bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of cochlear implantation in deaf children of deaf parents: comparative study
Authors: Hassanzadeh S 
Published: August 2012

AbstractObjective:This retrospective study compared the cochlear implantation outcomes of first- and second-generation deaf children.Methods:The study group consisted of seven deaf, cochlear-implanted children with deaf parents. An equal number of deaf children with normal-hearing parents were selected by matched sampling as a reference group. Participants were matched based on onset and severity of deafness, duration of deafness, age at cochlear implantation, duration of cochlear implantation, gender, and cochlear implant model. We used the Persian Auditory Perception Test for the Hearing Impaired, the Speech Intelligibility Rating scale, and the Sentence Imitation Test, in order to measure participants' speech perception, speech production and language development, respectively.Results:Both groups of children showed auditory and speech development. However, the second-generation deaf children (i.e. deaf children of deaf parents) exceeded the cochlear implantation performance of the deaf children with hearing parents.Conclusion:This study confirms that second-generation deaf children exceed deaf children of hearing parents in terms of cochlear implantation performance. Encouraging deaf children to communicate in sign language from a very early age, before cochlear implantation, appears to improve their ability to learn spoken language after cochlear implantation.
Balloon dilatation to treat plasmacytosis of the supraglottic larynx
Authors: Mistry S G , Watson G J , Rothera M P 
Published: August 2012

AbstractObjective:We discuss the use of balloon dilatation to relieve supraglottic stenosis caused by mucous membrane plasmacytosis.Case report:A 54-year-old man with a known diagnosis of mucous membrane plasmacytosis presented with dysphonia and worsening airway obstruction which required a tracheostomy. He underwent balloon dilatation of the supraglottic larynx using an angioplasty balloon within sequentially sized endotracheal tubes. This enabled successful decannulation, with minimal re-stenosis at eight-month follow up.Conclusion:To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of supraglottic stenosis caused by plasmacytosis to be successfully treated using this method. We have shown that this minimally invasive technique deals effectively with a complex airway and minimises re-stenosis.
Optimal premium pricing policy in a competitive insurance market environment
Authors: Pantelous Athanasios A. , Passalidou Eudokia 
Published: August 2012

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a model for the optimal premium pricing policy of an insurance company into a competitive environment using Dynamic Programming into a stochastic, discrete-time framework when the company is expected to drop part of the market. In our approach, the volume of business which is related to the past year experience, the average premium of the market, the company's premium which is a control function and a linear stochastic disturbance, have been considered. Consequently, maximizing the total expected linear discounted utility of the wealth over a finite time horizon, the optimal premium strategy is defined analytically and endogenously. Finally, considering two different strategies for the average premium of the market, the optimal premium policy for a company with an expected decreasing volume of business is derived and fully investigated. The results of this paper are further evaluated by using data from the Greek Automobile Insurance Industry.
A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer
Authors: Belcher Stephen E. , Grant Alan L. M. , Hanley Kirsty E. , Fox‐Kemper Baylor , Van Roekel Luke , Sullivan Peter P. , Large William G. , Brown Andy , Hines Adrian , Calvert Daley , Rutgersson Anna , Pettersson Heidi , Bidlot Jean‐Raymond , Janssen Peter A. E. M. , Polton Jeff A. 
Published: August 2012

The turbulent mixing in thin ocean surface boundary layers (OSBL), which occupy the upper 100 m or so of the ocean, control the exchange of heat and trace gases between the atmosphere and ocean. Here we show that current parameterizations of this turbulent mixing lead to systematic and substantial errors in the depth of the OSBL in global climate models, which then leads to biases in sea surface temperature. One reason, we argue, is that current parameterizations are missing key surface‐wave processes that force Langmuir turbulence that deepens the OSBL more rapidly than steady wind forcing. Scaling arguments are presented to identify two dimensionless parameters that measure the importance of wave forcing against wind forcing, and against buoyancy forcing. A global perspective on the occurrence of wave‐forced turbulence is developed using re‐analysis data to compute these parameters globally. The diagnostic study developed here suggests that turbulent energy available for mixing the OSBL is under‐estimated without forcing by surface waves. Wave‐forcing and hence Langmuir turbulence could be important over wide areas of the ocean and in all seasons in the Southern Ocean. We conclude that surface‐wave‐forced Langmuir turbulence is an important process in the OSBL that requires parameterization.
Stratosphere‐to‐troposphere transport revealed by ground‐based lidar and ozonesonde at a midlatitude site
Authors: Kuang Shi , Newchurch M. J. , Burris John , Wang Lihua , Knupp Kevin , Huang Guanyu 
Published: August 2012

