bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Platelet-Associated Matrix Metalloproteinases Regulate Thrombus Formation and Exert Local Collagenolytic Activity
Authors: Mastenbroek Tom G. , Feijge Marion A.H. , Kremers Romy M.W. , van den Bosch Marion T.J. , Swieringa Frauke , De Groef Lies , Moons Lieve , Bennett Cavan , Ghevaert Cedric , Johnson Jason L. , van der Meijden Paola E.J. , Cosemans Judith M.E.M. 
Published: October 2015

Objective—
Platelets are increasingly implicated in processes beyond hemostasis and thrombosis, such as vascular remodeling. Members of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family not only remodel the extracellular matrix but also modulate platelet function. Here, we made a systematic comparison of the roles of MMP family members in acute thrombus formation under flow conditions and assessed platelet-dependent collagenolytic activity over time.

Approach and Results—

Pharmacological inhibition of MMP-1 or MMP-2 (human) or deficiency in MMP-2 (mouse) suppressed collagen-dependent platelet activation and thrombus formation under flow, whereas MMP-9 inhibition/deficiency stimulated these processes. The absence of MMP-3 was without effect. Interestingly, MMP-14 inhibition led to the formation of larger thrombi, which occurred independently of its capacity to activate MMP-2. Platelet thrombi exerted local collagenolytic activity capable of cleaving immobilized dye-quenched collagen and fibrillar collagen fibers within hours, with loss of the majority of the platelet adhesive properties of collagen as a consequence. This collagenolytic activity was redundantly mediated by platelet-associated MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-14 but occurred independently of platelet α-granule release (
Nbeal2
−/−
mice). The latter was in line with subcellular localization experiments, which indicated a granular distribution of MMP-1 and MMP-2 in platelets, distinct from α-granules. Whereas MMP-9 protein could not be detected inside platelets, activated platelets did bind plasma-derived MMP-9 to their plasma membrane. Overall, platelet MMP activity was predominantly membrane-associated and influenced by platelet activation status.

Conclusions—
Platelet-associated MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-14 differentially modulate acute thrombus formation and at later time points limit thrombus formation by exerting collagenolytic activity.
Knowledge of Thrombolytic Therapy Amongst Hospital Staff
Authors: Mellon Lisa , Hasan Husain , Lee Stuart , Williams David , Hickey Anne 
Published: October 2015

Background and Purpose—
In-hospital stroke is associated with slower access to thrombolysis than community-occurring stroke. It has been suggested that lack of knowledge regarding appropriate stroke response among hospital staff may contribute to delays in referral, assessment, and treatment of in-hospital stroke.

Method—
A survey was conducted among hospital ward staff members using the Stroke Awareness Questionnaire, which was adapted for use among hospital staff to assess their knowledge of stroke symptoms, acute treatments, and hospital protocols for treatment of stroke.

Results—
Ninety-six staff members were interviewed, 81% of whom were clinical staff (medical, nursing, allied health professionals). Ninety-two percent of staff could name ≥3 stroke symptoms. Only 49% of staff were aware of thrombolysis treatment, and only 48% could identify the time window for thrombolysis administration, with staff from stroke-related specialties likely to name thrombolysis as an acute treatment for stroke (71%; odds ratio =3.36, 95% confidence interval 1.17–9.61) and identify the correct treatment window (71%; odds ratio =3.55, 95% confidence interval 1.24–10.16). Only 52% of staff on general wards were aware of an in-hospital stroke protocol.

Conclusions—
Hospital staff had adequate knowledge of stroke signs and symptoms; however, there was low awareness of thrombolysis therapy and its correct treatment time window among hospital staff. Targeted educational programmes among hospital staff regarding stroke are required to optimize acute stroke care.
Montreal Cognitive Assessment
Authors: Wong Adrian , Law Lorraine S.N. , Liu Wenyan , Wang Zhaolu , Lo Eugene S.K. , Lau Alexander , Wong Lawrence K.S. , Mok Vincent C.T. 
Published: October 2015

Background and Purpose—
The objective of this study is to examine the discrepancy between single versus age and education corrected cutoff scores in classifying performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack.

Methods—
MoCA norms were collected from 794 functionally independent and stroke- and dementia-free persons aged ≥65 years. magnetic resonance imaging was used to exclude healthy controls with significant brain pathology and medial temporal lobe atrophy. Cutoff scores at 16th, 7th, and 2nd percentiles by age and education were derived for the MoCA and MoCA 5-minute Protocol. MoCA performance in 919 patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack was classified using the single and norm-derived cutoff scores.

