bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Platelet subpopulations remain despite strong dual agonist stimulation and can be characterised using a novel six-colour flow cytometry protocol
Authors: Södergren Anna Linnea , Ramström Sofia 
Published: January 2018

AbstractIt is recognised that platelets respond differently to activation, where a subpopulation of platelets adopt a procoagulant phenotype while others are aggregatory. However, it has not been thoroughly tested whether these subpopulations will remain in maximally activated samples, or if they are merely a result of different platelet sensitivities to agonist activation. Here platelets were activated with gradually increasing concentrations of thrombin and/or the GPVI agonist cross-linked collagen-related peptide (CRP-XL). Platelet activation was investigated using a novel six-colour flow cytometry protocol evaluating exposure of phosphatidylserine, active conformation of the fibrinogen receptor αIIbβ3, α-granule and lysosomal release (P-selectin and LAMP-1 exposure), mitochondrial membrane integrity and platelet fragmentation. Upon activation by CRP-XL or thrombin+CRP-XL, platelets formed three differently sized subpopulations. Normal-sized platelets showed high exposure of aggregatory active αIIbβ3 and intact mitochondria, while the smaller platelets and platelet fragments showed high exposure of procoagulant phosphatidylserine. The distribution of platelets between the differently sized subpopulations remained stable despite high agonist concentrations. All three were still present after 30 and 60 min of activation, showing that all platelets will not have the same characteristics even after maximal stimulation. This suggests that platelet subpopulations with distinct activation patterns exist within the total platelet population.
A Discontinuous Galerkin Model for Fluorescence Loss in Photobleaching
Authors: Hansen Christian V. , Schroll Hans J. , Wüstner Daniel 
Published: January 2018

AbstractFluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP) is a modern microscopy method for visualization of transport processes in living cells. This paper presents the simulation of FLIP sequences based on a calibrated reaction–diffusion system defined on segmented cell images. By the use of a discontinuous Galerkin method, the computational complexity is drastically reduced compared to continuous Galerkin methods. Using this approach on green fluorescent protein (GFP), we can determine its intracellular diffusion constant, the strength of localized hindrance to diffusion as well as the permeability of the nuclear membrane for GFP passage, directly from the FLIP image series. Thus, we present for the first time, to our knowledge, a quantitative computational FLIP method for inferring several molecular transport parameters in parallel from FLIP image data acquired at commercial microscope systems.
Comparison between direct contact and extract exposure methods for PFO cytotoxicity evaluation
Authors: Srivastava Girish K. , Alonso-Alonso Maria L. , Fernandez-Bueno Ivan , Garcia-Gutierrez Maria T. , Rull Fernando , Medina Jesús , Coco Rosa M. , Pastor J. Carlos 
Published: January 2018

AbstractA series of recent acute blindness cases following non–complicated retinal detachment surgery caused the release of several health alerts in Spain. The blindness was attributed to certain lots of perfluoro-octane (PFO; a volatile and transient medical device). Similar cases have been reported in other countries. This has raised questions regarding the validity of cytotoxicity test methods currently used to certify the safety of PFO lots. The tests were performed according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) norms, using the extract dilution method or the indirect contact method as applied to L929 cells, a line derived from mouse fibroblasts. The limitations of those methods have been resolved in this study by proposing a new cytotoxicity test method for volatile substances. The new method requires direct contact of the tested substance with cells that are similar to those exposed to the substance in the clinical setting. This approach includes a few new technical steps that are crucial for detecting cytotoxicity. Our new method detected toxic PFO lots that corresponded to the lots producing clinical blindness, which previous methods failed to detect. The study suggests applying this new method to avoid occurrence of such cases of blindness.
Low cost, microcontroller based heating device for multi-wavelength differential scanning fluorimetry
Authors: Hoeser Jo , Gnandt Emmanuel , Friedrich Thorsten 
Published: January 2018