This paper presents ozone structures measured by a ground‐based ozone lidar and ozonesonde at Huntsville, Alabama, on 27–29 April 2010 originating from a stratosphere‐to‐troposphere transport event associated with a cutoff cyclone and tropopause fold. In this case, the tropopause reached 6 km and the stratospheric intrusion resulted in a 2‐km thick elevated ozone layer with values between 70 and 85 ppbv descending from the ∼306‐K to 298‐K isentropic surface at a rate of ∼5 km day−1. The potential temperature was provided by a collocated microwave profiling radiometer. We examine the corresponding meteorological fields and potential vorticity (PV) structures derived from the analysis data from the North American Mesoscale model. The 2‐PVU (PV unit) surface, defined as the dynamic tropopause, is able to capture the variations of the ozone tropopause estimated from the ozonesonde and lidar measurements. The estimated ozone/PV ratio, from the measured ozone and model derived PV, for the mixing layer between the troposphere and stratosphere is ∼41 ppbv/PVU with an uncertainty of ∼33%. Within two days, the estimated mass of ozone irreversibly transported from the stratospheric into the troposphere is between 0.07 Tg (0.9 × 1033 molecules) and 0.11 Tg (1.3 × 1033molecules) with an estimated uncertainty of 59%. Tropospheric ozone exhibited enormous variability due to the complicated mixing processes. Low ozone and large variability were observed in the mid‐troposphere after the stratospheric intrusion due to the westerly advection including the transition from a cyclonic system to an anticyclonic system. This study using high temporal and vertical‐resolution measurements suggests that, in this case, stratospheric air quickly lost its stratospheric characteristics once it is irreversibly mixed down into the troposphere.
Photocatalytic CO
2
reduction with high turnover frequency and selectivity of formic acid formation using Ru(II) multinuclear complexes
Authors: Tamaki Yusuke , Morimoto Tatsuki , Koike Kazuhide , Ishitani Osamu 
Published: August 2012

Previously undescribed supramolecules constructed with various ratios of two kinds of Ru(II) complexes—a photosensitizer and a catalyst—were synthesized. These complexes can photocatalyze the reduction of CO
2
to formic acid with high selectivity and durability using a wide range of wavelengths of visible light and NADH model compounds as electron donors in a mixed solution of dimethylformamide–triethanolamine. Using a higher ratio of the photosensitizer unit to the catalyst unit led to a higher yield of formic acid. In particular, of the reported photocatalysts, a trinuclear complex with two photosensitizer units and one catalyst unit photocatalyzed CO
2
reduction (Φ
HCOOH
= 0.061, TON
HCOOH
= 671) with the fastest reaction rate (TOF
HCOOH
= 11.6 min
-1
). On the other hand, photocatalyses of a mixed system containing two kinds of model mononuclear Ru(II) complexes, and supramolecules with a higher ratio of the catalyst unit were much less efficient, and black oligomers and polymers were produced from the Ru complexes during photocatalytic reactions, which reduced the yield of formic acid. The photocatalytic formation of formic acid using the supramolecules described herein proceeds via two sequential processes: the photochemical reduction of the photosensitizer unit by NADH model compounds and intramolecular electron transfer to the catalyst unit.
Distinguishing crystal-like amyloid fibrils and glass-like amorphous aggregates from their kinetics of formation
Authors: Yoshimura Yuichi , Lin Yuxi , Yagi Hisashi , Lee Young-Ho , Kitayama Hiroki , Sakurai Kazumasa , So Masatomo , Ogi Hirotsugu , Naiki Hironobu , Goto Yuji 
Published: August 2012

