bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Peptide GAM immunoadsorption therapy in primary membranous nephropathy (PRISM): Phase II trial investigating the safety and feasibility of peptide GAM immunoadsorption in anti‐PLA2R positive primary membranous nephropathy
Authors: Hamilton Patrick , Kanigicherla Durga , Hanumapura Prasanna , Walz Lars , Kramer Dieter , Fischer Moritz , Brenchley Paul , Mitra Sandip 
Published: November 2017

AbstractIntroductionMembranous nephropathy (MN) is among the most common causes of nephrotic syndrome in adults worldwide. Most patients have primary MN (PMN), an autoimmune condition associated with the IgG anti‐PLA2R autoantibody. For patients with severe disease, standard of care continues to be a 6‐month regime of rotating high dose steroids and immunosuppression that comes with a significant side‐effect profile. Immunoadsorption is a relatively safe procedure for the extracorporeal removal of specific immunoglobulins without the need for medications.DesignThis is a Phase II multi‐centre, single arm prospective clinical trial carried out across Northwest region of the United Kingdom to assess the safety and clinical effectiveness of immunoadsorption therapy in PMN. 12 adult patients with biopsy proven MN, nephrotic range proteinuria and serum anti‐PLA2R antibody titers of more than 170 µ/mL will undergo 5 consecutive daily sessions of immunoadsorption. Primary outcome is the reduction of serum anti‐PLA2R antibodies at day 14. Secondary outcomes are the safety and tolerability of immunoadsorption therapy in patients with primary MN at all‐time points, reduction of serum anti‐PLA2R levels, proteinuria and improvement in renal function. Quality of life and Cost‐effectiveness of treatment will be assessed from a UK National Health Service perspective.DiscussionWith proven efficacy in removing IgG antibodies and its use as a relatively safe treatment option in a multitude of conditions, immunoadsorption has the potential to offer patients with primary MN a more directed therapy free from the short and long‐term side‐effects generally seen in this condition.
NEAT1/hsa‐mir‐98‐5p/MAPK6 axis is involved in non–small‐cell lung cancer development
Authors: Wu Feima , Mo Qiang , Wan Xiaoling , Dan Jialong , Hu Haibo 
Published: November 2017

AbstractLong noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) or microRNAs belong to the two most important noncoding RNAs and they are involved in a lot of cancers, including non–small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Therefore, currently, we focused on the biological and clinical significance of lncRNA nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) and hsa‐mir‐98‐5p in NSCLC. It was observed that NEAT1 was upregulated while hsa‐mir‐98‐5p was downregulated respectively in NSCLC cell lines compared to human normal lung epithelial BES‐2B cells. Inhibition of NEAT1 can suppress the progression of NSCLC cells and hsa‐mir‐98‐5p can reverse this phenomenon. Bioinformatics search was used to elucidate the correlation between NEAT1 and hsa‐mir‐98‐5p. Additionally, a novel messenger RNA target of hsa‐mir‐98‐5p, mitogen‐activated protein kinase 6 (MAPK6), was predicted. Overexpression and knockdown studies were conducted to verify whether NEAT1 exhibits its biological functions through regulating hsa‐mir‐98‐5p and MAPK6 in vitro. NEAT1 was able to increase MAPK6 expression and hsa‐mir‐98‐5p mimics can inhibit MAPK6 via downregulating NEAT1 levels. We speculated that NEAT1 may act as a competing endogenous lncRNA to upregulate MAPK6 by attaching hsa‐mir‐98‐5p in lung cancers. Taken these together, NEAT1/hsa‐mir‐98‐5p/MAPK6 is involved in the development and progress in NSCLC. NEAT1 could be recommended as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic indicator in NSCLC diagnosis and treatment.
Blood biomarkers reflect integration of severity and extent of endoscopic inflammation in ulcerative colitis
Authors: Uchihara Mayu , Kato Jun , Tsuda Saya , Yoshida Takeichi , Maekita Takao , Iguchi Mikitaka , Kitano Masayuki 
Published: November 2017

