bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Postpartum uterine artery blood flow impedance following cesarean section or vaginal delivery
Authors: Baron Joel , Hershkovitz Reli , Baumfeld Yael , Imterat Majdi , Sciaky‐Tamir Yael , Mastrolia Salvatore A. , Schwarzman Polina , Weintraub Adi Y. 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACTPurposeTo compare uterine arteries (UtA) blood flow after cesarean section (CS) or vaginal delivery (VD).MethodsWe performed a prospective case‐control study comparing UtA blood flow impedance in patients who delivered by CS or VD. The UtA pulsatility index (PI) was measured with Doppler ultrasound during post partum using a transabdominal convex probe. Maternal and gestational age, parity, gravidity, and delay between delivery and Doppler measurement were noted.ResultsWe examined 106 postnatal patients, of whom 35 had CS delivery and 71 had VD. The median delay from delivery to Doppler measurement was 35 hours for the CS group and 32 hours for the VD group. The mean PI following CS and VD was 1.62 ± 0.45 and 1.42 ± 0.47, respectively. Using a linear model, the regression coefficients for mean, right, and left PI were not significantly different depending on the mode of delivery. There was no difference between emergency and elective CS.ConclusionsEarly postpartum UtA blood flow impedance is not significantly different after CS or VD. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:278–283, 2016
Optimized 4D time‐of‐flight MR angiography using saturation pulse
Authors: Shibukawa Shuhei , Nishio Hiroaki , Niwa Tetsu , Obara Makoto , Miyati Tosiaki , Hara Takuya , Imai Yutaka , Muro Isao 
Published: December 2015

PurposeTo assess arterial visibility on 4D time‐of‐flight (4D‐TOF) by temporal magnetization transfer contrast pulse (t‐MTC) and temporal tilted optimized nonsaturating excitation (t‐TONE). 3D‐TOF magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is used for the noninvasive assessment of the intracranial arteries. However, it does not provide temporal information for diagnosing hemodynamics. To noninvasively obtain more detailed hemodynamics‐related information, we developed a novel time‐resolved MRA without the arterial spin labeling technique, termed 4D‐TOF MRA using saturation pulse.Materials and MethodsOn a 3.0T MRI, three techniques were compared to optimize the visibility of the arteries above the circle of Willis; 1) simple 4D‐TOF, 2) 4D‐TOF with t‐MTC, and 3) 4D‐TOF with t‐MTC and t‐TONE. Eight healthy volunteers were scanned with these three sequences. The contrast changes between the background tissue and the arteries in temporal phases were assessed and compared quantitatively and qualitatively.ResultsThe contrast between the background and the arteries for 4D‐TOF with t‐MTC and t‐TONE was significantly higher than those for the other methods in delayed phases (P < 0.001).The qualitative assessment showed that 4D‐TOF with t‐MTC and with t‐MTC and t‐TONE provided better visualization of the intracranial artery than simple 4D‐TOF (P < 0.001).Conclusion4D‐TOF with t‐TONE and t‐MTC enabled observation of the intracranial hemodynamics. Optimized 4D‐TOF provides high‐quality images without image subtraction, and good visibility of the intracranial arteries even in the prolonged observation time. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;43:1320–1326.
Climate change signals of CMIP5 general circulation models over the Alps – impact of model selection
Authors: Zubler Elias M. , Fischer Andreas M. , Fröb Friederike , Liniger Mark A. 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACTEnsembles of regional climate models are widely used to obtain climate change signals and to evaluate associated uncertainties over a specific region. These models are forced by general circulation models (GCMs) at their lateral boundaries. The most recent multi‐model ensembles projects – ENSEMBLES and CORDEX – rely on a limited set of about 10 GCMs per greenhouse gas emission scenario. It was shown previously that in particular, RCM temperature responses tend to cluster according to their driving GCM. Therefore, it is important to better understand the relation among the driving models. In multi‐model ensembles as large as CMIP5, in which models tend to correlate due to their similar origin, model selection or weighting becomes an important issue. This study evaluates the distribution of climate change signals in the CMIP5 ensemble for temperature and precipitation over the Greater Alpine region and shows that different reasonable methods of model selection considerably influence the resulting temperature spread in the climate change signals at the end of the century relative to 1980–2009: excluding those GCMs with a poor representation of Alpine climate leads to a difference in spread of more than 1 °C compared to a selection strategy where all models are included and given the same weight. It is highlighted that the largest amount of spread can be retained with a weighting scheme based on a cluster analysis. Furthermore, we show in bivariate analyses that our understanding of the interplay between temperature and precipitation significantly depends on the model selection strategy. Hence, this work may have important implications for current and future design and analysis of multi‐model projects such as CMIP5 and CORDEX.
Bias in the variance of gridded data sets leads to misleading conclusions about changes in climate variability
Authors: Beguería Santiago , Vicente‐Serrano Sergio M. , Tomás‐Burguera Miquel , Maneta Marco 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACTMany studies addressing climate change and climate variability over large regions rely on gridded data. Grids are preferred to station‐based data sets because they help avoiding bias arising from the irregular spatial distribution of the observations. However, while spatial interpolation techniques used for constructing gridded data are good at preserving the mean of the data, they do not offer an adequate representation of their variance. In fact, the grid's variance depends largely on the spatial density of observations used for constructing it. Most global and regional climate data sets are characterized by large temporal changes in the number of observations available for interpolation, with a strong reduction in the last 30 years. These changes in the sample size result in changes in the variance of gridded data that are merely an effect of the interpolation process, and ignoring this fact may lead to erroneous conclusions about changes in climate variability and extremes. We discuss this problem and we demonstrate its importance with a widely used global dataset of temperature and precipitation. We propose to move from interpolation techniques towards statistical simulation approaches that provide a better representation of climate variability when constructing climatic grids.
Postoperative complications and overall survival after pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Authors: Pugalenthi Amudhan , Protic Mladjan , Gonen Mithat , Kingham T. Peter , Angelica Michael I.D’. , Dematteo Ronald P. , Fong Yuman , Jarnagin William R. , Allen Peter J. 
Published: December 2015

IntroductionPancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) performed for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has a postoperative morbidity of 40–50%. In this study, we analyzed the impact of high grade complications after PD for PDA on overall survival.MethodsA total of 596 patients that underwent PD for PDA between 2001 and 2009 were identified from a prospective database. Complications were defined and graded (1–5) as per our Institutional Surgical Secondary Events Program. High grade complications were defined as ≥grade 3. Postoperative mortality (≤90 days) was excluded. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with overall survival.ResultsMedian survival was 24 months. Overall complication rate was 51% (301/596). Low grade complications were recorded in 266 patients (45%) and high grade complications in 22% (n = 129). Our 90 day mortality was 3.7% (n = 22). Anastomotic fistula/leak/abscess rate was 14% (n = 82). Multivariate Cox‐Regression analysis identified node positivity, estimated blood loss (EBL) >600 ml, length of stay (LOS) >10 days, margin positivity, and vascular procedures as predictors of decreased overall survival (P < 0.05). High grade complications were not associated with overall survival (P = 0.948).ConclusionIn this study, the occurrence of high grade postoperative complications was not associated with overall survival. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;113:188–193. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Superhydrophobic Hybrid Micro‐Nanocomposites with Various Applications
Authors: Nagappan Saravanan , Ha Chang‐Sik 
Published: December 2015

SummaryNovel bio‐inspired superhydrophobic hybrid micro‐nanocomposites were prepared by using plant or tree leaf powder as a bio‐source with the help of polysiloxane and various silane precursors. The hybrid suspensions showed superhydrophobic property when coating on various substrates by simple evaporation of solvents on the substrates at room temperature. Similarly, the hybrid powders obtained by the complete evaporation of solvents from the suspension also maintained the superhydrophobicity. The prepared hybrid micro‐nanocomposite suspensions and hybrid powders were used for various types of applications such as selective oils and organic solvents spill capture, non‐stick and self‐cleaning coatings, selective adsorption of metal ions from metal complex solutions prepared from artificial sea water. Owing to the biocompatibility of the hybrid micro‐nanocomposite powder, this can also be used for various bio‐applications.
Changes in the Properties and Self‐Healing Behaviors of Zwitterionic Nanocomposite Gels Across Their UCST Transition
Authors: Haraguchi Kazutoshi , Ning Jinyan , Li Guang 
Published: December 2015

