bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of phosphatidylserine-dependent antiprothrombin antibody testing for the diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome: results of an international multicentre study
Authors: Amengual O , Forastiero R , Sugiura-Ogasawara M , Otomo K , Oku K , Favas C , Delgado Alves J , Žigon P , Ambrožič A , Tomšič M , Ruiz-Arruza I , Ruiz-Irastorza G , Bertolaccini M L , Norman G L , Shums Z , Arai J , Murashima A , Tebo A E , Gerosa M , Meroni P L , Rodriguez-Pintó I , Cervera R , Swadzba J , Musial J , Atsumi T 
Published: August 2016

Objective A task force of scientists at the International Congress on Antiphospholipid Antibodies recognized that phosphatidylserine-dependent antiprothrombin antibodies (aPS/PT) might contribute to a better identification of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Accordingly, initial and replication retrospective, cross-sectional multicentre studies were conducted to ascertain the value of aPS/PT for APS diagnosis. Methods In the initial study (eight centres, seven countries), clinical/laboratory data were retrospectively collected. Serum/plasma samples were tested for IgG aPS/PT at Inova Diagnostics (Inova) using two ELISA kits. A replication study (five centres, five countries) was carried out afterwards. Results In the initial study ( n = 247), a moderate agreement between the IgG aPS/PT Inova and MBL ELISA kits was observed ( k = 0.598). IgG aPS/PT were more prevalent in APS patients (51%) than in those without (9%), OR 10.8, 95% CI (4.0–29.3), p < 0.0001. Sensitivity, specificity, positive (LR+) and negative (LR–) likelihood ratio of IgG aPS/PT for APS diagnosis were 51%, 91%, 5.9 and 0.5, respectively. In the replication study ( n = 214), a moderate/substantial agreement between the IgG aPS/PT results obtained with both ELISA kits was observed ( k = 0.630). IgG aPS/PT were more prevalent in APS patients (47%) than in those without (12%), OR 6.4, 95% CI (2.6–16), p < 0.0001. Sensitivity, specificity, LR + and LR– for APS diagnosis were 47%, 88%, 3.9 and 0.6, respectively. Conclusions IgG aPS/PT detection is an easily performed laboratory parameter that might contribute to a better and more complete identification of patients with APS.
Short-term atorvastatin therapy improves arterial stiffness of middle-aged systemic lupus erythematosus patients with pathological pulse wave velocity
Authors: Castejon R , Castañeda A , Sollet A , Mellor-Pita S , Tutor-Ureta P , Jimenez-Ortiz C , Yebra-Bango M 
Published: August 2016

Objectives Statins have been proposed as a potential treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) due to their immunomodulatory properties, their role restoring endothelial function and preventing atherosclerosis. We evaluate the effect of a short period treatment with a low dose of atorvastatin and its withdrawal on early stage subclinical atherosclerosis. Methods Thirty-seven SLE females received 20 mg/day atorvastatin during eight weeks. At baseline, at the end of treatment and six months after atorvastatin withdrawal, disease activity, subclinical atherosclerosis –assessed by measuring carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) – and quantification of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) – as a surrogate biological marker of subclinical atherosclerosis – were carried out. Results The group of SLE patients with baseline pathological arterial stiffness showed a significant decrease of PWV after atorvastatin therapy (8.43 ± 1.45 m/s vs 7.42 ± 1.06 m/s; p = 0.002) that is maintained six months after treatment finished. Only patients of the middle-aged group showed a nearly significant decrease in the PWV measured along the study (7.16 ± 1.23 m/s vs 6.76 ± 0.82 m/s; p = 0.05). Atorvastatin induced a significant decrease in the circulating EPC percentage (0.65 ± 0.67 vs 0.40 ± 0.31; p = 0.023) as well as a downward trend of disease activity that it is observed by a decrease in SLE disease activity index simultaneously with an increase in C3 complement and significant decrease in serum concentration of vascular endothelial grow factor (VEGF) and sVCAM-1. Conclusions Short-term atorvastatin therapy reduces arterial stiffness of SLE patients with baseline pathological PWV, who are mainly in the group of middle-aged patients. Further studies are needed to determine whether these patients would benefit from statin therapy in preventing cardiovascular events.
Association between shortened telomere length and systemic lupus erythematosus: a meta-analysis
Authors: Lee Y H , Jung J H , Seo Y H , Kim J-H , Choi S J , Ji J D , Song G G 
Published: August 2016

