bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Breast MRI segmentation for density estimation: Do different methods give the same results and how much do differences matter?
Authors: Doran Simon J. , Hipwell John H. , Denholm Rachel , Eiben Björn , Busana Marta , Hawkes David J. , Leach Martin O. , Silva Isabel dos Santos 
Published: May 2017

PurposeTo compare two methods of automatic breast segmentation with each other and with manual segmentation in a large subject cohort. To discuss the factors involved in selecting the most appropriate algorithm for automatic segmentation and, in particular, to investigate the appropriateness of overlap measures (e.g., Dice and Jaccard coefficients) as the primary determinant in algorithm selection.MethodsTwo methods of breast segmentation were applied to the task of calculating MRI breast density in 200 subjects drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a large cohort study with an MRI component. A semiautomated, bias‐corrected, fuzzy C‐means (BC‐FCM) method was combined with morphological operations to segment the overall breast volume from in‐phase Dixon images. The method makes use of novel, problem‐specific insights. The resulting segmentation mask was then applied to the corresponding Dixon water and fat images, which were combined to give Dixon MRI density values. Contemporaneously acquired T1‐ and T2‐weighted image datasets were analyzed using a novel and fully automated algorithm involving image filtering, landmark identification, and explicit location of the pectoral muscle boundary. Within the region found, fat‐water discrimination was performed using an Expectation Maximization–Markov Random Field technique, yielding a second independent estimate of MRI density.ResultsImages are presented for two individual women, demonstrating how the difficulty of the problem is highly subject‐specific. Dice and Jaccard coefficients comparing the semiautomated BC‐FCM method, operating on Dixon source data, with expert manual segmentation are presented. The corresponding results for the method based on T1‐ and T2‐weighted data are slightly lower in the individual cases shown, but scatter plots and interclass correlations for the cohort as a whole show that both methods do an excellent job in segmenting and classifying breast tissue.ConclusionsEpidemiological results demonstrate that both methods of automated segmentation are suitable for the chosen application and that it is important to consider a range of factors when choosing a segmentation algorithm, rather than focus narrowly on a single metric such as the Dice coefficient.
A p‐adaptive method for electromagnetic wave propagation
Authors: Panourgias Konstantinos T. , Ekaterinaris John A. 
Published: May 2017

SummaryThe discontinuous Galerkin FEM is used for the numerical solution of the three‐dimensional Maxwell equations. Control of errors in the numerical level for the divergence‐free constraint of the magnetic field can be obtained through the use of divergence‐free vector bases. In this work, the so‐called perfectly hyperbolic formulation of the Maxwell equations is used to retain both divergence‐free magnetic field and in the presence of charges to satisfy the Gauss constraint for the electric field at the numerical level. For both approaches, it is found that higher‐order approximations have favorable effect on the preservation of the divergence constraints and that the perfectly hyperbolic formulations retains these errors to a lower level. It is shown that high‐order accuracy in space and time is achieved in unstructured meshes using implicit time marching. For nonuniform meshes, local resolution refinement is used using p‐type adaptivity to ensure accurate electromagnetic wave propagation. Thus, the potential of the method to reach the required higher resolution in anisotropic meshes and obtain accurate electromagnetic wave propagation with reduced computational effort is demonstrated.
Mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is cost‐effective compared to a wait‐list control for persistent pain in women treated for primary breast cancer—Results from a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Johannsen M. , Sørensen J. , O'Connor M. , Jensen A.B. , Zachariae R. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate the cost‐effectiveness of mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy (MBCT) compared to a wait‐list control group for pain in women treated for breast cancer.MethodsA total of 129 women were randomly allocated to MBCT or a wait‐list control group. The primary outcome was the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) on pain intensity (≥2 point reduction on an 11‐point Numeric Rating Scale). Analyses were conducted from the health care system perspective and included data on health care utilization and pain medication retrieved from national registries for the period from baseline (T1) to 6 months postintervention (T4). Bootstrap simulations were used to estimate confidence intervals for the incremental cost and effect measures, and cost‐effectiveness acceptability curves. In sensitivity analyses, we replaced dropouts with last‐observation‐carried‐forward and tested consequences of higher costs of the intervention.ResultsThe intervention cost was 240€ per participant. The average total cost from T1 to T4 in the MBCT group was 1706€ compared with 2436€ in the control group (mean difference: 729€, P = .07). More women in the MBCT group (N:19/36; 52.8%) than in the control group (N:14/48; 29.2%) achieved an MCID in pain intensity (OR=2.71, P = .03). The MBCT was cost‐effective with a probability of 85% with a value of an additional women achieving MCID set to zero remained cost‐effective with a probability of 70% to 82% when smaller effect and higher MBCT costs were assumed.ConclusionsOur results suggest that MBCT is a cost‐effective pain intervention for women treated for breast cancer. Future studies could include utility measures, indirect costs, and active control groups to increase the generalizability and pragmatic value of the results.
Mothers with breast cancer: A mixed‐method systematic review on the impact on the parent‐child relationship
Authors: Tavares Rita , Brandão Tânia , Matos Paula Mena 
Published: May 2017

