bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Influence of renal impairment on aldosterone status, calcium metabolism, and vasopressin activity in outpatients with systolic heart failure
Authors: Bosselmann Helle , Tonder Niels , Sölétormos György , Gaborit Freja , Rossing Kasper , Iversen Kasper , Goetze Jens Peter , Gustafsson Finn , Schou Morten 
Published: July 2017

AbstractAimsRenal dysfunction (RD) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in heart failure (HF). At present, no specific treatment for patients with RD, to prevent progression of HF, has been developed. How different hormone axes—and thereby potential treatment options—are affected by RD in HF warrants further investigations.Methods and resultsPatients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <0.45% were enrolled prospectively from an outpatient HF clinic. Glomerular filtration rate was estimated by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation (eGFR), and patients were grouped by eGFR: eGFR group I, ≥90 mL/min/1.73 m2; eGFR group II, 60–89 mL/min/1.73 m2; and eGFR group III, ≤59 mL/min/1.73 m2. Multivariate linear regression models were developed to evaluate the associations between eGFR groups and hormones. A total of 149 patients participated in the study. Median age was 69 [interquartile range (IQR): 64–73] and 26% were female; LVEF was 33% (IQR: 27–39), 78% were in functional class II–III, median eGFR was 74 (54–89) mL/min/1.73 m2, and median N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide was 1303 pg/mL (IQR: 441–2740). RD was associated with increased aldosterone, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and copeptin concentrations (P < 0.05 for all) after adjustment for traditional confounders and medical treatment.ConclusionsRD is associated with increased concentrations of aldosterone, PTH, and copeptin in systolic HF outpatients. Our results underscore the importance of treatment with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist in systolic HF in particular in patients with RD and suggest that vasopressin and parathyroid receptor antagonism are potential treatment options in HF patients with known RD.
Sex differences in the decoding of pain‐related body postures
Authors: Walsh J. , Eccleston C. , Keogh E. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractBackgroundPain can be detected through nonverbal cues, including facial expressions, vocalisations, and body posture. While there are sex differences in how emotional expressions are recognized, these differences have not always been found for pain. One reason for this inconsistency may be methodological, as pain studies tend not to be designed to investigate individual differences in expression recognition. Also, few studies consider sex differences outside facial expression.MethodsThis study applied an image degradation method used to examine individual differences in emotion recognition, to investigate sex differences in the decoding of pain body postures. Forty participants (20 male) were presented with a series of body posture images depicting pain at differing levels of image degradation. Happiness, anger and sadness expressions were also included for comparison.ResultsResults showed significant effects of image degradation, affect type, and actor sex. Females were rated as presenting more intense pain than males; this pattern was also found for fear, but not anger or happiness. The accuracy of pain intensity judgements was reduced as image clarity decreased. Male actors depicting pain were recognized with greater accuracy than female actors. Interestingly, similar patterns were found for anger and fear expressions.ConclusionsWe conclude that sex has a significant influence on pain decoding under certain conditions, and while there are similarities with the way pain and core emotions are decoded, this may depend on the type of emotion presented. This also suggests that sex‐related effects in the recognition of pain expressions may include body postural cues.SignificanceObserver's judgements of pain displayed through body postures are driven by the sex of the person in pain.
A high‐order flux reconstruction adaptive mesh refinement method for magnetohydrodynamics on unstructured grids
Authors: Yang Jingjing , Liang Chunlei 
Published: July 2017

