bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Treatment for cutaneous arteritis patients with mononeuritis multiplex and elevated C‐reactive protein
Authors: Kawakami Tamihiro , Okudaira Azusa , Okano Tatsuro , Takeuchi Sora , Kimura Satoko , Soma Yoshinao , Ishizu Akihiro , Arimura Yoshihiro , Kobayashi Shigeto , Ozaki Shoichi 
Published: December 2013

AbstractCutaneous arteritis (cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa, CA) is a necrotizing vasculitis of arteries within the skin. CA is a new classification under single‐organ vasculitis, as adopted by the 2012 Chapel Hill consensus conference (CHCC 2012). Some patients originally diagnosed as having CA could develop additional disease manifestations that warrant reclassifying as systemic polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) according to the CHCC 2012. We retrospectively investigated 101 patients with CA seen at our department between 2003 and 2012. There was a significantly higher frequency of inflammatory plaques and leg edema in CA patients with elevated C‐reactive protein (CRP) compared to CA patients with normal CRP. Similarly, there were significant differences in the incidence of arthralgia and mononeuritis multiplex between the two patient groups. We found significantly positive correlations between CRP and creatinine titers in serum in all 101 CA patients. Prednisolone was administrated in a significantly greater percentage of patients with elevated CRP compared to patients with normal CRP. Repeated i.v. cyclophosphamide pulse therapy (IV‐CY) with prednisolone therapy at an early stage resulted in complete resolution without adverse effects or severe complications. We regard inflammatory plaques and leg edema with elevated serum CRP as an indication of a more severe condition, and treated them effectively with prednisolone. Assuming mononeuritis multiplex and/or arthritis exist with elevated CRP, we propose that earlier treatment by IV‐CY with prednisolone should be indicated for CA patients who demonstrate these more severe manifestations to prevent progression to PAN.
Drug survival rates in patients with psoriasis after treatment with biologics
Authors: Umezawa Yoshinori , Nobeyama Yoshimasa , Hayashi Mitsuha , Fukuchi Osamu , Ito Toshihiro , Saeki Hidehisa , Nakagawa Hidemi 
Published: December 2013

AbstractClinically, patients' adherence to biologic treatment is not only related to efficacy but also to adverse events, cost and other factors. To evaluate long‐term viability of biologic treatment, both the percentage of and reasons for discontinuation of treatment were investigated. In this study, patients treated with infliximab (n = 38), adalimumab (n = 59) and ustekinumab (n = 30) were included and observed for 12 months. Clinical efficacy was evaluated using a 75% reduction of Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score (PASI‐75), and patients who discontinued treatment were considered as not having achieved PASI‐75. In addition, drug survival rate (DSR) was investigated. In patients treated with infliximab, PASI‐75 was 68.4% and DSR was 73.3% by the end of treatment. In patients treated with adalimumab, PASI‐75 was 50.8% and DSR was 79.7%. In patients treated with ustekinumab, PASI‐75 was 63.3% and DSR was 96.7%. Several patients discontinued treatment because of insufficient efficacy due to secondary failure in infliximab or primary failure in adalimumab. To increase treatment efficacy, it will be necessary for these patients to use an additional concomitant treatment. Higher efficacy is expected with biologics than with conventional treatments; however, the actual clinical efficacy over a long period of time may be insufficient if they are used without any concomitant treatments.
Research Note: Transverse isotropy estimation from dipole sonic logs acquired in pilot and production wells
Authors: Horne S.A. , Walsh J.J. 
Published: December 2013

ABSTRACTDipole sonic logs acquired in near‐vertical pilot wells and over the build section of nearby horizontal production wells are inverted to determine the five elastic constants characterizing a transversely isotropic formation, under the assumption of lateral homogeneity. Slowness values from a single depth in the vertical well are combined with data from the corresponding depth in the deviated well; these data are then inverted using nonlinear optimization to derive the five elastic constants. The technique is demonstrated on data from the Haynesville Shale in Texas. Estimates of the anisotropy are in line with a priori expectations; the Thomsen ε and γ parameters are well correlated and generally possess positive anellipticity, with Thomsen's ε greater than Thomsen's δ.
Research Note: Full‐waveform inversion of the unwrapped phase of a model
Authors: Alkhalifah Tariq 
Published: December 2013