AbstractObjectiveTo systematically review and integrate the findings from quantitative and qualitative studies on parenting and parent‐child relationships in families where mothers had breast cancer (BC).MethodsTen different databases were searched from inception to January 2016. All authors assessed these data independently. Full‐text, peer‐reviewed articles exploring parenting and/or mother‐child relationships in families where the mother had BC, regardless of cancer stage, were considered for inclusion. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses guidelines were followed.ResultsFrom 116 studies, 23 were deemed eligible for inclusion. Five of them were quantitative, 15 were qualitative, and 1 study used a mixed‐method approach. Most studies analysed the mother's perceptions about the experience of having BC in parenting and in the parent‐child relationship. The majority of studies explored experiences and perspectives on the parent‐child relationship in mothers with minor children, although a minority of studies included adult children. Additionally, a few studies (17%) addressed perceptions and experiences of women with advanced stage cancer. Three main themes were found: priorities and concerns of patients, decision‐making processes about sharing the diagnosis with their children, and mother‐child relationship and parenting after mother's diagnosis.ConclusionsFindings indicated that the diagnosis of BC is accompanied by an array of challenges that affect parental roles and parenting. Further studies are needed to explore these issues more sensitively. For now, however, the evidence suggests that the families of women with BC, and particularly the women themselves, may benefit from informal and formal support aimed at helping them cope effectively with this challenging life event.
Individual training at the undergraduate level to promote competence in breaking bad news in oncology
Authors: Berney Alexandre , Carrard Valérie , Schmid Mast Marianne , Bonvin Raphael , Stiefel Friedrich , Bourquin Céline 
Published: May 2017

AbstractObjectiveTraining medical students in breaking bad news (BBN) in oncology may be key to improve patient care in an area where many physicians tend to be uncomfortable. Given the lack of evidence in the literature, this study aimed to assess empirically the impact of 2 teaching strategies to prepare students for the task of BBN in oncology: one‐to‐one simulated patient (SP) training with individual feedback (intervention group) vs small‐group SP training with collective feedback (comparison group).MethodsFourth‐year students (N = 236) were randomly assigned to the intervention or comparison group. The SP videotaped interviews were analyzed with respect to BBN communication performance, rated using the Calgary‐Cambridge checklist of teaching objectives for BBN; verbal interaction behaviors, coded with the Roter interaction analysis system; and 7 nonverbal behaviors.ResultsStudents in the intervention group scored significantly higher after than before the training on the overall evaluation of the interview (P < .001) as well as on process skills (P < .001); they also obtained significantly higher scores compared to students in the comparison group on the overall evaluation of the interview (P < .001) and on process skills (P < .001).ConclusionsThis study supports an individualized BBN teaching strategy and contributes to efforts to find the best way to train and reach the largest number of future physicians to improve communication competences in oncology.
Fetoscopic laser coagulation in 1020 pregnancies with twin–twin transfusion syndrome demonstrates improvement in double‐twin survival rate
Authors: Diehl W. , Diemert A. , Grasso D. , Sehner S. , Wegscheider K. , Hecher K. 
Published: May 2017

