bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
State of the Art of Robotic Thymectomy
Authors: Ismail Mahmoud , Swierzy Marc , Rückert Jens C. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractBackgroundThymectomy is a widely accepted treatment for most cases of myasthenia gravis and essential for the treatment of thymoma. The development of a minimally invasive procedure for thymectomy resulted in a variety of approaches for surgery on the thymic gland. The use of thoracoscopy‐based techniques has continued to increase, including the latest advance in this field, robotic thymectomy.MethodsWe review the rapid development and actual use of this approach by examining published reports, worldwide registries, and personal communications and by analyzing our database, which is the largest single‐center experience and contains 317 thymectomies until 12/2012. The technical modifications of robotic thymectomy are also described.ResultsSince 2001, approximately 3,500 robotic thymectomies have been registered worldwide. Meanwhile, the results of approximately 500 thymectomy cases have been published. Robotic thymectomy is performed most frequently through a standardized unilateral three‐trocar approach. All reports describe promising and satisfactory results for myasthenia gravis. For early‐stage thymoma, robotic thymectomy is a technically sound and safe procedure with a very low complication rate and short hospital stay. Oncological outcome without recurrences is promising, but a longer follow‐up is needed.ConclusionThe unilateral robotic technique can be considered an adequate approach for thymectomy, even with demanding anatomical configurations. Robotic thymectomy has spread worldwide over the last decade because of the promising results in myasthenia gravis and thymoma patients.
New correlation formulae for the straight section of the electrospun jet from a polymer drop
Authors: Sahay R. , Teo C. J. , Chew Y. T. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractAn electrospun polymer jet issued from a Taylor cone follows a straight-line motion before experiencing electrical bending instability resulting in curling and spiralling of the jet in three-dimensional space. Experiments are performed to characterize the fluid dynamics of an electrospun polymer jet. Appropriate image processing is performed to systematically analyse flow regimes of the electrospun jet. These regimes include Taylor cone formation/jet initiation and the straight section of the jet. Dimensional analysis was performed to identify the salient dimensionless parameters, which govern the electrospun jet characteristics. Three new correlation formulae were obtained to characterize the dimensionless jet diameter at the apex of the Taylor cone $(\tilde {d} = 1. 03{\tilde {Q} }^{0. 44} )$, the dimensionless jet diameter at different locations along the jet’s straight section $(\tilde {d} {\tilde {z} }^{1/ 4} = 1. 09{\tilde {Q} }^{1/ 2} )$, as well as the length of the straight section of the jet $({\tilde {Z} }_{in} = 86{\tilde {Q} }^{0. 42} )$. These correlation formulae are valid for the analysed range of dimensionless flow rates $(2. 6{{\times 10}}^{- 4} \lt \tilde {Q} \lt 3. 6{{\times 10}}^{7} )$ and dimensionless electric fields $(7. 4{{\times 10}}^{- 4} \lt \tilde {E} \lt 1. 4{{\times 10}}^{- 1} )$. In addition, the correlation formulae are valid for the analysed range of Deborah numbers De and Reynolds numbers Re based on nozzle radius, $3. 3\times {10}^{- 7} \lt {\mathit{De}}_{{r}_{o} } \lt 3. 8\times {10}^{- 2} $ and $5. 8\times {10}^{- 4} \lt {\mathit{Re}}_{{r}_{o} } \lt 7. 0\times {10}^{- 1} $. The proposed new correlation formulae are instrumental in the design as well as controlled manipulation/optimization of the electrospinning phenomenon.
Estimating population sizes of lions Panthera leo and spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta in Uganda's savannah parks, using lure count methods
Authors: Omoya Edward Okot , Mudumba Tutilo , Buckland Stephen T. , Mulondo Paul , Plumptre Andrew J. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractDespite > 60 years of conservation in Uganda's national parks the populations of lions and spotted hyaenas in these areas have never been estimated using a census method. Estimates for some sites have been extrapolated to other protected areas and educated guesses have been made but there has been nothing more definitive. We used a lure count analysis method of call-up counts to estimate populations of the lion Panthera leo and spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta in the parks where reasonable numbers of these species exist: Queen Elizabeth Protected Area, Murchison Falls Conservation Area and Kidepo Valley National Park. We estimated a total of 408 lions and 324 hyaenas for these three conservation areas. It is unlikely that other conservation areas in Uganda host > 10 lions or > 40 hyaenas. The Queen Elizabeth Protected Area had the largest populations of lions and hyaenas: 140 and 211, respectively. It is estimated that lion numbers have declined by 30% in this protected area since the late 1990s and there are increasing concerns for the long-term viability of both species in Uganda.
Cardiovascular Disease: The Other Face of Diabetes
Authors: Vlasakakis G , Della Pasqua O 
Published: October 2013

