bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage Plants With Utilization of Thermal Energy Storage Systems
Authors: Nakhamkin M. , Schainker R. B. 
Published: March 2015

This paper presents results of engineering development for utilization of thermal energy storage (TES) for Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) plant applications.
Presented results include the following:
- Turbomachinery cycle optimization for TES application
- TES systems engineering and optimization
- Comparative technical and economic analysis of various CAES plant concepts with TES versus a conventional CAES plant concept
The paper concludes that utilization of TES is feasible, practical and economically attractive.
Advanced Recuperator for Compressed Air Energy Storage Plants
Authors: Nakhamkin Michael , Stange John R. , Marshall Richard , Pelini Robert , Schainker Robert B. 
Published: March 2015

This paper presents solutions to the extensive corrosion problems affecting recuperators in Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) applications. Two advanced designs for a 50 MW CAES plant were engineered: (a) a two-section counterflow arrangement with a replaceable cold end section which operates with tube wall temperatures below the exhaust gas dew point temperature, (b) a three-section design with a flow arrangement which eliminates tube wall temperatures below the exhaust gas dew point temperature.
Presented in this paper are a general description, design specifics, performance and cost data for these two conceptual designs. Technical and economic analyses were performed to determine the most practical and economic design.
Feasibility study of a dual detector configuration concept for simultaneous megavoltage imaging and dose verification in radiotherapy
Authors: Deshpande Shrikant , McNamara Aimee L. , Holloway Lois , Metcalfe Peter , Vial Philip 
Published: March 2015

Purpose:To test the feasibility of a dual detector concept for comprehensive verification of external beam radiotherapy. Specifically, the authors test the hypothesis that a portal imaging device coupled to a 2D dosimeter provides a system capable of simultaneous imaging and dose verification, and that the presence of each device does not significantly detract from the performance of the other.Methods:The dual detector configuration comprised of a standard radiotherapy electronic portal imaging device (EPID) positioned directly on top of an ionization‐chamber array (ICA) with 2 cm solid water buildup material (between EPID and ICA) and 5 cm solid backscatter material. The dose response characteristics of the ICA and the imaging performance of the EPID in the dual detector configuration were compared to the performance in their respective reference clinical configurations. The reference clinical configurations were 6 cm solid water buildup material, an ICA, and 5 cm solid water backscatter material as the reference dosimetry configuration, and an EPID with no additional buildup or solid backscatter material as the reference imaging configuration. The dose response of the ICA was evaluated by measuring the detector's response with respect to off‐axis position, field size, and transit object thickness. Clinical dosimetry performance was evaluated by measuring a range of clinical intensity‐modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) beams in transit and nontransit geometries. The imaging performance of the EPID was evaluated quantitatively by measuring the contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) and spatial resolution. Images of an anthropomorphic phantom were also used for qualitative assessment.Results:The measured off‐axis and field size response with the ICA in both transit and nontransit geometries for both dual detector configuration and reference dosimetry configuration agreed to within 1%. Transit dose response as a function of object thickness agreed to within 0.5%. All IMRT test patterns and clinical IMRT beams had gamma pass rates of ≥98% at 2%/2 mm criteria. In terms of imaging performance, the measured CNR and spatial resolution (f50) were 263.23 ± 24.85 and 0.4025 ± 1.25 × 10−3 for dual detector configuration and 324 ± 26.65 and 0.4141 ± 1.14 × 10−3 for reference imaging configuration, respectively. The CNR and spatial resolution were quantitatively worse in the dual detector configuration due to the additional backscatter. The difference in imaging performance was not visible in qualitative assessment of phantom images.Conclusions:Combining a commercially available ICA dosimetry device with a conventional EPID did not significantly detract from the performance of either device. Further improvements in imaging performance may be achieved with an optimized design. This study demonstrates the feasibility of a dual detector concept for simultaneous imaging and dosimetry in radiation therapy.
Patient‐bounded extrapolation using low‐dose priors for volume‐of‐interest imaging in C‐arm CT
Authors: Xia Y. , Bauer S. , Maier A. , Berger M. , Hornegger J. 
Published: March 2015