SummaryWe report our recent development of the high‐order flux reconstruction adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) method for magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The resulted framework features a shock‐capturing duo of AMR and artificial resistivity (AR), which can robustly capture shocks and rotational and contact discontinuities with a fraction of the cell counts that are usually required. In our previous paper, we have presented a shock‐capturing framework on hydrodynamic problems with artificial diffusivity and AMR. Our AMR approach features a tree‐free, direct‐addressing approach in retrieving data across multiple levels of refinement. In this article, we report an extension to MHD systems that retains the flexibility of using unstructured grids. The challenges due to complex shock structures and divergence‐free constraint of magnetic field are more difficult to deal with than those of hydrodynamic systems. The accuracy of our solver hinges on 2 properties to achieve high‐order accuracy on MHD systems: removing the divergence error thoroughly and resolving discontinuities accurately. A hyperbolic divergence cleaning method with multiple subiterations is used for the first task. This method drives away the divergence error and preserves conservative forms of the governing equations. The subiteration can be accelerated by absorbing a pseudo time step into the wave speed coefficient, therefore enjoys a relaxed CFL condition. The AMR method rallies multiple levels of refined cells around various shock discontinuities, and it coordinates with the AR method to obtain sharp shock profiles. The physically consistent AR method localizes discontinuities and damps the spurious oscillation arising in the curl of the magnetic field. The effectiveness of the AMR and AR combination is demonstrated to be much more powerful than simply adding AR on finer and finer mesh, since the AMR steeply reduces the required amount of AR and confines the added artificial diffusivity and resistivity to a narrower and narrower region. We are able to verify the designed high‐order accuracy in space by using smooth flow test problems on unstructured grids. The efficiency and robustness of this framework are fully demonstrated through a number of two‐dimensional nonsmooth ideal MHD tests. We also successfully demonstrate that the AMR method can help significantly save computational cost for the Orszag‐Tang vortex problem.
Covariate and parameter uncertainty in non‐stationary rainfall IDF curve
Authors: Agilan V. , Umamahesh N. V. 
Published: July 2017

ABSTRACTSince the substantial evidence of non‐stationarity in the extreme rainfall series is already reported, the current realm of hydrologic research focusing on developing methodologies for a non‐stationary rainfall condition. As the rainfall intensity duration frequency (IDF) curve is primarily used in storm water management and infrastructure design, developing rainfall IDF curves in a non‐stationary context is a current interest of water resource researchers. In order to construct non‐stationary rainfall IDF curve, the probability distribution's parameters are allowed to change according to covariate value and the current practice is to use time as a covariate. However, the covariate can be any physical process and the recent studies show that the direct use of time as a covariate may increase the bias. Moreover, the significance of selecting covariate in developing non‐stationary rainfall IDF curve is yet to be explored. Therefore, this study aims to find the uncertainties in rainfall return levels due to the choice of the covariate (covariate uncertainty). In addition, since the uncertainty in parameter estimates (parameter uncertainty) is the major source of uncertainty in the stationary IDF curve, the relative significance of covariate uncertainty, when compared to the parameter uncertainty, is also explored. The study results reveal that the covariate uncertainty is significant, especially when a number of covariates produce significantly superior non‐stationary model and, remarkably, it is nearly equivalent to the parameter uncertainty in such cases.
Radar‐based summer precipitation climatology of the Czech Republic
Authors: Bližňák Vojtěch , Kašpar Marek , Müller Miloslav 
Published: July 2017

ABSTRACTTo assess the climatology of the Czech Republic (CR) with a high spatial (1 km) resolution, this study uses radar‐based precipitation data collected over the summer seasons of a 10‐year period (2002–2011). Radar reflectivity data were obtained from two C‐band Doppler weather radars, integrated in time and merged with daily precipitation totals from rain gauge measurements. Using radar measurements, daily adjusted precipitation totals were later divided into 10‐min precipitation totals that were continuously accumulated in a series of time windows ranging from 30 min to 24 h. This climatological analysis confirms that altitude substantially influences not only the spatial distribution of mean precipitation but also the spatial distribution of precipitation maxima as well as the diurnal cycle of precipitation in the CR. While the 24‐h totals are generally maximal in mountains, mean and absolute seasonal maxima of short‐term totals (up to 1 and 6 h, respectively) are detected in altitudes between 300 and 600 m a.s.l. Regarding the diurnal cycle, maximum frequency of precipitation occurs 2 h earlier in the mountains, whereas mean totals remain at the same level until 2100 UTC. The mean time during which precipitation maxima occur generally does not change with altitude. Nevertheless, a detailed regional study demonstrates that short‐term precipitation maxima usually start earlier in the afternoon in and around mountainous regions. Long‐term (mainly 6‐h) precipitation maxima occur later than short ones but are substantially less concentrated in time, especially in the mountains. These differences between mountains and lowlands can be explained by smaller relative proportions and earlier onset of convective precipitation in mountains.
Comparative efficacy of Bentonite clay, activated charcoal and Trichosporon mycotoxinivorans in regulating the feed‐to‐tissue transfer of mycotoxins
Authors: Bhatti Sheraz Ahmed , Khan Muhammad Zargham , Hassan Zahoor Ul , Saleemi Muhammad Kashif , Saqib Muhammad , Khatoon Aisha , Akhter Masood 
Published: July 2017