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo investigate the growing experience and learning curve of fetoscopic laser coagulation of the placental vascular anastomoses in severe mid‐trimester twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) and its influence on perinatal outcome in a single‐center setting.MethodsBetween January 1995 and March 2013 we performed laser therapy in 1020 consecutive pregnancies with TTTS between 15.1 and 27.4 weeks' gestation. We compared perinatal outcome in blocks of five sequential groups of 200 cases, taking into account several covariates in order to adjust for case mix and to demonstrate learning curves and success rates.ResultsThe percentage of pregnancies with survival of both fetuses increased from 50.0% (n = 100) in the first 200 cases to 69.5% (n = 153) in the last 220 cases (P = 0.018 for trend) and the overall survival rate for both fetuses in the complete series of 1019 cases with known outcome was 63.3% (n = 645). The survival rate of at least one fetus increased from 80.5% (161/200) in the first group to 91.8% (202/220) in the last group (P = 0.072 for trend) and the overall survival rate of at least one fetus in the complete series was 86.7% (883/1019). In the total population, the mean gestational age at delivery of pregnancies with at least one liveborn neonate was 33.7 ± 3.2 weeks, with a mean interval of 12.9 ± 4.0 weeks between intervention and delivery. Among the first two groups, 124 pregnancies had anterior placentae and were treated with a 0° fetoscope. These cases had the poorest overall outcome, with a double‐twin survival rate of 44.4% (55/124), which increased to 65.1% (207/318; P = 0.001) after the introduction of a 30° fetoscope for cases with anterior placenta. The success rate for double‐twin survival reached a plateau of 69% at 600 procedures, a rate equalled by a new operator who was trained hands‐on and performed 174 of the last 400 procedures.ConclusionsWe report the largest single‐center experience of laser coagulation in TTTS. We observed a continuous increase in double‐twin survival rate owing to the growing experience based on the learning curve and refinements in fetoscopic instruments and techniques. These data provide strong arguments for the centralization of minimally invasive intrauterine surgery in specialized high‐volume centers. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Safety and efficacy of radium-223 dichloride in Japanese patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases
Authors: Uemura Hiroji , Uemura Hirotsugu , Matsubara Nobuaki , Kinuya Seigo , Hosono Makoto , Yajima Yoko , Doi Toshihiko 
Published: May 2017

Abstract
Background
Radiation therapy with radium-223 dichloride improves overall survival, reduces symptomatic skeletal events in Caucasian patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and bone metastases, and is well tolerated. We report here the results of the first efficacy and safety study of radium-223 dichloride in a Japanese population.

Methods
In this open-label, uncontrolled, non-randomized, phase I trial, radium-223 dichloride was given to Japanese patients with CRPC and ≥2 bone metastases in 4-week cycles. The patients were divided into three cohorts, with cohort 1 and the expansion cohort receiving injections of radium-223 dichloride [55 kBq/kg body weight (BW)] every 4 weeks (Q4W) for up to six injections, and cohort 2 receiving an initial single radium-223 dichloride injection of 110 kBq/kg BW followed by up to five injections of 55 kBq/kg BW Q4W. Safety was determined via adverse event (AE) reporting, and biochemical bone markers were assessed for treatment efficacy.

Results
In total 19 patients received at least one dose of radium-223 dichloride and 18 patients experienced at least one treatment-emergent AE (TEAE) of which the most common were anemia, thrombocytopenia, and lymphocytopenia. Serious AEs were reported in three patients but none were drug-related. In the patients of cohort 1 + expansion cohort (55 kBq/kg BW Q4W treatment; n = 16), prostate-specific antigen levels remained stable or slightly increased while the bone alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level significantly decreased. The response rates of bone ALP (≥30 and ≥50% reductions) were 81.8 and 36.4% at week 12, and 81.3 and 50.0% at the end of treatment.