Objective We aimed to evaluate the relationship between telomere length and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods PUBMED and EMBASE databases were searched; meta-analyses were performed comparing telomere length in SLE patients and healthy controls, and on SLE patients in subgroups based on ethnicity, sample type, assay method and data type. Results Eight studies including 472 SLE patients and 365 controls were ultimately selected which showed that telomere length was significantly shorter in the SLE group than in the control group (standardized mean difference (SMD) = −0.835, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −1.291 to −0.380, p = 3.3 × 10−4). Stratification by ethnicity showed significantly shortened telomere length in the SLE group in Caucasian, Asian and mixed populations (SMD = −0.455, 95% CI = −0.763 to −0.147, p = 0.004; SMD = −0.887, 95% CI = −1.261 to −0.513, p = 3.4 × 10−4; SMD = −0.535, 95% CI = −0.923 to −0.147, p = 0.007; respectively). Furthermore, telomere length was significantly shorter in the SLE group than in the control group in whole blood and peripheral blood mononuclear cell groups (SMD = −0.361, 95% CI = −0.553 to −0.169, p = 2.3 × 10−4; SMD = −1.546, 95% CI = −2.583 to −0.510, p = 0.003; respectively); a similar trend was observed in leukocyte groups (SMD = −0.699, 95% CI = −1.511 to −0.114, p = 0.092). Meta-analyses based on assay method or data type revealed similar associations. Conclusions Our meta-analysis demonstrated that telomere length was significantly shorter in patients with SLE, regardless of ethnicity, sample type or assay method evaluated.
Primary ethambutol resistance among Iranian pulmonary tuberculosis patients: a systematic review
Authors: Nasiri Mohammad Javad , Imani Fooladi Abbas Ali , Dabiri Hossein , Pormohammad Ali , Salimi Chirani Alireza , Dadashi Masoud , Houri Hamidreza , Heidary Mohsen , Feizabadi Mohammad Mehdi 
Published: August 2016

Introduction: Ethambutol (EMB) is an anti-mycobacterial agent that is most commonly used in combination with other anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs in the treatment of TB. Studies have shown that primary resistance rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to EMB vary widely, that is, from 1% to as high as 14%. In this study, we aimed to determine the exact prevalence of primary EMB resistance among pulmonary TB cases. Methods: Several databases, including Medline, Embase, and Iranian databases, were searched from March 2000 to January 2016 to identify studies addressing EMB-resistant TB in Iran. Comprehensive meta-analysis (V2.2, Biostat) software was used to analyze the data. Results: Of the 112 records identified from the databases, 10 studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The pooled prevalence of primary EMB-resistant TB was estimated at 4.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.8–9.0]. No evidence of publication bias was observed among the included studies ( p = 0.4 for Begg rank correlation analysis; p = 0.2 for Egger weighted regression analysis). Conclusion: Results of systematic review and meta-analyses indicated that effective strategies to minimize the acquired drug resistance, to improve the drug susceptibility testing (DST) capability, and to control the transmission of resistance should be attached importance for control of TB in Iran.
Seed abscission and fruit dehiscence required for seed dispersal rely on similar genetic networks
Authors: Balanzà Vicente , Roig-Villanova Irma , Di Marzo Maurizio , Masiero Simona , Colombo Lucia 
Published: August 2016

Seed dispersal is an essential trait that enables colonization of new favorable habitats, ensuring species survival. In plants with dehiscent fruits, such as Arabidopsis, seed dispersal depends on two processes: the separation of the fruit valves that protect the seeds (fruit dehiscence), and the detachment of the seeds from the funiculus connecting them to the mother plant (seed abscission). The key factors required to establish a proper lignin pattern for fruit dehiscence are SHATTERPROOF1 and 2 (SHP1and SHP2). In this work we demonstrate that the SHPs closely related gene SEEDSTICK (STK) is a key factor required to establish the proper lignin pattern in the seed abscission zone but in an opposite way. We show that STK acts as a repressor of lignin deposition in the seed abscission zone through the direct repression of HECATE3 while the SHPs promote lignin deposition in the valve margins by the activation of INDEHISCENT. The interactions of STK with the SEUSS co-repressor determine the difference in the way STK and SHPs control the lignification patterns.
Despite this difference in the molecular control of lignification during seed abscission and fruit dehiscence, we show that the genetic networks regulating these two developmental pathways are highly conserved.
The When and Why of Abandonment: The Role of Organizational Differences In Medical Technology Life Cycles
Authors: Greenwood Brad N. , Agarwal Ritu , Agarwal Rajshree , Gopal Anandasivam 
Published: August 2016