Background and AimBlood markers are not always regarded as satisfactory surrogate biomarkers for predicting endoscopic activity in ulcerative colitis (UC). However, those biomarkers have been evaluated solely based on endoscopic activity at the most severe colorectal location, taking no account of the extent of inflammation. This study aimed to examine whether integrated evaluation of severity and extent of endoscopic activity improves the performance of blood biomarkers for UC.MethodsWe performed a retrospective study of UC patients who underwent colonoscopy and blood tests in our hospital. Blood tests were C‐reactive protein (CRP), serum albumin (ALB), and platelet count (PLT). We compared blood markers with two versions of endoscopic activity assessed by Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES): the maximum score of MES in the colorectum (mMES, range: 0–3) and the cumulative score of MES of six colorectal regions (cMES, range: 0–18).ResultsAll three blood markers correlated well with both mMES and cMES, and each marker showed better correlation with cMES than mMES (Spearman rank correlation coefficient: PLT: 0.54 vs 0.47, ALB: −0.65 vs −0.52, and CRP: 0.52 vs 0.38, respectively). The predictability, including sensitivity and specificity, of each marker for endoscopic activity was also better for cMES, resulting in higher degrees of area under the curve (mMES vs cMES: PLT: 0.75 vs 0.83, ALB: 0.77 vs 0.90, and CRP: 0.75 vs 0.90, respectively).ConclusionWhen incorporating the extent of inflammation, blood markers are better at predicting endoscopic activity of UC than previously considered and could be used as a reliable biomarker in clinical practice.
Quasi‐carousel tournaments
Authors: Nagami Coregliano Leonardo 
Published: November 2017

AbstractA tournament is called locally transitive if the outneighborhood and the inneighborhood of every vertex are transitive. Equivalently, a tournament is locally transitive if it avoids the tournaments W4 and L4, which are the only tournaments up to isomorphism on four vertices containing a unique 3‐cycle. On the other hand, a sequence of tournaments with is called almost balanced if all but vertices of have outdegree . In the same spirit of quasi‐random properties, we present several characterizations of tournament sequences that are both almost balanced and asymptotically locally transitive in the sense that the density of W4 and L4 in goes to zero as n goes to infinity.
Background, current role, and potential applications of radiogenomics
Authors: Pinker Katja , Shitano Fuki , Sala Evis , Do Richard K. , Young Robert J. , Wibmer Andreas G. , Hricak Hedvig , Sutton Elizabeth J. , Morris Elizabeth A. 
Published: November 2017

With the genomic revolution in the early 1990s, medical research has been driven to study the basis of human disease on a genomic level and to devise precise cancer therapies tailored to the specific genetic makeup of a tumor. To match novel therapeutic concepts conceived in the era of precision medicine, diagnostic tests must be equally sufficient, multilayered, and complex to identify the relevant genetic alterations that render cancers susceptible to treatment. With significant advances in training and medical imaging techniques, image analysis and the development of high‐throughput methods to extract and correlate multiple imaging parameters with genomic data, a new direction in medical research has emerged. This novel approach has been termed radiogenomics. Radiogenomics aims to correlate imaging characteristics (ie, the imaging phenotype) with gene expression patterns, gene mutations, and other genome‐related characteristics and is designed to facilitate a deeper understanding of tumor biology and capture the intrinsic tumor heterogeneity. Ultimately, the goal of radiogenomics is to develop imaging biomarkers for outcome that incorporate both phenotypic and genotypic metrics. Due to the noninvasive nature of medical imaging and its ubiquitous use in clinical practice, the field of radiogenomics is rapidly evolving and initial results are encouraging. In this article, we briefly discuss the background and then summarize the current role and the potential of radiogenomics in brain, liver, prostate, gynecological, and breast tumors.Level of Evidence: 5Technical Efficacy: Stage 2J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;47:604–620.
Assessment of climate change trends over the Loess Plateau in China from 1901 to 2100
Authors: Peng Shouzhang , Gang Chengcheng , Cao Yang , Chen Yunming 
Published: November 2017