Conclusions
Radium-223 dichloride was well tolerated in these Japanese patients and, at a dose of 55 kBq/kg BW, efficacy on biomarkers was as expected. The outcomes in Japanese patients were consistent with those reported in other non-Japanese populations.

Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01565746.
Verbal Information Transfer in Real-Life: When Mothers Worry About Their Child Starting School
Authors: Pass Laura , Mastroyannopoulou Kiki , Coker Sian , Murray Lynne , Dodd Helen 
Published: May 2017

AbstractVerbal information transfer, one of Rachman’s three pathways to fear, may be one way in which vulnerability for anxiety may be transmitted from parents to children. A community sample of mothers and their preschool-aged children (N = 65) completed observational tasks relating to the child starting school. Mothers were asked to tell their child about social aspects of school; then children completed a brief play assessment involving ambiguous, school-based social scenarios. Mothers completed self-report questionnaires on social anxiety symptoms, general anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as a questionnaire on child anxiety symptoms and indicated whether they were personally worried about their child starting school. There was a significant difference in the information given to children about school between mothers who stated they were worried and those who stated they were not, with mothers who were worried more likely to mention unresolved threat, use at least one anxiety-related word, and show clear/consistent negativity (all ps < .01). Significant associations were also found between the emotional tone of mothers’ descriptions of school and children’s own representations of school. These findings support the theory that the information mothers give to their child may be influenced by their own concerns regarding their child, and that this verbal information affects child representations.
Discovery of topic flows of authors
Authors: Jeong Young-Seob , Lee Sang-Hun , Gweon Gahgene , Choi Ho-Jin 
Published: May 2017

Abstract
With an increase in the number of Web documents, the number of proposed methods for knowledge discovery on Web documents have been increased as well. The documents do not always provide keywords or categories, so unsupervised approaches are desirable, and topic modeling is such an approach for knowledge discovery without using labels. Further, Web documents usually have time information such as publish years, so knowledge patterns over time can be captured by incorporating the time information. The temporal patterns of knowledge can be used to develop useful services such as a graph of research trends, finding similar authors (potential co-authors) to a particular author, or finding top researchers about a specific research domain. In this paper, we propose a new topic model, Author Topic-Flow (ATF) model, whose objective is to capture temporal patterns of research interests of authors over time, where each topic is associated with a research domain. The state-of-the-art model, namely Temporal Author Topic model, has the same objective as ours, where it computes the temporal patterns of authors by combining the patterns of topics. We believe that such ‘indirect’ temporal patterns will be poor than the ‘direct’ temporal patterns of our proposed model. The ATF model allows each author to have a separated variable which models the temporal patterns, so we denote it as ‘direct’ topic flow. The design of the ATF model is based on the hypothesis that ‘direct’ topic flows will be better than the ‘indirect’ topic flows. We prove the hypothesis is true by a structural comparison between the two models and show the effectiveness of the ATF model by empirical results.
Relationships among site characteristics, taxonomical structure and functional trait distribution of arthropods in forest, urban and agricultural soils of Southern Italy
Authors: Maisto Giulia , Milano Vittoria , Santorufo Lucia 
Published: May 2017

AbstractUrbanization and agriculture cause alterations in soil biodiversity. As arthropods quickly respond to soil changes, they have been recognized as good indicators of soil quality. This study aimed to evaluate if (1) soil physico‐chemical properties act as environmental filters of the functional trait distribution of soil arthropod community; (2) the abundance of certain functional traits is linked to different land uses; (3) the taxonomical and functional approaches provide complementary information about the evaluation of biological soil quality. The study was performed at forest, agricultural and urban sites in downtown and surroundings of Naples. The soils were characterized for texture, pH, organic matter content, water content, total Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations. The forest soils showed the highest organic matter and water contents, and the lowest metal concentrations; the agricultural soils showed the lowest organic matter and water contents and high Cd and Cu concentrations, whereas the urban soils showed high Pb and Zn concentrations. The forest soils showed the highest arthropod density, taxa richness and diversity. The distribution of the functional traits in the arthropod communities of the different land uses highlighted similarity only for the preference to occupy soil and for the percentage contribution of detritivores. The abundance of arthropods living above litter and omnivores were positively correlated to Pb and Zn concentrations, whereas predators were positively correlated to Cu concentrations. The findings suggest that the arthropod identification at order level could be enough to detect differences in functional traits among forest, urban, and agricultural soils.
Occurrence of 25 pharmaceuticals in Taihu Lake and their removal from two urban drinking water treatment plants and a constructed wetland
Authors: Hu Xia-Lin , Bao Yi-Fan , Hu Jun-Jian , Liu You-Yu , Yin Da-Qiang 
Published: May 2017