Although the adoption of new technology has received significant attention in management research, investigations of abandonment have lagged. In this study, we examine differences in the rates of abandonment of medical technologies based on whether abandonment occurs in response to the emergence of a superior technology or in light of new information questioning its efficacy. We link differences in responses to underlying differences in the missions and incentives of organizations. Examining coronary stents across three technological regime changes using a census of approximately two million patients admitted to Florida hospitals from 1995 to 2007, we show meaningful differences across three hospital types: for-profit, not-for-profit, and academic medical centers. Results show that for-profit hospitals abandon the earlier generation in favor of a superior technology faster than not-for-profit hospitals, but this is not the case if the efficacy of the technology is questioned. Academic medical centers, however, have the highest rates of abandonment under both triggers. Importantly, we find that organizational factors dominate physician differences as explanatory factors for abandonment. Implications of these findings are twofold. First, we identify the factors likely at play, i.e., the salience of norms of science and the corresponding trade-offs with economic benefits, when organizations make abandonment decisions. Second, our work underscores the importance of organizational mission, which dominates individual preferences in determining rates of abandonment.This paper was accepted by David Hsu, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Debtor Rights, Credit Supply, and Innovation
Authors: Cerqueiro Geraldo , Hegde Deepak , Penas María Fabiana , Seamans Robert C. 
Published: August 2016

Firms’ innovative activities can be sensitive to public policies that affect the availability of capital. In this paper, we investigate the effects of regional and temporal variation in U.S. personal bankruptcy laws on firms’ innovative activities. We find that bankruptcy laws that provide stronger debtor protection decrease the number of patents produced by small firms. Stronger debtor protection also decreases the average quality, and variance in quality, of firms’ patents. We find evidence that the negative effect of stronger debtor protection on experimentation and innovation may be due to the decreased availability of external financing in response to stronger debtor rights, an effect amplified in industries with a high dependence on external financing. Hence, while it is typically assumed that stronger debtor protection encourages innovation by reducing the cost of failure for innovators, we show that it can instead dampen innovative activities by tightening the availability of external financing to innovative firms. This paper was accepted by David Hsu, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Characteristics and computed tomography evaluation of primary retroperitoneal tumours: report of 113 cases
Authors: Cheng W , Qi Y , Wang B , Tian L , Huang W , Chen Y 
Published: August 2016

