bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Metastasectomy following incomplete response to high‐dose interleukin‐2
Authors: Hughes Tasha , Broucek Joseph , Iodice Gail , Bommareddy Praveen K. , Basu Sanjib , Kaufman Howard L. 
Published: November 2017

ObjectiveTo evaluate our experience with metastasectomy following partial response or stable disease after treatment with high‐dose interleukin‐2 (HD IL‐2).MethodsA total of 305 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma or melanoma treated with HD IL‐2 over a 12‐year period were reviewed. Age, objective response, and overall survival data were evaluated using standard RECIST criteria and Kaplan‐Meier estimates.ResultsThe average age was 55.3 years (range, 15‐85) and 245 (80.3%) patients had melanoma and 60 (19.7%) had renal cell carcinoma. The objective response rate to IL‐2 for all patients was 13.6% and median survival was 16.8 months. Complete follow‐up data were available for 236 patients with 147 (62.3%) progressing after treatment and 8 (3.3%) with a complete response. Incomplete responses were seen in 81 (34.3%) patients, including 57 (24.2%) patients with stable disease and 24 (10.1%) with partial responses. Of these 81 incomplete responders, 15 (18.5%) underwent subsequent metastasectomy. Patients without surgery had overall survival of 38.2 months and median survival has not yet been reached in those who underwent metastasectomy (P = 0.026).ConclusionThe data support prospective evaluation of metastasectomy following incomplete therapeutic responses to immunotherapy and defines a new role for surgical resection following IL‐2 and perhaps other immunotherapy regimens.
Canagliflozin stability study and ecofriendly chromatographic determination of its degradation product: A comparative study
Authors: Emam Aml A. 
Published: November 2017

AbstractCanagliflozin is a newly approved drug for type II diabetes mellitus. A full stability study of canagliflozin was performed following international conference on harmonization strategies. The drug was stable against all conditions except oxidation where only one degradation product was separated and structurally elucidated using mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy. A green high‐performance thin‐layer chromatographic densitometric determination was developed and validated for the accurate quantification of canagliflozin and its main oxidative degradation product. Separation was performed on high‐performance aluminum plates precoated with silica gel using acetone/ethanol (80:20, v/v) as a developing system and scanning at 290 nm. Retardation factor values were 0.64 and 0.81 and linearity ranges were 0.4–3.6 and 0.2–3.2 μg/band for the drug and the degradation product, respectively. It was a matter of interest to use green solvents with no harmful effects on the environment. The comparison between the proposed and the reported high‐performance liquid chromatography method regarding greenness profile showed that the proposed method was greener and so could be used as an alternative method to the reported one with no environmental harm. Method validity was tested as per international conference on harmonization and method utility was verified by application to Invokana® tablets.
Sino‐Nasal outcome test‐22 outcomes after sinus surgery: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Soler Zachary M. , Jones Rabun , Le Phong , Rudmik Luke , Mattos Jose L. , Nguyen Shaun A. , Schlosser Rodney J. 
Published: November 2017

Objectives/HypothesisThe goal of the study was to perform a systematic review with meta‐analysis to determine the mean change in the 22‐item Sino‐Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT‐22) across patients who have had endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in the literature.MethodsA literature search was performed to identify studies that assessed SNOT‐22 scores before and after ESS in adult patients with CRS. A random effects model with inverse variance weighting was used to generate the mean change after surgery, along with the forest plot and 95% confidence interval (CI). The impact of patient‐specific factors across studies was assessed using a mixed‐effects meta‐regression.ResultsThe final study list included 40 unique patient cohorts published from 2008 to 2016. All studies showed a statistically significant change in mean SNOT‐22 scores between baseline and postoperative time points (P < .001), ranging from 12.7 to 44.8, at an average follow‐up of 10.6 months. The summary change in mean SNOT‐22 across all studies was 24.4 (95% CI: 22.0‐26.8). After forward, step‐wise multivariate modeling, studies with higher mean preoperative SNOT‐22 score and higher asthma prevalence were associated with greater changes in SNOT‐22 score after ESS, whereas studies with longer mean follow‐up had smaller changes in SNOT‐22 score.ConclusionsStudies evaluating quality‐of‐life outcomes after sinus surgery using the SNOT‐22 instrument universally show significant improvement after ESS. Across the published literature, the magnitude of change is quite variable and appears to be influenced by a number of factors including baseline SNOT‐22 score, asthma prevalence, and length of follow‐up. Laryngoscope, 128:581–592, 2018
Composition of microbial community in pig manure biochar‐amended soils and the linkage to the heavy metals accumulation in rice at harvest
Authors: Liang Xinqiang , Chen Lingling , Liu Ziwen , Jin Yi , He Miaomiao , Zhao Ziyi , Liu Chunlong , Niyungeko Christophe , Arai Yuji 
Published: November 2017