Despite glycemic control, evidence suggests that mortality and morbidity remain high in diabetes. Regulatory agencies deem, therefore, additional safety trials necessary for the approval of new antidiabetic drugs. Nevertheless, markers of cardiovascular risk, which can be used as response predictors, are not available. In contrast with current efforts on further understanding of glucose–insulin homeostasis, a model‐based approach is required to assess the correlation between hyperglycemia and cardiometabolic phenotypes, enabling prediction of the underlying cardiovascular risk.CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology (2013) 2, e81; doi:10.1038/psp.2013.57; advance online publication 23 October 2013
Isolation and characterization of a novel wheat cysteine-rich receptor-like kinase gene induced by Rhizoctonia cerealis
Authors: Yang Kun , Rong Wei , Qi Lin , Li Jiarui , Wei Xuening , Zhang Zengyan 
Published: October 2013

AbstractCysteine-rich receptor kinases (CRKs) belong to the receptor-like kinase family. Little is known about CRK genes in wheat. We isolated a wheat CRK gene TaCRK1 from Rhizoctonia cerealis-resistant wheat CI12633 based on a differentially expressed sequence identified by RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis. TaCRK1 was more highly expressed in CI12633 than in susceptible Wenmai 6. Transcription of TaCRK1 in wheat was induced in CI12633 after R. cerealis infection and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. The deduced TaCRK1 protein contained a signal peptide, two DUF26 domains, a transmembrane domain and a serine/threonine protein kinase domain. Transient expression of a green fluorescence protein fused with TaCRK1 in wheat and onion indicated that TaCRK1 may localize to plasma membranes. Characterization of TaCRK1 silencing induced by virus-mediated method in CI12633 showed that the downregulation of TaCRK1 transcript did not obviously impair resistance to R. cerealis. This study paves the way to further CRK research in wheat.
The Effect of a Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitor on Early Degenerated Human Nucleus Pulposus Explants
Authors: van Dijk Bart , Potier Esther , Licht Ruud , Creemers Laura , Ito Keita 
Published: October 2013

Study Design Preclinical in vitro culture of human degenerated nucleus pulposus (NP) tissue. Objective Cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors (e.g., celecoxib) inhibit prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production, and they have been shown to upregulate regeneration of articular cartilage. In this study, we developed an explant culture system for use with human tissue and tested the potential of celecoxib. Methods NP explants were cultured with or without 1 μM of celecoxib and were analyzed at days 0 and 7 for biochemical content (water, sulfated glycosaminoglycans, hydroxyproline, and DNA), gene expression (for disk matrix anabolic and catabolic markers), and PGE2 content. Results Water and biochemical contents as well as gene expression remained close to native values after 1 week of culture. PGE2 levels were not increased in freshly harvested human NP tissue and thus were not reduced in treated tissues. Although no anabolic effects were observed at the dosage and culture duration used, no detrimental effects were observed and some specimens did respond by lowering PGE2. Conclusions Human degenerated NP explants were successfully cultured in a close to in vivo environment for 1 week. Further research, especially dosage-response studies, is needed to understand the role of PGE2 in low back pain and the potential of celecoxib to treat painful disks.
Dynamics of dendritic spines in the mouse auditory cortex during memory formation and memory recall
Authors: Moczulska Kaja Ewa , Tinter-Thiede Juliane , Peter Manuel , Ushakova Lyubov , Wernle Tanja , Bathellier Brice , Rumpel Simon 
Published: October 2013

