bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Probing Endosomal Escape Using pHlexi Nanoparticles
Authors: Kongkatigumjorn Nachnicha , Cortez‐Jugo Christina , Czuba Ewa , Wong Adelene S. M. , Hodgetts Rebecca Y. , Johnston Angus P. R. , Such Georgina K. 
Published: October 2016

The effective escape of nanocarriers from endosomal compartments of the cell remains a major hurdle in nanomedicine. The endosomal escape of pH‐responsive, self‐assembled, dual component particles based on poly[2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)(PDEAEMA) and poly(ethylene glycol)‐b‐poly[2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PEG‐b‐PDEAEMA) has been recently reported. Herein, we report that polymer molecular weight (Mn) can be used to tune endosomal escape of nanoparticle delivery systems. PDEAEMA of Mn 7 kDa, 27 kDa, 56 kDa and 106 kDa was synthesized via reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and co‐assembled with PEG‐b‐PDEAEMA (16 kDa) via nanoprecipitation. All particles had similar size, displayed pH‐responsive behaviour, and low toxicity regardless of molecular weight. Ovalbumin was loaded in the particles to demonstrate loading and release capabilities and as a marker to study internalization and endosomal escape. Association and endosomal escape was found to depend on molecular weight, with enhanced escape observed for high Mn PDEAEMA: 42% of cells with particle induced endosomal escape for 106 kDa nanoparticles, compared to minimal escape for 7 kDa particles. The results show that a simple variation in molecular weight can enhance the endosomal escape of polymeric carriers, and thus improve their effectiveness for intracellular delivery of therapeutics.
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Understanding pine wilt disease: roles of the pine endophytic bacteria and of the bacteria carried by the disease‐causing pinewood nematode
Authors: Proença Diogo N. , Grass Gregor , Morais Paula V. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractPine wilt disease (PWD) is one of the most destructive diseases in trees of the genus Pinus and is responsible for environmental and economic losses around the world. The only known causal agent of the disease is the pinewood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Despite that, bacteria belonging to several different genera have been found associated with PWN and their roles in the development of PWD have been suggested. Molecular methodologies and the new era of genomics have revealed different perspectives to the problem, recognizing the manifold interactions between different organisms involved in the disease. Here, we reviewed the possible roles of nematode‐carried bacteria in PWD, what could be the definition of this group of microorganisms and questioned their origin as possible endophytes, discussing their relation within the endophytic community of pine trees. The diversity of the nematode‐carried bacteria and the diversity of pine tree endophytes, reported until now, is revised in detail in this review. What could signify a synergetic effect with PWN harming the plant, or what could equip bacteria with functions to control the presence of nematodes inside the tree, is outlined as two possible roles of the microbial community in the etiology of this disease. An emphasis is put on the potential revealed by the genomic data of isolated organisms in their potential activities as effective tools in PWD management.
Accelerating 4D flow MRI by exploiting low‐rank matrix structure and hadamard sparsity
Authors: Valvano Giuseppe , Martini Nicola , Huber Adrian , Santelli Claudio , Binter Christian , Chiappino Dante , Landini Luigi , Kozerke Sebastian 
Published: October 2016

PurposeTo develop accelerated 4D flow MRI by exploiting low‐rank matrix structure and Hadamard sparsity.Theory and Methods4D flow MRI data can be represented as the sum of a low‐rank and a sparse component. To optimize the sparse representation of the data, it is proposed to incorporate a Hadamard transform of the velocity‐encoding segments. Retrospectively and prospectively, undersampled data of the aorta of healthy subjects are used to assess the reconstruction accuracy of the proposed method relative to k‐t SPARSE‐SENSE reconstruction. Image reconstruction from eight‐fold prospective undersampling is demonstrated and compared with conventional SENSE imaging.ResultsSimulation results revealed consistently lower errors in velocity estimation when compared with k‐t SPARSE‐SENSE. In vivo data yielded reduced error of peak flow with the proposed method relative to k‐t SPARSE‐SENSE when compared with two‐fold SENSE (
% versus
% in the ascending aorta,
% versus
% in the descending aorta). Streamline visualization showed more consistent flow fields with the proposed technique relative to the benchmark methods.ConclusionImage reconstruction by exploiting low‐rank structure and Hadamard sparsity of 4D flow MRI data improves the reconstruction accuracy relative to current state‐of‐the‐art methods and holds promise to reduce the long scan times of 4D flow MRI. Magn Reson Med 78:1330–1341, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Analytical fuel‐optimal impulsive reconfiguration of formation‐flying satellites
Authors: Li Jing 
Published: October 2016

