bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Status of selected nutrients in obese dogs undergoing caloric restriction
Authors: Linder Deborah E , Freeman Lisa M , Holden Shelley L , Biourge Vincent , German Alexander J 
Published: October 2013

Abstract

Background
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that dog plasma concentrations of selected nutrients decrease after undergoing caloric restriction for weight loss. Thirty-one overweight dogs that had successfully lost at least 15% of initial body weight were included in the study. Nutrients that had been previously identified to be at potential risk of deficiency during caloric restriction were measured in plasma (choline, amino acids) and urine (selenium) at the initiation and completion of a standardized weight loss regimen in dogs.

Results
Dogs remained healthy throughout the study, and no signs attributable to nutrient deficiency were noted. Percentage weight loss was 28.3% (16.0-40.1%) starting body weight, over a period of 250 days (91–674 days). Median energy intake during the weight loss period was 62 (44 to 74) Kcal/kg0.75 target weight per day. Choline (P = 0.046) and threonine (P = 0.02) decreased after weight loss. Glycine (P = 0.041), and urinary selenium:creatinine ratio (P = 0.006) both increased after weight loss. There were no other significant differences in plasma nutrient concentrations.

Conclusions
Since concentrations of most measured nutrients did not change significantly, the data are not consistent with widespread nutrient deficiency in dogs undergoing caloric restriction using a diet formulated for weight loss. However, the significance of the decrease in plasma choline concentration requires further assessment.
Engineering biodegradable and multifunctional peptide-based polymers for gene delivery
Authors: Shi Julie , Schellinger Joan G , Pun Suzie H 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
The complex nature of in vivo gene transfer establishes the need for multifunctional delivery vectors capable of meeting these challenges. An additional consideration for clinical translation of synthetic delivery formulations is reproducibility and scale-up of materials. In this review, we summarize our work over the last five years in developing a modular approach for synthesizing peptide-based polymers. In these materials, bioactive peptides that address various barriers to gene delivery are copolymerized with a hydrophilic backbone of N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) using reversible-addition fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. We demonstrate that this synthetic approach results in well-defined, narrowly-disperse polymers with controllable composition and molecular weight. To date, we have investigated the effectiveness of various bioactive peptides for DNA condensation, endosomal escape, cell targeting, and degradability on gene transfer, as well as the impact of multivalency and polymer architecture on peptide bioactivity.
Analyses of Arabidopsis ecotypes reveal metabolic diversity to convert D-amino acids
Authors: Gördes Dirk , Koch Grit , Thurow Kerstin , Kolukisaoglu Üner 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
For a long time D-enantiomers of proteinogenic L-amino acids were assumed to be physiologically irrelevant for plants. But there is growing evidence that D-amino acids (D-AAs) also fulfil important physiological functions in these organisms. However, the knowledge about the metabolic fate of D-AAs in plants is still scarce and more information about it is needed. To close this gap we established an optimized protocol for the processing and analysis of D- and L-AAs from large numbers of Arabidopsis lines. This included the application of 18 different D-AAs to seedlings, the extraction of free amino acids from the samples and the determination of 16 L-AAs and their corresponding D-enantiomers. To validate our approach we searched for genetic accessions with aberrant amino acid metabolism. Therefore we applied D-AAs on 17 ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana and analysed their free amino acid contents. These analyses confirmed the suitability of the system for the analysis of large sets of plant samples with enhanced velocity and improved accuracy. Furthermore, the resulting data led to the definition of standard amino acid profiles in response to D-AAs of Arabidopsis seedlings. Within these analyses the ecotype Landsberg erecta was found with aberrant metabolic patterns like drastically reduced capabilities to convert different D-AAs to D-alanine and D-glutamate. The presented experimental setup and results of this study offer starting points to dissect the metabolic pathway of D-AAs in plants.
Biomarkers of lung epithelial injury and inflammation distinguish severe sepsis patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome
Authors: Ware Lorraine B , Koyama Tatsuki , Zhao Zhiguo , Janz David R , Wickersham Nancy , Bernard Gordon R , May Addison K , Calfee Carolyn S , Matthay Michael A 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
Introduction
Despite recent modifications, the clinical definition of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains non-specific, leading to under-diagnosis and under-treatment. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that a biomarker panel would be useful for biologic confirmation of the clinical diagnosis of ARDS in patients at risk of developing ARDS due to severe sepsis.