AbstractDifferential scanning fluorimetry is a popular method to estimate the stability of a protein in distinct buffer conditions by determining its ‘melting point’. The method requires a temperature controlled fluorescence spectrometer or a RT-PCR machine. Here, we introduce a low-budget version of a microcontroller based heating device implemented into a 96-well plate reader that is connected to a standard fluorescence spectrometer. We demonstrate its potential to determine the ‘melting point’ of soluble and membranous proteins at various buffer conditions.
Clinical Evaluation of the Immunochromatographic System Using Silver Amplification for the Rapid Detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Authors: Namkoong Ho , Yamazaki Masahiko , Ishizaki Masami , Endo Ikumi , Harada Noriaki , Aramaki Megumi , Tanaka Yuko , Kaburagi Sachiko , Ichikawa Masataka , Ohata Takanori , Sakaguchi Shinji , Saito Fumitake , Nakao Ayumi , Yuki Hideki , Mitamura Keiko 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMycoplasma pneumoniae infection is conventionally diagnosed using serum antibody testing, microbial culture, and genetic testing. Recently, immunochromatography-based rapid mycoplasma antigen test kits have been developed and commercialised for rapid diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection. However, as these kits do not provide sufficient sensitivity and specificity, a rapid test kit with improved accuracy is desired. The present prospective study evaluated a rapid M. pneumoniae diagnostic system utilizing a newly developed silver amplification immunochromatography (SAI) system. We performed dilution sensitivity test and the prospective clinical study evaluating the SAI system. The subjects of the clinical study included both children and adults. All patients suspected to have mycoplasma pneumonia (169 patients) were sequentially enrolled. Twelve patients did not agree to participate and 157 patients were enrolled in the study. The results demonstrate excellent performance of this system with 90.4% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity compared with real-time polymerase chain reaction. When compared with loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) methods, the results also demonstrate a high performance of this system with 93.0% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity. The SAI system uses a dedicated device for automatic analysis and reading, making it highly objective, and requires less human power, supporting its usefulness in clinical settings.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with dysbiosis independent of body mass index and insulin resistance
Authors: Da Silva Hannah E. , Teterina Anastasia , Comelli Elena M. , Taibi Amel , Arendt Bianca M. , Fischer Sandra E. , Lou Wendy , Allard Johane P. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThis study aimed to determine if there is an association between dysbiosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) independent of obesity and insulin resistance (IR). This is a prospective cross-sectional study assessing the intestinal microbiome (IM) of 39 adults with biopsy-proven NAFLD (15 simple steatosis [SS]; 24 nonalcoholic steatohepatitis [NASH]) and 28 healthy controls (HC). IM composition (llumina MiSeq Platform) in NAFLD patients compared to HC were identified by two statistical methods (Metastats, Wilcoxon). Selected taxa was validated using quantitative PCR (qPCR). Metabolites in feces and serum were also analyzed. In NAFLD, 8 operational taxonomic units, 6 genera, 6 families and 2 phyla (Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes) were less abundant and; 1 genus (Lactobacillus) and 1 family (Lactobacillaceae) were more abundant compared to HC. Lower abundance in both NASH and SS patients compared to HC were confirmed by qPCR forRuminococcus, Faecalibacterium prausnitziiandCoprococcus. No difference was found between NASH and SS. This lower abundance in NAFLD (NASH+SS) was independent of BMI and IR. NAFLD patients had higher concentrations of fecal propionate and isobutyric acid and serum 2-hydroxybutyrate and L-lactic acid. These findings suggest a potential role for a specific IM community and functional profile in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.
Improvement in creep life of a nickel-based single-crystal superalloy via composition homogeneity on the multiscales by magnetic-field-assisted directional solidification
Authors: Ren Weili , Niu Chunlin , Ding Biao , Zhong Yunbo , Yu Jianbo , Ren Zhongming , Liu Wenqing , Ren Liangpu , Liaw Peter K. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe improvement of the creep properties of single-crystal superalloys is always strongly motivated by the vast growing demand from the aviation, aerospace, and gas engine. In this study, a static magnetic-field-assisted solidification process significantly improves the creep life of single-crystal superalloys. The mechanism originates from an increase in the composition homogeneity on the multiscales, which further decreases the lattice misfit of γ/γ′ phases and affects the phase precipitation. The phase-precipitation change is reflected as the decrease in the γ′ size and the contents of carbides and γ/γ′ eutectic, which can be further verified by the variation of the cracks number and raft thickness near the fracture surface. The variation of element partition decreases the dislocation quantity within the γ/γ′ phases of the samples during the crept deformation. Though the magnetic field in the study destroys the single-crystal integrity, it does not offset the benefits from the compositional homogeneity. The proposed means shows a great potential application in industry owing to its easy implement. The uncovered mechanism provides a guideline for controlling microstructures and mechanical properties of alloys with multiple components and multiple phases using a magnetic field.
Lethal mutagenesis of an RNA plant virus via lethal defection
Authors: Díaz-Martínez Luis , Brichette-Mieg Isabel , Pineño-Ramos Axier , Domínguez-Huerta Guillermo , Grande-Pérez Ana 
Published: January 2018