Abstract
Pharmaceuticals in drinking water sources have raised significant concerns due to their persistent input and potential human health risks. The seasonal occurrence of 25 pharmaceuticals including 23 antibiotics, paracetamol (PAR), and carbamazepine (CMZ) in Taihu Lake was investigated; meanwhile, the distribution and removal of these pharmaceuticals in two drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) and a constructed wetland were evaluated. A high detection frequency (>70%) in the Taihu Lake was observed for nearly all the 25 pharmaceutics. Chlortetracycline (234.7 ng L−1), chloramphenicol (27.1 ng L−1), erythromycin (72.6 ng L−1), PAR (71.7 ng L−1), and CMZP (23.6 ng L−1) are compounds with both a high detection frequency (100%) and the highest concentrations, suggesting their wide use in the Taihu Basin. Higher concentrations of chloramphenicols, macrolides, PAR, and CMZP were observed in dry season than in wet season, probably due to the low flow conditions of the lake in winter and the properties of pharmaceuticals. The overall contamination levels of antibiotic pharmaceutics (0.2–74.9 ng L−1) in the Taihu Lake were lower than or comparable to those reported worldwide. However, for nonantibiotic pharmaceutics, PAR (45.0 ng L−1) and CMZP (14.5 ng L−1), significantly higher concentrations were observed in the Taihu Lake than at a global scale. High detection frequencies of 25 pharmaceuticals were observed in both the two DWTPs (100%) and the wetland (>60%) except for florfenicol and sulfapyridine. The removal efficacies of the studied pharmaceuticals in DWTP B with advanced treatment processes including ozonation and granular activated carbon filtration (16.7–100%) were superior to DWTP A with conventional treatment processes (2.9–100%), except for sulfonamides. Wetland C with the constructed root channel technology was efficient (24.2–100%) for removing most pharmaceuticals. This work suggests that the application of cost-effective technologies such as constructed wetlands should be considered as an efficient alternative for removing pharmaceuticals from water supply sources.
The influence of bisphosphonate on bone mineral density after total knee arthroplasty: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Authors: Jiang Guangzong , Kang Lixin , Wang Hongbin , Zhang Jian 
Published: May 2017

Abstract

Purpose
The effect of bisphosphonate on postoperative bone mineral density (BMD) is rarely reported. In the present study, the BMD change in ipsilateral hip with and without application of bisphosphonate after primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) was evaluated.

Methods and analysis
Sixty-eight patients undergone TKA due to severe osteoarthritis were enrolled in this study. According to the application of bisphosphonate, the patients were divided into treatment group and control group. The BMD of ipsilateral hip was measured preoperatively and at the 3rd, 6th,12th and 24th month after surgery. Independent t-test was conducted to compare BMD difference between two groups preoperatively and paired t-test was conducted to compare BMD at each time point. The significant difference was considered at P < 0.05.

Results
No statistical difference of preoperative BMD in femoral neck, wards triangle, greater trochanter and proximal femur between two groups was detected. BMD in all ranges of interest (ROIs) in the control group reached the lowest level at the 12th month after surgery and increased slightly at the 24th month after surgery. The BMD in all ROIs in the treatment group revealed a slight fluctuation around the baseline level.

Conclusion
The application of bisphosphonate after TKA contributes to the BMD postoperatively. Bisphosphonate is helpful in reducing complications caused by osteoporosis after TKA as well as the recovery of patients. Therefore, patients can benefit from the application of bisphosphonate.

Highlights