INTRODUCTIONBenign and malignant primary retroperitoneal tumours (PRT) have different clinical manifestations and pathological characteristics. We explore the characteristics and evaluate the value of computed tomography (CT) for PRT.METHODSFifty-six benign and fifty-seven malignant PRT with clinical, radiographic and surgical data were retrospectively investigated. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS software.RESULTSWe found that mean size of benign tumours was 12.4 ± 7.7cm but 20.7 ± 11.6cm in malignant cases (P < 0.05). The accuracy of CT localisation was approximately 70%. The sensitivity and specificity of CT diagnosis for benign tumours were 96% and 85%, respectively; 51 (91%) underwent complete resection among benign cases but 42 (74%) in malignant cases (P < 0.05). Sensitivity of CT evaluation for invaded organs and vessels was 50% and 65%, respectively, and specificity was 88% and 81%, respectively.CONCLUSIONSLarge size, no capsule, irregular margin, heterogeneous density and specific enhancement pattern on CT are highly suggestive of malignancy. CT is the most useful tool in assessing the size and characteristics of PRT but it does not have the sensitivity to assess the involvement of organs and vessels.
Reflectance Spectroscopy for Organic Detection and Quantification in Clay-Bearing Samples: Effects of Albedo, Clay Type, and Water Content
Authors: Kaplan Hannah H. , Milliken Ralph E. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractReflectance spectroscopy is a rapid and non-destructive method that can be used to detect organic compounds in geologic samples over a wide range of spatial scales that includes outcrops, hand samples, drill cores, and planetary surfaces. In order to assess the viability of this technique for quantification of organics and aliphatic compounds in particular, the present study examines how clay mineralogy, water content, and albedo influence the strength of organic absorptions in near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectra. The effects of clay structure and water content are evaluated using kaolinite, smectite (montmorillonite), and a mixed-layer illite-smectite as starting materials. Absorption strengths for C—H absorptions are compared to known total organic carbon (TOC) values using both reflectance spectra and single scattering albedo (SSA) spectra derived from a Hapke radiative transfer model. A linear relationship was observed between band depth and TOC for each sample suite, but strong albedo variation led to non-unique trends when band depths were calculated from reflectance spectra. These effects were minimized by conversion to SSA, for which band depth-TOC trends were similar for all mixture suites regardless of albedo or hydration level, indicating that this approach may be more broadly applicable for clay and organic-bearing samples. Extrapolation of band depth-TOC trends for the synthetic mixtures suggested a very conservative lower limit of detection of <1 wt.% TOC, but preliminary results for natural organic-bearing shales indicated that detection limits may be an order of magnitude lower.
Embodied multicultural assessment: An interdisciplinary training model
Authors: Powell Alexis 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Cross-cultural counselling is imperative in the training of any therapist, yet there are no educational models based on drama therapy techniques. The author explores the need for an embodied multicultural self-assessment for drama therapy students and presents an approach that incorporates Robert Landy’s role theory and Pamela A. Hays’ ADDRESSING framework.
Severi varieties and Brill–Noether theory of curves on abelian surfaces
Authors: Knutsen Andreas Leopold , Lelli-Chiesa Margherita , Mongardi Giovanni 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Severi varieties and Brill–Noether theory of curves on K3 surfaces are well understood. Yet, quite little is known for curves
on abelian surfaces. Given a general abelian surface S with polarization L of type

(
1
,
n
)

{(1,n)}

, we prove nonemptiness and regularity of the Severi variety parametrizing δ-nodal curves in the linear system

|
L
|

{|L|}

for

0
≤
δ
≤

n
-
1

=

p
-
2

{0\leq\delta\leq n-1=p-2}

(here p is the arithmetic genus of any curve in

|
L
|

{|L|}

). We also show that a general genus g curve having as nodal model a hyperplane section of some

(
1
,
n
)

{(1,n)}

-polarized abelian surface admits only finitely many such models up to translation; moreover, any such model lies on finitely many

(
1
,
n
)

{(1,n)}

-polarized abelian surfaces.
Under certain assumptions, a conjecture of Dedieu and Sernesi is proved concerning the possibility of deforming a genus g curve in S equigenerically to a nodal curve. The rest of the paper deals with the Brill–Noether theory of curves in

|
L
|

{|L|}

. It turns out that a general curve in

|
L
|

{|L|}

is Brill–Noether general. However, as soon as the Brill–Noether number is negative and some other inequalities are satisfied, the locus

|
L
|

d
r

{|L|^{r}_{d}}

of smooth curves in

|
L
|

{|L|}

possessing a

g
d
r

{g^{r}_{d}}

is nonempty and has a component of the expected dimension. As an application, we obtain the existence of a component of the Brill–Noether locus