Methods
This was a retrospective case control study of 100 patients with severe sepsis and no evidence of ARDS compared to 100 patients with severe sepsis and evidence of ARDS on at least two of their first four ICU days. A panel that included 11 biomarkers of inflammation, fibroblast activation, proteolytic injury, endothelial injury, and lung epithelial injury was measured in plasma from the morning of ICU day two. A backward elimination model building strategy on 1,000 bootstrapped data was used to select the best performing biomarkers for further consideration in a logistic regression model for diagnosis of ARDS.

Results
Using the five best-performing biomarkers (surfactant protein-D (SP-D), receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE), interleukin-8 (IL-8), club cell secretory protein (CC-16), and interleukin-6 (IL-6)) the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.7 to 0.84) for the diagnosis of ARDS. The AUC improved to 0.82 (95% CI: 0.77 to 0.90) for diagnosis of severe ARDS, defined as ARDS present on all four of the first four ICU days.

Conclusions
Abnormal levels of five plasma biomarkers including three biomarkers generated by lung epithelium (SP-D, RAGE, CC-16) provided excellent discrimination for diagnosis of ARDS in patients with severe sepsis. Altered levels of plasma biomarkers may be useful biologic confirmation of the diagnosis of ARDS in patients with sepsis, and also potentially for selecting patients for clinical trials that are designed to reduce lung epithelial injury.
Effect of erythropoietin on the incidence of acute kidney injury following complex valvular heart surgery: a double blind, randomized clinical trial of efficacy and safety
Authors: Kim Ji-Ho , Shim Jae-Kwang , Song Jong-Wook , Song Young , Kim Hye-Bin , Kwak Young-Lan 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
Introduction
Recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) is known to provide organ protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury through its pleiotropic properties. The aim of this single-site, randomized, case-controlled, and double-blind study was to investigate the effect of pre-emptive EPO administration on the incidence of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with risk factors for AKI undergoing complex valvular heart surgery.

Methods
We studied ninety-eight patients with preoperative risk factors for AKI. The patients were randomly allocated to either the EPO group (n = 49) or the control group (n = 49). The EPO group received 300 IU/kg of EPO intravenously after anesthetic induction. The control group received an equivalent volume of normal saline. AKI was defined as an increase in serum creatinine >0.3 mg/dl or >50% from baseline. Biomarkers of renal injury were serially measured until five days postoperatively.

Results
Patient characteristics and operative data, including the duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, were similar between the two groups. Incidence of postoperative AKI (32.7% versus 34.7%, P = 0.831) and biomarkers of renal injury including cystatin C and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin showed no significant differences between the groups. The postoperative increase in interleukin-6 and myeloperoxidase was similar between the groups. None of the patients developed adverse complications related to EPO administration, including thromboembolic events, throughout the study period.

Conclusions
Intravenous administration of 300 IU/kg of EPO did not provide renal protection in patients who are at increased risk of developing AKI after undergoing complex valvular heart surgery.

Trial registration
Clinical Trial.gov, NCT01758861
Procalcitonin biomarker kinetics fails to predict treatment response in perioperative abdominal infection with septic shock
Authors: Jung Boris , Molinari Nicolas , Nasri Mourad , Hajjej Zied , Chanques Gerald , Jean-Pierre Helene , Panaro Fabrizio , Jaber Samir 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
Introduction
Procalcitonin (PCT) biomarker is suggested to tailor antibiotic therapy in the medical intensive care unit (ICU) but studies in perioperative medicine are scarce. The aim of this study was to determine whether PCT reported thresholds are associated with the initial treatment response in perioperative septic shock secondary to intra-abdominal infection.

