bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dose metrics assessment for differently shaped and sized metal-based nanoparticles
Authors: Hua Jing , Vijver Martina G. , Chen Guangchao , Richardson Michael K. , Peijnenburg Willie J.G.M. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract

The mean primary diameter (d) of nanoparticles (NPs) is commonly used as the best basis to assess the dose metric for expressing the toxicity of spherical NPs. However, d bears no relevance for nonspherical NPs. In the present study, the mean surface area to volume ratio, applicable to both spherical and nonspherical NPs, was used to replace d given the aim of obtaining the best dose metric (volume, surface area, or number) of differently shaped metallic NPs in vivo (9 organisms) and in vitro (6 mammalian cell lines). The slope of the curves obtained by relating the total particle number of NPs at various effect concentrations to the mean surface area to volume ratio was subsequently used to deduce the best dose metric. For the majority of the organisms studied, it was found that NP volume is the most appropriate dose metric, independent of the composition of the NPs tested. For 3 organisms exposed to Ag NPs, however, surface area was found to be the best dose metric. It is therefore concluded that the optimum dose metric depends on organism and NP properties. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2466–2473. © 2016 SETAC
Antitumour effects of the essential oil from Mentha x villosa combined with 5‐fluorouracil in mice
Authors: Amaral Ricardo Guimarães , Andrade Luciana Nalone , Dória Grace Anne Azevedo , Barbosa‐Filho José Maria , de Sousa Damião Pergentino , Carvalho Adriana Andrade , Thomazzi Sara Maria 
Published: February 2016

AbstractIn the previous study, we demonstrated that the essential oil from the leaves of Mentha x villosa (EOMV) shows antitumour activities. In the present paper, the effects of the combination of 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) with the EOMV were determined in mice transplanted with Sarcoma 180 tumour cells. Hematological and biochemical analyses, as well as morphological analyses of the tumour and the organs (liver, spleen and kidney) were performed in order to evaluate the toxicological aspects. The combination of the EOMV (50 and 100 mg/kg/day) with 5‐FU (10 mg/kg/day) led to a higher tumour growth inhibition rate (58.9% and 65.7%, respectively) when compared with 5‐FU alone at 10 mg/kg/day (30.2%). The combined use of 5‐FU (10 mg/kg/day) with the EOMV (50 and 100 mg/kg/day) showed similar tumour growth inhibition rate to that of 5‐FU alone at the highest dose (25 mg/kg/day) with less severe leukopenia. However, neither the enzymatic activity of transaminases nor the urea and creatinine levels were modified when compared with the 5‐FU groups. These findings indicate that the EOMV may enhance the therapeutic effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Adaptive Multiscale Ensemble Learning Paradigm for Nonstationary and Nonlinear Energy Price Time Series Forecasting
Authors: Zhu Bangzhu , Shi Xuetao , Chevallier Julien , Wang Ping , Wei Yi‐Ming 
Published: February 2016

AbstractFor forecasting nonstationary and nonlinear energy prices time series, a novel adaptive multiscale ensemble learning paradigm incorporating ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and least square support vector machines (LSSVM) with kernel function prototype is developed. Firstly, the extrema symmetry expansion EEMD, which can effectively restrain the mode mixing and end effects, is used to decompose the energy price into simple modes. Secondly, by using the fine‐to‐coarse reconstruction algorithm, the high‐frequency, low‐frequency and trend components are identified. Furthermore, autoregressive integrated moving average is applicable to predicting the high‐frequency components. LSSVM is suitable for forecasting the low‐frequency and trend components. At the same time, a universal kernel function prototype is introduced for making up the drawbacks of single kernel function, which can adaptively select the optimal kernel function type and model parameters according to the specific data using the PSO algorithm. Finally, the prediction results of all the components are aggregated into the forecasting values of energy price time series. The empirical results show that, compared with the popular prediction methods, the proposed method can significantly improve the prediction accuracy of energy prices, with high accuracy both in the level and directional predictions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pre‐reconstruction of cervical‐to‐petrous internal carotid artery: An improved technique for treatment of vascular lesions involving internal carotid artery at the lateral skull base
Authors: Li Fang‐Da , Gao Zhi‐Qiang , Ren Hua‐Liang , Liu Chang‐Wei , Song Xiao‐Jun , Li Yan‐Feng , Zheng Yue‐Hong 
Published: February 2016