ℳ

p
,
d

r

{{\mathcal{M}}^{r}_{p,d}}

having the expected codimension in the moduli space of curves

ℳ
p

{{\mathcal{M}}_{p}}

. For

r
=
1

{r=1}

, the results are generalized to nodal curves.
Phases Transition and Consolidation Mechanism of High Chromium Vanadium-Titanium Magnetite Pellet by Oxidation Process
Authors: Tang Jue , Chu Man-sheng , Feng Cong , Li Feng , Liu Zheng-gen 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Based on the fundamental characteristics of high chromium vanadium-titanium magnetite (HCVTM), the effects of roasting temperature and roasting time on the phase transition and oxidation consolidation during the oxidation were investigated systematically. It was shown that the oxidation of HCVTM pellet was not a simple process but complex. With increasing roasting temperature and time, the compressive strength of oxidized pellet was improved. The phase transition during oxidation was hypothesized to proceed as follows: (1) Fe3O4 → Fe2O3; (2) Fe2.75Ti0.25O4 → Fe9TiO15 + FeTiO3 → Fe9TiO15 + Fe2Ti3O9; (3) Fe2VO4 → V2O3 → (Cr0.15V0.85)2O3; (4) FeCr2O4 → Cr2O3 → Cr1.3Fe0.7O3 + (Cr0.15V0.85)2O3. The oxidation consolidation process was divided into three stages: (1)oxidation below 1,173 K; (2) recrystallization consolidation at 1,173 – 1,373 K; (3) particle refining recrystallization-consolidation by the participation of liquid phase at 1,373 – 1,573 K. To obtain the HCVTM oxidized pellet with good quality, the rational roasting parameters included a roasting temperature of 1,573 K and a roasting time of 20 min.
A Dual Aspect Theory of Shared Intention
Authors: Alonso Facundo M. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractIn this article I propose an original view of the nature of shared intention. In contrast to psychological views (Bratman, Searle, Tuomela) and normative views (Gilbert), I argue that both functional roles played by attitudes of individual participants and interpersonal obligations are factors of central and independent significance for explaining what shared intention is. It is widely agreed that shared intention (I) normally motivates participants to act, and (II) normally creates obligations between them. I argue that the view I propose can explain why it is not a mere accident that both (I) and (II) are true of shared intention, while psychological and normative views cannot. The basic idea is that shared intention involves a structure of attitudes of individuals – including, most importantly, attitudes of reliance – which normally plays the relevant motivating roles and creates the relevant obligations.
From cultural distance to skills deficits: “Expatriates,” “Migrants” and Swiss integration policy
Authors: Yeung Shirley 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThis article examines two social categories brought into being by recent migration policies in Switzerland: the expatriate (or “expat”) and the migrant. Treating these categories as relationally constituted, the article explores how this distinction was constructed and managed in response to processes of European harmonization in the 1990s, employing shifting discourses of difference: while Switzerland’s Three Circle immigration model differentiated immigrants along lines of “cultural distance” vis-à-vis Switzerland, Swiss participation in the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons contrasted these groups according to a new discourse of “skills.” Focusing on this discursive transition, the article argues that the expatriate-migrant distinction constructs differently valued immigrants whose contrasting relationship to the nation and “integration” is enacted in legal and social expectations surrounding language use. The article argues for critical attention to how “brain gain” and skills discourses enable, and extend border-maintaining discourses of “culture.”
Discourses of integration: Language, skills, and the politics of difference
Authors: Flubacher Mi-Cha , Yeung Shirley 
Published: August 2016

AbstractIn this introduction, we outline the most relevant concepts for this special issue on integration and the politics of difference. This introduction characterizes “integration” as a dominant policy orientation and discursive regime concerned primarily with understandings of language, communication, and skill which constitute a (trans)national politics of difference. In various sites and national contexts of the global north, migrant “integration” policies render difference and mobility the site of both discursive elaboration and management. This introduction highlights the salience of critical ethnographic analyses for understanding “integration” beyond policy realms, arguing for attention to situated practices, emergent social categories and types, political-economic stakes, logics of linguistic (dis)engagement, and the reproduction of mono- and multilingual social orders. In particular, we propose to untangle this complex by describing three central processes that run through all of the contributions and which, we suggest, are indispensable for the analysis of current and emergent regimes of integration: processes of categorization, of selection, and of activation.
Rotation and deformation of human red blood cells with light from tapered fiber probes
Authors: Liu Xiaoshuai , Huang Jianbin , Li Yuchao , Zhang Yao , Li Baojun 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Dynamic rotation and deformation of human red blood cells (RBCs) are extremely important to investigate the survival and mechanical features of cells, which will be of great physiological and pathological significance. Here, we report an optical approach that is capable of both rotating and deforming RBCs with light from two tapered fiber probes (TFPs). With laser beams at the wavelength of 980 nm injected into the TFPs, a single RBC was rotated around different axes while single or multiple RBCs were stretched by adjusting the points of action and magnitude of the optical forces from the TFPs. The biological safety of the approach was also discussed by taking the laser power required into account.