SummaryThis paper investigates fuel‐optimal impulsive reconfiguration of formation‐flying satellites near circular reference orbit. First, the general reconfiguration is transformed into reconfiguration that should be accomplished during multiple orbital periods of the chief. Then, based on the primer vector analysis, multiple‐impulse fuel‐optimal analytical solutions for the transformed reconfiguration are derived. It is shown that multiple‐impulse fuel‐optimal analytical solutions appear conjugated and the corresponding reconfiguration trajectories are symmetric about the chief. Furthermore, for fuel‐optimal analytical solution with three or more impulses, the associated impulse magnitudes may have many combinations, which would yield different reconfiguration trajectories but with the same fuel cost. Finally, numerical examples for three typical formation reconfiguration maneuvers, including resizing, reorientation, and reassignment, are given to illustrate and validate the obtained results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The prevalence and practice impact of weight bias amongst Australian dietitians
Authors: Diversi T. M. , Hughes R. , Burke K. J. 
Published: October 2016

SummaryObjectivesThis study explored weight bias amongst Australian Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs) and the effect of client weight status on dietetic practice.MethodsParticipants were 201 APDs, recruited using purposive sampling. A self‐administered questionnaire, the fat phobia scale (FPS), was completed to assess explicit weight bias. Participants were then randomized to receive either a female within the healthy weight range or female with obesity, accompanied by an identical case study for a condition unrelated to weight. Participants assessed the client based on data provided, provided recommendations and rated their perception of the client.ResultsMean FPS scores indicated mild fat phobia. However, dietetic practice was significantly affected by the client's weight status. Dietitians presented with the female with obesity assessed the client to have significantly lower health and were more likely to provide unsolicited weight management recommendations. In addition, dietitians rated the client as less receptive, less motivated and as having a lower ability to understand and sustain recommendations.ConclusionsThe contribution of this study is the exploration of how weight status may impact dietetic practice including assessment, recommendations and perceptions of the client. Dietitians may practice in a manner that represents or could be perceived as negative implicit weight bias, despite the explicit FPS assessing only mild fat phobia. Further research to understand the extent of the problem and how it impacts client outcomes and to test possible solutions is required.
DNA methylation profiling of pediatric B‐cell lymphoblastic leukemia with KMT2A rearrangement identifies hypomethylation at enhancer sites
Authors: Bergmann Anke K. , Castellano Giancarlo , Alten Julia , Ammerpohl Ole , Kolarova Julia , Nordlund Jessica , Martin‐Subero Jose Ignacio , Schrappe Martin , Siebert Reiner 
Published: October 2016

AbstractDeregulation of the epigenome is an important pathogenetic mechanism in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with lysine (K)‐specific methyltransferase 2A rearrangement (KMT2Ar). We performed array‐based DNA methylation profiling of KMT2Ar ALL cells from 26 children in comparison to normal B‐cell precursors. Significant changes in DNA methylation in KMT2Ar ALL were identified in 2,545 CpG loci, influenced by age and the translocation partners AFF1 and MLLT1. In KMT2Ar ALL, DNA methylation loss was enriched at enhancers and for certain transcription factor binding sites such as BCL11A, EBF, and MEF2A. In summary, DNA methylation changes in KMT2Ar ALL target enhancers, genes involved in leukemogenesis and normal hematopoiesis, as well as transcription factor networks.
Precision synthesis of sustainable thermoplastic elastomers from lysine‐derived monomers
Authors: Liu Shanshan , Zhang Xiaojie , Li Maosheng , Ren Xiuyan , Tao Youhua 
Published: October 2016