AbstractBackgroundReconstruction of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is an operative challenge for lesions involving the lateral skull base because of excessive blood loss, intraoperative cranial nerve injury, and difficulties in cerebral protection.MethodsBetween January 2010 and October 2014, 9 patients with vascular lesions at the lateral skull base were treated with a “pre‐reconstruction” technique, which means reconstruction of the ICA in advance of excising the lesions.ResultsAll operations were technically successful with no mortality or strokes. The mean blood loss was 921 ± 210 mL. The mean total clamping time was 18 ± 5 minutes. Among the 5 patients without invasion of specific cranial nerves, no long‐term sequelae occurred during the follow‐up period ranging from 11 to 54 months.ConclusionWith less blood loss, slighter cranial nerve injuries, and shorter clamping time, the “pre‐reconstruction” technique was safe and effective for the treatment of vascular lesions at the lateral skull base. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1562–E1567, 2016
Leaf‐Critical and Leaf‐Stable Graphs
Authors: Wiener Gábor 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThe minimum leaf number ml(G) of a connected graph G is defined as the minimum number of leaves of the spanning trees of G if G is not hamiltonian and 1 if G is hamiltonian. We study nonhamiltonian graphs with the property for each or for each . These graphs will be called ‐leaf‐critical and l‐leaf‐stable, respectively. It is far from obvious whether such graphs exist; for example, the existence of 3‐leaf‐critical graphs (that turn out to be the so‐called hypotraceable graphs) was an open problem until 1975. We show that l‐leaf‐stable and l‐leaf‐critical graphs exist for every integer , moreover for n sufficiently large, planar l‐leaf‐stable and l‐leaf‐critical graphs exist on n vertices. We also characterize 2‐fragments of leaf‐critical graphs generalizing a lemma of Thomassen. As an application of some of the leaf‐critical graphs constructed, we settle an open problem of Gargano et al. concerning spanning spiders. We also explore connections with a family of graphs introduced by Grünbaum in correspondence with the problem of finding graphs without concurrent longest paths.
How often are hospitalized patients and providers on the same page with regard to the patient's primary recovery goal for hospitalization?
Authors: Figueroa Jose F. , Schnipper Jeffrey L. , McNally Kelly , Stade Diana , Lipsitz Stuart R. , Dalal Anuj K. 
Published: February 2016

BACKGROUNDTo deliver high‐quality, patient‐centered care during hospitalization, healthcare providers must correctly identify the patient's primary recovery goal.OBJECTIVETo determine the degree of concordance between patients and key hospital providers.DESIGNA validated questionnaire administered to a random sample of hospitalized patients alongside their nurse and physician provider. Goals included: “be cured,” “live longer,” “improve/maintain health,” “be comfortable,” “accomplish a particular life goal,” or “other.”SETTINGMajor academic hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.PARTICIPANTSAdult patients admitted for more than 48 hours from November 2013 to May 2014 were eligible. When a patient was incapacitated, a legal proxy was interviewed. The nurse and physician provider were then interviewed within 24 hours.MEASUREMENTSFrequencies of responses for each recovery goal and the rate of concordance among the patient, nurse, and physician provider were measured. The frequency of responses across groups were compared using adjusted χ2 analyses. Inter‐rater agreement was measured using 2‐way Kappa tests.RESULTSAll 3 participants were interviewed in 109 of the 181 (60.2%) patients approached (or with proxy available). Significant differences in selected goals were observed across respondent groups (P < 0.001). Patients frequently chose “be cured” (46.8%). Nurses and physician providers frequently selected “improve or maintain health” (38.5% and 46.8%, respectively). All 3 participants selected the same goal in 22 cases (20.2%). Inter‐rater agreement was poor to slight for all pairs (kappa 0.09 [−0.03‐0.19], 0.19 [0.08‐0.30], and 0.20 [0.08‐0.32] for patient‐physician, patient‐nurse, and nurse‐physician, respectively).CONCLUSIONSWe observed poor to slight concordance among hospitalized patients and key medical team members with regard to the patient's primary recovery goal. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:615–619. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine
Usefulness of MR elastography for detecting clinical progression of cirrhosis from child‐pugh class A to B in patients with type C viral hepatitis
Authors: Takamura Tomohiro , Motosugi Utaroh , Ichikawa Shintaro , Sano Katsuhiro , Morisaka Hiroyuki , Ichikawa Tomoaki , Enomoto Nobuyuki , Onishi Hiroshi 
Published: February 2016