AbstractManure biochar (MB) is recognized to be a beneficial material for absorbing heavy metals from soil and alleviating soil degradation. However, the effects of the addition of MB on the phospholipid fatty acid concentrations and their linkage to heavy metals accumulation in rice are poorly understood. A microcosm incubation experiment was conducted to study the effects of a swine MB amendment on (a) the composition of the soil microbial community in 2 soils (clay‐loam vs. silt‐loam) and (b) heavy metals accumulation in rice grains and straws. MB amendment increased microbial diversity, and bacteria had greater magnitude of increase than did fungi in 2 soils after 98 days of incubation. The G− rather than G+ bacteria phospholipid fatty acid concentrations were significantly increased with MB amendment rates for both soils. The higher MB addition rate (1.5%) did not get more benefit for aerobic bacteria but significantly led to anaerobic bacteria proliferation as compared with the 0.5% MB treatment. The 1.5% MB addition suppressed grain and straw Pb, Cu, and As, while it increased grain and straw Cd and Zn from two soils. Significant soil type × MB rate interactions were observed in most microbial indicators (except F/B and G+) and grain Pb, grain As, and straw Zn. Linkages of bacteria (mainly as G− and/or An), actinobacteria, fungi, and protozoa (in silt‐loam soil) to the MB rate and heavy metals in rice were identified.
Comb of high‐Q Resonances in a Compact Photonic Cavity
Authors: Combrié Sylvain , Lehoucq Gaëlle , Moille Grégory , Martin Aude , De Rossi Alfredo 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThe optical equivalent of the quantum mechanical oscillator is demonstrated in a photonic crystal cavity, owing to the balance of the background dispersion and a bichromatic potential. Consequently, several equi‐spaced resonances with large loaded Q factors are obtained within a very tiny volume. A detailed statistical analysis is carried out by exploiting the complex reflection spectra measured with Optical Coherent Tomography. The log‐normal distribution of the intrinsic Q‐factors is centered at 0.7 million. The device is made of Ga0.5In0.5P in order to suppress the two photon absorption in the Telecom spectral range considered here. This is crucial to turn the strong localization of light into ultra‐efficient parametric interactions.
Segmentation and tracking of lung nodules via graph‐cuts incorporating shape prior and motion from 4D CT
Authors: Cha Jungwon , Farhangi Mohammad Mehdi , Dunlap Neal , Amini Amir A. 
Published: November 2017