ABSTRACTThe Loess Plateau (LP) in China is sensitive to climate change because of its fragile ecological environment and geographic features. This study presents a detailed assessment of the climate change trends over the LP from 1901 to 2100 based on the 1‐km spatial resolution climate data generated through delta downscaling. The following results are drawn: (1) Delta downscaling performs well in detecting the monthly precipitation and temperature over the LP based on the mean absolute error between downscaled data and independent surface observations. Among the 28 general circulation models, the GFDL‐ESM2M and NorESM1‐M models show the best performance in reproducing the monthly precipitation and temperature in the future period, respectively. (2) The annual precipitation over the entire LP shows no significant trends in the historical and future periods. By contrast, the annual temperature shows a significantly increasing trend with 0.097 °C/10 year in the historical period (1901–2014) and with 0.113, 0.24, 0.355, and 0.558 °C/10 year in the future period (2015–2100) under the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5 scenarios, respectively. (3) The significantly increasing trends in precipitation and temperature at each grid of the LP present various spatial distributions in terms of their magnitude. The significant trend magnitude calculated by the downscaled data has a larger range and a higher percentage of area – and is even observed at a small area – compared with that calculated by the raw data. (4) The spatial results calculated by the downscaled data provide more detailed information about the locations and percentages of area, both of which are valuable in assessing the change trends in precipitation and temperature. These spatio‐temporal results present the climate change trends over the LP in detail and provide valuable insights for developing flexible adaptation and mitigation strategies to address the climate change challenges in this region.
Soil versus plant as indicators of agroecosystem pollution by potentially toxic elements
Authors: Agrelli Diana , Adamo Paola , Cirillo Teresa , Duri Luigi Giuseppe , Duro Ida , Fasano Evelina , Ottaiano Lucia , Ruggiero Luigi , Scognamiglio Gelsomina , Fagnano Massimo 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThe major route of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) to humans is the intake through food. They enter the food chain principally by plants uptake from the soil and, to a less extent, through foliar deposition. The soil‐to‐plant transfer as part of the biogeochemical cycle of these elements is a complex and hardly predictable process. In this study, we investigated the capability of soils and plants to indicate PTEs inputs in an intermingled urban‐rural landscape of south Italy affected by legal and illegal waste disposal and dumping. For this aim, 172 agricultural soil and plant (edible part) samples were collected in pairs from 47 municipalities and analyzed for 12 PTEs (As, Be, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Se, Tl, V, Zn). Soil extractions with 1 M NH4NO3 and 0.05 M EDTA pH 7 were applied to assess PTEs bioavailability. Results were examined according to plant species and main soil chemical properties. For Pb and Cd, the soil‐to‐plant transfer factors (TF) and the corresponding soil benchmark concentrations were also investigated. Zinc, Cu, Cd, and Pb were the only PTEs of anthropic origin severely polluting from 10 to 16% of the soils, but only in a very few cases exceeded physiological or EU legal critical values in the edible part of the plants. An evaluation of human risk due to the ingestion of these elements was tried; no risk for consumers for Zn, Cu, and Pb, while for Cd three values slightly exceeded the tolerable daily intake. Therefore, we conclude that crops cultivated in the studied area could represent only a moderate risk for human health. No correlation was found between soil and plant data, which likely highlights different pollution inputs. A large variability characterized the Pb and Cd TF, making it difficult to establish a unique benchmark concentration for the studied agricultural soils.
Knowledge of Australian hospital pharmacists regarding delirium in elderly patients
Authors: Kassie Gizat M. , Kalisch Ellett Lisa M. , Nguyen Tuan A. , Roughead Elizabeth E. 
Published: November 2017