ABSTRACTNovel renewable thermoplastic elastomers were synthesized by sequential polymerization of lysine‐ and itaconic acid‐derived monomers. Ring‐opening polymerization of lysine‐based O‐carboxyanhydride monomer using diethylene glycol as an initiator gave well‐defined α,ω‐dihydroxy functionalized lysine‐derived polyesters. The Mn of these polyesters increased with the monomer conversion while retaining relatively narrow molecular weight distributions. Based on the successful controlled polymerization and esterification of α,ω‐dihydroxy with 2‐bromoisobutyryl bromide, the resultant Br‐PL‐Br macroinitiator was used for the atom transfer radical polymerization of N‐phenylitaconimide (PhII). Three poly(N‐phenylitaconimide)‐b‐polyester‐b‐poly(N‐phenylitaconimide) triblock copolymers were prepared containing 12 − 25 mol% PPhII, as determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The properties of the obtained triblock copolymer are evaluated as high‐performance and renewable thermoplastic elastomer materials. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 349–355
Are N‐substituted glycine N‐thiocarboxyanhydride monomers really hard to polymerize?
Authors: Tao Xinfeng , Zheng Botuo , Kricheldorf Hans R. , Ling Jun 
Published: October 2016

ABSTRACTN‐Substituted glycine N‐thiocarboxyanhydrides (NNTAs) are promising cyclic monomers to synthesize polypeptoids with the advantages of easier preparation and higher stability during purification and storage than N‐substituted glycine N‐carboxyanhydrides (NNCAs). NNTAs were commonly considered too stable to polymerize for their low reactivity. In this contribution, we report controlled polymerizations of N‐ethylglycine NTA (NEG‐NTA) and sarcosine NTA (Sar‐NTA) using primary amines as initiator under proper polymerization conditions. The controllability has been fully supported by 1H NMR end group analyses, MALDI‐ToF mass spectra, kinetic data, block copolymerizations by sequential monomer addition, and low polydispersities (1.14–1.17) of polypeptoids. Variation of the [NNTA]/[initiator] ratio allows well control of the molar mass, and degrees of polymerization (DPs) up to 287 can be reached for poly(N‐ethylglycine) or DPs up to 262 for polysarcosine. NNTAs exhibit excellent activity and they are potential to synthesize polypeptoids with controllable polymerization. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 404–410
Validation of the pediatric sleep questionnaire in children with asthma
Authors: Ehsan Zarmina , Kercsmar Carolyn M. , Collins Jennifer , Simakajornboon Narong 
Published: October 2016

SummaryObjectiveThe prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is higher in children with poorly controlled asthma. We aimed to determine the validity of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) to screen for OSA in children with asthma.MethodsThis retrospective review encompassed sleep studies and medical records of asthmatic children evaluated in the sleep center at CCHMC over 13 years. Measures of validity were calculated using various cut‐off values for obstructive apnea‐hypopnea index (OI; >1, >2, >5) and PSQ scores (>0.33, >0.5). Correlation between PSQ and OI, PSQ and spirometry, and OI and spirometry was assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient.ResultsOne‐hundred and sixty children were included (mean age 11 ± 4 years; 64% males). The mean OI was 4.2 ± 14.3 and the mean PSQ score was 0.57 ± 0.19. Thirty‐eight percent of patients had a diagnosis of allergic rhinitis. A total of 70 children (43%) were obese (BMI ≥95th percentile). The correlation between OI and PSQ was statistically significant (r = 0.19, P = 0.015). Using a PSQ cutoff of 0.33, and OI cutoffs of 1, 2, and 5, the sensitivities were 81.6%, 81.6%, and 76.2%, and the specificities were 13.1%, 14.4%, and 14.4%, respectively. When the cutoff for PSQ was raised to 0.5 and using an OI of 1, the sensitivity decreased to 71.1%, but the specificity increased to 36.9%.ConclusionsThe sensitivity of PSQ in asthmatic children is high and comparable to previous studies, but the specificity is low. The PSQ may be considered a reasonable first‐line screening tool for OSA in asthmatic children. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2017;52:382–389. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Vaccines against Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus for humans and camels
Authors: Alharbi Naif Khalaf 
Published: October 2016