PurposeTo evaluate the usefulness of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in detecting the clinical progression of cirrhosis from Child‐Pugh class A to B in patients with hepatitis C.Materials and MethodsWe reviewed the data of 101 consecutive patients with type C viral hepatitis and clinically suspected cirrhosis who fulfilled the all following criteria: available MRE at 1.5 Tesla (T) or 3.0T and laboratory tests within a month, Child‐Pugh class A, platelet count less than 155 × 103/μL, no clinical history of hepatocellular carcinoma, and ≥6 months of follow‐up after MRE. We longitudinally analyzed the incidence of cirrhosis progression as defined by the clinical progression from Child‐Pugh class A to B at two subsequent follow‐up points. Risk of cirrhosis progression was assessed by Cox analyses and Kaplan‐Meyer methods.ResultsCirrhosis progression was noted in 25 patients during the follow‐up period. Liver stiffness (hazard ratio [HR] by 1 kPa increase = 1.397; P = 0.0074), Child‐Pugh score of 6 versus score 5 (HR of 3.085; P = 0.0276), and treatment responses to anti‐viral therapy versus nonresponse (HR of <0.001, P = 0.0006) were independent risk factors of cirrhosis progression. The 1‐year risk (0.7%; 95% confidence interval, 0.1–4.2%) of cirrhosis progression was negligible in patients with liver stiffness of <3.3 kPa or response to anti‐viral treatment.ConclusionMRE is useful to stratify the risk of cirrhosis progression in patients with hepatitis C. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:715–722.
Rapid breath‐hold assessment of myocardial velocities using spiral UNFOLD‐ed SENSE tissue phase mapping
Authors: Kowalik Grzegorz T. , Muthurangu Vivek , Khushnood Abbas , Steeden Jennifer A. 
Published: February 2016

PurposeTo develop and validate a rapid breath‐hold tissue phase mapping (TPM) sequence.Materials and MethodsThe sequence was based on an efficient uniform density spiral acquisition, combined with data acceleration. A novel acquisition and reconstruction strategy enabled combination of UNFOLD (2×) and SENSE (3×): UNFOLD‐ed SENSE. The sequence was retrospectively cardiac‐gated, and a graphics processing unit (GPU) was used for rapid “online” reconstruction. The optimal UNFOLD parameters for the data were calculated using an in silico model. The technique was validated on a 1.5T MR scanner in 15 patients with known aortic valve disease, against a respiratory self‐navigated free‐breathing TPM technique. Quantitative image quality measures (velocity‐to‐noise and edge sharpness) were made as well as calculation of longitudinal, radial, and tangential myocardial velocities in the left ventricle.ResultsThe proposed breath‐hold TPM data took eight heartbeats to acquire. The breath‐hold TPM images had significantly higher edge sharpness (P = 0.0014) than the self‐navigated TPM images, but with significantly lower velocity‐to‐noise ratio (P < 0.0001). There was excellent agreement (r > 0.94) in the longitudinal, radial, and tangential velocities between the self‐navigated data and the proposed breath‐hold TPM sequence.ConclusionWe demonstrate the feasibility of using spiral UNFOLD‐ed SENSE to measure myocardial velocities using a rapid breath‐hold spiral TPM sequence. This novel technique might enable accurate measurement of myocardial velocities, in a short scan time, which is especially important in a busy clinical workflow. J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2016;44:1003–1009.
Analysis of a large choroideremia dataset does not suggest a preference for inclusion of certain genotypes in future trials of gene therapy
Authors: Freund Paul R. , Sergeev Yuri V. , MacDonald Ian M. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractBackgroundChoroideremia (CHM) is an X‐linked degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium, photoreceptors, and choroid, which causes nyctalopia and progressive constriction of visual fields leading to blindness. The CHM gene encodes Rab escort protein 1 (REP‐1). In this work, we reviewed the phenotypes and genotypes of affected males with the purpose of understanding the functional effects of CHM mutations and their relationship with the phenotypes.MethodsA retrospective review of 128 affected males was performed analyzing the onset of symptoms, visual acuity, and visual fields with respect to their mutations in the CHM gene.ResultsIn rank order, reflecting data from this report, the most common mutations found in the CHM gene were nonsense mutations (41%), exon deletions (37%), and splice sites (14%) associated with a loss of functional protein. In the pool of 106 CHM mutations, we discovered four novel missense mutations (c.238C>T; p.L80F, c.819G>T; p.Q273H, c.1327A>G; p.M443V, and c.1370C>T; p.L457P) predicted to be severe changes affecting protein stability and folding with the effect similar to that of other types of mutations. No significant genotype–phenotype correlation was found with respect to the onset of nyctalopia, the onset of other visual symptoms, visual acuity, or width of visual fields.ConclusionThere is no evidence to support exclusion of CHM patients from clinical trials based on their genotypes or any potential genotype–phenotype correlations.
Erythrocyte linoleic acid, but not oleic acid, is associated with improvements in body composition in men and women
Authors: Belury Martha A. , Cole Rachel M. , Bailey Brittney E. , Ke Jia‐Yu , Andridge Rebecca R. , Kiecolt‐Glaser Janice K. 
Published: February 2016

