conclusion. As has been suggested recently by Menu et al., the difficulty in predicting MIR sizes from the SED alone might hint at “transition disk”-like gaps in the inner au; however, the relatively high correlation found in our MIR disk size versus stellar luminosity relation favors layered disk morphologies and points to missing disk model ingredients instead.
A COMPREHENSIVE CENSUS OF NEARBY INFRARED EXCESS STARS
Authors: Cotten Tara H. , Song Inseok 
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT
The conclusion of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission presents an opportune time to summarize the history of using excess emission in the infrared as a tracer of circumstellar material and exploit all available data for future missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope. We have compiled a catalog of infrared excess stars from peer-reviewed articles and perform an extensive search for new infrared excess stars by cross-correlating the Tycho-2 and all-sky WISE (AllWISE) catalogs. We define a significance of excess in four spectral type divisions and select stars showing greater than either 3σ or 5σ significance of excess in the mid- and far-infrared. Through procedures including spectral energy distribution fitting and various image analyses, each potential excess source was rigorously vetted to eliminate false positives. The infrared excess stars from the literature and the new stars found through the Tycho-2 and AllWISE cross-correlation produced nearly 500 “Prime” infrared excess stars, of which 74 are new sources of excess, and >1200 are “Reserved” stars, of which 950 are new sources of excess. The main catalog of infrared excess stars are nearby, bright, and either demonstrate excess in more than one passband or have infrared spectroscopy confirming the infrared excess. This study identifies stars that display a spectral energy distribution suggestive of a secondary or post-protoplanetary generation of dust, and they are ideal targets for future optical and infrared imaging observations. The final catalogs of stars summarize the past work using infrared excess to detect dust disks, and with the most extensive compilation of infrared excess stars (∼1750) to date, we investigate various relationships among stellar and disk parameters.
A STATISTICAL STUDY OF GRB X-RAY FLARES: EVIDENCE OF UBIQUITOUS BULK ACCELERATION IN THE EMISSION REGION
Authors: Jia Lan-Wei , Uhm Z. Lucas , Zhang Bing 
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT
When emission in a conical relativistic jet ceases abruptly (or decays sharply), the observed decay light curve is controlled by the high-latitude “curvature effect.” Recently, Uhm & Zhang found that the decay slopes of three gamma-ray burst (GRB) X-ray flares are steeper than what the standard model predicts. This requires bulk acceleration of the emission region, which is consistent with a Poynting-flux-dominated outflow. In this paper, we systematically analyze a sample of 85 bright X-ray flares detected in 63 Swift GRBs and investigate the relationship between the temporal decay index α and spectral index β during the steep decay phase of these flares. The α values depend on the choice of the zero time point t
0. We adopt two methods. “Method I” takes

as the first rising data point of each flare and is the most conservative approach. We find that at the 99.9% confidence level 56/85 flares have decay slopes steeper than the simplest curvature effect prediction and therefore are in the acceleration regime. “Method II” extrapolates the rising light curve of each flare backward until the flux density is three orders of magnitude lower than the peak flux density, and it defines the corresponding time as the zero time point (

). We find that 74/85 flares fall into the acceleration regime at the 99.9% confidence level. This suggests that bulk acceleration is common and may even be ubiquitous among X-ray flares, pointing toward a Poynting-flux-dominated jet composition for these events.
EARLY EVOLUTION OF DISRUPTED ASTEROID P/2016 G1 (PANSTARRS)
Authors: Moreno F. , Licandro J. , Cabrera-Lavers A. , Pozuelos F. J. 
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT
We present deep imaging observations of activated asteroid P/2016 G1 (PANSTARRS) using the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) from 2016 late April to early June. The images are best interpreted as the result of a relatively short-duration event with an onset of about

350

−
30

+
10

days before perihelion (i.e., around 2016 February 10), starting sharply and decreasing with