SummaryMiddle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) is caused by a novel betacoronavirus that was isolated in late 2012 in Saudi Arabia. The viral infections have been reported in more than 1700 humans, ranging from asymptomatic or mild cases to severe pneumonia with a mortality rate of 40%. It is well documented now that dromedary camels contract the infection and shed the virus without notable symptoms, and such animals had been infected by at least the early 1980s. The mechanism of camel to human transmission is still not clear, but several primary cases have been associated with camel contact. There is no approved antiviral drug or vaccine against MERS‐CoV despite the active research in this area. Vaccine candidates have been developed using various platforms and regimens and have been tested in several animal models. Here, this article reviews the published studies on MERS‐CoV vaccines with more focus on vaccines tested in large animals, including camels. It is foreseeable that the 1‐health approach could be the best way of tackling the MERS‐CoV endemic in the Arabian Peninsula, by using the mass vaccination of camels in the affected areas to block camel to human transmission. Camel vaccines can be developed in a faster time with fewer regulations and lower costs and could clear this virus from the Arabian Peninsula if accompanied by efficient public health measures.
Dynamic output feedback control of saturated switched delay systems under the PDT switching
Authors: Zhong Guang‐Xin , Yang Guang‐Hong 
Published: October 2016

SummaryThis paper is devoted to saturated control of switched delay systems. The main focus is to find a suitable switching law and saturated output feedback controllers such that the closed‐loop systems are asymptotically stable and have the disturbance tolerance/rejection capacity. A mixed slow/arbitrary switching approach, so‐called persistent dwell time (PDT) switching, is used to design the switching law. Compared with the slow switching, it is more general and leads to more flexibility in the process of constructing switching signals. More importantly, the proposed PDT is dependent on state delay, which includes the previous delay‐independent PDT. Next, time‐varying ellipsoids and a prescribe l2‐gain are introduced to characterize the disturbance tolerance and rejection capacities of systems, respectively. Based on the proposed results, the relation between delay‐dependent PDT and level of disturbance tolerance/rejection is shown. Finally, saturated controllers working in time‐varying hull controllable regions are designed. Thus, the considered problem is solved. An example is exploited to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Design a fast Non‐Technical Loss fraud detector for smart grid
Authors: Han Wenlin , Xiao Yang 
Published: October 2016

AbstractNon‐Technical Loss (NTL) fraud is a class of typical frauds in the power grids. The main form of NTL frauds is “stealing electricity” in the traditional power grid. Smart Grid has the capability of two‐way communication and two‐way electricity flow, and thus, adversaries can take advantage of it to commit NTL frauds via much more complicated ways. Many schemes have been proposed to detect NTL frauds. However, their detection speeds need to be improved. In this paper, a fast NTL fraud detector, named FNFD, is proposed. FNFD is based on Recursive Least Square to model adversary behavior. Experimental results show that FNFD outperforms existing schemes regarding detection speed and overhead. Moreover, experimental results and theoretical analysis of parameter selection are also provided. We further study the stability and convergence of FNFD theoretically. The study shows that FNFD is always convergent as a control method if and only if the input dataset is persistent exciting. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A method of requirements elicitation and analysis for Global Software Development
Authors: Ali Naveed , Lai Richard 
Published: October 2016

AbstractTo perform requirements elicitation and analysis, effective communication and collaboration between stakeholders are necessary. Global Software Development (GSD), where software teams are located in different parts of the world, has become increasingly popular. However, geographical distance, cultural diversity, differences in time zones, and language barriers create difficulties for GSD stakeholders in engaging in effective communication. Taking into consideration the factors involved in GSD, previous research showed that the ways by which requirements are gathered and analyzed for collocated software development cannot be used effectively for GSD. Thus, in this paper, we present a method of requirements elicitation and analysis for GSD. The method consists of 4 stages: (1) data collection; (2) educating stakeholders about GSD issues; (3) post‐education assessment; and (4) requirements elicitation and analysis. Past researchers used student groups in a university environment to play the roles of stakeholders in experiments in GSD studies. Likewise, we preliminarily validate our method by applying it to a case study of an online shopping system, where the roles of client, requirements engineer, project analyst, and designers were played by a group of students.
Stochastic Ranking of Alternatives with Ordered Weighted Averaging: Comparing Network Recovery Strategies
Authors: Rocco Claudio M. , Barker Kash , Hernández‐Perdomo Elvis 
Published: October 2016