AbstractBACKGROUNDMycotoxins contamination in animal products and by‐products is a persistent threat to the food and feed industry. The present study was designed to evaluate the comparative inhibitory effects of Bentonite (BN), activated charcoal (AC) and a newly discovered yeast, Trichosporon mycotoxinivorans (TM), against feed‐to‐tissue transfer of mycotoxins.RESULTSA dose dependent increase as determined by HPLC, in the residues of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA) was exhibited in the groups of birds fed AFB1 and OTA alone. The dietary addition of BN and AC to AFB1‐contaminated diets resulted in a 41–87% and 16–72% decrease in AFB1 residues in liver of the birds, respectively. However, this decrease was non‐significant with addition of TM as AFB1 binder. A partial to non‐significant protection was observed by dietary BN and AC, against OTA residues, while a significant decrease in OTA residues (38–84%) was noted in TM‐OTA co‐fed groups.CONCLUSIONThe order of efficacy in terms of lowering AFB1 residues in the liver was BN > AC > TM, while against OTA it was TM > BN > AC. The findings of present study suggest that, based upon the nature of target mycotoxins, a mixture of multi‐mycotoxins binders/detoxifiers should be incorporated in the animal feeds. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Practice patterns of palliative radiation therapy in pediatric oncology patients in an international pediatric research consortium
Authors: Rao Avani Dholakia , Chen Qinyu , Ermoian Ralph P. , Alcorn Sara R. , Figueiredo Maria Luisa S. , Chen Michael J. , Dieckmann Karin , MacDonald Shannon M. , Ladra Matthew M. , Kobyzeva Daria , Nechesnyuk Alexey V. , Nilsson Kristina , Ford Eric C. , Winey Brian A. , Villar Rosangela C. , Terezakis Stephanie A. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractBackground/ObjectivesThe practice of palliative radiation therapy (RT) is based on extrapolation from adult literature. We evaluated patterns of pediatric palliative RT to describe regimens used to identify opportunity for future pediatric‐specific clinical trials.Design/MethodsSix international institutions with pediatric expertise completed a 122‐item survey evaluating patterns of palliative RT for patients ≤21 years old from 2010 to 2015. Two institutions use proton RT. Palliative RT was defined as treatment with the goal of symptom control or prevention of immediate life‐threatening progression.ResultsOf 3,225 pediatric patients, 365 (11%) were treated with palliative intent to a total of 427 disease sites. Anesthesia was required in 10% of patients. Treatment was delivered to metastatic disease in 54% of patients. Histologies included neuroblastoma (30%), osteosarcoma (18%), leukemia/lymphoma (12%), rhabdomyosarcoma (12%), medulloblastoma/ependymoma (12%), Ewing sarcoma (8%), and other (8%). Indications included pain (43%), intracranial symptoms (23%), respiratory compromise (14%), cord compression (8%), and abdominal distention (6%). Sites included nonspine bone (35%), brain (16% primary tumors, 6% metastases), abdomen/pelvis (15%), spine (12%), head/neck (9%), and lung/mediastinum (5%). Re‐irradiation comprised 16% of cases. Techniques employed three‐dimensional conformal RT (41%), intensity‐modulated RT (23%), conventional RT (26%), stereotactic body RT (6%), protons (1%), electrons (1%), and other (2%). The most common physician‐reported barrier to consideration of palliative RT was the concern about treatment toxicity (83%).ConclusionThere is significant diversity of practice in pediatric palliative RT. Combined with ongoing research characterizing treatment response and toxicity, these data will inform the design of forthcoming clinical trials to establish effective regimens and minimize treatment toxicity for this patient population.
Optimal radiotherapy target volumes in intracranial nongerminomatous germ cell tumors: Long‐term institutional experience with chemotherapy, surgery, and dose‐ and field‐adapted radiotherapy
Authors: Breen William G. , Blanchard Miran J. , Rao Amulya Nageswara , Daniels David J. , Buckner Jan C. , Laack Nadia N. Issa 
Published: July 2017