Purpose:Three‐dimensional (3D) volume‐of‐interest (VOI) imaging with C‐arm systems provides anatomical information in a predefined 3D target region at a considerably low x‐ray dose. However, VOI imaging involves laterally truncated projections from which conventional reconstruction algorithms generally yield images with severe truncation artifacts. Heuristic based extrapolation methods, e.g., water cylinder extrapolation, typically rely on techniques that complete the truncated data by means of a continuity assumption and thus appear to be ad‐hoc. It is our goal to improve the image quality of VOI imaging by exploiting existing patient‐specific prior information in the workflow.Methods:A necessary initial step prior to a 3D acquisition is to isocenter the patient with respect to the target to be scanned. To this end, low‐dose fluoroscopic x‐ray acquisitions are usually applied from anterior–posterior (AP) and medio‐lateral (ML) views. Based on this, the patient is isocentered by repositioning the table. In this work, we present a patient‐bounded extrapolation method that makes use of these noncollimated fluoroscopic images to improve image quality in 3D VOI reconstruction. The algorithm first extracts the 2D patient contours from the noncollimated AP and ML fluoroscopic images. These 2D contours are then combined to estimate a volumetric model of the patient. Forward‐projecting the shape of the model at the eventually acquired C‐arm rotation views gives the patient boundary information in the projection domain. In this manner, we are in the position to substantially improve image quality by enforcing the extrapolated line profiles to end at the known patient boundaries, derived from the 3D shape model estimate.Results:The proposed method was evaluated on eight clinical datasets with different degrees of truncation. The proposed algorithm achieved a relative root mean square error (rRMSE) of about 1.0% with respect to the reference reconstruction on nontruncated data, even in the presence of severe truncation, compared to a rRMSE of 8.0% when applying a state‐of‐the‐art heuristic extrapolation technique.Conclusions:The method we proposed in this paper leads to a major improvement in image quality for 3D C‐arm based VOI imaging. It involves no additional radiation when using fluoroscopic images that are acquired during the patient isocentering process. The model estimation can be readily integrated into the existing interventional workflow without additional hardware.
Technical Note: Implementation of biological washout processes within gate/geant4—A Monte Carlo study in the case of carbon therapy treatments
Authors: Martínez‐Rovira I. , Jouvie C. , Jan S. 
Published: March 2015

Purpose:The imaging of positron emitting isotopes produced during patient irradiation is the only in vivo method used for hadrontherapy dose monitoring in clinics nowadays. However, the accuracy of this method is limited by the loss of signal due to the metabolic decay processes (biological washout). In this work, a generic modeling of washout was incorporated into the gate simulation platform. Additionally, the influence of the washout on the β+ activity distributions in terms of absolute quantification and spatial distribution was studied.Methods:First, the irradiation of a human head phantom with a 12C beam, so that a homogeneous dose distribution was achieved in the tumor, was simulated. The generated 11C and 15O distribution maps were used as β+ sources in a second simulation, where the PET scanner was modeled following a detailed Monte Carlo approach. The activity distributions obtained in the presence and absence of washout processes for several clinical situations were compared.Results:Results show that activity values are highly reduced (by a factor of 2) in the presence of washout. These processes have a significant influence on the shape of the PET distributions. Differences in the distal activity falloff position of 4 mm are observed for a tumor dose deposition of 1 Gy (Tini = 0 min). However, in the case of high doses (3 Gy), the washout processes do not have a large effect on the position of the distal activity falloff (differences lower than 1 mm). The important role of the tumor washout parameters on the activity quantification was also evaluated.Conclusions:With this implementation, gate/geant 4 is the only open‐source code able to simulate the full chain from the hadrontherapy irradiation to the PET dose monitoring including biological effects. Results show the strong impact of the washout processes, indicating that the development of better models and measurement of biological washout data are essential.
Robust electromagnetically guided endoscopic procedure using enhanced particle swarm optimization for multimodal information fusion
Authors: Luo Xiongbiao , Wan Ying , He Xiangjian 
Published: March 2015