AbstractLethal mutagenesis is an antiviral therapy that relies on increasing the viral mutation rate with mutagenic nucleoside or base analogues. Currently, the molecular mechanisms that lead to virus extinction through enhanced mutagenesis are not fully understood. Increasing experimental evidence supports the lethal defection model of lethal mutagenesis of RNA viruses, where replication-competent-defectors drive infective virus towards extinction. Here, we address lethal mutagenesis in vivo using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) during the establishment of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) systemic infections in N. tabacum. The results show that 5-FU decreased the infectivity of TMV without affecting its viral load. Analysis of molecular clones spanning two genomic regions showed an increase of the FU-related base transitions A → G and U → C. Although the mutation frequency or the number of mutations per molecule did not increase, the complexity of the mutant spectra and the distribution of the mutations were altered. Overall, our results suggest that 5-FU antiviral effect on TMV is associated with the perturbation of the mutation-selection balance in the genomic region of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Our work supports the lethal defection model for lethal mutagenesis in vivo in a plant RNA virus and opens the way to study lethal mutagens in plant-virus systems.
On the thermodynamic origin of metabolic scaling
Authors: Ballesteros Fernando J. , Martinez Vicent J. , Luque Bartolo , Lacasa Lucas , Valor Enric , Moya Andrés 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe origin and shape of metabolic scaling has been controversial since Kleiber found that basal metabolic rate of animals seemed to vary as a power law of their body mass with exponent 3/4, instead of 2/3, as a surface-to-volume argument predicts. The universality of exponent 3/4 -claimed in terms of the fractal properties of the nutrient network- has recently been challenged according to empirical evidence that observed a wealth of robust exponents deviating from 3/4. Here we present a conceptually simple thermodynamic framework, where the dependence of metabolic rate with body mass emerges from a trade-off between the energy dissipated as heat and the energy efficiently used by the organism to maintain its metabolism. This balance tunes the shape of an additive model from which different effective scalings can be recovered as particular cases, thereby reconciling previously inconsistent empirical evidence in mammals, birds, insects and even plants under a unified framework. This model is biologically motivated, fits remarkably well the data, and also explains additional features such as the relation between energy lost as heat and mass, the role and influence of different climatic environments or the difference found between endotherms and ectotherms.
Perception of Cantonese Lexical Tones by Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users
Authors: Holt Colleen M. , Lee Kathy Y. S. , Dowell Richard C. , Vogel Adam P. 
Published: January 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assess Cantonese word recognition and the discrimination of Cantonese tones with manipulated contours by child and adolescent cochlear implant (CI) users and a group of peers with normal hearing (NH). It was hypothesized that the CI users would perform more poorly than their counterparts with NH in both tasks and that CI users implanted before 2 years of age would perform better than those implanted after 2 years.

Method

Forty-one participants were recruited from hospitals, schools, and kindergartens in Hong Kong: Ten CI users implanted at or before 2 years of age (“early” CI group), 13 CI users implanted after 2 years of age (“late” CI group), and 18 individuals with NH. The mean age at implantation of the early CI group was 1.5 years (
SD
= 0.3), and for the late CI group, it was 4.3 years (
SD
= 2.1). Participants were a mean of 13.3 years of age (
SD
= 3.7) at time of testing. Participants completed a Cantonese word recognition test and a discrimination task using Cantonese tones with modified fundamental frequency trajectories.

Results
Both CI user groups obtained significantly lower scores than the group with NH on the word recognition test. Mean percent correct scores for the word recognition test were 79% for the early CI group, 69% for the late CI group, and 97% for the group with NH. The group with NH consistently achieved higher scores than the CI user groups when discriminating manipulated Cantonese tones. Increasing the acoustic difference between tones improved discrimination performance for CI users for level tone contrasts only. CI users implanted at or before 2 years of age obtained higher scores than those implanted later.

Conclusions
The results of this study add further evidence that children using CIs do not perform as well as peers in perceiving Cantonese tones. Modification of tones to increase pitch range did not consistently improve the ability of children with implants to perceive the difference between tones. Further research is required to fully assess potential benefits of early implantation for speakers of tonal languages.

