bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Location Tests for Biomarker Studies: A Comparison Using Simulations for the Two-sample Case
Authors: Scheinhardt M. O. , Ziegler A. 
Published: July 2013

Summary
Background: Gene, protein, or metabolite expression levels are often non-normally distributed, heavy tailed and contain outliers. Standard statistical approaches may fail as location tests in this situation.
Objectives: In three Monte-Carlo simulation studies, we aimed at comparing the type I error levels and empirical power of standard location tests and three adaptive tests [O’Gorman, Can J Stat 1997; 25: 269 –279; Keselman et al., Brit J Math Stat Psychol 2007; 60: 267– 293; Szymczak et al., Stat Med 2013; 32: 524 – 537] for a wide range of distributions.
Methods: We simulated two-sample scena -rios using the g-and-k-distribution family to systematically vary tail length and skewness with identical and varying variability between groups.
Results: All tests kept the type I error level when groups did not vary in their variability. The standard non-parametric U-test per -formed well in all simulated scenarios. It was outperformed by the two non-parametric adaptive methods in case of heavy tails or large skewness. Most tests did not keep the type I error level for skewed data in the case of heterogeneous variances.
Conclusions: The standard U-test was a powerful and robust location test for most of the simulated scenarios except for very heavy tailed or heavy skewed data, and it is thus to be recommended except for these cases. The non-parametric adaptive tests were powerful for both normal and non-normal distributions under sample variance homogeneity. But when sample variances differed, they did not keep the type I error level. The parametric adaptive test lacks power for skewed and heavy tailed distributions.
Developing and Trialling an Independent, Scalable and Repeatable IT-benchmarking Procedure for Healthcare Organisations
Authors: Hübner U. , Liebe J. D. 
Published: July 2013

SummaryBackground: Continuous improvements of IT-performance in healthcare organisations require actionable performance indicators, regularly conducted, independent measurements and meaningful and scalable reference groups. Existing IT-benchmarking initiatives have focussed on the development of reliable and valid indicators, but less on the questions about how to implement an environment for conducting easily repeatable and scalable IT-benchmarks.Objectives: This study aims at developing and trialling a procedure that meets the afore-mentioned requirements.Methods: We chose a well established, regularly conducted (inter-) national IT-survey of healthcare organisations (IT-Report Health-care) as the environment and offered the participants of the 2011 survey (CIOs of hospitals) to enter a benchmark. The 61 structural and functional performance indicators cov -ered among others the implementation status and integration of IT-systems and functions, global user satisfaction and the resources of the IT-department. Healthcare organisations were grouped by size and ownership. The benchmark results were made available electronically and feedback on the use of these results was requested after several months.Results: Fifty-nine hospitals participated in the benchmarking. Reference groups consisted of up to 141 members depending on the number of beds (size) and the ownership (public vs. private). A total of 122 charts showing single indicator frequency views were sent to each participant. The evaluation showed that 94.1% of the CIOs who participated in the evaluation considered this benchmarking beneficial and reported that they would enter again. Based on the feedback of the participants we developed two additional views that provide a more consolidated picture.Conclusion: The results demonstrate that establishing an independent, easily repeatable and scalable IT-benchmarking procedure is possible and was deemed desirable. Based on these encouraging results a new benchmarking round which includes process indicators is currently conducted.
Mitochondrial DNA haplotype distribution patterns inPinus ponderosa(Pinaceae): Range‐wide evolutionary history and implications for conservation
Authors: Potter Kevin M. , Hipkins Valerie D. , Mahalovich Mary F. , Means Robert E. 
Published: July 2013