Results—
The norms for the Hong Kong version of the MoCA total and domain scores and the total score of the MoCA 5-minute protocol are described. Only 65.1% and 25.7% healthy controls and 45.2% and 19.0% patients scored above the conventional cutoff scores of 21/22 and 25/26 on the MoCA. Using classification with norm-derived cutoff scores as reference, locally derived cutoff score of 21/22 yielded a classification discrepancy of ≤42.4%. Discrepancy increased with higher age and lower education level, with the majority being false positives by single cutoffs. With the 25/26 cutoff of the original MoCA, discrepancy further increased to ≤74.3%.

Conclusions—
Conventional single cutoff scores are associated with substantially high rates of misclassification especially in older and less-educated patients with stroke. These results caution against the use of one-size-fits-all cutoffs on the MoCA.
Reduction of Global Plant Production due to Droughts from 2001 to 2010: An Analysis with a Process-Based Global Terrestrial Ecosystem Model
Authors: Liao Chang , Zhuang Qianlai 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Droughts dramatically affect plant production of global terrestrial ecosystems. To date, quantification of this impact remains a challenge because of the complex plant physiological and biochemical processes associated with drought. Here, this study incorporates a drought index into an existing process-based terrestrial ecosystem model to estimate the drought impact on global plant production for the period 2001–10. Global Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) gross primary production (GPP) data products are used to constrain model parameters and verify the model algorithms. The verified model is then applied to evaluate the drought impact. The study indicates that droughts will reduce GPP by 9.8 g C m−2 month−1 during the study period. On average, drought reduces GPP by 10% globally. As a result, the global GPP decreased from 106.4 to 95.9 Pg C yr−1 while the global net primary production (NPP) decreased from 54.9 to 49.9 Pg C yr−1. This study revises the estimation of the global NPP and suggests that the future quantification of the global carbon budget of terrestrial ecosystems should take the drought impact into account.
Atmospheric Predictors for Annual Maximum Precipitation in North Africa
Authors: Nasri Bouchra , Tramblay Yves , El Adlouni Salaheddine , Hertig Elke , Ouarda Taha B. M. J. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe high precipitation variability over North Africa presents a major challenge for the population and the infrastructure in the region. The last decades have seen many flood events caused by extreme precipitation in this area. There is a strong need to identify the most relevant atmospheric predictors to model these extreme events. In the present work, the effect of 14 different predictors calculated from NCEP–NCAR reanalysis, with daily to seasonal time steps, on the maximum annual precipitation (MAP) is evaluated at six coastal stations located in North Africa (Larache, Tangier, Melilla, Algiers, Tunis, and Gabès). The generalized extreme value (GEV) B-spline model was used to detect this influence. This model considers all continuous dependence forms (linear, quadratic, etc.) between the covariates and the variable of interest, thus providing a very flexible framework to evaluate the covariate effects on the GEV model parameters. Results show that no single set of covariates is valid for all stations. Overall, a strong dependence between the NCEP–NCAR predictors and MAP is detected, particularly with predictors describing large-scale circulation (geopotential height) or moisture (humidity). This study can therefore provide insights for developing extreme precipitation downscaling models that are tailored for North African conditions.
Raindrop Size Distribution in a Midlatitude Continental Squall Line Measured by Thies Optical Disdrometers over East China
Authors: Chen Baojun , Wang Jun , Gong Dianli 
Published: October 2015