Supplemental Materials

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5782209
Linearly frequency‐tunable and low‐phase noise ring VCO using varactors with optimally‐spaced bias voltages
Authors: Lee J. , Choi S. , Cho Y. , Choi J. 
Published: January 2018

A linearly frequency‐tunable and low‐phase noise ring voltage‐controlled oscillator (VCO) is presented. Using multiple varactors, of which the bias voltages can be optimally controlled, the voltage‐to‐frequency gain, KVCO, can be kept constant over control voltages in all frequency bands. Since the noise contribution and the power consumption of the proposed frequency‐tuning method are minimal, the ring VCO also can achieve low phase noise and an excellent figure‐of‐merit (FOM). The prototype ring VCO was fabricated in a 180‐nm CMOS technology. In measurements, the variation of KVCO over the full range of control voltages was restricted to less than ±12%, even in the worst case. The 1‐MHz phase noise and the FOM of a 1.22‐GHz signal were –108.7 dBc/Hz and 161.3 dB, respectively, when the power consumption was 8.5 mW.
Thermal desorption of formamide and methylamine from graphite and amorphous water ice surfaces
Authors: Chaabouni H. , Diana S. , Nguyen T. , Dulieu F. 
Published: January 2018

Context.Formamide (NH2CHO) and methylamine (CH3NH2) are known to be the most abundant amine-containing molecules in many astrophysical environments. The presence of these molecules in the gas phase may result from thermal desorption of interstellar ices.Aims.The aim of this work is to determine the values of the desorption energies of formamide and methylamine from analogues of interstellar dust grain surfaces and to understand their interaction with water ice.Methods.Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) experiments of formamide and methylamine ices were performed in the sub-monolayer and monolayer regimes on graphite (HOPG) and non-porous amorphous solid water (np-ASW) ice surfaces at temperatures 40–240 K. The desorption energy distributions of these two molecules were calculated from TPD measurements using a set of independent Polanyi–Wigner equations.Results.The maximum of the desorption of formamide from both graphite and ASW ice surfaces occurs at 176 K after the desorption of H2O molecules, whereas the desorption profile of methylamine depends strongly on the substrate. Solid methylamine starts to desorb below 100 K from the graphite surface. Its desorption from the water ice surface occurs after 120 K and stops during the water ice sublimation around 150 K. It continues to desorb from the graphite surface at temperatures higher than160 K.Conclusions.More than 95% of solid NH2CHO diffuses through the np-ASW ice surface towards the graphitic substrate and is released into the gas phase with a desorption energy distributionEdes= 7460–9380 K, which is measured with the best-fit pre-exponential factorA= 1018s−1. However, the desorption energy distribution of methylamine from the np-ASW ice surface (Edes= 3850–8420 K) is measured with the best-fit pre-exponential factorA= 1012s−1. A fraction of solid methylamine monolayer of roughly 0.15 diffuses through the water ice surface towards the HOPG substrate. This small amount of methylamine desorbs later with higher binding energies (5050–8420 K) that exceed that of the crystalline water ice (Edes= 4930 K), which is calculated with the same pre-exponential factorA= 1012s−1. The best wetting ability of methylamine compared to H2O molecules makes CH3NH2molecules a refractory species for low coverage. Other binding energies of astrophysical relevant molecules are gathered and compared, but we could not link the chemical functional groups (amino, methyl, hydroxyl, and carbonyl) with the binding energy properties. Implications of these high binding energies are discussed.
Der schwerstverletzte geriatrische Patient
Authors: Aigner Rene , Ruchholtz Steffen , Bücking Benjamin 
Published: January 2018

ZusammenfassungDie Inzidenz geriatrischer polytraumatisierter Patienten nimmt bedingt durch den demografischen Wandel und die zunehmende Mobilität älterer Menschen weiter zu. Häufigste Ursache im geriatrischen Kollektiv sind einfache Stürze aus zumeist niedriger bzw. Standhöhe. Hinsichtlich des Verletzungsmusters zeigen sich bei geriatrischen Schwerverletzten im Vergleich zu jüngeren Patienten vermehrt Schädel-Hirn-Traumata. Weiterhin von größter Relevanz ist das Thoraxtrauma, welches die Prognose des älteren Schwerverletzten entscheidend beeinflusst. Verletzungen der Extremitäten werden durch eine verminderte Knochenqualität und Muskelmasse begünstigt und sollten zur Prophylaxe von Sekundärkomplikationen frühzeitig belastungsstabil versorgt werden. Von großer Bedeutung ist bei geriatrischen Traumapatienten zudem eine adäquate Anamneseerhebung. Hierdurch können Informationen über wichtige Begleiterkrankungen und Medikamente erlangt werden. Gerade Kenntnis über eventuelle gerinnungshemmende Medikamente ist zur optimalen Versorgung älterer Schwerverletzter von größter Bedeutung. Bei ungünstigen Verläufen – gerade bei schweren SHT – müssen nicht selten End-of-Life Decisions getroffen werden, für die die Kenntnis des Patientenwillens essenziell ist. Insgesamt ist die Prognose verglichen mit jüngeren Schwerverletzten deutlich schlechter. Dies bezieht sich sowohl auf die kurzfristige Mortalität als auch auf das langfristige Outcome.
Schulung und Simulation von Operationen für Ärzte und OP-Teams an vorfrakturierten Humanpräparaten bei intakten Weichteilen
Authors: Höntzsch Dankward , Ebinger Marc 
Published: January 2018