ABSTRACTReflections in seismic data induce serious non‐linearity in the objective function of full‐ waveform inversion. Thus, without a good initial velocity model that can produce reflections within a half cycle of the frequency used in the inversion, convergence to a solution becomes difficult. As a result, we tend to invert for refracted events and damp reflections in data. Reflection induced non‐linearity stems from cycle skipping between the imprint of the true model in observed data and the predicted model in synthesized data. Inverting for the phase of the model allows us to address this problem by avoiding the source of non‐linearity, the phase wrapping phenomena. Most of the information related to the location (or depths) of interfaces is embedded in the phase component of a model, mainly influenced by the background model, while the velocity‐contrast information (responsible for the reflection energy) is mainly embedded in the amplitude component. In combination with unwrapping the phase of data, which mitigates the non‐linearity introduced by the source function, I develop a framework to invert for the unwrapped phase of a model, represented by the instantaneous depth, using the unwrapped phase of the data. The resulting gradient function provides a mechanism to non‐linearly update the velocity model by applying mainly phase shifts to the model. In using the instantaneous depth as a model parameter, we keep track of the model properties unfazed by the wrapping phenomena.
Clinician percent syllables stuttered, clinician severity ratings and speaker severity ratings: are they interchangeable?
Authors: Karimi Hamid , Jones Mark , O'Brian Sue , Onslow Mark 
Published: December 2013

AbstractBackgroundAt present, percent syllables stuttered (%SS) is the gold standard outcome measure for behavioural stuttering treatment research. However, ordinal severity rating (SR) procedures have some inherent advantages over that method.AimsTo establish the relationship between Clinician %SS, Clinician SR and self‐reported Speaker SR. To investigate whether Clinician SRs and Speaker SRs can be used interchangeably.Method & ProceduresParticipants were three experienced speech–language pathologist (SLP) judges and 87 adults who stuttered. Adults who stuttered received a 10‐min unscheduled telephone call at the conclusion of which they self‐reported a SR using a nine‐point scale. The SLPs measured the stuttering for these conversations with %SS and also with the SR scale. The mean scores for Clinician %SS and Clinician SR were compared with Speaker SR using appropriate indices of relative and absolute reliability. Relative reliability indices deal with the rank order of participants in a sample and whether they can be distinguished from each other. However, absolute reliability indices are related to the closeness of the measurement scores to each other and to a hypothetical true score.Outcomes & ResultsStrong correlations were found between Clinician %SS and Clinician SR, and also between Clinician %SS and Speaker SR, although with higher values in the former case. Additionally, very high correlations showed acceptable relative reliability between Clinician SR and Speaker SR. However, absolute reliability in terms of standard error of measurement and limits of agreement was poor for Clinician SR and Speaker SR.Conclusions & ImplicationsThe results suggest that Clinician SR and Speaker SR cannot be used interchangeably to measure temporal stuttering severity changes for an individual client. However, researchers might use these two measures interchangeably in research contexts, such as clinical trials, where changes of the entire group are of interest to determine and compare treatment effect size across trials.
The effects of oral garlic on vaginal candida colony counts: a randomised placebo controlled double‐blind trial
Authors: Watson CJ , Grando D , Fairley CK , Chondros P , Garland SM , Myers SP , Pirotta M 
Published: December 2013