•Premise of the study:Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosaDouglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) exhibits complicated patterns of morphological and genetic variation across its range in western North America. This study aims to clarifyP. ponderosaevolutionary history and phylogeography using a highly polymorphic mitochondrial DNA marker, with results offering insights into how geographical and climatological processes drove the modern evolutionary structure of tree species in the region.•Methods:We amplified the mtDNAnad1second intron minisatellite region for 3,100 trees representing 104 populations, and sequenced all length variants. We estimated population‐level haplotypic diversity and determined diversity partitioning among varieties, races and populations. After aligning sequences of minisatellite repeat motifs, we evaluated evolutionary relationships among haplotypes.•Key results:The geographical structuring of the 10 haplotypes corresponded with division between Pacific and Rocky Mountain varieties. Pacific haplotypes clustered with high bootstrap support, and appear to have descended from Rocky Mountain haplotypes. A greater proportion of diversity was partitioned between Rocky Mountain races than between Pacific races. Areas of highest haplotypic diversity were the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, northwestern California, and southern Nevada.•Conclusions: Pinus ponderosahaplotype distribution patterns suggest a complex phylogeographic history not revealed by other genetic and morphological data, or by the sparse paleoecological record. The results appear consistent with long‐term divergence between the Pacific and Rocky Mountain varieties, along with more recent divergences not well‐associated with race. Pleistocene refugia may have existed in areas of high haplotypic diversity, as well as the Great Basin, Southwestern United States/northern Mexico, and the High Plains.
La lecture des émotions et le comportement violent cartographié dans le cerveau
Authors: Arreguy Marília Etienne 
Published: July 2013

Cet article a pour objet d’interpréter les études neuroscientifiques qui mettent en lien les lésions et fonctions neurophysiologiques avec le comportement émotionnel violent, et d’établir des considérations sur l’impact de ces hypothèses dans divers champs d’études tels que celui de la justice criminelle, de l’éducation, ou d’autres encore. Les neuroscientifiques eux-mêmes confessent ne pas avoir de preuves suffisantes pour affirmer l’existence d’un lien direct entre le potentiel criminel et les fonctions discrètes du cerveau, ou encore pouvoir en faire un support de preuve dans les examens neuro-criminels des jugements des criminels. Il existe cependant une tendance actuelle à cartographier les cerveaux pour intervenir de manière précoce, dans le but de prévenir la violence. Cet article analyse alors avec précaution l’investissement en politique de « scannerisation » et d’intervention dans les cerveaux d’enfants et d’adolescents qui présentent un comportement déviant ou violent. Basé sur quelques équivoques historiques comme les stigmates sociaux établis par le lombrosionisme et la phrénologie, mais aussi sur les prémices de la psychanalyse et les contributions constructivistes, il critique l’appropriation immédiate des résultats neuroscientifiques en ce qui concerne les origines de la violence, et met au premier plan l’irréductibilité de l’apport linguistique, social et historique, en tant que sources potentielles de la formation et de la transformation de la subjectivité.
Parricide, infanticide : réalités, représentations et cycle paternel. Perspectives en notre époque de globalisation
Authors: Arènes Jacques 
Published: July 2013

Le parricide constitue une réalité, statistiquement minoritaire, de la vie sociale, tout autant qu’une représentation qui a une valeur « performative » dans la mesure où elle est créatrice, en même temps qu’expression de l’opérateur culturel de paternité. L’auteur analyse les modifications de la représentation du parricide, dans notre période historique qu’il situe par rapport au cycle paternel proposé par Freud dans Totem et Tabou, et interroge l’émergence du fantasme culturel d’infanticide comme nouvelle figure contemporaine du mal absolu. Il analyse enfin comment, en notre époque de globalisation, la disqualification des pères issus de l’immigration serait alors le signe d’un rejet vis-à-vis de ces figures aujourd’hui inacceptables d’un type de paternité identifié à un moment plus « dur » du cycle paternel.
CCL22-Producing CD8α− Myeloid Dendritic Cells Mediate Regulatory T Cell Recruitment in Response to G-CSF Treatment
Authors: Layseca-Espinosa Esther , Korniotis Sarantis , Montandon Ruddy , Gras Christophe , Bouillié Marie , Gonzalez-Amaro Roberto , Dy Michel , Zavala Flora 
Published: July 2013