ZusammenfassungRealistisch frakturierte Humanpräparate ermöglichen einen völlig neuartigen und innovativen Ansatz für die chirurgische Fort- und Weiterbildung. Zukünftigen Herausforderungen kann damit entgegengewirkt werden, gleichzeitig können Personalentwicklung und Versorgungsqualität verbessert werden. Dabei sind die frakturierten Präparate als konsekutive Ergänzung zu anderen Methodiken anzusehen: Zunächst können Diagnose, Strategiefindung und Ablauf an digitalen Simulationen erlernt werden. Dann erfolgt das haptische Kennenlernen der Instrumente und Osteosynthesematerialien am Kunstknochen. Weichteilmanagement kann weiterhin in Zugangskursen am unverletzten Humanpräparat erfolgen. Als letzter und neuartiger Schritt erfolgt die Zusammenführung aller Fähigkeiten am frakturierten Humanpräparat, ergänzt um Entscheidungsfindung und Reposition als Teil des End-to-End-Traumamanagements. Die frakturierten Präparate werden bereits erfolgreich in nationalen und internationalen Kursen großer Implantathersteller eingesetzt; auch mit Kliniken und den Gesellschaften werden individuelle Lernkonzepte entwickelt. Diese Technologie hat das Potenzial, einen neuen Standard im chirurgischen Kurswesen zu setzen.
Einflussfaktoren auf die distanzbezogene Arztwahl am Beispiel von Patienten mit Psoriasis und chronischen Wunden
Authors: Zander Nicole , van den Berg Neeltje , Augustin Jobst 
Published: January 2018

Zusammenfassung
Ziel der Studie Bislang gibt es nur wenige Erkenntnisse darüber, welchen Einfluss individuelle soziodemografische Merkmale des Patienten auf die Arztwahl haben und welche Rolle die patientenseitige Mobilität dabei einnimmt. Ziel der Studie war primär die Analyse patientenseitiger Entscheidungsmuster zur Arztwahl unter Berücksichtigung soziodemografischer Merkmale sowie Aspekte der Patientenmobilität.
Methodik Es wurde eine multizentrische Querschnittsstudie bei niedergelassenen bzw. am Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf ambulant tätigen Dermatologen durchgeführt. Psoriasis- und Wundpatienten wurden zu ihrem Arztwahlverhalten befragt. Die Datenauswertung erfolgte anhand deskriptiver und multivariater Verfahren.
Ergebnisse Daten von 309 Patienten (50,5% männlich, mittleres Alter 58,3 Jahre) wurden analysiert. 211 wurden in der Ambulanz des Universitätsklinikums rekrutiert, 98 bei niedergelassenen Dermatologen. Die Entscheidung, welcher Arzt aufgesucht wird, wird von der Einschätzung der Kompetenz des Arztes, seinem Leistungsangebot sowie dem Arzt-Patienten-Verhältnis beeinflusst. Die Aussicht auf eine bessere Therapie sowie eine Verschlechterung der Lebensqualität erhöhen die Bereitschaft, einen längeren Weg zum Arzt in Kauf zu nehmen.
Schlussfolgerung Die Ergebnisse haben ein komplexes Arztwahlverhalten der Patienten gezeigt. Die Kompetenz des Arztes sowie sein Leistungsangebot haben dabei besonders Einfluss auf die Entscheidung des Patienten. Oftmals zeigte sich, dass Patienten dann auch dazu bereit wären, längere Wege zum Arzt zurückzulegen, als eigentlich notwendig wären.