Purpose:Electromagnetically guided endoscopic procedure, which aims at accurately and robustly localizing the endoscope, involves multimodal sensory information during interventions. However, it still remains challenging in how to integrate these information for precise and stable endoscopic guidance. To tackle such a challenge, this paper proposes a new framework on the basis of an enhanced particle swarm optimization method to effectively fuse these information for accurate and continuous endoscope localization.Methods:The authors use the particle swarm optimization method, which is one of stochastic evolutionary computation algorithms, to effectively fuse the multimodal information including preoperative information (i.e., computed tomography images) as a frame of reference, endoscopic camera videos, and positional sensor measurements (i.e., electromagnetic sensor outputs). Since the evolutionary computation method usually limits its possible premature convergence and evolutionary factors, the authors introduce the current (endoscopic camera and electromagnetic sensor's) observation to boost the particle swarm optimization and also adaptively update evolutionary parameters in accordance with spatial constraints and the current observation, resulting in advantageous performance in the enhanced algorithm.Results:The experimental results demonstrate that the authors’ proposed method provides a more accurate and robust endoscopic guidance framework than state‐of‐the‐art methods. The average guidance accuracy of the authors’ framework was about 3.0 mm and 5.6° while the previous methods show at least 3.9 mm and 7.0°. The average position and orientation smoothness of their method was 1.0 mm and 1.6°, which is significantly better than the other methods at least with (2.0 mm and 2.6°). Additionally, the average visual quality of the endoscopic guidance was improved to 0.29.Conclusions:A robust electromagnetically guided endoscopy framework was proposed on the basis of an enhanced particle swarm optimization method with using the current observation information and adaptive evolutionary factors. The authors proposed framework greatly reduced the guidance errors from (4.3, 7.8) to (3.0 mm, 5.6°), compared to state‐of‐the‐art methods.
Draft Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas abietaniphila KF717 (NBRC 110669), Isolated from Biphenyl-Contaminated Soil in Japan
Authors: Kimura Nobutada , Yamazoe Atsushi , Hosoyama Akira , Hirose Jun , Watanabe Takahito , Suenaga Hikaru , Fujihara Hidehiko , Futagami Taiki , Goto Masatoshi , Furukawa Kensuke 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACT

Pseudomonas abietaniphila
KF717 utilizes biphenyl as a sole source of carbon and energy and degrades polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We report here the 6,930,016-bp genome sequence of this strain, which contains 6,323 predicted coding sequences (CDSs), including the biphenyl-utilizing
bph
gene cluster.
Genome Sequence of the Solvent-Producing Clostridium beijerinckii Strain 59B, Isolated from Staffordshire Garden Soil
Authors: Little Gareth T. , Winzer Klaus , Minton Nigel P. 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACT

The genome sequence of the solvent-producing, spore-forming, saccharolytic, mesophilic bacterium
Clostridium beijerinckii
strain 59B, isolated from Staffordshire garden soil, was obtained via a combination of sequencing with the 454 and Illumina platforms. This information will allow for metabolic engineering of a potentially industrially useful strain.
Complete Genome Sequence of Corynebacterium minutissimum, an Opportunistic Pathogen and the Causative Agent of Erythrasma
Authors: Penton Patricia K. , Tyagi Eishita , Humrighouse Ben W. , McQuiston John R. 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACT

Corynebacterium minutissimum
was first isolated in 1961 from infection sites of patients presenting with erythrasma, a common cutaneous infection characterized by a rash. Since its discovery, C. minutissimum has been identified as an opportunistic pathogen in immunosuppressed cancer and HIV patients. Here, we report the whole-genome sequence of C. minutissimum.
Durability of oral hypoglycemic agents in drug naïve patients with type 2 diabetes: report from the Swedish National Diabetes Register (NDR)
Authors: Ekström Nils , Svensson Ann-Marie , Miftaraj Mervete , Andersson Sundell Karolina , Cederholm Jan , Zethelius Björn , Eliasson Björn , Gudbjörnsdottir Soffia 
Published: March 2015