Abstract
G-CSF prevents type 1 diabetes in the NOD mouse by promoting the local recruitment of T regulatory cells (Tregs). This is an indirect effect because adoptive transfer of G-CSF–induced tolerogenic dendritic cells (DCs) promotes Treg accumulation. However, the identity of the particular DC subset and the molecule(s) mediating this effect remain unknown. We demonstrate in this study that the adoptive transfer of CD11chighCD8α− DCs isolated from pegylated G-CSF (pegG-CSF) recipients, but not that of other DC subtypes, enhanced the pancreatic recruitment of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs, which generated increased amounts of TGF-β. Likewise, only CD11chighCD8α− DCs from pegG-CSF recipients secreted the chemokine CCL22 at levels that effectively attracted Tregs. PegG-CSF was more efficient at enhancing the synthesis of CCL22 by CD11chighCD8α− DCs from the pancreatic lymph nodes compared with those from the spleen. Accordingly, CD11chighCD8α− DCs from the pancreatic lymph nodes of pegG-CSF recipients were more efficient than their splenic counterparts in the recruitment of Tregs upon adoptive transfer. Predictably, CD11chighCD8α− DCs failed to recruit these Tregs both in vivo and in vitro following intracellular neutralization of CCL22. These data assign a key role to CD8α− DCs and CCL22 in Treg recruitment in the protection of NOD mice against type 1 diabetes following the treatment with G-CSF.
Complement Activation Associated with ADAMTS13 Deficiency in Human and Murine Thrombotic Microangiopathy
Authors: Tati Ramesh , Kristoffersson Ann-Charlotte , Ståhl Anne-lie , Rebetz Johan , Wang Li , Licht Christoph , Motto David , Karpman Diana 
Published: July 2013

Abstract
This study addressed the contribution of ADAMTS13 deficiency to complement activation in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Renal tissue and blood samples were available from 12 TTP patients. C3 and C5b-9 deposition were demonstrated in the renal cortex of two TTP patients, by immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry, respectively. C3 was also demonstrated in the glomeruli of Shiga toxin-2–treated Adamts13−/− mice (n = 6 of 7), but less in mice that were not Shiga toxin-2 treated (n = 1 of 8, p &lt; 0.05) or wild-type mice (n = 0 of 7). TTP patient plasma (n = 9) contained significantly higher levels of complement-coated endothelial microparticles than control plasma (n = 13), as detected by flow cytometry. Exposure of histamine-stimulated primary glomerular endothelial cells to platelet-rich plasma from patients, or patient platelet-poor plasma combined with normal platelets, in a perfusion system, under shear, induced C3 deposition on von Willebrand factor–platelet strings (on both von Willebrand factor and platelets) and on endothelial cells. Complement activation occurred via the alternative pathway. No C3 was detected when cells were exposed to TTP plasma that was preincubated with EDTA or heat-inactivated, or to control plasma. In the perfusion system, patient plasma induced more release of C3- and C9-coated endothelial microparticles compared with control plasma. The results indicate that the microvascular process induced by ADAMTS13 deficiency triggers complement activation on platelets and the endothelium, which may contribute to formation of thrombotic microangiopathy.
REXIC Project: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study of Documentation of Informed Consent for Research Biobanking in a Public Research and Teaching Hospital
Authors: Nobile Marta , Garavelli Elena , Gagliardi Barbara , Giovanelli Silvia , Rebulla Paolo , Caccami Concetta , Iemmi Diego , Saibene Federico , Castaldi Silvana 
Published: July 2013