ObjectiveGarlic is effective against Candida species in vitro, and along with other alternative therapies, is used by women with vulvovaginal candidiasis. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether oral garlic reduced vaginal candida counts during the second half of the menstrual cycle in asymptomatic women colonised with Candida species.DesignA simple randomised double‐blinded controlled trial.SettingMelbourne, Australia.SampleSixty‐three asymptomatic women who were culture‐positive for Candida species at screening.MethodsParticipants were randomised to three garlic tablets or placebo orally, twice daily, for 14 days.Main outcome measuresThe primary outcome was the proportion of women with colony counts of candida >100 colony‐forming units per ml in any given day during the last 7 days before menstruation, defined as a ‘case’. Secondary outcomes included the mean quantitative colony counts of candida over 14 days prior to menses.ResultsThere was no evidence of a difference between the proportion of cases in the garlic and placebo groups (76 versus 90%; relative risk, RR 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI 0.67–1.08), in the mean colony counts in both groups (ratio of geometric means of candidal colony counts 0.63; 95% CI 0.39–10.03; P = 0.74), or difference in the number of women reporting abnormal vaginal symptoms during the 2 weeks before menstruation (RR 1.03; 95% CI 0.67–1.58; P = 0.91). The garlic group reported more adverse effects (83% compared 43% in the placebo group; difference in proportions 39%; 95% CI 17–%; P < 0.01).ConclusionsThis study provided data for sample size calculations in future studies on the antifungal effect of garlic, but provided no evidence to inform clinical practice regarding the use of garlic in vaginal candidiasis. Further studies might investigate longer courses or topical formulations.
The Application of the Central Limit Theorem and the Law of Large Numbers to Facial Soft Tissue Depths: T‐Table Robustness and Trends since 2008,
Authors: Stephan Carl N. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractBy pooling independent study means (), the T‐Tables use the central limit theorem and law of large numbers to average out study‐specific sampling bias and instrument errors and, in turn, triangulate upon human population means (μ). Since their first publication in 2008, new data from >2660 adults have been collected (c.30% of the original sample) making a review of the T‐Table's robustness timely. Updated grand means show that the new data have negligible impact on the previously published statistics: maximum change = 1.7 mm at gonion; and ≤1 mm at 93% of all landmarks measured. This confirms the utility of the 2008 T‐Table as a proxy to soft tissue depth population means and, together with updated sample sizes (8851 individuals at pogonion), earmarks the 2013 T‐Table as the premier mean facial soft tissue depth standard for craniofacial identification casework. The utility of the T‐Table, in comparison with shorths and 75‐shormaxes, is also discussed.
Acute Poisoning Types and Prevalence in Shanghai, China, from January 2010 to August 2011
Authors: Zhang Jingshuo , Xiang Ping , Zhuo Xianyi , Shen Min 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIn recent years, the number of cases of acute poisoning has increased in China, yet; currently, there is no detailed report published that addresses acute poisoning in the mainland of China. We collected biological samples from 466 cases of suspected acute poisoning at the hospitals in Shanghai, China, and examined them using spectroscopy, chromatography and chromatography/mass spectrometry. Of the 466 cases, 230 cases (100 men and 130 women) were positively confirmed as acute poisonings. There were 80 types of compounds identified in this study. Medications were the most frequent substances identified, and the other substances included pesticides, multiple compounds, volatile compounds, natural toxins, and others. The results of this study indicate a need for strengthening the education about and management of the rational and safe use of drugs in Shanghai.
Inorganic and Total Arsenic Contents in Rice‐Based Foods for Children with Celiac Disease
Authors: Munera‐Picazo Sandra , Ramírez‐Gandolfo Amanda , Burló Francisco , Carbonell‐Barrachina Ángel Antonio 
Published: December 2013