PurposeWe have developed a robust tool for performing volumetric and temporal analysis of nodules from respiratory gated four‐dimensional (4D) CT. The method could prove useful in IMRT of lung cancer.MethodsWe modified the conventional graph‐cuts method by adding an adaptive shape prior as well as motion information within a signed distance function representation to permit more accurate and automated segmentation and tracking of lung nodules in 4D CT data. Active shape models (ASM) with signed distance function were used to capture the shape prior information, preventing unwanted surrounding tissues from becoming part of the segmented object. The optical flow method was used to estimate the local motion and to extend three‐dimensional (3D) segmentation to 4D by warping a prior shape model through time. The algorithm has been applied to segmentation of well‐circumscribed, vascularized, and juxtapleural lung nodules from respiratory gated CT data.ResultsIn all cases, 4D segmentation and tracking for five phases of high‐resolution CT data took approximately 10 min on a PC workstation with AMD Phenom II and 32 GB of memory. The method was trained based on 500 breath‐held 3D CT data from the LIDC data base and was tested on 17 4D lung nodule CT datasets consisting of 85 volumetric frames. The validation tests resulted in an average Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) = 0.68 for all test data. An important by‐product of the method is quantitative volume measurement from 4D CT from end‐inspiration to end‐expiration which will also have important diagnostic value.ConclusionThe algorithm performs robust segmentation of lung nodules from 4D CT data. Signed distance ASM provides the shape prior information which based on the iterative graph‐cuts framework is adaptively refined to best fit the input data, preventing unwanted surrounding tissue from merging with the segmented object.
Characterization of nanoDot optically stimulated luminescence detectors and high‐sensitivity MCP‐N thermoluminescent detectors in the 40–300 kVp energy range
Authors: Poirier Yannick , Kuznetsova Svetlana , Villarreal‐Barajas Jose Eduardo 
Published: November 2017

PurposeTo investigate empirically the energy dependence of the detector response of two in vivo luminescence detectors, LiF:Mg,Cu,P (MCP‐N) high‐sensitivity TLDs and Al2O3:C OSLDs, in the 40–300‐kVp energy range in the context of in vivo surface dose measurement. As these detectors become more prevalent in clinical and preclinical in vivo measurements, knowledge of the variation in the empirical dependence of the measured response of these detectors across a wide spectrum of beam qualities is important.MethodWe characterized a large range of beam qualities of three different kilovoltage x‐ray units: an Xstrahl 300 Orthovoltage unit, a Precision x‐Ray X‐RAD 320ix biological irradiator, and a Varian On‐Board Imaging x‐ray unit. The dose to water was measured in air according to the AAPM's Task Group 61 protocol. The OSLDs and TLDs were irradiated under reference conditions on the surface of a water phantom to provide full backscatter conditions.To assess the change in sensitivity in the long term, we separated the in vivo dosimeters of each type into an experimental and a reference group. The experimental dosimeters were irradiated using the kilovoltage x‐ray units at each beam quality used in this investigation, while the reference group received a constant 10 cGy irradiation at 6 MV from a Varian clinical linear accelerator. The individual calibration of each detector was verified in cycles where both groups received a 10 cGy irradiation at 6 MV.ResultsThe nanoDot OSLDs were highly reproducible, with ±1.5% variation in response following >40 measurement cycles. The TLDs lost ~20% of their signal sensitivity over the course of the study.The relative light output per unit dose to water of the MCP‐N TLDs did not vary with beam quality for beam qualities with effective energies <50 keV (~150 kVp/6 mm Al). At higher energies, they showed a reduced (~75–85%) light output per unit dose relative to 6 MV x rays.The nanoDot OSLDs exhibited a very strong (120–408%) dependency of the light output relative to 6 MV x rays. Variations up to 15% between different x‐ray units with equivalent effective energies were also observed.ConclusionsWhile convenient for clinical use, nanoDot OSLDs exhibit a strong variation in their measured light output per unit dose relative to 6 MV in the 40–300 kV x‐ray range. This variability differs unit‐to‐unit, limiting their effective use for in vivo dosimetry applications in the kilovoltage x‐ray energy range. MCP‐N TLDs offer a much more stable response, but suffer from variations in sensitivity over time dependent on radiation history, which requires careful experimental handling.
Comprehensive Profiling of Lysine Acetylome in Baculovirus Infected Silkworm (Bombyx mori) Cells
Authors: Hu Dongbing , Xue Shengjie , Zhao Cui , Wei Ming , Yan Huihui , Quan Yanping , Yu Wei 
Published: November 2017