AbstractDisdrometer data measured by ground-based optical disdrometers during a midlatitude continental squall line event on 18 August 2012 in Shandong Province, eastern China, are analyzed to study characteristics of raindrop size distribution (DSD). Four disdrometers simultaneously performed continuous measurements during the passage of the convective line. The convective line was partitioned into three regions: the convective center, leading edge, and trailing edge. Results show distinct differences in DSDs and integral rainfall parameters between the convective-center and the edge regions. The convective center has higher drop concentrations, larger mean diameters, and wider size distributions when compared with the edge regions. The leading and trailing edges have similar drop concentrations, but the latter has larger mean diameters and wider size distributions. The shape of DSD for the convective center is convex down, whereas it is convex upward in tropical continental squall lines, as reported in the literature. There is also spatial variability of the DSD and its integral rainfall parameters in the along-convective-line direction.
The Formation of Small-Scale Atmospheric Vortices via Horizontal Shearing Instability
Authors: Buban Michael S. , Ziegler Conrad L. 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Motivated by high-resolution observations of small-scale atmospheric vortices along near-surface boundaries, this study presents a series of idealized simulations that attempt to replicate shear zones typical of drylines and other near-surface boundaries. The series of dry, constant potential temperature simulations are initialized with a north–south-oriented constant-vorticity shear zone and north–south periodic boundary conditions.
In all simulations, the shear zones develop wavelike perturbations that eventually roll up into discrete vortices. These vortices have features resembling those observed in many laboratory and numerical studies (i.e., instabilities developed into elliptical cores connected by vorticity braids that precess and contain pressure minima in their centers). To assess the instability mechanism, the results are compared to linear theory. Excellent agreement is found between predictions from linear theory for the wavenumber of maximum growth as a function of shear zone width and growth rate as a function of shear zone vorticity, suggesting to a very good first approximation, horizontal shearing instability (HSI) is responsible for the growth of initial small perturbations. It is also found that predictions of linear theory tend to extend well into the nonlinear regime.
Finally, preferred regions of cumulus formation are assessed by including moisture in four simulations. Maximum updrafts and simulated cumuli tend to form along the periphery of cores and/or along the braided regions adjacent to the cores. Because of the important modulating effect of misocyclone development via HSI and subsequent moisture transport, cumulus spacing and size/depth are also dependent on the shear zone width and vorticity.
Intraseasonal Teleconnections between South America and South Africa
Authors: Grimm Alice M. , Reason C. J. C. 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Teleconnection of climate anomalies between various parts of the tropics and extratropics is a well-established feature of the climate system. Building on previous work showing that a teleconnection exists between the South American monsoon system and interannual summer rainfall variability over southern Africa, this study considers intraseasonal variability over these landmasses. It is shown that strong teleconnections exist between South African daily rainfall and that over various areas of South America, with the latter leading by 4–5 days, for both winter and summer, involving regions with strong rainfall in these seasons. During the summer, the mechanisms involve both a modulation of the local Walker cell as well as extratropical Rossby wave trains. For winter, the latter mechanism is more important. While in summer tropical convective anomalies over South America play an important role, in winter the subtropics become more important. In both cases, these modulations lead to regional changes in circulation over southern Africa that are favorable for the dominant synoptic rainfall-producing weather systems such as cutoff lows and tropical extratropical cloud bands.
Future Changes in Drought Characteristics: Regional Analysis for South Korea under CMIP5 Projections
Authors: Rhee Jinyoung , Cho Jaepil 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
The future changes in drought characteristics were examined on a regional scale for South Korea, in northeastern Asia, using 17 bias-corrected projections from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) of representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios 4.5 and 8.5. The frequency of severe or extreme drought, based on the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), with time scales of 1, 3, and 12 months (i.e., SPI1, SPI3, SPI12, SPEI1, SPEI3, and SPEI12), was considered, as well as the average duration based on SPEI1. A multimodel ensemble (MME) was produced using selected models, and future changes were investigated in terms of both drought frequency and the average duration for the entire area and four river basins. The changes in drought frequency largely depend on the selection of a drought index, rather than climate projection scenarios. SPEI3 mostly projected future increases in drought frequency, while SPI3 showed varied projections. SPI12 projected decreases in drought frequency for both scenarios in the study area, while differences between river basins were observed for SPEI12. Increases in the average duration of droughts were projected based on SPEI1, indicating an increase in persistent short-term droughts in the future. The results emphasize the importance of regional- and subregional-scale analysis in northeastern Asia. The findings of the study provide valuable information that can be used for drought-related decision-making, which could not be obtained from studies on a global spatial scale.
Multisite Downscaling of Seasonal Predictions to Daily Rainfall Characteristics over Pacific–Andean River Basins in Ecuador and Peru Using a Nonhomogeneous Hidden Markov Model
Authors: Pineda Luis E. , Willems Patrick 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
The seasonal predictability of daily rainfall characteristics is examined over 21 hydrologic units in the Pacific–Andean region of Ecuador and Peru (PAEP) using a nonhomogeneous hidden Markov model (NHMM) and retrospective seasonal information from general circulation models (GCMs). First, a hidden Markov model is used to diagnose four states that play distinct roles in the December–May rainy season. The estimated daily states fall into two wet states, one dry state, and one transitional dry–wet state, and show a systematic seasonal evolution together with intraseasonal and interannual variability. The first wet state represents regionwide wet conditions, while the second one represents north–south gradients. The former could be associated with the annual moisture offshore of the PAEP, thermally driven by the climatological maximum of sea surface temperatures in the Niño-1.2 region. The latter corresponds with the dynamically noisy component of the PAEP rainfall signal, associated with the annual displacement of the intertropical convergence zone. Then, a four-state NHMM is coupled with GCM information to simulate daily sequences at each station. Simulations of the GCM–NHMM approach represent daily rainfall characteristics at station level well. The best skills were found in reproducing the interannual variation of seasonal rainfall amount and mean intensity at the regional-averaged level with correlations equal to 0.60 and 0.64, respectively. At catchment level, the best skills appear over catchments south of 4°S, where hydrologically relevant characteristics are well simulated. It is thus shown that the GCM–NHMM approach provides the potential to produce precipitation information relevant for hydrological prediction in this climate-sensitive region.
Integrated numerical and experimental methodology for thermal-energy analysis and optimization of heritage museum buildings
Authors: Pisello Anna Laura , Castaldo Veronica Lucia , Pignatta Gloria , Cotana Franco 
Published: October 2015