AbstractBackgroundDelirium is a serious condition in which medications are just one of a number of potential predisposing or precipitating factors. Adequate knowledge of delirium among all healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, may assist in effective prevention and management. However, little is known about the knowledge of pharmacists regarding delirium.AimTo assess Australian hospital pharmacists' knowledge of risk factors, symptoms, prevention and treatment of delirium in elderly patients.MethodA cross‐sectional survey was conducted via a web‐based questionnaire to collect information on participants' demographics, knowledge of delirium risk factors, symptoms, prevention and treatment. A link to the survey was included in the newsletters of The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, Australasian Delirium Association and New South Wales Therapeutic Advisory Group and distributed to hospital pharmacists in Australia via email.ResultsOne‐hundred and six responses from hospital pharmacists were available for analysis. Nine of 11 questions assessing basic knowledge were correctly answered by more than half of respondents. Seven of the eight questions related to delirium prevention strategies were correctly answered by more than half of pharmacists. However, only three of the eight questions about risk factors for delirium were answered correctly by more than half of pharmacists.ConclusionPharmacists' basic knowledge about delirium and prevention strategies was good; however, their knowledge of risk factors and symptoms of delirium needs to be improved. Delirium‐specific educational programs for pharmacists should be considered for improving their knowledge and understanding regarding delirium.
Development of a novel smoke‐flavoured salmon product by sodium replacement using water vapour permeable bags
Authors: Rizo Arantxa , Fuentes Ana , Barat José M , Fernández‐Segovia Isabel 
Published: November 2017

AbstractBACKGROUNDFood manufacturers need to reduce sodium content to meet consumer and public health demands. In the present study, the use of sodium‐free (SF) salt and KCl to develop a novel smoke‐flavoured salmon product with reduced sodium content was evaluated. Fifty percent of NaCl was replaced with 50% of SF salt or 50% KCl in the salmon smoke‐flavouring process, which was carried out using water vapour permeable bags.RESULTSTriangle tests showed that samples with either SF salt or KCl were statistically similar to the control samples (100% NaCl). Because no sensorial advantage in using SF salt was found compared to KCl and given the lower price of KCl, the KCl–NaCl samples were selected for the next phase. The changes of physicochemical and microbial parameters in smoke‐flavoured salmon during 42 days showed that partial replacement of NaCl with KCl did not significantly affect the quality and shelf‐life of smoke‐flavoured salmon, which was over 42 days.CONCLUSIONSmoke‐flavoured salmon with 37% sodium reduction was developed without affecting the sensory features and shelf‐life. This is an interesting option for reducing the sodium content in such products to help meet the needs set by both health authorities and consumers. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Preparation of highly hydrophilic magnetic nanoparticles with anion‐exchange ability and their application for the extraction of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs in environmental samples
Authors: Ma Li‐yun , Li Qian , Li Jing , Xu Li 
Published: November 2017

AbstractDiallyldimethylammonium chloride modified magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by the “thiol‐ene” click chemistry reaction. Diallyldimethylammonium chloride rendered the material plenty of quaternary ammonium groups, and thus the excellent aqueous dispersibility and anion‐exchange capability. The novel material was then used as the magnetic solid‐phase extraction sorbent to extract eight non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs from water samples. Combined with high‐performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection, under the optimal conditions, the developed method exhibited wide linearity ranges (1–1000, 2–1000, and 5–1000 ng/mL) with recoveries of 88.0–108.6% and low limits of detection (0.3–1.5 ng/mL). Acceptable precision was obtained with satisfactory intra‐ and inter‐day relative standard deviations of 0.4–4.4% (n = 3) and 1.1–5.5% (n = 3), respectively. Batch‐to‐batch reproducibility was acceptable with relative standard deviations <9.7%. The hydrophilic magnetic nanoparticle featured with quaternary ammonium groups showed high analytical potential for acidic analytes in environmental water samples.
Preparation and characterization of molecularly‐imprinted polymers for extraction of sanshool acid amide compounds followed by their separation from pepper oil resin derived from Chinese prickly ash (Zanthoxylum bungeanum)
Authors: Chen Xiaolong , Jin Xinkai , Li Yao , Chen Guangjing , Chen Kewei , Kan Jianquan 
Published: November 2017