AbstractCeliac disease is an autoimmune disease that affects the villi of the small intestine causing abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea, or bad absorption due to gluten intolerance. The only treatment for this disease consists of a lifelong gluten free diet; this is, celiac people cannot consume products containing gluten, such as wheat, barley, and rye, but they can use rice and corn. Thus, rice flour is mainly used for the manufacturing of the basic products of this population. Unfortunately, rice can contain high contents of total (t‐As) and inorganic (i‐As) arsenic. The current study demonstrated that products for celiac children with a high percentage of rice contained high concentrations of arsenic (256 and 128 μg kg−1). The daily intake of i‐As ranged from 0.61 to 0.78 μg kg−1 body weight (bw) in children up to 5 y of age; these values were below the maximum value established by the EFSA Panel (8.0 μg kg−1 bw per day), but it should be considered typical of populations with a high exposure to this pollutant. Finally, legislation is needed to improve the labeling of these special rice‐based foods for celiac children; label should include information about percentage, geographical origin, and cultivar of the used rice.
Quantitative FDG PET/CT in the community: Experience from interpretation of outside oncologic PET/CT exams in referred cancer patients
Authors: Tahari Abdel K. , Wahl Richard L. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractPurposeTertiary care institutions often deal with patients who have had a baseline positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scan performed elsewhere. Little data exist regarding the quality of these PET/CT scans and whether they are fully suitable for qualitative or quantitative interpretation. We evaluated outside PET/CT scans from cancer patients referred to our institution and compared them with PET/CT scans acquired locally.MethodsThis Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act‐compliant retrospective study was approved by our institutional review board. Informed consent requirements were waived. One hundred seventy recent whole‐body outside PET/CT exams from many sites were digitally imported into our radiology imaging system and reviewed for key quality metrics including time from injection until imaging, availability of patient height and weight information, serum glucose level and [18F]fluoro‐2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose (FDG) dose. The standardised uptake value (SUV) and SUV based on lean body mass (SUL) in the liver were measured whenever possible. These were compared with 170 internal studies performed at our centre during the same period.ResultsMissing data were common in outside scans with height in 62%, weight 35%, uptake time 25%, FDG dose 28% and glucose levels in 64% of cases. In quantitatively evaluable cases, mean liver SUL, SUV, FDG dose and uptake time were much more variable in outside than in internal studies.ConclusionApproximately one‐third of the outside PET/CT studies submitted digitally for analysis lacked key information required to secure any quantitative imaging data. Only about a third of these studies had all necessary information available for accurate SUL determination and had acceptable quality that was comparable with locally acquired scans. This suggests that many of PET studies performed in the community cannot be relied upon to provide quantitative image data that can be applied in a different centre. Greater standardisation of oncologic PET/CT studies among different centres must still be pursued.
Integrin‐linked kinase modulates longevity and thermotolerance in C. elegans through neuronal control of HSF‐1
Authors: Kumsta Caroline , Ching Tsui‐Ting , Nishimura Mayuko , Davis Andrew E. , Gelino Sara , Catan Hannah H. , Yu Xiaokun , Chu Chu‐Chiao , Ong Binnan , Panowski Siler H. , Baird Nathan , Bodmer Rolf , Hsu Ao‐Lin , Hansen Malene 
Published: December 2013

SummaryIntegrin‐signaling complexes play important roles in cytoskeletal organization and cell adhesion in many species. Components of the integrin‐signaling complex have been linked to aging in both Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, but the mechanism underlying this function is unknown. Here, we investigated the role of integrin‐linked kinase (ILK), a key component of the integrin‐signaling complex, in lifespan determination. We report that genetic reduction of ILK in both C. elegans and Drosophila increased resistance to heat stress, and led to lifespan extension in C. elegans without majorly affecting cytoskeletal integrity. In C. elegans, longevity and thermotolerance induced by ILK depletion was mediated by heat‐shock factor‐1 (HSF‐1), a major transcriptional regulator of the heat‐shock response (HSR). Reduction in ILK levels increased hsf‐1 transcription and activation, and led to enhanced expression of a subset of genes with roles in the HSR. Moreover, induction of HSR‐related genes, longevity and thermotolerance caused by ILK reduction required the thermosensory neurons AFD and interneurons AIY, which are known to play a critical role in the canonical HSR. Notably, ILK was expressed in neighboring neurons, but not in AFD or AIY, implying that ILK reduction initiates cell nonautonomous signaling through thermosensory neurons to elicit a noncanonical HSR. Our results thus identify HSF‐1 as a novel effector of the organismal response to reduced ILK levels and show that ILK inhibition regulates HSF‐1 in a cell nonautonomous fashion to enhance stress resistance and lifespan in C. elegans.
Identification and characterization of novel and differentially expressed microRNAs in peripheral blood from healthy and mastitis Holstein cattle by deep sequencing
Authors: Li Zhixiong , Wang Hongliang , Chen Ling , Wang Lijun , Liu Xiaolin , Ru Caixia , Song Ailong 
Published: December 2013