SummaryCharacteristic properties of zwitterionic nanocomposite (NC) gels consisting of a sulfobetaine copolymer and inorganic clay were investigated. The zwitterionic NC gels were synthesized with different ratios of monomer (x) and clay content (n) by the in situ free‐radical polymerization of two monomers, a sulfobetaine monomer (A3) and acrylamide derivative (D), in the presence of exfoliated clay in aqueous media. The resulting zwitterionic A3Dx‐NCn gels were all structurally uniform and mechanically tough because of the polymer–clay network. A3Dx‐NCn gels exhibited a thermoresponsive phase transition with an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) for x ≤ 10 and n ≤ 5. The changes in the property of the A3D10‐NC3 gel across the UCST transition were elucidated in terms of optical transmittance, gel volume, dynamic viscoelasticity, and tensile mechanical properties, in addition to the change in self‐healing behavior.
Light Dose‐Dependent Thickness Control of Photoacid Generator‐Bearing Hydrogel
Authors: Satoh Taku , Sumaru Kimio , Takagi Toshiyuki , Kanamori Toshiyuki 
Published: December 2015

SummaryBlue light‐responsive photoacid generator (PAG) was pendant to poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) gel which bound on a glass plate. The gel was compressed in thickness direction by natural drying and then was irradiated with blue light. Reswelling of the gel in water was suppressed at irradiated area with a dose‐dependent effect. The results were probably due to formation of additional crosslinkng of polymer network by blue light‐irradiation at dry state. By using the PAG‐bearing gel, a microfluidic device was fabricated in which microchannel was formed by light irradiation and subsequent water filling.
The Occupational Profile of Women with Fibromyalgia Syndrome
Authors: Pérez‐de‐Heredia‐Torres Marta , Huertas Hoyas Elisabet , Sánchez‐Camarero Carlos , Pérez‐Corrales Jorge , Fernández de‐las‐Peñas César 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThe aims of this study were to assess the functional level of women with fibromyalgia; to investigate the differences in the occupational activities between women with fibromyalgia and healthy women; and to analyse the perceived importance of occupational performance during self‐care, productivity and leisure activities. A cross‐sectional case control study was performed. Twenty women with fibromyalgia and 20 healthy women completed the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), a Numerical Pain Rating Scale, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and the SF‐36 health survey. The Chi‐square test (χ2), the Student's t test and the Spearman's test were used on the data. The FIM revealed significant differences regarding several activities: personal hygiene, bathing and memory (p < 0.01). The COPM scores did not reveal significant differences between groups (p > 0.10). Women with fibromyalgia had higher disability and reduced quality of life and required greater assistance to perform specific activities of daily living, i.e. hygiene, than healthy women. This highlights the specific occupational therapy needs these women have for performing many basic activities and for improving their quality of life. Limitations of the study include the small sample size, the exclusion of male participants and the possible influence of the women's psychological status on the assessments performed. Findings should be generalized with caution. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Development of hydrophilic interaction chromatography with quadruple time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry for heparin and low molecular weight heparin disaccharide analysis
Authors: Ouyang Yilan , Wu Chengling , Sun Xue , Liu Jianfen , Linhardt Robert J. , Zhang Zhenqing 
Published: December 2015