24

−
7

+
10

days (HWHM). The results of the modeling imply that the emission of ∼1.7 × 107 kg of dust, if composed of particles of 1 μm to 1 cm in radius, is distributed following a power law of index −3 and having a geometric albedo of 0.15. A detailed fitting of a conspicuous westward feature in the head of the comet-like object indicates that a significant fraction of the dust was ejected along a privileged direction right at the beginning of the event, which suggests that the parent body has possibly suffered an impact followed by a partial or total disruption. From the limiting magnitude reachable with the instrumental setup, and assuming a geometric albedo of 0.15 for the parent body, an upper limit for the size of possible fragment debris of ∼50 m in radius is derived.
CONSTRUCTING POLYNOMIAL SPECTRAL MODELS FOR STARS
Authors: Rix Hans-Walter , Ting (丁源森) Yuan-Sen , Conroy Charlie , Hogg David W. 
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT
Stellar spectra depend on the stellar parameters and on dozens of photospheric elemental abundances. Simultaneous fitting of these



∼ 10–40 model labels to observed spectra has been deemed unfeasible because the number of ab initio spectral model grid calculations scales exponentially with



. We suggest instead the construction of a polynomial spectral model (PSM) of order



for the model flux at each wavelength. Building this approximation requires a minimum of only


+




calculations: e.g., a quadratic spectral model (


=
2

) to fit


=
20

labels simultaneously can be constructed from as few as 231 ab initio spectral model calculations; in practice, a somewhat larger number (∼300–1000) of randomly chosen models lead to a better performing PSM. Such a PSM can be a good approximation only over a portion of label space, which will vary case-by-case. Yet, taking the APOGEE survey as an example, a single quadratic PSM provides a remarkably good approximation to the exact ab initio spectral models across much of this survey: for random labels within that survey the PSM approximates the flux to within 10−3 and recovers the abundances to within ∼0.02 dex rms of the exact models. This enormous speed-up enables the simultaneous many-label fitting of spectra with computationally expensive ab initio models for stellar spectra, such as non-LTE models. A PSM also enables the simultaneous fitting of observational parameters, such as the spectrum’s continuum or line-spread function.
A Strategy to Ensure Faculty Engagement When Assessing a Concept-Based Curriculum
Authors: Patterson LaDonia D. , Crager J. Michelle , Farmer Amy , Epps Cynthia D. , Schuessler Jenny B. 
Published: July 2016

Background:
The faculty of an undergraduate nursing program decided to undertake a major curriculum overhaul, transitioning from a curriculum based on the biomedical model to a concept-based curriculum. However, shortly after the new curriculum was implemented, faculty identified many issues with how and when the concepts were being taught.

Method:
In response to the early implementation issues, a conceptual grid was developed to guide assessment of the new curriculum.

Results:
The conceptual grid provided a framework for assessment of the new concept-based curriculum. By using this approach, the faculty was able to identify and correct curricular issues that impeded student learning.

Conclusion:

The conceptual grid has been extremely useful in the assessment of a newly implemented concept-based curriculum. [
J Nurs Educ
. 2016;55(8):467–470.]
Mobile Applications and Semantic-Web – A case study on Automated Course Management
Authors: Abou El-Seoud Samir , El-Sofany Hosam , Taj-Eddin Islam 
Published: July 2016

<p class="Abstract">Different types of e-assessment systems that are recognized at universities and based on the campus wireless have been developed. These systems help the students to use their Mobile Phones as learning media to access the information more easily from anywhere and at any time. Seppala and Alamaki developed a mobile learning project for teacher training. Their study compared the effectiveness of internet, face-to-face and mobile based instructions. Al Masri has proposed a study to compare the effective strategy in paper-based assessment with mobile-based assessment for assessing university students in English literature. It has been found that students gained better scores in mobile phone-based test than in paper-based test. This paper aims to determine and measure the effects of mobile-based assessments on the perception, achievement levels and performance of the students in internet-assisted courses. The main functionalities and features of this paper are: Knowledge evaluation, automatic generation of exams, exam grading, communication, course management, and questions-bank database.</p>
Critical Role of IL-22/IL22-RA1 Signaling in Pneumococcal Pneumonia
Authors: Trevejo-Nunez Giraldina , Elsegeiny Waleed , Conboy Parker , Chen Kong , Kolls Jay K. 
Published: July 2016