Significance
Memories are believed to be stored as long-lasting structural changes in synapses. We tested the hypothesis that formation of a tone-shock association induces changes in the mouse auditory cortex by combining chronic in vivo imaging of dendritic spines with auditory fear conditioning. We find that memory formation is correlated with a transient increase in spine formation that leaves a long-lasting trace in the network. Memory recall does not lead to a recapitulation of structural remodeling as observed during initial memory formation. Our findings provide a potential synaptic mechanism underlying previously reported functional changes in auditory cortex following fear conditioning and challenge models in which memory traces are modified upon memory retrieval.
The dependence of stellar age distributions on giant molecular cloud environment
Authors: Dobbs C. L. , Pringle J. E. , Naylor T. 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
In this Letter, we analyse the distributions of stellar ages in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in spiral arms, interarm spurs and at large galactic radii, where the spiral arms are relatively weak. We use the results of numerical simulations of galaxies, which follow the evolution of GMCs and include star particles where star formation events occur. We find that GMCs in spiral arms tend to have predominantly young (&lt;10 Myr) stars. By contrast, clouds which are the remainders of spiral arm giant molecular asssociations that have been sheared into interarm GMCs contain fewer young (&lt;10 Myr) stars and more ∼20 Myr stars. We also show that clouds which form in the absence of spiral arms, due to local gravitational and thermal instabilities, contain preferentially young stars. We propose that the age distributions of stars in GMCs will be a useful diagnostic to test different cloud evolution scenarios, the origin of spiral arms and the success of numerical models of galactic star formation. We discuss the implications of our results in the context of Galactic and extragalactic molecular clouds.
Ocean acidification and host–pathogen interactions: blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, encountering Vibrio tubiashii
Authors: Asplund Maria E. , Baden Susanne P. , Russ Sarah , Ellis Robert P. , Gong Ningping , Hernroth Bodil E. 
Published: October 2013

SummaryOcean acidification (OA) can shift the ecological balance between interacting organisms. In this study, we have used a model system to illustrate the interaction between a calcifying host organism, the blue mussel Mytilus edulis and a common bivalve bacterial pathogen, Vibrio tubiashii, with organisms being exposed to a level of acidification projected to occur by the end of the 21st century. OA exposures of the mussels were carried out in relative long‐term (4 months) and short‐term (4 days) experiments. We found no effect of OA on the culturability of V. tubiashii, in broth or in seawater. OA inhibited mussel shell growth and impaired crystalline shell structures but did not appear to affect mussel immune parameters (i.e haemocyte counts and phagocytotic capacity). Despite no evident impact on host immunity or growth and virulence of the pathogen, V. tubiashii was clearly more successful in infecting mussels exposed to long‐term OA compared to those maintained under ambient conditions. Moreover, OA exposed V. tubiashii increased their viability when exposed to haemocytes of OA‐treated mussel. Our findings suggest that even though host organisms may have the capacity to cope with periods of OA, these conditions may alter the outcome of host–pathogen interactions, favouring the success of the latter.
Insights on the regulation of the phenylacetate degradation pathway from Escherichia coli
Authors: Fernández Cristina , Díaz Eduardo , García José Luis 
Published: October 2013