RationaleHeparin and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) are widely used as clinical anticoagulants. The determination of their composition and structural heterogeneity still challenges analysts.MethodsDisaccharide compositional analysis, utilizing heparinase‐catalyzed depolymerization, is one of the most important ways to evaluate the sequence, structural composition and quality of heparin and LMWH. Hydrophilic interaction chromatography coupled with quadruple time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (HILIC/QTOFMS) has been developed to analyze the resulting digestion products.ResultsHILIC shows good resolution and excellent MS compatibility. Digestion products of heparin and LMWHs afforded up to 16 compounds that were separated using HILIC and analyzed semi‐quantitatively. These included eight common disaccharides, two disaccharides derived from chain termini, three 3‐O‐sulfo‐group‐containing tetrasaccharides, along with three linkage region tetrasaccharides and their derivatives. Structures of these digestion products were confirmed by mass spectral analysis. The disaccharide compositions of a heparin, two batches of the LMWH, enoxaparin, and two batches of the LMWH, nadroparin, were compared. In addition to identifying disaccharides, 3‐O‐sulfo‐group‐containing tetrasaccharides, linkage region tetrasaccharides were observed having slightly different compositions and contents in these heparin products suggesting that they had been prepared using different starting materials or production processes.ConclusionsThus, compositional analysis using HILIC/QTOFMS offers a unique insight into different heparin products. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Computed tomographic study of anatomical relationship between pubic symphysis and ischial spines to improve interpretation of intrapartum translabial ultrasound
Authors: Arthuis C. J. , Perrotin F. , Patat F. , Brunereau L. , Simon E. G. 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo analyze the anatomical relationship between the pubic symphysis and the ischial spines to determine reliable landmarks for the assessment of fetal head descent by intrapartum translabial ultrasound (ITU).MethodsAll computed tomography (CT) scans performed for breech presentation and for twin delivery between 2006 and 2014 in a tertiary university hospital were obtained for measurement and analysis by two operators. The symphysis–left ischial spine angle (SIA) and the symphysis–left ischial spine distance (SID) were measured on three‐dimensional reconstructions from the CT volume dataset. We calculated intra‐ and interobserver agreements for SIA and SID with 95% prediction intervals, created Bland–Altman plots with 95% limits of agreement and estimated the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). A sagittal plane projection from the SIA enabled calculation of a sagittal angle, corresponding to the angle of progression (AoP) on ITU.ResultsSIA and SID were obtained from CT images from 458 women. Reproducibility was good for both SIA (intraobserver ICC, 0.94 (95% CI, 0.88–0.97) and interobserver ICC, 0.81 (95% CI, 0.66–0.92)) and SID (intraobserver ICC, 0.92 (95% CI, 0.82–0.97) and interobserver ICC, 0.83 (95% CI, 0.73–0.92)). The median SIA was 106° (interquartile range (IQR), 105–109°) and median SID was 26.1 (IQR, 23.4–29.5) mm. SIA and SID were not correlated with pelvic diameter or height. The 50th percentile of AoP was 110°.ConclusionKnowledge of the anatomical relationship between the pubic symphysis and ischial spines makes it possible to establish a sonographic method for assesssing fetal head descent by taking into account the level of the ischial spines. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Conventional and modified TAS/OSTBC schemes in dual‐hop fixed‐gain amplify‐and‐forward relaying systems with imperfect feedback
Authors: Coşkun Ahmet Faruk , Kucur Oğuz 
Published: December 2015

AbstractModified transmit antenna selection (TAS)/orthogonal space‐time block coding (OSTBC) (M‐TAS/OSTBC) schemes have been shown to achieve superior error performance together with a reduced‐rate feedback channel in the presence of feedback errors (FEs) when compared with the conventional TAS/OSTBC (C‐TAS/OSTBC) schemes. This paper focuses on the bringing of fixed‐gain amplify‐and‐forward (FGAF) relaying schemes that employ M‐TAS/OSTBC schemes at both hops that provides reduced feedback‐rate and robust error performance in the presence of erroneous‐feedback channels. The exact expressions of the outage and error probabilities for both dual‐hop FGAF relaying schemes in Nakagami‐m fading channels have been derived and validated via Monte Carlo simulations. Additionally, with the help of high signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) (i.e., asymptotic) approaches and some analytical approximations, the asymptotic diversity order analysis has been carried out. Besides, by providing a simulation‐based examination on the inclusion of power allocation within the modified scheme, the additional advantages on the performance have been exhibited. The extensive investigation and comparisons to the conventional schemes have shown that M‐TAS/OSTBC schemes employed at each transmission link provide full diversity order and considerable error performance as the C‐TAS/OSTBC scheme in ideal feedback cases and also achieve more robust error performance in the presence of FEs. Thus, by using M‐TAS/OSTBC schemes, the overall performances of the dual‐hop FGAF relaying schemes have been enhanced, which would result in reductions on the average SNR requirements to achieve a specified error rate constraint. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Generation of complete test suites from mealy input/output transition systems
Authors: Paiva Sofia Costa , Simao Adenilso 
Published: December 2015