AbstractBombyx mori is one of the key lepidopteran model species, and is economically important for silk production and proteinaceous drug expression. Baculovirus and insect host are important natural biological models for studying host–pathogen interactions. The impact of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection on the proteome and acetylome of Bombyx mori ovarian (BmN) cells are explored to facilitate a better understanding of infection‐driven interactions between BmNPV and host in vitro. The proteome and acetylome are profiled through six‐plex Tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling‐based quantitative proteomics. A total of 4194 host proteins are quantified, of which 33 are upregulated and 47 are downregulated in BmN cells at 36 h post‐infection. Based on the proteome, quantifiable differential Kac proteins are identified and functionally annotated to gene expression regulation, energy metabolism, substance synthesis, and metabolism after BmNPV infection. Altogether, 644 Kac sites in 431 host proteins and 39 Kac sites in 22 viral proteins are identified and quantified in infected BmN cells. Our study demonstrates that BmNPV infection globally impacts the proteome and acetylome of BmN cells. The viral proteins are also acetylated by the host acetyltransferase. Protein acetylation is essential for cellular self‐regulation and response to virus infection. This study provides new insights for understanding the host–virus interaction mechanisms, and the role of acetylation in BmN cellular response to viral infection.
Viral Short ORFs and Their Possible Functions
Authors: Finkel Yaara , Stern‐Ginossar Noam , Schwartz Michal 
Published: November 2017

AbstractDefinition of functional genomic elements is one of the greater challenges of the genomic era. Traditionally, putative short open reading frames (sORFs) coding for less than 100 amino acids were disregarded due to computational and experimental limitations; however, it has become clear over the past several years that translation of sORFs is pervasive and serves diverse functions. The development of ribosome profiling, allowing identification of translated sequences genome wide, revealed wide spread, previously unidentified translation events. New computational methodologies as well as improved mass spectrometry approaches also contributed to the task of annotating translated sORFs in different organisms. Viruses are of special interest due to the selective pressure on their genome size, their rapid and confining evolution, and the potential contribution of novel peptides to the host immune response. Indeed, many functional viral sORFs were characterized to date, and ribosome profiling analyses suggest that this may be the tip of the iceberg. Our computational analyses of sORFs identified by ribosome profiling in DNA viruses demonstrate that they may be enriched in specific features implying that at least some of them are functional. Combination of systematic genome editing strategies with synthetic tagging will take us into the next step—elucidation of the biological relevance and function of this intriguing class of molecules.
Synthesis and electrochromic performance of oligoaniline‐containing polyureas capped with various functional groups
Authors: Li Yanyan , Zhou Yan , Jia Xiaoteng , Liu Xincai , Wang Ce , Chao Danming 
Published: November 2017

ABSTRACTTuning the molecular structure is an effective strategy to modulate the electrochromic behaviors of conducting polymers. In this contribution, a novel oligoaniline‐containing polyurea ended with reactable isocyanate groups is designed and synthesized via nucleophilic polymerization. Then various functional groups such as o‐toluidine, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), ethoxysilane, and congo red (CR) are introduced as end groups to modulate the electrochromic performance. Hydrophilic PEG could improve the switching speed due to the rapid electrolyte ions diffusion into polymer film through the hydrophilic region. An enhanced switching stability is afforded by crosslinkable ethoxysilane end groups, ascribed to crosslinked densified surface and great adhesion force between the electrochromic layer and ITO substrate through the hydrolysis reaction. Moreover, an ample color change is achieved by introducing colored CR as end groups. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018, 56, 412–419
Self‐assembly of block copolymers with an alkoxysilane‐based core‐forming block: A comparison of synthetic approaches
Authors: Teo Guo Hui , Kuchel Rhiannon P. , Zetterlund Per B. , Thickett Stuart C. 
Published: November 2017