ObjectiveTo analyze the durability of monotherapy with different classes of oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) in drug naïve patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in real life.MethodsMen and women with T2DM, who were new users of OHA monotherapy and registered in the Swedish National Diabetes Register July 2005–December 2011, were available (n=17 309) and followed for up to 5.5 years. Time to monotherapy failure, defined as discontinuation of continuous use with the initial agent, switch to a new agent, or add-on treatment of a second agent, was analyzed as a measure of durability. Baseline characteristics were balanced by propensity score matching 1:5 between groups of sulfonylurea (SU) versus metformin (n=4303) and meglitinide versus metformin (n=1308). HRs with 95% CIs were calculated using Cox regression models.ResultsSU and meglitinide, as compared with metformin, were associated with increased risk of monotherapy failure (HR 1.74; 95% CI 1.56 to 1.94 and 1.66; 1.37 to 2.00 for SU and meglitinide, respectively). When broken down by type of monotherapy failure, SU and meglitinide were associated with an increased risk of add-on treatment of a second agent (HR 3.14; 95% CI 2.66 to 3.69 and 2.52; 1.89 to 3.37 for SU and meglitinide, respectively) and of switch to a new agent (HR 2.81; 95% CI 2.01 to 3.92 and 3.78; 2.25 to 6.32 for SU and meglitinide, respectively). The risk of discontinuation did not differ significantly between the groups.ConclusionsIn this nationwide observational study reflecting clinical practice, SU and meglitinide showed substantially increased risk of switch to a new agent or add on of a second agent compared with metformin. These results indicate superior glycemic durability with metformin compared with SU and also meglitinide in real life.
Plasma 1-deoxysphingolipids are predictive biomarkers for type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Othman Alaa , Saely Christoph H , Muendlein Axel , Vonbank Alexander , Drexel Heinz , von Eckardstein Arnold , Hornemann Thorsten 
Published: March 2015

ObjectiveSerine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) catalyzes the condensation of serine and palmitoyl coenzyme A, the first step in the de novo sphingolipid synthesis. Apart from these canonical substrates, SPT can also metabolize alanine and other acyl coenzyme As. This forms a spectrum of atypical sphingoid bases which are altered in the context of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We investigated whether atypical sphingolipids can be used as prospective markers to predict the incidence of T2DM.Research design and methodsUsing liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, we analyzed the sphingoid base profile in a prospective cohort with 339 individuals. All individuals were followed up for a period of 8 years.ResultsConfirming earlier results, we found 1-deoxysphingolipids (1-deoxySLs) to be significantly elevated in patients with MetS, impaired fasting glucose, and T2DM. Patients who developed T2DM during the follow-up period (n=32) showed significantly higher 1-deoxySL levels at baseline compared with those who did not develop T2DM until the end of the study (n=70). 1-Deoxysphingosine levels were independent predictors for T2DM even after adjusting for glycated hemoglobin (standardized adjusted OR=2.1, CI 95% (1.19 to 3.71); p=0.010), MetS (standardized adjusted OR=1.97, CI 95% (1.13 to 3.43); p=0.017), and other risk factors such as age, sex, BMI, and lipid-lowering drugs. Similar results were observed for the 1-deoxysphinganine levels.ConclusionsOur results support a novel role for 1-deoxySL as predictive biomarkers for the development of T2DM in risk patients and warrants further larger prospective trials in lower risk cohorts.
Improving patient safety by implementing a new general surgical on-call rota for FY1 doctors
Authors: Walton Henry , Uheba Mokthar 
Published: March 2015