SummaryMicroRNA (miRNA) mediates post‐transcriptional gene regulation and plays an important role in regulating the development of immune cells and in modulating innate and adaptive immune responses in mammals, including cattle. In the present study, we identified novel and differentially expressed miRNAs in peripheral blood from healthy and mastitis Holstein cattle by Solexa sequencing and bioinformatics. In total, 608 precursor hairpins (pre‐miRNAs) encoding for 753 mature miRNAs were detected. Statistically, 173 unique miRNAs (of 753, 22.98%) were identified that had significant differential expression between healthy and mastitis Holstein cattle (P < 0.001). Most differentially expressed miRNAs (118 of 173, 68.21%) belonged to the chemokine signaling pathway involved in the immune responses. This study expands the number of miRNAs known to be expressed in cattle. The patterns of miRNAs expression differed significantly between the peripheral blood from healthy and mastitis Holstein cattle, which provide important information on mastitis in miRNAs expression. Diverse miRNAs may play an important role in the treatment of mastitis in Holstein cattle.
A base substitution in the donor site of intron 12 of KIT gene is responsible for the dominant white coat colour of blue fox (Alopex lagopus)
Authors: Yan S. Q. , Hou J. N. , Bai C. Y. , Jiang Y. , Zhang X. J. , Ren H. L. , Sun B. X. , Zhao Z. H. , Sun J. H. 
Published: December 2013

SummaryThe dominant white coat colour of farmed blue fox is inherited as a monogenic autosomal dominant trait and is suggested to be embryonic lethal in the homozygous state. In this study, the transcripts of KIT were identified by RT‐PCR for a dominant white fox and a normal blue fox. Sequence analysis showed that the KIT transcript in normal blue fox contained the full‐length coding sequence of 2919 bp (GenBank Acc. No KF530833), but in the dominant white individual, a truncated isoform lacking the entire exon 12 specifically co‐expressed with the normal transcript. Genomic DNA sequencing revealed that a single nucleotide polymorphism (c.1867+1G>T) in intron 12 appeared only in the dominant white individuals and a 1‐bp ins/del polymorphism in the same intron showed in individuals representing two different coat colours. Genotyping results of the SNP with PCR‐RFLP in 185 individuals showed all 90 normal blue foxes were homozygous for the G allele, and all dominant white individuals were heterozygous. Due to the truncated protein with a deletion of 35 amino acids and an amino acid replacement (p.Pro623Ala) located in the conserved ATP binding domain, we propose that the mutant receptor had absent tyrosine kinase activity. These findings reveal that the base substitution at the first nucleotide of intron 12 of KIT gene, resulting in skipping of exon 12, is a causative mutation responsible for the dominant white phenotype of blue fox.
Systematic review with meta‐analysis: highly selective 5‐HT4 agonists (prucalopride, velusetrag or naronapride) in chronic constipation
Authors: Shin A. , Camilleri M. , Kolar G. , Erwin P. , West C. P. , Murad M. H. 
Published: December 2013

SummaryBackgroundHighly selective 5‐HT4 agonists have been suggested for the treatment of chronic constipation (CC).AimTo assess the effects of highly selective 5‐HT4 agonists (prucalopride, velusetrag or naronapride) on patient‐important clinical efficacy outcomes and safety in adults with CC.MethodsWe searched the medical literature in January 2013 using MEDLINE/Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science/Scopus for randomised, controlled trials of highly selective 5‐HT4 agonists in adults with CC, with no minimum duration of therapy (maximum 12 weeks) or date limitations. Data were extracted from intention‐to‐treat analyses, pooled using a random‐effects model, and reported as relative risk (RR), mean differences, or standardised mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsMain outcomes included stool frequency, Patient‐Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life (PAC‐QOL), PAC of symptoms (PAC‐SYM) and adverse events. Thirteen eligible trials were identified: 11 prucalopride, 1 velusetrag, 1 naronapride. Relative to control, treatment with highly selective 5‐HT4 agonists was superior for all outcomes: mean ≥3 spontaneous complete bowel movements (SCBM)/week (RR = 1.85; 95% CI 1.23–2.79); mean ≥1 SCBM over baseline (RR = 1.57; 95% CI 1.19, 2.06); ≥1 point improvement in PAC‐QOL and PAC‐SYM scores. The only active comparator trial of prucalopride and PEG3350 suggested PEG3350 is more efficacious for some end points. Adverse events were more common with highly selective 5‐HT4 agonists, but were generally minor; headache was the most frequent. Most trials studied prucalopride.ConclusionDemonstration of efficacy on patient‐important outcomes and a favourable safety profile support the continued use and development of highly selective 5–HT4 agonists in the treatment of chronic constipation.