Amyloid fibrils and amorphous aggregates are two types of aberrant aggregates associated with protein misfolding diseases. Although they differ in morphology, the two forms are often treated indiscriminately. β
2
-microglobulin (β2m), a protein responsible for dialysis-related amyloidosis, forms amyloid fibrils or amorphous aggregates depending on the NaCl concentration at pH 2.5. We compared the kinetics of their formation, which was monitored by measuring thioflavin T fluorescence, light scattering, and 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate fluorescence. Thioflavin T fluorescence specifically monitors amyloid fibrillation, whereas light scattering and 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate fluorescence monitor both amyloid fibrillation and amorphous aggregation. The amyloid fibrils formed via a nucleation-dependent mechanism in a supersaturated solution, analogous to crystallization. The lag phase of fibrillation was reduced upon agitation with stirring or ultrasonic irradiation, and disappeared by seeding with preformed fibrils. In contrast, the glass-like amorphous aggregates formed rapidly without a lag phase. Neither agitation nor seeding accelerated the amorphous aggregation. Thus, by monitoring the kinetics, we can distinguish between crystal-like amyloid fibrils and glass-like amorphous aggregates. Solubility and supersaturation will be key factors for further understanding the aberrant aggregation of proteins.
π-Frontier molecular orbitals in
S
= 2 ferryl species and elucidation of their contributions to reactivity
Authors: Srnec Martin , Wong Shaun D. , England Jason , Que Lawrence , Solomon Edward I. 
Published: August 2012

S
= 2 Fe
IV
═O species are key intermediates in the catalysis of most nonheme iron enzymes. This article presents detailed spectroscopic and high-level computational studies on a structurally-defined
S
= 2 Fe
IV
═O species that define its frontier molecular orbitals, which allow its high reactivity. Importantly, there are both π- and σ-channels for reaction, and both are highly reactive because they develop dominant oxyl character at the transition state. These π- and σ-channels have different orientation dependences defining how the same substrate can undergo different reactions (H-atom abstraction vs. electrophilic aromatic attack) with Fe
IV
═O sites in different enzymes, and how different substrates can undergo different reactions (hydroxylation vs. halogenation) with an Fe
IV
═O species in the same enzyme.
Skin-like self-assembled monolayers on InAs/GaSb superlattice photodetectors
Authors: Salihoglu Omer , Muti Abdullah , Kutluer Kutlu , Tansel Tunay , Turan Rasit , Aydinli Atilla 
Published: August 2012

Abstract
We report on the effects of monolayer (ML) thick skin-like octadecanethiol (ODT, CH3[CH2]17SH) on type-II InAs/GaSb MWIR photodetectors. Circumventing the ageing effects of conventional sulfur compounds, we use ODT, a self-assembling, long molecular chain headed with a sulfur atom. Photodiodes coated with and without the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) ODT were compared for their electrical and optical performances. For ODT-coated diodes, the dark current density was improved by two orders of magnitude at 77 K under −100 mV bias. The zero bias responsivity and detectivity were 1.04 A W−1 and 2.15 × 1013 Jones, respectively, at 4 µm and 77 K. The quantum efficiency was determined to be 37% for a cutoff wavelength of 5.1 µm.
Snakemake—a scalable bioinformatics workflow engine
Authors: Köster Johannes , Rahmann Sven 
Published: August 2012

Abstract
Summary: Snakemake is a workflow engine that provides a readable Python-based workflow definition language and a powerful execution environment that scales from single-core workstations to compute clusters without modifying the workflow. It is the first system to support the use of automatically inferred multiple named wildcards (or variables) in input and output filenames.
Availability: http://snakemake.googlecode.com.
Contact: johannes.koester@uni-due.de
Mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite genetic differentiation in the European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus L.
Authors: Borrell Yaisel J. , Piñera Jorge A. , Sánchez Prado José A. , Blanco Gloria 
Published: August 2012