SummaryThe paa genes for phenylacetic acid (PA) catabolism encode the best characterized aerobic hybrid route involved in the bacterial degradation of aromatic compounds. Here, we demonstrate that the divergent paaZ and paaA‐K catabolic operons of Escherichia coli are regulated by two genes, paaXY, that form a distinct transcriptional unit driven by the Px promoter. In vivo and in vitro approaches using purified PaaX regulatory protein revealed that this regulator is able to bind and inhibit the activity of Px in a phenylacetyl‐coenzyme A (PA‐CoA) dependent manner. The autoregulation of paaXY is due to the competition between PaaX and RNA polymerase for binding to the regulatory Px promoter. Whereas a similar mechanism of repression mediated by PaaX was shown to occur at the catabolic Pz promoter; the catabolic Pa promoter is inhibited by PaaX by a mechanism that does not involves competition with RNA polymerase. We have shown for the first time that the paaY gene product is essential for an efficient growth in PA. Purified PaaY was shown to be a trimer in solution with a broad thioesterase activity stimulated by some metals. This thioesterase activity will allow the detoxification of some CoA‐intermediates that block the aerobic catabolism of PA, as previously suggested, but also will avoid the accumulation of some CoA derivatives that could behave as antagonists of the inducer effect caused by PA‐CoA on the PaaX repressor for an efficient expression of the paa genes. This regulatory function mediated by PaaY constitutes an additional regulatory checkpoint that makes the circuit that controls the transcription of the paa genes more complex than previously thought, and it could represent a general strategy present in most bacterial paa gene clusters that also harbour the paaY gene.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism: the possible influence of metformin therapy
Authors: Distiller L. A. , Polakow E. S. , Joffe B. I. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractAimsTo evaluate the frequency with which hypothyroidism is associated with Type 2 diabetes, to examine gender and ethnic group differences, and to assess the possible impact of metformin therapy. To compare the prevalence of hypothyroidism in a cohort of people with Type 2 diabetes with a previously published cohort of people with Type 1 diabetes from the same centre.MethodWe randomly surveyed the records of 922 people with Type 2 diabetes (576 men and 342 women) to identify diagnoses of hypothyroidism, based on current thyroxin replacement therapy (with previous biochemical confirmation). Four subjects had secondary hypothyroidism after radio‐iodine therapy for primary hyperthyroidism and were excluded from the analysis. The prevalence of primary hypothyroidism was documented in the remaining 918 subjects. We assessed the association of metformin therapy with hypothyroidism.ResultsThe overall prevalence of primary hypothyroidism was 11.8% (women: 22.5%; men: 5.4%, P < 0.001) in subjects with Type 2 diabetes. Inter‐ethnic differences were noted, with the highest prevalence among white subjects. The prevalence of hypothyroidism was lower in subjects with Type 2 diabetes who were receiving metformin therapy (P < 0.01), and this difference was greater when assessing those who developed primary hypothyroidism after starting metformin therapy (P < 0.001)ConclusionsOur results support a relatively close association between diabetes and hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism was more common in the cohort of white subjects than in other ethnic groups. The use of metformin therapy in people with Type 2 diabetes was associated with a significantly lower prevalence of diagnosed hypothyroidism.
Application of temporal difference learning rules in short‐term traffic flow prediction
Authors: Abdi Javad , Moshiri Behzad 
Published: October 2013

AbstractStudying dynamic behaviours of a transportation system requires the use of the system mathematical models as well as prediction of traffic flow in the system. Therefore, traffic flow prediction plays an important role in today's intelligent transportation systems. This article introduces a new approach to short‐term daily traffic flow prediction based on artificial neural networks. Among the family of neural networks, multi‐layer perceptron (MLP), radial basis function (RBF) neural network and wavenets have been selected as the three best candidates for performing traffic flow prediction. Moreover, back‐propagation (BP) has been adapted as the most efficient learning scheme in all the cases. It is shown that the coefficients produced by temporal signals improve the performance of the BP learning (BPL) algorithm. Temporal signals provide researchers with a new model of temporal difference BP learning algorithm (TDBPL). The capability and performance of TDBPL algorithm are examined by means of simulation in order to prove that the wavelet theory, with its multi‐resolution ability in comparison to RBF neural networks, is a suitable algorithm in traffic flow forecasting. It is also concluded that despite MLP applications, RBF neural networks do not provide negative forecasts. In addition, the local minimum problems are inevitable in MLP algorithms, while RBF neural networks and wavenet networks do not encounter them.
Carotid Intima-Media Thickness – A Potential Predictor for Rupture Risk of Intracranial Aneurysms
Authors: Lundervik Marianne , Fromm Annette , Haaland Øystein Ariansen , Waje-Andreassen Ulrike , Svendsen Frode , Thomassen Lars , Helland Christian A. 
Published: October 2013