Methods
This single ICU, observational study included patients with perioperative septic shocks secondary to intra-abdominal infection. Demographics, PCT at days 0, 1, 3, 5, treatment response and outcome were collected. Treatment failure included death related to the initial infection, second source control treatment or a new onset intra-abdominal infection. The primary endpoint was to assess whether PCT thresholds (0.5 ng/ml or a drop from the peak of at least 80%) predict the initial treatment response.

Results
We included 101 consecutive cases. Initial treatment failed in 36 patients with a subsequent mortality of 75%. Upon admission, PCT was doubled when treatment ultimately failed (21.7 ng/ml ± 38.7 vs. 41.7 ng/ml ± 75.7; P = 0.04). Although 95% of the patients in whom PCT dropped down below 0.5 ng/ml responded to treatment, 50% of the patients in whom PCT remained above 0.5 ng/ml also responded successfully to treatment. Moreover, despite a PCT drop of at least 80%, 40% of patients had treatment failure.

Conclusions
In perioperative intra-abdominal infections with shock, PCT decrease to 0.5 ng/ml lacked sensitivity to predict treatment response and its decrease of at least 80% from its peak failed to accurately predict treatment response. Studies in perioperative severe infections are needed before using PCT to tailor antibiotic use in this population.
Seismic characterization of a Mississippi Lime resource play in Osage County, Oklahoma, USA
Authors: Dowdell Benjamin L. , Kwiatkowski J. Tim , Marfurt Kurt J. 
Published: October 2013

With the advent of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Midcontinent, USA, fields once thought to be exhausted are now experiencing renewed exploitation. However, traditional Midcontinent seismic analysis techniques no longer provide satisfactory reservoir characterization for these unconventional plays; new seismic analysis methods are needed to properly characterize these radically innovative play concepts. Time processing and filtering is applied to a raw 3D seismic data set from Osage County, Oklahoma, paying careful attention to velocity analysis, residual statics, and coherent noise filtering. The use of a robust prestack structure-oriented filter and spectral whitening greatly enhances the results. After prestack time migrating the data using a Kirchhoff algorithm, new velocities are picked. A final normal moveout correction is applied using the new velocities, followed by a final prestack structure-oriented filter and spectral whitening. Simultaneous prestack inversion uses the reprocessed and time-migrated seismic data as input, along with a well from within the bounds of the survey. With offsets out to 3048 m and a target depth of approximately 880 m, we can invert for density in addition to P- and S-impedance. Prestack inversion attributes are sensitive to lithology and porosity while surface seismic attributes such as coherence and curvature are sensitive to lateral changes in waveform and structure. We use these attributes in conjunction with interpreted horizontal image logs to identify zones of high porosity and high fracture density.
Financial Product Differentiation over the State Space in the Mutual Fund Industry
Authors: Li Shujing , Qiu Jiaping 
Published: October 2013