AbstractBorrell, Y. J., Piñera, J. A., Sanchez Prado, J. A., and Blanco, G. 2012. Mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite genetic differentiation in the European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus L. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: .The European anchovy Engraulisencrasicolus is currently one of the principal target species for commercial fisheries in Europe, and most stocks are overfished at present. In this work, specimens were sampled in the Bay of Biscay (Cantabrian, Basque Country, and French coasts) in 2009 and also in the Mediterranean (Adriatic Sea). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA; cytochrome b and 16S) was sequenced, and 14 nuclear microsatellites showing high and low levels of polymorphism were arranged in three multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) systems and genotyped. Two main ancient mitochondrial clades were found. These clades are separated by 15 mutational steps and 1.7% sequence divergence, corresponding to a separation time of ∼0.5 million years ago. Our results using both mtDNA and microsatellites suggest the presence of at least three genetically differentiated groups: the west Cantabrian Sea, the rest of the populations in the Bay of Biscay, and the Mediterranean. Although it is known that western Iberian Atlantic populations of E. encrasicolus may be genetically different from those of the Bay of Biscay, the results suggest that the transition between these groups may be as close as a 100 km and that a recent genetic homogenization process in the eastward area of the Bay of Biscay has probably occurred.
Despite poor interferon response in advanced hepatitis C virus infection, models of protease inhibitor treatment predict maximum treatment benefit
Authors: Rowe I. A. , Houlihan D. D. , Mutimer D. J. 
Published: August 2012

SummaryBackgroundProtease inhibitors have improved sustained virological response (SVR) rates for subjects with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus infection (HCV). There is however uncertainty regarding how, and in whom, these agents should be used. In previously treated subjects, prior response to interferon has a major effect on SVR rates with protease inhibitor therapy.AimTo assess the benefits of treatment and to understand the utility of a stopping rule for subjects with a poor interferon response following a 4‐week lead‐in with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.MethodsTreatment responses and long‐term outcomes were modelled using hypothetical 1000 subject cohorts with 5 years of follow‐up. Treatment strategies were compared with number needed to treat (NNT) and comparative effectiveness approaches.ResultsOver 5 years of follow‐up the NNT to prevent liver‐related mortality for subjects with advanced fibrosis was substantially lower than that for subjects with all fibrosis stages (18 vs. 60) indicating particular benefit in this high‐risk population. The use of a stopping rule for subjects with advanced fibrosis and a poor interferon response after a 4‐week lead‐in reduces the number of subjects exposed to a protease inhibitor by 55%. However, 33% fewer liver‐related deaths are prevented using this strategy, indicating that there is unacceptable harm associated with this approach over a 5‐year follow‐up period.ConclusionsSubjects with advanced fibrosis should be prioritised for triple therapy on the basis of need. Treatment should be continued regardless of initial interferon response to maximise the early prevention of hepatitis C virus‐related mortality.
Biotic modifiers, environmental modulation and species distribution models
Authors: Linder H. Peter , Bykova Olga , Dyke James , Etienne Rampal S. , Hickler Thomas , Kühn Ingolf , Marion Glenn , Ohlemüller Ralf , Schymanski Stanislaus J. , Singer Alexander 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe ability of species to modulate environmental conditions and resources has long been of interest. In the past three decades the impacts of these biotic modifiers have been investigated as ‘ecosystem engineers’, ‘niche constructors’, ‘facilitators’ and ‘keystone species’. This environmental modulation can vary spatially from extremely local to global, temporally from days to geological time, and taxonomically from a few to a very large number of species. Modulation impacts are pervasive and affect, inter alia, the climate, structural environments, disturbance rates, soils and the atmospheric chemical composition. Biotic modifiers may profoundly transform the projected environmental conditions, and consequently have a significant impact on the predicted occurrence of the focal species in species distribution models (SDMs). This applies especially when these models are projected into different geographical regions or into the future or the past, where these biotic modifiers may be absent, or other biotic modifiers may be present. We show that environmental modulation can be represented in SDMs as additional variables. In some instances it is possible to use the species (e.g. biotic modifiers) in order to reflect the modulation. This would apply particularly to cases where the effect is the result of a single or a small number of species (e.g. elephants transforming woodland to grassland). Where numerous species generate an effect (such as tree species making a forest, or grasses facilitating fire) that modulates the abiotic environment, the effect itself might be a better descriptor for the aggregated action of the numerous species. We refer to this ‘effect’ as the modulator. Much of the information required to incorporate environmental modulation effects in SDMs is already available from remote‐sensing data and vegetation models.
Oral status and the need for oral health care among patients hospitalised with acute medical conditions
Authors: Hanne Konradsen , Ingelise Trosborg , Linda Christensen , Ulrich Pedersen P 
Published: August 2012