ABSTRACTComparing system design alternatives can be difficult when the criterion used to evaluate and rank the alternatives exhibits randomness described by a probability distribution. Rather than relying on the expected value to compare alternatives, this work proposes to use a multicriteria decision‐making technique, ordered weighted averaging (OWA), for such a comparison. Here, percentiles of the cumulative distributions describing the evaluation criterion act as the “multiple criteria” in OWA, incorporating information from the entirety of the distribution, not just a lone point estimate. OWA allows for the elicitation of risk preferences by the decision maker, and a weighted OWA extension allows for the elicitation of importance weighting for each of the percentiles (e.g., weighting tail values of the distribution more heavily to account for adverse outcomes). The technique is applied to the comparison of link recovery sequences in a network disruption problem, along with a visualization aid to assist in accounting for uncertainty in importance weighting.
Effect of Nonionic Surfactant on the Micro‐Emulsifying Water in Silicone Media
Authors: Pei Liujun , Wu Ping , Liu Juanjuan , Wang Jiping 
Published: October 2016

AbstractReverse micro‐emulsion dyeing technology shows a high dye uptake and fixation rate, and effectively decreases the amount of waste water in the textile industry. However, the influence of surfactants and co‐surfactants on micro‐emulsifying water in reverse micro‐emulsions has not been investigated. In this study, the micro‐emulsifying mechanism in silicone media and the influence of nonionic surfactants and co‐surfactants on micro‐emulsifying water have been investigated. The results show that a large amount of water can be emulsified using alcohol‐polyoxyethylene ethers, especially under 3–5 ethylene oxide groups in molecular structure. As co‐surfactant, alcohol which contains 4–9 carbon chains could spontaneously form reverse micro‐emulsions in silicone media. The effects of solution pH and ionic strength on the amount of emulsified water were also evaluated. The results show that a large amount of water could be emulsified in silicone media at solution pH 2–9. Meanwhile, the amount of emulsified water decreased with increasing ionic strength. Thus, the optimum conditions for water emulsification are low ionic strength and pH between 2 and 9.
Proximal femur prosthetic interposition arthroplasty for painful dislocated hips in children with cerebral palsy
Authors: Silverio Anthony L. , Nguyen Shawn V. , Schlechter John A. , Rosenfeld Samuel R. 
Published: October 2016

Purpose Children with cerebral palsy often have musculoskeletal disorders involving the hip. There are several procedures that are commonly used to treat these disorders. Proximal femur prosthetic interposition arthroplasty (PFIA) is an option for non-ambulatory children with cerebral palsy who have a painful, spastic dislocated hip. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the results of PFIA by examining treatment outcomes, complications, and overall effects on the child and their caregiver. Methods Charts were reviewed over a 5-year period at our institution. The focus of the data collection was pain, range of motion (ROM), and overall clinical outcome. Clinical outcome was graded as excellent, good, fair, and poor. Length of follow-up, presence of heterotopic ossification, femoral prosthesis migration, and information provided by competed caregiver questionnaires were analyzed. Results A total of 16 hips in 12 patients met the inclusion criteria. Average age at time of surgery was 12 years 1.2 months. Average follow-up was 40.4 months. Three hips required revision surgery. Average time before revision surgery was 16 months. Overall outcomes were excellent/good for seven hips and fair/poor for nine. Pain outcomes were excellent/good for nine hips and fair/good for seven. ROM outcomes were excellent/good for nine hips and fair/poor for seven. The majority of caregivers surveyed would recommend this procedure. Conclusion Clinical evaluation of the effectiveness of PFIA yielded variable results with this cohort of children with regards to pain and range of motion. Despite these varied results, the majority of caregivers were satisfied with the outcome and would recommend PFIA. PFIA is a salvage option for the painful, spastic dislocated hip, but significant evidence to prove its effectiveness over other salvage procedures is lacking. Based on our results, we conclude that PFIA has the ability to benefit children with cerebral palsy with an acceptable risk profile similar to that reported in recent publications. Level of evidence IV; retrospective case-series.