By distancing themselves from others in risk factor loadings, mutual funds yield distinct returns and become better-performing funds in different market situations. This enables mutual funds to obtain stochastic market power and charge higher fees than they could otherwise. This strategy fundamentally differs from the conventional market segmentation strategy that targets investors with heterogeneous preferences. We present a model to study this novel form of financial product differentiation over the states of nature. Empirically, we find that the return attributable to risk factor loadings has a significant impact on a fund's market share. Fund fees are related to the positions of their factor loadings in the industry and funds with more extreme risk factor loadings charge higher fees. This paper was accepted by Wei Jiang, finance.
Performance of Sidewalk Pavement Containing Waste-Wood Chips
Authors: Choi Jae-Jin , Lee Kwan-Ho 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
Laboratory and field tests were conducted to identify the properties and perform a durability assessment of a sidewalk pavement material containing wood chips. This material can be made by crushing construction waste and the by-products of harvested wood and combining it with polyurethane resin. Urethane-to-wood-chip weight ratios of 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0 were used in the laboratory tests. The sidewalk pavement manufactured with wood chips was tested to identify its tensile strength, elasticity, permeability, flammability, and elution. The tensile strength of the pavements containing air-dried wood chips was between 0.2 N/mm2 and 1.1 N/mm2, and smaller amounts of urethane resin increased the pavement’s strength reduction during flooding. The coefficient of permeability was between 0.5 and 0.8 mm/s and satisfied the 0.1 mm/s specification required for the construction of permeable pavements. The golf ball (GB) and steel ball (SB) coefficients tended to increase with an increase in the use of resin. A combustible gas torch experiment indicated no problems associated with flammability, and the measured skid resistance (BPN 72 to 77) of the wood-chip pavement satisfied the requirement for the minimum skid resistance value (BPN &gt; 50) of sidewalk pavement. The field construction of sidewalk pavement using wood chips was also executed, and the results of a follow-up study conducted for 6 months after construction showed deterioration of the wood chips, especially for smaller resin ratios. It was found that the changes in surface height, elasticity, and permeability coefficient of pavements with resin ratios of 0.6 and 0.8 satisfied the reference requirements.
Effect of Peel Side on Optimum Condition for Measuring Flexible Film Peel Strength in T-Peel Adhesion Test
Authors: Dolah Rozzeta , Miyagi Zenichi 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
Standardized methods for conducting a T-peel test have been well established for rigid materials, but are not suitable for flexible film because of variations in peel strength. The purpose of this paper is to provide an experimental procedure for a T-peel adhesion test and determine optimum conditions by considering the effect from alternate peel sides. A new testing apparatus is developed to solve the variation problem of using standardized methods for flexible packaging film. The optimum conditions are achieved using a parameter design method. The dynamic signal-to-noise ratio provides the optimum condition, as it has a minimum variation of peel strength evaluated from the peel side of the aluminum (Al) and cast polypropylene (CPP) layers. An experimental design is employed using an orthogonal array with four control factors consisting of peel angle, peel speed, data region, and spring thickness. The variation caused by the different peel surfaces of each specimen is investigated to observe which peel side gives the best condition for the T-peel test. Three optimum conditions for flexible film are discussed: the aluminum peel side condition, the CPP peel side condition, and the harmonized condition. Based on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) used to evaluate the improved condition in a confirmation test, the CPP peel side has the highest SNR, followed by the aluminum peel side, and then the harmonized condition. The SNR for the CPP peel side condition increased by 22 % from the aluminum peel side condition; thus, it is advised that the CPP peel side condition be used. The SNR of the harmonized condition is lower than the CPP and aluminum conditions, but it provides a convenient design that can be used without regard for peel side.
New Device and Methodology for Evaluating the Shear Behavior of Steel Bridge Deck Pavement Pasted by GFRP Sheets
Authors: Ge Zhesheng , Wang Yangyang , Hang Mingbo 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
The pasting of glass-fiber-reinforced-plastic (GFRP) sheets is a relatively new technique that can improve the stiffness of a steel bridge deck pavement structure. Using a new innovative preloading and shear loading testing method with an in-house testing device coupled with a servo-hydraulic testing machine, shear tests of cuboid composite pavement (CCP) samples were conducted to derive individual dissipated energy values for each sample for indexing the testing results and determining the best operational conditions for a steel bridge deck pavement. Unlike prior studies, the new device and methodology used a preloading process and a symmetrical shear test to study the interlaminar shear behavior between the CCP samples. An orthogonal experimental design was followed to determine the impact of each influence factor on the interlaminar shear behavior, such as the roughness of the GFRP sheet contact surface, the testing temperature of the samples, the bonding material between each different interfacing material, and the positive shear test pressure applied during the tests. The results indicate that a steel bridge deck composite pavement structure can reach its optimal performance when the interface between the asphalt mixtures and a GFRP sheet uses a spreading of 2.36–4.75-mm fine aggregate with a 0.5 kg/m2 epoxy asphalt bonding material, and when the GFRP sheet and the steel bridge deck interface uses an epoxy bonding.
New Insights Into the Propagation of Emulsified Acids in Vuggy Dolomitic Rocks
Authors: Zakaria A.S.. S. , Sayed M.A.. A. , Nasr-El-Din H.A.. A. 
Published: October 2013