ScopeSupplementation with linoleic acid (LA; 18:2Ω6)‐rich oils increases lean mass and decreases trunk adipose mass in people. Erythrocyte fatty acids reflect the dietary pattern of fatty acid intake and endogenous metabolism of fatty acids. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship of erythrocyte LA, with aspects of body composition, insulin resistance, and inflammation. Additionally, we tested for relationships of oleic acid (OA) and the sum of long chain omega‐three fatty acids (LC‐Ω3‐SUM), on the same outcomes.Methods and resultsMen and women (N = 139) were evaluated for body composition, insulin resistance, and serum inflammatory markers, IL‐6, and c‐reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte fatty acid composition after an overnight fast. LA was positively related to appendicular lean mass/body mass index and inversely related to trunk adipose mass. Additionally, LA was inversely related to insulin resistance and IL‐6. While there was an inverse relationship between OA or LC‐Ω3‐SUM with markers of inflammation, there were no relationships between OA or LC‐Ω3‐SUM with body composition or HOMA‐IR.ConclusionHigher erythrocyte LA was associated with improved body composition, insulin resistance, and inflammation. Erythrocyte OA or LC‐Ω3‐SUM was unrelated to body composition and insulin resistance. There is much controversy about whether all unsaturated fats have the same benefits for metabolic syndrome and weight gain. We sought to test the strength of the relationships between three unsaturated fatty acid in erythrocytes with measurements of body composition, metabolism, and inflammation in healthy adults. Linoleic acid, but not oleic acid or the sum of long‐chain omega 3 fatty acids (w3), was associated with increased appendicular lean mass and decreased trunk adipose mass and insulin resistance.
Fitting methods for intravoxel incoherent motion imaging of prostate cancer on region of interest level: Repeatability and gleason score prediction
Authors: Merisaari Harri , Movahedi Parisa , Perez Ileana M. , Toivonen Jussi , Pesola Marko , Taimen Pekka , Boström Peter J. , Pahikkala Tapio , Kiviniemi Aida , Aronen Hannu J. , Jambor Ivan 
Published: February 2016

PurposeTo evaluate different fitting methods for intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging of prostate cancer in the terms of repeatability and Gleason score prediction.MethodsEighty‐one patients with histologically confirmed prostate cancer underwent two repeated 3 Tesla diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) examinations performed using 14 b‐values in the range of 0–500 s/mm2 and diffusion time of 19.004 ms. Mean signal intensities of regions‐of‐interest were fitted using five different fitting methods for IVIM as well as monoexponential, kurtosis, and stretched exponential models. The fitting methods and models were evaluated in the terms of fitting quality [Akaike information criteria (AIC)], repeatability, and Gleason score prediction. Tumors were classified into three groups (3 + 3, 3 + 4, > 3 + 4). Machine learning algorithms were used to evaluate the performance of the combined use of the parameters. Simulation studies were performed to evaluate robustness of the fitting methods against noise.ResultsMonoexponential model was preferred over IVIM based on AIC. The “pseudodiffusion” parameters demonstrated low repeatability and clinical value. Median “pseudodiffusion” fraction values were below 8.00%. Combined use of the parameters did not outperform the monoexponential model.ConclusionMonoexponential model demonstrated the highest repeatability and clinical values in the regions‐of‐interest based analysis of prostate cancer DWI, b‐values in the range of 0–500 s/mm2. Magn Reson Med 77:1249–1264, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Volumetric multislice gagCEST imaging of articular cartilage: Optimization and comparison with T1rho
Authors: Kogan Feliks , Hargreaves Brian A. , Gold Garry E. 
Published: February 2016