Background The Center for Transfusion Medicine, Cell Therapy and Cryobiology, Milan, Northern Italy, is the headquarter of the POLI-MI biobank. It co-ordinates the biobank activities of the Fondazione Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico of Milan. Such activities require specific safeguarding of donors’ rights and protection of sensitive and genetic data. The Fondazione Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico has set up a project on informed consent with the aim of developing awareness and understanding of this issue. Within this project, it has been decided to evaluate how consent for biobanking material is expressed. Design and methods The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality and completeness of consent to biobanking in the POLI-MI biobank. This was a retrospective study carried out in 2012 on samples of consent declarations collected by biobank units in 2011. Some units used a single, standard consent model available from a previous POLI-MI biobank workgroup. Other units used models which had been previouly formulated. Evaluation was made using a form that indicated the essential elements of consent. Results A total of 48 consent declarations were collected using the single, standard model and 84 were collected using other models. The consent declarations that used the single, standard model were found to be the most complete and were filled in better than other models. Conclusions Progressive adoption of a simple, standard consent model is expected to improve the quality of consent acquisition. Regular audit of the compliance of consent practices with ethical and legal requirements is mandatory to improve the quality of research biobanking.
Evaluation of number of roots and root anatomy of permanent mandibular third molars in a Korean population, using cone-beam computed tomography
Authors: Park Jun-Beom , Kim NamRyang , Park Seojin , Ko Youngkyung 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the morphology and number of roots of Korean mandibular third molars, and to evaluate the prevalence of C-shaped, two-rooted, and three-rooted mandibular third molars using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: Serial axial CBCT images of the mandibles were gathered from 137 Korean patients. The total number of roots in the mandibular third molars of these patients was measured, and both the incidence and the correlations between left- and right-side occurrences, as well as between males and females, were analyzed. Results: Most of the mandibular third molars either had two roots (56.5%) or one root (37.9%). There was no significant difference regarding the incidence of the different types of roots according to gender (female versus male) or topology (right versus left side). A higher percentage (80.5%) of the patients had similar root morphology on both sides. Conclusion: The morphology and number of 214 mandibular third molars were examined using CBCT. There was a high prevalence of two-rooted mandibular and one-rooted mandibular third molars from this Korean population. Even though the anatomical variations in the mandibular third molars may not be high, these data regarding the occurrence and morphology of the roots will provide useful information to dentists performing these procedures.
Article Commentary: Kynurenine Pathway Pathologies: Do Nicotinamide and Other Pathway Co-Factors have a Therapeutic Role in Reduction of Symptom Severity, Including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM)
Authors: Blankfield Adele 
Published: July 2013

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) appear to meet the criteria of a tryptophan-kynurenine pathway disorder with potential neuroimmunological sequelae. Aspects of some of the putative precipitating factors have been previously outlined. 2 , 3 An analysis of the areas of metabolic dysfunction will focus on future directions for research and management. The definition of dual tryptophan pathways has increased the understanding of the mind-body, body-mind dichotomy. The serotonergic pathway highlights the primary (endogenous) psychiatric disorders. The up-regulation of the kynurenine pathway by physical illnesses can cause neuropathic and immunological disorders 1 associated with secondary neuropsychiatric symptoms. Tryptophan and nicotinamide deficiencies fall within the protein energy malnutrition (PEM) spectrum. They can arise if the kynurenine pathway is stressed by primary or secondary inflammatory conditions and the consequent imbalance of available catabolic/anabolic substrates may adversely influence convalescent phase efficiency. The replacement of depleted or reduced NAD+ levels and other cofactors can perhaps improve the clinical management of these disorders.
Acquired Retinoschisis with Giant Outer Layer Break and Retinal Detachment
Authors: Giansanti Fabrizio , Bitossi Alice , Giacomelli Giovanni , Abbruzzese Giacomo , Giuntoli Matteo , Menchini Ugo 
Published: July 2013

Purpose To evaluate the natural history of a case of retinoschisis with giant outer layer break and retinal detachment. Methods A 42-year-old patient with a sudden paracentral scotoma in the visual field of the right eye underwent the following examinations: best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, optical coherence tomography, ocular echography, and fundus photography. Results The eye examination revealed inferotemporal retinoschisis-detachment with a giant outer retinal layer break and absence of foveal involvement. No breaks in the internal retinal layer were noted. No treatment was advised in the right eye. During the 3-year follow-up, a progressive reabsorption of subretinal fluid was detected and visual acuity remained unchanged. Conclusions Deliberate nontreatment of a case of nonprogressive retinoschisis-detachment carries less risk of serious complications or loss of vision than does either surgical or prophylactic treatment.
Fournier's Gangrene: A Fifteen-Year Survey. Three Cases Treated by Aggressive Surgical Management
Authors: Repetto Umberto , Donelli Alessandro 
Published: July 2013