Abstract
IL-22–IL-22R signaling plays a crucial role in regulating host defenses against extracellular pathogens, particularly in the intestine, through the induction of antimicrobial peptides and chemotactic genes. However, the role of IL-22–IL-22R is understudied in Streptococcus pneumoniae lung infection, a prevalent pathogen of pneumonia. This paper presents the findings of IL-22 signaling during a murine model of pneumococcal pneumonia and improvement of bacterial burden upon IL-22 administration. IL-22 was rapidly induced in the lung during pneumococcal infection in wild-type mice, and Il22−/− mice had higher pneumococcal burdens compared with controls. Additionally, mice with hepatic-specific deletion of Il22ra1 also had higher bacterial burdens in lungs compared with littermate controls after intrapulmonary pneumococcal infection, suggesting that IL-22 signaling in the liver is important to control pneumococcal pneumonia. Thus, we hypothesized that enhancement of IL-22 signaling would control pneumococcal burden in lung tissues in an experimental pneumonia model. Administration of rIL-22 systemically to infected wild-type mice decreased bacterial burden in lung and liver at 24 h postinfection. Our in vitro studies also showed that mice treated with IL-22 had increased C3 expression in the liver compared with the isotype control group. Furthermore, serum from mice treated with IL-22 had improved opsonic capacity by increasing C3 binding on S. pneumoniae. Taken together, endogenous IL-22 and hepatic IL-22R signaling play critical roles in controlling pneumococcal lung burden, and systemic IL-22 decreases bacterial burden in the lungs and peripheral organs by potentiating C3 opsonization on bacterial surfaces, through the increase of hepatic C3 expression.
Impact of Lean on patient cycle and waiting times at a rural district hospital in KwaZulu-Natal
Authors: Naidoo Logandran , Mahomed Ozayr H. 
Published: July 2016

Background: Prolonged waiting time is a source of patient dissatisfaction with health care and is negatively associated with patient satisfaction. Prolonged waiting times in many district hospitals result in many dissatisfied patients, overworked and frustrated staff, and poor quality of care because of the perceived increased workload.Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the impact of Lean principles techniques, and tools on the operational efficiency in the outpatient department (OPD) of a rural district hospital.Setting: The study was conducted at the Catherine Booth Hospital (CBH) – a rural district hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Methods: This was an action research study with pre-, intermediate-, and post-implementation assessments. Cycle and waiting times were measured by direct observation on two occasions before, approximately two-weekly during, and on two occasions after Lean implementation. A standardised data collection tool was completed by the researcher at each of the six key service nodes in the OPD to capture the waiting times and cycle times.Results: All six service nodes showed a reduction in cycle times and waiting times between the baseline assessment and post-Lean implementation measurement. Significant reduction was achieved in cycle times (27%; p < 0.05) and waiting times (from 11.93 to 10 min; p = 0.03) at the Investigations node. Although the target reduction was not achieved for the Consulting Room node, there was a significant reduction in waiting times from 80.95 to 74.43 min, (p < 0.001). The average efficiency increased from 16.35% (baseline) to 20.13% (post-intervention).Conclusion: The application of Lean principles, tools and techniques provides hospital managers with an evidence-based management approach to resolving problems and improving quality indicators.
The use of intraoperative computed tomography navigation in pituitary surgery promises a better intraoperative orientation in special cases
Authors: Linsler Stefan , Antes Sebastian , Senger Sebastian , Oertel Joachim 
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT
Objective: The safety of endoscopic skull base surgery can be enhanced by accurate navigation in preoperative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Here, we report our initial experience of real-time intraoperative CT-guided navigation surgery for pituitary tumors in childhood. Materials and Methods: We report the case of a 15-year-old girl with a huge growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma with supra- and perisellar extension. Furthermore, the skull base was infiltrated. In this case, we performed an endonasal transsphenoidal approach for debulking the adenoma and for chiasma decompression. We used an MRI neuronavigation (Medtronic Stealth Air System) which was registered via intraoperative CT scan (Siemens CT Somatom). Preexisting MRI studies (navigation protocol) were fused with the intraoperative CT scans to enable three-dimensional navigation based on MR and CT imaging data. Intraoperatively, we did a further CT scan for resection control. Results: The intraoperative accuracy of the neuronavigation was excellent. There was an adjustment of <1 mm. The navigation was very helpful for orientation on the destroyed skull base in the sphenoid sinus. After opening the sellar region and tumor debulking, we did a CT scan for resection control because the extent of resection was not credible evaluable in this huge infiltrating adenoma. Thereby, we were able to demonstrate a sufficient decompression of the chiasma and complete resection of the medial part of the adenoma in the intraoperative CT images. Conclusions: The use of intraoperative CT/MRI-guided neuronavigation for transsphenoidal surgery is a time-effective, safe, and technically beneficial technique for special cases.