Background Individual assessment of rupture risk of cerebral aneurysms is challenging, and increased knowledge of predictors for aneurysm rupture is needed. Smoking and hypertension are shared risk factors for atherosclerotic disease and cerebral aneurysms, and patients with atherosclerosis have an increased prevalence of intracranial aneurysms. Carotid ultrasound with evaluation of intima-media thickness (IMT) is a non-invasive, safe, rapid, well-validated and reproducible technique for quantification of subclinical atherosclerosis and assessment of cardio- and cerebrovascular risk. Increased IMT is associated with elevated risk for ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction, but sparse data exist on carotid ultrasound findings in patients with intracranial aneurysms. Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate carotid IMT in patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA) and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), and to assess if IMT might be associated with aneurysm rupture risk. Methods Patients treated for saccular aneurysms (UIA and aSAH) from February 2011 to August 2012 were included. Standardized high resolution B-mode ultrasound assessment of carotid arteries was done after aneurysm treatment, and traditional vascular risk factors were recorded. Healthy partners of young patients with ischemic stroke were used as controls. Results 69 patients treated for UIA ( n = 28) and aSAH ( n = 41) were compared with 80 controls. Mean IMT was higher in patients with aSAH (0·79 mm) than patients with UIA (0·65 mm) and controls (0·63 mm). Multiple multinomial regression analysis comparing aSAH, UIA and control groups demonstrated that IMT was the only variable predicative of aSAH compared to UIA. According to the multiple regression model, the probability of having aSAH compared to non-rupture increased by 62% for each 0·10 mm increment of mean IMT (RRR = 1·62, P = 0·017). Taking into account only patients harboring intracranial aneurysms, simple binary logistic regression was then applied to the UIA and aSAH groups. According to this model the risk of belonging to the aSAH group increased with higher mean IMT values (OR = 1·40 per 0·10 mm increase of mean IMT, P = 0·024). Conclusion There is an association between IMT and intracranial aneurysm rupture status at the time of aneurysm treatment. Carotid IMT can be a potential predictor of aneurysm rupture. IMT may thus be a possible adjunct in the risk assessment of aneurysm rupture, and a helpful tool in patient risk stratification and counseling.
Characterization of Warm Saline‐Enhanced Radiofrequency Ablation Lesions in the Infarcted Porcine Ventricular Myocardium
Authors: JOHN ROY M. , CONNELL JOHN , TERMIN PAUL , HOUDE‐WALTER HALEY , EBERL GREGORY , STOHLMAN KATHARINE M. , CURLEY MICHAEL G. 
Published: October 2013

Saline Enhanced Radiofrequency AblationBackgroundRadiofrequency (RF) ablation of scar‐mediated ventricular tachycardia is limited by the size of lesions achieved with conventional catheters. We examined the gross and histopathology characteristics of warm saline‐enhanced radiofrequency (SERF) ablation delivered to left ventricular (LV) infarction scars via a novel catheter employing an extendable infusion needle electrode.Methods and ResultsYorkshire pigs (n = 14) underwent LV infarction by left anterior descending artery balloon occlusion. After 4–6 weeks, baseline hemodynamic data were obtained and endocardial electroanatomic mapping was performed in 13 surviving animals. Following single, 40 Watt SERF ablations delivered endocardially to the center of infarctions, 4 were examined the same day (day 0). The rest underwent repeat measurements and were sacrificed at 1 week (n = 6), and at 4 weeks (n = 3). Average lesion depth and diameter were: 1.85 ± 0.7 cm and 2.33 ± 0.7 cm at day 0, 0.91 ± 0.1 cm and 1.9 ± 0.4 cm after 1 week, and 1.0 ± 0.2 cm and 1.89 ± 0.76 cm after 4 weeks, respectively. Histopathology at 1 week showed that ablation lesions covered 41 ± 10.6% of the infarct area. SERF ablation lesions extended 100%, 90%, and 68% of the total wall thickness at day 0, 1 week, and 4 weeks, respectively. Hemodynamic parameters were unchanged. There were no myocardial wall perforations or aneurysms.ConclusionSERF ablation within myocardial infarct tissue produced large, near‐transmural lesions, without evidence of myocardial perforation, wall thinning, or aneurysm formation. Ablations did not produce any negative hemodynamic effects in this small group of experiments.