AbstractPurposeTo evaluate patterns of failure after multimodality treatment of nongerminomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCTs).Materials and methodsWe retrospectively reviewed records of 34 patients diagnosed with primary intracranial NGGCT between 1988 and 2014.ResultsThirty‐four patients received induction chemotherapy followed by radiation with or without surgery. Median follow‐up was 11.1 years (0.8–23.3). Outcomes were significantly improved in these 34 patients (5‐year overall survival [OS]: 88% versus 50%, P = 0.0092), so analysis is restricted to that subset. Disease‐free survival (DFS) was 67, 60, and 54% at 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively. Elevated cerebrospinal fluid–α‐fetoprotein (CSF–AFP) at diagnosis was associated with poorer DFS (37 vs. 89% at 10 years; P = 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in OS, or DFS, or patterns of failure for limited radiotherapy volumes versus larger volumes; however, patients receiving initial local radiotherapy had 32% distant central nervous system (CNS) recurrence at 10 years compared to 0% for those receiving initial larger field irradiation (P = 0.09). Fifteen patients recurred. All four patients who relapsed in the spine had received local radiotherapy and had elevated serum and CSF‐AFP at baseline. All three patients with ventricular relapse received local radiation therapy.ConclusionsNGGCT patients continue to relapse beyond 5 years. Late ventricular relapse occurred even in patients without clear evidence of germinoma component. Elevated CSF‐AFP at diagnosis is associated with poor DFS and risk for distant CNS relapse. Patients with residual radiographic disease after chemotherapy or residual malignant histologies after second‐look surgery have inferior outcomes. Our data support consideration of treatment intensification for these patients.
A randomized trial of the effectiveness of the neutropenic diet versus food safety guidelines on infection rate in pediatric oncology patients
Authors: Moody Karen M. , Baker Rebecca A. , Santizo Ruth O. , Olmez Inan , Spies Jeanie M. , Buthmann Amanda , Granowetter Linda , Dulman Robin Y. , Ayyanar Kanyalakshmi , Gill Jonathan B. , Carroll Aaron E. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractBackgroundThe neutropenic diet (ND) is prescribed to avoid introduction of bacteria into a host's gastrointestinal tract and reduce infection. Due to a lack of evidence to support the ND, there continues to be debate among pediatric oncologists regarding its usefulness. This prospective randomized controlled trial evaluated the difference in neutropenic infection rates in pediatric oncology patients randomized to Food and Drug Administration approved food safety guidelines (FSGs) versus the ND plus FSGs during one cycle of chemotherapy.ProcedurePediatric patients receiving cancer treatment with myelosuppressive chemotherapy were eligible. Neutropenic infection was the primary outcome and defined as (i) fever with neutropenia or (ii) hospital admission and treatment for clinical infection and neutropenia. The rate of neutropenic infection was compared with Student's t‐test for independent samples. Documented infections were identified by comprehensive chart review and compared between groups using a χ2 test.Results: One hundred fifty patients were randomly assigned to FSGs (n = 73) or ND + FSGs (n = 77). The most common diagnoses were acute lymphoblastic leukemia (32%) and sarcoma (32%). There was no significant difference between the groups in the percentage of patients who developed neutropenic infection: FSGs 33% versus ND + FSGs 35% (P = 0.78). Patients randomized to ND + FSGs reported that following the diet required more effort than those on FSGs alone.ConclusionThe ND offers no benefit over FSGs in the prevention of infection in pediatric oncology patients undergoing myelosuppressive chemotherapy and adherence requires more effort for patients and families. Institutions caring for children with cancer should consider replacing ND guidelines with FSGs.
Cu(II) and Ni(II) Complexes of Anthracene‐Affixed Schiff Base: A Conflict between Covalent and Stacking Interactions with DNA Bases
Authors: Kathiresan Sellamuthu , Annaraj Jamespandi , Bhuvanesh Nattamai S. P. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractFour new mononuclear complexes [Cu(L1)Cl2] (1), [Ni(L1)Cl2] (2), [Cu(L2)Cl2] (3) and [Ni(L2)Cl2] (4), where L1 (1‐(anthracen‐9‐yl)‐N‐(1H‐benzo[d]imidazole‐2‐yl)methanimine) and L2 (1‐(anthracen‐9‐yl)‐N‐(benzo[d]thiazol‐2yl)methanimine) have been synthesized and characterized by various spectral and electro analytical techniques. The molecular structure of the ligands L1 and L2 were determined by the single crystal XRD method. The absorption and emission spectral approaches revealed that these complexes may partially be stacking in between the DNA bases. In contrast, the possibility of their covalent interaction was evaluated through the cyclic voltammetric techniques. All these obtained results revealed that the complexes 1‐4 could interact with HS‐DNA via covalent/partial intercalation modes and the quenching mechanism of BSA by all these complexes are through static mode. In addition, the in vitro cytotoxicity of the complexes on human gastric cancer cell lines have been observed by MTT and the fluorescence‐based morphological assessment obtained using Hoechst 33342 staining reveals that these complexes induces apoptosis against AGS cancer cells, among them best result was obtained for complex 3 (8.9 μM).
Graphene oxide : A No‐Acid Low‐Temperature Synthesis from Graphite
Authors: Pakhira Bholanath , Samanta Ankit , Das Gouri S , Sarkar Sabyasachi 
Published: July 2017