Aims and objectives.  To investigate the prevalence of oral health problems in patients hospitalised with acute medical conditions.Background.  Increases in our knowledge of oral health and its effects on overall well‐being have helped us elucidate the relationship between oral health, disease and treatment. Currently, little is known regarding the number of patients requiring oral care at the time of hospitalisation.Design.  This was a cross‐sectional study that assessed patients hospitalised with acute medical conditions using the Revised Oral Assessment Guide (ROAG).Methods.  The ROAG was translated into Danish, and three experienced nurses performed the assessments. A visual guide was used to calibrate the assessments. The data were analysed with spss to determine the percentage of participants who exhibited specific clinical characteristics.Results.  Ninety‐one per cent of the newly admitted patients in this study had one or more oral health problems. Common oral problems, listed in order of the most frequent first, included the following: local plaque or debris, decayed teeth or damaged dentures and dryness and/or changes in the colour of the tongue. There was a correlation between age and the number of oral health problems.Conclusions.  In this study, oral health was severely affected at the time that patients were hospitalised for acute medical issues.Relevance to clinical practice.  Highlights the need for standardised oral health assessments of acutely hospitalised patients, which should begin as soon as the patient’s condition allows. Without these oral health assessments, a number of oral problems may not be detected and may increase in severity.
Targeting hospitalised patients for early discharge planning intervention
Authors: Holland Diane E , Knafl George J , Bowles Kathryn H 
Published: August 2012

Aims and objectives. The purpose of the study was to describe the ability of an evidence‐based discharge planning (DP) decision support tool to identify and prioritise patients appropriate for early DP intervention. Specifically, we aimed to determine whether patients with a high Early Screen for Discharge Planning (ESDP) score report more problems and continuing care needs in the first few weeks after discharge than patients with low ESDP scores.Background. Improved methods are needed to efficiently and accurately identify hospitalised patients at risk of complex discharge plans.Design. A descriptive cross‐sectional study was designed using a quality health outcomes framework.Methods. The ESDP was administered to 260 adults hospitalised in an academic health centre who returned home after discharge. Problems and continuing care needs were self‐reported on the Problems After Discharge Questionnaire – English Version, mailed 6–10 days after discharge.Results. Patients with high ESDP scores reported significantly more problems [mean, 16·3 (standard deviation ±8·7)] than those with low scores [12·2 (±8·4)]. Within the Problems After Discharge Questionnaire subscales, patients with high ESDP scores reported significantly more problems with personal care, household activities, mobility and physical difficulties than patients with low screen scores. Significantly more of the patients with a high ESDP score received consults to a Discharge Planner and referrals for postacute services than patients with low screen scores.Conclusion. The ESDP is effective as a decision support tool in identifying patients to prioritise for early DP intervention.Relevance to clinical practice. Use of an evidence‐based DP decision support tool minimises biases inherent in decision‐making, promotes efficient use of hospital DP resources, and improves the opportunity for patients to access community resources they need to promote successful recovery after hospitalisation.