Summary
Carbonate formations are very complex in their pore structure and exhibit a wide variety of pore classes, such as interparticle porosity, moldic porosity, vuggy porosity, intercrystalline porosity, and microporosity. Understanding the role of pore class in the performance of emulsified-acid treatments and characterizing the physics of the flow in the acid propagation are the objectives of our study.
The study was performed by use of vuggy-dolomite cores that represent mainly the vuggy-porosity-dominated structure, whereas the homogeneous cores used represent the intercrystalline pore structure. Coreflood experiments were conducted on 6 × 1.5-in. cores by use of emulsified acid formulated at 1 vol% emulsifier and 0.7 acid volume fraction. The objective of this set of experiments is to determine the acid pore volume (PV) to breakthrough for each carbonate pore class at different injection flow rates.
In this paper, we examine whether the heterogeneities observable at the thin-section scale have a significant influence on the results of the emulsified-acid coreflood experiments. The heterogeneities were characterized by use of thin-section observations, tracer experiments, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and resistivity measurements. Thin-section observations provide means to study the size of vugs and their distribution and connectivity, and to explain the contribution of the pore class in the acid propagation. Also, the rotating-disk experiments of emulsified acid with dolomite were related to our coreflood experimental results.
The acid PV to breakthrough for vuggy-porosity-dominated rocks, ranging from 0.1 to 0.3, was observed to be low when compared with homogeneous carbonates (intercrystalline pore structure) with PVbt ranging from 2.5 to 3.5. Also, the wormhole dissolution pattern was found to be significantly different in vuggy rocks than that in homogeneous ones. Thin-section observations, tracer results, and the coreflood experiments indicate that the vugs are distributed in a manner that creates a preferential flow path, which can cause a rapid acid breakthrough and effective wormholing rather than those with a uniform pore structure. The rotating-disk results also showed that the reaction kinetics played a role in determining the wormhole pattern.
A New Approach to Load Balance for Parallel/Compositional Simulation Based on Reservoir-Model Overdecomposition
Authors: Wang Yuhe , Killough John E. 
Published: October 2013

Summary
The quest for efficient and scalable parallel reservoir simulators has been evolving with the advancement of high-performance computing architectures. Among the various challenges of efficiency and scalability, load imbalance is a major obstacle that has not been fully addressed and solved. The causes of load imbalance in parallel reservoir simulation are both static and dynamic. Robust graph-partitioning algorithms are capable of handling static load imbalance by decomposing the underlying reservoir geometry to distribute a roughly equal load to each processor. However, these loads that are determined by a static load balancer seldom remain unchanged as the simulation proceeds in time. This so-called dynamic imbalance can be exacerbated further in parallel compositional simulations. The flash calculations for equations of state (EOSs) in complex compositional simulations not only can consume more than half of the total execution time but also are difficult to balance merely by a static load balancer. The computational cost of flash calculations in each gridblock heavily depends on the dynamic data such as pressure, temperature, and hydrocarbon composition. Thus, any static assignment of gridblocks may lead to dynamic load imbalance in unpredictable manners. A dynamic load balancer can often provide solutions for this difficulty. However, traditional techniques are inflexible and tedious to implement in legacy reservoir simulators. In this paper, we present a new approach to address dynamic load imbalance in parallel compositional simulation. It overdecomposes the reservoir model to assign each processor a bundle of subdomains. Processors treat these bundles of subdomains as virtual processes or user-level migratable threads that can be dynamically migrated across processors in the run-time system. This technique is shown to be capable of achieving better overlap between computation and communication for cache efficiency. We use this approach in a legacy reservoir simulator and demonstrate a reduction in the execution time of parallel compositional simulations while requiring minimal changes to the source code. Finally, it is shown that domain overdecomposition, together with a load balancer, can improve speedup from 29.27 to 62.38 on 64 physical processors for a realistic simulation problem.