AbstractJunior doctors often feel they have little control over their working environment and can feel overwhelmed by the numerous barriers to their involvement with rota design. This project aimed to overcome these barriers to change by implementing a new FY1 on-call rota, designed by junior doctors, for the surgical department at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton.A new rota was necessary since the department had recently undergone an organisational restructuring that altered the out of hours work load for FY1 doctors. To address this, the proposed new rota increased FY1 presence during weekend daytime shifts.To assess junior opinion about the old rota and the proposed new rota, a survey was sent to 32 FY1 doctors analysing their views about each rota in terms of safety, the sufficiency of cover for various shifts, and their willingness to work the rota. A direct comparison between the two rotas was also requested. A statistically significant (p<0.05, n=12, two-tailed paired T-test) increase in people agreeing with the following statements about the new rota: "The rota is safe", "This rota has sufficient FY1 cover during the weekend day shifts", and "I would be prepared to work this rota." A direct comparison revealed that FY1 doctors felt that the new rota would be safer, they would be more willing to work the new rota, and that the new rota should be implemented. Implementation occurred for the August 2014 general surgical FY1 intake and post implementation audits showed that the new FY1s felt that cover across all shifts was improved and that the new rota was safe.This project demonstrates that altering rotas can improve junior doctor's perception of patient safety, and also shows that junior team members, with departmental support, can overcome barriers to change and implement new rotas.
De NovoPost-Diagnosis Aspirin Use and Mortality in Women with Stage I–III Breast Cancer
Authors: Barron Thomas I. , Murphy Laura M. , Brown Chris , Bennett Kathleen , Visvanathan Kala , Sharp Linda 
Published: March 2015

AbstractBackground: Aspirin use has been associated with significant reductions in breast cancer–related mortality in some observational studies. However, these studies included women who initiated aspirin use before breast cancer diagnosis. It is unclear whether initiating aspirin use after diagnosis is associated with similar reductions in mortality. This study investigates associations between de novo post-diagnostic aspirin use and all cause, breast cancer–specific mortality.Methods: Women, ages 50 to 80, with a diagnosis of stage I–III breast cancer were identified from Ireland's National Cancer Registry (N = 4,540). Initiation of de novo post-diagnostic aspirin use was identified from linked national prescription refill data (N = 764). Adjusted HRs were estimated for associations between de novo aspirin use and all-cause, breast cancer–specific mortality.Results: The median time from diagnosis to aspirin initiation was 1.8 years. The mean number of days' supply of aspirin received was 631, and 95% of users were taking less than 150 mg/d. We found no association between de novo aspirin use and breast cancer–specific mortality [HR, 0.98; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.74–1.30]. Similar null associations were found in women taking aspirin at high-intensity (HR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.72–1.47) and women initiating use in the 1.5 years after diagnosis (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.77–1.40). There was no effect modification by estrogen (Pinteraction = 0.81) or progesterone (Pinteraction = 0.41) receptor status.Conclusion: Initiating aspirin use after a breast cancer diagnosis was not associated with a reduction in breast cancer–specific mortality.Impact: On the basis of our findings, we suggest that a clearer understanding of aspirin's mechanism of action is needed to help inform the design of future studies in breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(6); 898–904. ©2015 AACR.
New Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Regulator, Gipie, Regulates the Survival of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and the Neointima Formation After Vascular Injury
Authors: Noda Tomonori , Maeda Kengo , Hayano Shinji , Asai Naoya , Enomoto Atsushi , Takahashi Masahide , Murohara Toyoaki 
Published: March 2015

Objective—
The accumulation of unfolded protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) initiates an adaptive stress response, termed the unfolded protein response. Previous studies suggested that ER stress might be involved in the formation of neointima after vascular injury. We recently discovered a novel regulator of ER stress, 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein–interacting protein induced by ER stress (Gipie). The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of Gipie using models of vascular disease.

Approach and Results—
We investigated the functions of Gipie in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and in a vascular injury model of a rat carotid artery. The expression of Gipie was predominantly detected in synthetic VSMCs and to a much lesser extent in contractile VSMCs, which was augmented by treatment with thapsigargin. Gipie knockdown increased the phosphorylation levels of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and the number of apoptotic cells under ER stress. Moreover, Gipie knockdown decreased the mature form of collagen I in synthetic VSMCs. The expression of Gipie was rarely detected in the medial VSMCs of the intact carotid artery, whereas it was detected in most of the neointimal cells and some of the medial VSMCs after balloon injury. Depletion of Gipie in the rat carotid artery attenuated the neointimal thickening, which was accompanied by increased cell death in the neointima. Conversely, overexpression of Gipie augmented the neointimal thickening.

Conclusions—
Gipie participates in the ER stress response in VSMCs and plays an important role in neointima formation after vascular injury.