AbstractModel-based testing overcomes challenges in software testing by generating automated test cases from behavior models, e.g. finite state machine (FSM) and input/output transition system (IOTS). Despite the existence of methods for IOTSs, the problem of selection of test cases is an important and difficult topic. The current methods from IOTSs do not provide the same support offered by the existing theory for FSMs, as complete fault coverage. In this paper, we propose a test generation method for IOTSs based on the W method developed for FSMs. The basic idea is to generate a transition cover set and a characterization set and concatenate them to generate complete test suites for IOTSs in a bounded number of steps. The method generates test suites with complete fault coverage for a given fault domain and is targeted at a class of IOTSs, called mealy IOTS, which accepts inputs only in stable states. Results from a case study show the proposed algorithm can achieve better results than a classical method for IOTSs.
Molecular Characteristics of Large Parathyroid Adenomas
Authors: Agarwal Amit , Pradhan Roma , Kumari Niraj , Krishnani Narendra , Shukla Pooja , Gupta Sushil Kumar , Chand Gyan , Mishra A. , Agarwal Gaurav , Verma Ashok Kumar , Mishra Saroj Kanta 
Published: December 2015

AbstractIntroduction
The clinical entity of large parathyroid adenomas (LPTAs) has not been well defined. It is speculated that LPTAs would have biochemical, histological, and molecular characteristics different from small adenomas. Our study aimed to find out occurrence of atypia and carcinomas in large parathyroid lesions and the presence of distinct molecular abnormalities in LPTAs.Materials and methodsWe divided the parathyroid lesions into large (>7 g, i.e., LPTAs) and small (<7 g) adenomas. We performed parafibromin, APC (adenomatous polyposis coli), galectin 3, and PGP9.5 (protein gene product 9.5) analysis by immunohistochemistry in adenomas without atypia, atypical adenomas, and carcinomas.ResultsMean serum calcium, alkaline phosphatase, and intact PTH were significantly higher in large parathyroid tumor group. The presence of both atypical adenoma and carcinoma was higher in large parathyroid tumor group. There was higher percentage of atypia in patients with LPTAs >10 g (33 %), and 68 % of tumors showed at least one marker suggestive of malignancy in this group. Detailed analysis of immunohistochemical features of LPTA >10 g revealed that six patients showed complete loss of parafibromin immunoreactivity (out of these four showed atypia), while seven showed partial loss. In histopathologically proven malignancy (n = 9), six patients showed complete loss of parafibromin staining, 5 (55 %) APC negativity, and 45 % showed both galectin 3 and PGP9.5 positivity. Three out of these showed all IHC markers s/o malignancy, and all of them had evidence of metastases or recurrence. 32 % of atypical adenoma and 13 % of atypical adenoma showed complete loss of parafibromin staining, however none developed metastases or recurrence in follow‐up (median follow‐up 40 months). Loss of parafibromin staining (complete or partial) was higher in LPTA group (56 %) than that in small adenoma (39 %); however, it was not statistically significant. APC, galectin 3, and PGP9.5 markers suggestive were higher in LPTA group but were not significant.ConclusionLPTAs may show some morphological and immunohistochemical features suggestive of malignancy and can be considered a separate entity. However, the immunohistochemical markers are unable to clearly segregate those LPTAs that may show premalignant potential. Further, we would like to recommend that LPTAs showing complete parafibromin loss together with atypia should be kept under close follow‐up.