AbstractGraphite responds to nitro addition by NO2 radical and the nitro derivative isomerizes to energetically favorable nirito form under ambient condition. This derivative readily hydrolyzed in forming poly‐hydroxylated graphene, “graphenol”. The (graph)‐enol responds to irreversible transformation in its keto form with 1,4 hydrogen shift yielding the graphene oxide (GO) as the end product that also possesses C−H bonds. The conventional methodology used in synthesizing GO under strong acid medium inherently follow this NO2 and similar sigma centric free radical addition reactions. These energy released reactions are supported by density functional theoretical (DFT) calculation.
Highly Efficient Metal‐Free Visible Light Driven Photocatalyst: Graphene Oxide/Polythiophene Composite
Authors: Yu Yue , Yang Qiqi , Yu Xi , Lu Qingye , Hong Xinlin 
Published: July 2017

AbstractGraphene oxide/polythiophene (GO/PTh) composites were synthesized by in‐situ polymerization of thiophene (Th) monomers on GO surfaces. Remarkable performance of GO/PTh composites for methylene blue (MB) photo‐degradation under visible light has been achieved by tuning GO/Th ratio and graphene oxidation degrees. 100 % MB degradation was achieved by the composite within 30 min under visible light, its catalytic activity (0.1149 min−1) is 382 and 41 times higher than that of PTh (0.0003 min−1) and GO (0.0028 min−1), respectively. The results of MB adsorption experiment, ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra show that combination of GO and PTh increases MB adsorption, decreases the band gap and enhances photo‐electron transfer. The composite with 36 % PTh (at the fed GO/Th weight ratio of 1:2) shows the highest catalytic activity where MB adsorption ability by GO and photo‐electron producing ability by PTh in the composite is well matched. The catalytic activity can be further enhanced by changing graphene oxidation degree by controlling graphite/KMnO4 ratio and post‐reaction time during GO preparation. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X‐ray photo‐electron (XPS) spectroscopy analyses have shown that increasing oxidation degree of GO leads to a stronger π‐π interaction between GO and PTh and a more electron‐rich PTh, resulting in higher catalytic activity.
Cationic Interdiffusion at the SOFC Electrolyte/Cathode Interface in La2Mo2O9/La0.8Sr0.2MnO3‐δ
Authors: Ravella Uday K. , Liu Jingjing , Corbel Gwenaël , Skinner Stephen J. , Lacorre Philippe 
Published: July 2017

AbstractIn this work cation diffusion between a La2Mo2O9 (LM) ionic conductor and the conventional Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) cathode material La0.8Sr0.2MnO3‐δ (LSM), was probed using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and diffusion coefficients of Sr, Mo and Mn cations within both materials evaluated. Diffusion coefficients extracted from samples with a Sr solution deposited on the LM pellets and from a Mo solution deposited on LSM pellets were found to be orders of magnitude higher than the cross‐diffusion through the interface between two dense pellets in direct contact. These differences may be due to uncertainty in determining the interface position, or to a real dependence on the source of the diffusing cation. In the most favorable case, that of pellets in direct contact, extrapolation of diffusion coefficients down to a typical SOFC operating temperature, 800 °C, show that Mo diffusion in LSM (diffusion coefficient ∼ 10−14 cm2.s−1) is much higher than Sr or Mn diffusion in LM, and incompatible with use in a SOFC device, unless an efficient buffer layer is used.