PurposeTo develop and optimize a multislice glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chemical exchange saturation transfer (GagCEST) sequence for volumetric imaging of articular cartilage, and to validate the sequence against T1ρ relaxation times in whole joint imaging of tibiotalar cartilage.MethodsEx vivo experiments were used to observe the effect of the number of partitions and shot TR on signal‐to‐noise ratio and measured GagCESTasym. GagCEST imaging of the entire tibiotalar joint was also performed on 10 healthy subjects. The measured GagCESTasym was compared and correlated with T1ρ relaxation times.ResultsEx vivo studies showed a higher average GagCESTasym from articular cartilage on multislice acquisitions acquired with two or more partitions than observed with a single‐slice acquisition. In healthy human subjects, an average GagCESTasym of 8.8 ± 0.7% was observed. A coefficient of variation of GagCESTasym across slices of less than 15% was seen for all subjects. Across subjects, a Pearson correlation coefficient of −0.58 was observed between the measured gagCESTasym and T1ρ relaxation times.ConclusionsWe demonstrated the feasibility and optimization of multislice GagCEST mapping of articular cartilage. Volumetric analysis and decreased scan times will help to advance the clinical utility of GagCEST imaging of articular cartilage. Magn Reson Med 77:1134–1141, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Overcoming element quality dependence of finite elements with adaptive extended stencil FEM (AES‐FEM)
Authors: Conley Rebecca , Delaney Tristan J. , Jiao Xiangmin 
Published: February 2016

SummaryThe finite element methods (FEMs) are important techniques in engineering for solving partial differential equations, but they depend heavily on element shape quality for stability and good performance. In this paper, we introduce the Adaptive Extended Stencil Finite Element Method (AES‐FEM) as a means for overcoming this dependence on element shape quality. Our method replaces the traditional basis functions with a set of generalized Lagrange polynomial basis functions, which we construct using local weighted least‐squares approximations. The method preserves the theoretical framework of FEM and allows imposing essential boundary conditions and integrating the stiffness matrix in the same way as the classical FEM. In addition, AES‐FEM can use higher‐degree polynomial basis functions than the classical FEM, while virtually preserving the sparsity pattern of the stiffness matrix. We describe the formulation and implementation of AES‐FEM and analyze its consistency and stability. We present numerical experiments in both 2D and 3D for the Poisson equation and a time‐independent convection–diffusion equation. The numerical results demonstrate that AES‐FEM is more accurate than linear FEM, is also more efficient than linear FEM in terms of error versus runtime, and enables much better stability and faster convergence of iterative solvers than linear FEM over poor‐quality meshes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The generation of triangular meshes for NURBS‐enhanced FEM
Authors: Sevilla Ruben , Rees Luke , Hassan Oubay 
Published: February 2016

SummaryThis paper presents the first method that enables the fully automatic generation of triangular meshes suitable for the so‐called non‐uniform rational B‐spline (NURBS)‐enhanced finite element method (NEFEM). The meshes generated with the proposed approach account for the computer‐aided design boundary representation of the domain given by NURBS curves. The characteristic element size is completely independent of the geometric complexity and of the presence of very small geometric features. The proposed strategy allows to circumvent the time‐consuming process of de‐featuring complex geometric models before a finite element mesh suitable for the analysis can be produced. A generalisation of the original definition of a NEFEM element is also proposed, enabling to treat more complicated elements with an edge defined by several NURBS curves or more than one edge defined by different NURBS. Three examples of increasing difficulty demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach and illustrate the advantages compared with those of traditional finite element mesh generators. Finally, a simulation of an electromagnetic scattering problem is considered to show the applicability of the generated meshes for finite element analysis. ©2016 The Authors. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.