ABSTRACTPolymerization‐induced self‐assembly (PISA) has become the preferred method of preparing self‐assembled nano‐objects based on amphiphilic block copolymers. The PISA methodology has also been extended to the realization of colloidal nanocomposites, such as polymer–silica hybrid particles. In this work, we compare two methods to prepare nanoparticles based on self‐assembly of block copolymers bearing a core‐forming block with a reactive alkoxysilane moiety (3‐(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate, MPS), namely (i) RAFT emulsion polymerization using a hydrophilic macroRAFT agent and (ii) solution‐phase self‐assembly upon slow addition of a selective solvent. Emulsion polymerization under both ab initio and seeded conditions were studied, as well the use of different initiating systems. Effective and reproducible chain extension (and hence PISA) of MPS via thermally initiated RAFT emulsion polymerization was compromised due to the hydrolysis and polycondensation of MPS occurring under the reaction conditions employed. A more successful approach to block copolymer self‐assembly was achieved via polymerization in a good solvent for both blocks (1,4‐dioxane) followed by the slow addition of water, yielding spherical nanoparticles that increased in size as the length of the solvophobic block was increased. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018, 56, 420–429
Differentiation of wood‐derived vanillin from synthetic vanillin in distillates using gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry for δ13C analysis
Authors: van Leeuwen Katryna A. , Prenzler Paul D. , Ryan Danielle , Paolini Mauro , Camin Federica 
Published: November 2017

RationaleTypical storage in oak barrels releases in distillates different degradation products such as vanillin, which play an important role in flavour and aroma. The addition of vanillin, as well as other aroma compounds, of different origin is prohibited by European laws. As vanillin samples from different sources have different δ13C values, the δ13C value could be used to determine whether the vanillin is authentic (lignin‐derived), or if it has been added from another source (e.g. synthetic).MethodsThe δ13C values for vanillin derived from different sources, including natural, synthetic and tannins, were measured by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS), after diethyl ether addition and/or ethanol dilution. A method for analysing vanillin in distillates after dichloromethane extraction was developed. Tests were undertaken to prove the reliability, reproducibility and accuracy of the method with standards and samples. Distillate samples were run to measure the δ13C values of vanillin and to compare them with values for other sources of vanillin.Resultsδ13C values were determined for: natural vanillin extracts (−21.0 to −19.3‰, 16 samples); vanillin ex‐lignin (−28.2‰, 1 sample); and synthetic vanillin (−32.6 to −29.3‰, 7 samples). Seventeen tannin samples were found to have δ13C values of −29.5 to −26.7‰, which were significantly different (p < 0.05) from those of the natural and synthetic vanillins. The vanillin δ13C values measured in distillates (−28.9 to −25.7‰) were mainly in the tannin range, although one spirit (−32.5‰) was found to contain synthetic vanillin.ConclusionsThe results show that synthetic vanillin added to a distillate could be differentiated from vanillin derived from oak barrels by their respective δ13C values. The GC/C/IRMS method could be a useful tool in the determination of adulteration of distillates.
Robust output regulation of a triaxial MEMS gyroscope via nonlinear active disturbance rejection
Authors: Hosseini‐Pishrobat Mehran , Keighobadi Jafar 
Published: November 2017

SummaryThis paper presents a nonlinear disturbance rejection–based controller for the robust output regulation of a triaxial microelectromechanical system (MEMS) vibratory gyroscope. In a MEMS gyroscope, parameter variations, mechanical couplings, suspension system nonlinearities, thermal noise, and centripetal/Coriolis forces are the main uncertainty sources. In the dynamical equations of the gyroscope, these uncertainties appear as a matched total disturbance, which does not coincide with the required structure of a standard output regulation problem. More specifically, the total disturbance is not guaranteed to belong to the solution space of a fixed dynamical system. Therefore, we propose a control system that comprises a nominal output regulator equipped with a disturbance rejection loop. On the basis of a suitable reference dynamics of the gyroscope, the control system is developed as the stabilization of a zero‐error invariant manifold in the tracking error space. In the disturbance rejection loop, a nonlinear extended state observer (ESO) is designed to estimate the total disturbance. The convergence of the ESO is analyzed in a Lyapunov‐Lurie framework by linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). In the nominal output regulation loop, the stabilization problem of the desired manifold is tackled by introducing a suitable distance coordinate. Next, to achieve guaranteed attenuation of the ESO estimation errors, an energy‐to‐peak design is pursued. On the basis of the center manifold theory, the stability of the overall closed‐loop system is guaranteed. The efficacy of the proposed control method is assessed through software simulations.