Objectives To analyze our data with regard to the treatment of Fournier's Gangrene, a necrotizing subcutaneous infection of the male genitalia. This disease needs a pharmacological antibiotic and surgical treatment. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is useful too. Methods Our case record of fifteen years consists of 23 male patients. Results The present article describes the last three cases that required an aggressive surgical management. Conclusions We have observed a probable worsening of the prognosis of Fournier's Gangrene related to a possible increase of drug resistance.
Role of the Combined Regimen with Local Chemotherapy and Mw-Induced Hyperthermia for Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Management. A Systematic Review
Authors: Colombo Renzo , Moschini Marco 
Published: July 2013

Objectives To give an updated review concerning the role of combined regimen (CT) based on microwave-induced hyperthermia (MwHT, CT-MwHT) with intravesical chemotherapy (ICT) as a treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Evidence Acquisition The review process followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. An electronic search of the Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CancerLit, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases was undertaken. Relevant conference abstracts and urology journals were also included. The primary end-point was the time to recurrence. Secondary end-points included time to progression, bladder preservation rate, and adverse event (AE) rate. Evidence Synthesis A total of 24 studies met inclusion criteria and underwent data extraction. When feasible, data were combined using random-effects meta-analytic techniques. Recurrence was seen 59% less after CT-MwHT than after MMC alone, however, due to the short follow-up, no definitive conclusions can be drawn about the impact on the time to recurrence and progression. The overall bladder preservation rate after CT-MwHT was 87.6%. This rate appeared higher than after MMC alone, but valid comparison studies could not be drawn due to the absence of randomized trials in neo-adjuvant settings. AEs were higher with CT-MwHT than with MMC alone, but this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions Published data suggest that recurrence rates for chemo-hyperthermia are substantially reduced compared with chemotherapy alone in adjuvant settings. Patients with refractory disease fare worse than those being treated with chemo-hyperthermia for their first tumor. Progression rates to muscle-invasive disease are markedly lower after combination treatment than after chemotherapy alone, with very high rates of bladder preservation. Tolerability is good, with few dropouts in the clinical trials. The results support CT-MwHT in the future as a standard procedure for high-risk recurrent patients, for subjects in whom the treatment with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin is contraindicated, and those unsuitable for radical cystectomy.
Personalising the professional in the TVET SAC
Authors: Gear Kirsten 
Published: July 2013

AbstractBy 2036, UNESCO (2012) has estimated that there will be more people with college and university
diplomas and degrees than ever before in history combined. However, many people are getting
better qualifications of higher prestige for less work and of poorer quality. So, having such
credentials not only no longer makes graduates marketable, but possessing this caliber of
aptitude also makes individuals tremendously liable as accomplices and culprits in perpetuating
real world problems (RWPs) unless they opt to instead use gained knowledge to participate in
constructive conversations towards their reduction, remediation and resolution.
Outbound Train: The Instructor Support Project, Universal Design for Learning and the Role of Technology
Authors: Cavanagh Donnacha 
Published: July 2013

AbstractThe technological revolution that global society has undergone during the last few decades has
completely transformed the way in which people interact with each other and their environment.
Digital technology has permeated every corner of the globe and has permanently changed the
way in which we function. The importance of technology for individuals in our society is ever
increasing and creating a scenario where people, institutions and organizations are forced to
adapt or be left behind. As Marshall McLuhan, the eminent Canadian Sociologist and scholar
famously wrote, “the message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace
or pattern that it introduces into human affairs. The railway did not introduce movement or
transportation or wheel or road into human society, but it accelerated and enlarged the scale of
previous human functions, creating totally new kinds of cities and new kinds of work and leisure”
(1968) ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMEC_HqWlBY&feature=related ). For education our
medium is dynamic, vivid, flexible digital technology. Like the railroad, or the airplane before it,
the world is not as it once was.