AbstractMolecularly imprinted polymers were prepared using the molecular structure analogs of sanshool as template molecule, 2‐vinylpyridine and β‐cyclodextrin as double functional monomers, ethylene dimethacrylate as cross linker, and azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator. The structural characteristics of the polymers were determined by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Dynamic adsorption and isothermal adsorption were also investigated. The molecularly imprinted polymers were used to prepare a molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction column in order to separate acid amide components from pepper oil resin derived from Chinese prickly ash (Zanthoxylum bungeanum). After eluting, the percentage of acid amide components was enhanced to 92.40 ± 1.41% compared with 23.34 ± 1.21% in the initial pepper oil resin, indicating good properties of purification of molecularly imprinted polymers and potential industrial application.
Elements of virtual temporal bone surgery: Manipulandum format may be more important to surgeons than haptic device force capabilities
Authors: Unger Bertram , Sepehri Nariman , Rampersad Vivek , Pisa Justyn , Michael Gousseau  , Hochman Jordan B. 
Published: November 2017

BackgroundTemporal bone simulations are critiqued for poor drill‐bone interaction. This project appraises the import of increasing haptic device and manipulandum fidelity on the perceived realism of drilling a virtual temporal bone.Virtual surgical contact forces rely on haptic device fidelity and are transmitted through a manipulandum. With identical software, both device hardware and manipulandum may each contribute to realism. We compare the three degrees of freedom (DOF), 3N Geomagic Touch (3D Systems, SC) to a 6DOF, 5.5N HD2 (Quanser, ON) with the both standard (“HD2–Standard”) and in‐house customized otic drill manipulandum (“HD2–Modified”).MethodsSix otologic surgeons performed three virtual mastoidectomy surgeries on a temporal bone surgical simulator. The HD2 manipulandum was modified for attached otic drill with gravity compensation and requisite mechanical modifications. Surgeons, in random order, performed the dissection with the different hardware platforms.ResultsTwo‐tailed t‐tests demonstrate that for the acoustic properties of each simulation, the HD2–Modified manipulandum was favored (p ≤ 0.0004). For overall similarity of bone, both HD2–Standard (p ≤ 0.05) HD2–Modified (p ≤ 0.03)) were favored over the Geomagic; however they were not appreciably different when directly compared to each other. There was no preference for increasing haptic device fidelity in virtual drill bone interaction.In forced rank, users favored the HD2–Modified in osseus, vibrational and overall realism, as well as being preferred for education and preoperative rehearsal (p ≤ 0.0164).ConclusionIncreasing manipulandum realism was favored. However surprisingly, there was no preference for increased device fidelity, illustrating incremental stiffness had nominal impact. There may be a ceiling to drill bone interaction in virtual haptic simulation.Level of Evidence2b.
Opportunities and barriers for pragmatic embedded trials: Triumphs and tribulations
Authors: Ramsberg Joakim , Platt Richard 
Published: November 2017

AbstractResultsEmbedded pragmatic clinical trials (PCTs) are set in routine health care, have broad eligibility criteria, and use routinely collected electronic data. Many consider them a breakthrough innovation in clinical research and a necessary step in clinical trial development. To identify barriers and success factors, we reviewed published embedded PCTs and interviewed 30 researchers and clinical leaders in 7 US delivery systems.LiteratureWe searched PubMed, the Cochrane library, and clinicaltrials.gov for studies reporting embedded PCTs. We identified 108 embedded PCTs published in the last 10 years. The included studies had a median of 5540 randomized patients, addressed a variety of diseases, and practice settings covering a broad range of interventions. Eighty‐one used cluster randomization. The median cost per patient was $97 in the 64 trials for which it was possible to obtain cost data.InterviewsDelivery systems required research studies to align with operational priorities, existing information technology capabilities, and standard quality improvement procedures. Barriers that were identified included research governance, requirements for processes that were incompatible with clinical operations, and unrecoverable costs.ConclusionsEmbedding PCTs in delivery systems can provide generalizable knowledge that is directly applicable to practice settings at much lower cost than conventional trials. Successful embedding trials require accommodating delivery systems' needs and priorities.