Research effort was dedicated to the analysis of museums microclimate for the preservation of artifacts and indoor environment. In this paper, continuous monitoring and dynamic simulation of an ancient exhibition site are carried out to evaluate indoor microclimate and energy performance. The aim is to develop a multidisciplinary methodology for preserving artworks and historic buildings in the view of sustainability and comfort. The paper also shows how the environmental conditions of two thermal zones different for geometry, occupancy, ventilation rate, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are far from the values suggested by the regulations for the preservation of artifacts and from human comfortable set points of temperature and relative humidity. This work highlights the need for further investigation of historical exposition sites to reduce artworks' damaging and occupants' environmental stress. Practical application: Many historical buildings in European countries host exhibition sites. Indoor microclimate of such areas is often inappropriate for visitors' comfort, for artworks', and building preservation. In fact, usually HVAC systems operate according to simple temperature-based control protocols. This study shows how old architectures could present indoor environmental conditions far from the target, for artworks' preservation, for occupants' comfort, and for the building maintenance. This paper presents a numerical–experimental methodology applied to an architectural heritage. The analysis gives insight on this issue, and could guide building operators and service management to investigate and optimize indoor environmental conditions where artworks are preserved.
The effects of resistance exercise in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Li Yanan , Su Youxin , Chen Shaoqing , Zhang Yingjie , Zhang Ziyi , Liu Changyan , Lu Meili , Liu Feiwen , Li Shuzhen , He Zhen , Wang Yiru , Sheng Lu , Wang Wenting , Zhan Zhengxuan , Wang Xu , Zheng Naixi 
Published: October 2015

Objective: To analyze the effectiveness of resistance exercise in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis on pain, stiffness, and physical function. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Data sources: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Web of Science, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database were searched from the date of inception to August 2015. Methods: Trials comparing effects of resistance exercise intervention with either non-intervention or psycho-educational intervention were selected by two reviewers independently. The risk of bias was assessed and studies with similar outcomes were pooled using a fixed or random effects model. Results: Data from 17 randomized clinical trials including 1705 patients were integrated. The main source of methodological bias in the selected studies was lack of double blinding. The meta-analysis results suggested that resistance exercise training relieved pain (standard mean difference [SMD]: -0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.57 to -0.29; P < 0.001), alleviated stiffness (SMD: -0.31; 95%: CI -0.56 to -0.05; P = 0.02), and improved physical function (SMD -0.53; 95% CI: -0.70 to -0.37; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Resistance exercise is beneficial in terms of reducing pain, alleviating stiffness, and improving physical function in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
Analysis of Agreement Between Computed Tomography Measurements of Glenoid Bone Defects in Anterior Shoulder Instability With and Without Comparison With the Contralateral Shoulder
Authors: Milano Giuseppe , Saccomanno Maristella F. , Magarelli Nicola , Bonomo Lorenzo 
Published: October 2015

Background: Computed tomography (CT) is frequently used to diagnose glenoid bone defects in anterior shoulder instability. The assessment of glenoid defects on 2-dimensional (2D) and 3-dimensional (3D) CT scans has been reported with and without a comparative study of the contralateral shoulder; however, no previous studies have analyzed if these 4 methods agree. Purpose: To estimate agreement between CT assessments of glenoid defects by examination of the affected shoulder alone and by comparison with the contralateral side on both 2D and 3D CT scans. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods: A total of 200 prospectively enlisted patients affected by unilateral anterior shoulder instability underwent CT of both shoulders. The area of the missing glenoid was calculated on 4 sets of CT scans (2D and 3D CT images with and without comparison with the contralateral shoulder) by using the circle method. Agreement between the 4 measurements in quantifying the bone defect was estimated according to the Bland-Altman method. Agreement between the 4 measurements in assessing the presence and type of defect (fracture or erosion) was analyzed with κ statistics. Results: Analysis of agreement between CT measurements in quantifying glenoid bone defects showed that the mean difference between the 4 measures was less than 1% of the area of the inferior glenoid in each pairwise comparison. Limits of agreement were always below the established acceptable limit of 5%. The assessment of the presence and type of bone defect showed strong to near-complete agreement between the 4 measurement methods. Conclusion: CT assessments of glenoid bone defects with and without comparison with the contralateral shoulder showed very good agreement in identifying the size, presence, and type of defect in patients with anterior shoulder instability on both 2D and 3D CT scans.