bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Low-Dose Aspirin and Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Primary Versus Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention
Authors: Lin Kueiyu Joshua , De Caterina Raffaele , Rodríguez Luis A. García 
Published: November 2013

Background—
The benefit–risk profile of low-dose aspirin in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is unclear. We sought to quantify upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) risk associated with low-dose aspirin in secondary versus primary prevention patients.

Methods and Results—

We performed a population-based nested case–control study using The Health Improvement Network (THIN) Database between 2000 and 2007. We identified 2049 cases of UGIB and 20 000 controls, frequency-matched to the cases on age, sex, and calendar year, who were subdivided into primary (without previous cardiovascular disease) and secondary (with previous cardiovascular disease) prevention populations. We estimated the relative risk of UGIB associated with the use of low-dose aspirin by multivariate logistic regression. The UGIB risk in patients taking low-dose aspirin relative to nonusers was significantly higher in the primary (adjusted relative risk, 1.90; 95% confidence interval, 1.59–2.26) than in the secondary (relative risk, 1.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–1.72;
P
value for the difference=0.0014) prevention cohort. However, as the baseline risk of UGIB was lower in the primary than in the secondary prevention cohort, numbers needed to harm per 1 year of low-dose aspirin use were 601 and 391 for primary and secondary prevention, respectively.

Conclusions—
The relative risk of UGIB in patients taking low-dose aspirin is higher when used for primary than for secondary cardiovascular disease prevention, but this difference is more than compensated by the lower baseline risk in the primary prevention population. Such estimates are important for an assessment of the net clinical benefit in primary prevention.
Association of Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics and Retinal Microvascular Findings: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study
Authors: Ogagarue Ejovwoke R. , Lutsey Pamela L. , Klein Ronald , Klein Barbara E. , Folsom Aaron R. 
Published: November 2013

Background

This study evaluated the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular (
CV
) health in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study and determined its relationship with prevalent retinopathy, wider retinal venular diameters, and narrower arteriolar diameters, which are risk markers for subclinical cerebrovascular disease and are associated with increased stroke and coronary heart disease (
CHD
) morbidity and mortality.

Methods and Results

We used gradings of fundus photography measurements from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study to examine the association of retinopathy and retinal arteriolar and venular calibers to the number of ideal
CV
health metrics. Prevalent retinopathy showed a graded relationship with the
CV
health categories and number of ideal
CV
health metrics present: retinopathy prevalence was 2.1% among those with ≥5 ideal
CV
health metrics compared with 13.1% among those with zero ideal
CV
health metrics (odds ratio [
CI
]), 4.8 [2.5 to 8.9]). Central retinal venule equivalent and central retinal arteriolar equivalent diameters also showed graded relationships with
CV
health categories and number of ideal
CV
health metrics: after adjustment for age, race, sex, and education, mean central retinal venular equivalent was 187.8 μm (95%
CI
, 186.9 to 188.6 μm) among those with ≥5 ideal
CV
health metrics compared with 201.1 μm (95%
CI
, 199.1 to 203.1 μm) among those with zero ideal
CV
health metrics. Mean central retinal arteriolar equivalent was 163.8 μm (95%
CI
, 163.0 to 164.5 μm) among those with ≥5 ideal
CV
health metrics compared with 157.9 μm (95%
CI
, 156.1 to 159.7 μm) among those with zero ideal
CV
health metrics.

Conclusions
Few adults had ideal cardiovascular health. Those with the best level of health were less likely to have retinopathy signs, wide retinal venules, and narrow retinal arterioles, which are associated with increased stroke and coronary heart disease risk.
Ultrasonographic hyperechoic lesions of the breast: are they always benign?
Authors: Nam Sang Yu , Ko Eun Sook , Han Boo-Kyung , Shin Suyoung , Ko Eun Young , Shin Jung Hee , Hahn Soo Yeon 
Published: November 2013

Background Most of the breast lesions show hypoechogenicity relative to fat on ultrasonography. The frequency and malignancy rate of hyperechoic lesions are not investigated in a large series. Purpose To evaluate the frequency and malignancy rate of hyperechoic lesions on breast sonography and to investigate sonographic characteristics that may predict malignancy in hyperechoic breast lesions. Material and Methods Radiologic reports of 16,416 patients who underwent breast sonography between 2007 and 2008 were searched using “hyperechoic”, “echogenic” or “heterogeneous echoic” to describe lesions. Sonographic findings were evaluated according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System lexicon. Clinical records including follow-up and pathologic findings were also reviewed. We calculated the frequency of hyperechoic lesions and their malignancy rate. Differences in sonographic appearances between benign and malignant lesions were also investigated. Results Among the 16,416 patients, 103 (0.6%) hyperechoic lesions were identified (mean size, 1.79 cm). Of these 103 lesions, 27 (26.2%) were pathologically evaluated and five (4.9%, 4 invasive ductal carcinoma and 1 mucinous carcinoma) were confirmed as malignant. Among the 819 malignant lesions diagnosed using sonography-guided core needle biopsy, five (0.6%) were hyperechoic. In benign lesions, fat necrosis and fibroadenoma were common pathologic diagnoses. Malignant lesions were more likely to have irregular shape ( P = 0.003), non-parallel orientation ( P = 0.002), non-circumscribed margin ( P = 0.007), and a hypoechoic area ( P = 0.027) than benign lesions. All hyperechoic carcinomas were seen as suspicious masses on mammograms. Conclusion Hyperechoic masses are very rare and mostly benign. As an adjunct to mammography, the imaging findings reported here could help to avoid misdiagnosis for malignant hyperechoic lesion.
Detecting small plant peptides using SPADA (Small Peptide Alignment Discovery Application)
Authors: Zhou Peng , Silverstein Kevin AT , Gao Liangliang , Walton Jonathan D , Nallu Sumitha , Guhlin Joseph , Young Nevin D 
Published: November 2013

Abstract

Background
Small peptides encoded as one- or two-exon genes in plants have recently been shown to affect multiple aspects of plant development, reproduction and defense responses. However, popular similarity search tools and gene prediction techniques generally fail to identify most members belonging to this class of genes. This is largely due to the high sequence divergence among family members and the limited availability of experimentally verified small peptides to use as training sets for homology search and ab initio prediction. Consequently, there is an urgent need for both experimental and computational studies in order to further advance the accurate prediction of small peptides.

Results
We present here a homology-based gene prediction program to accurately predict small peptides at the genome level. Given a high-quality profile alignment, SPADA identifies and annotates nearly all family members in tested genomes with better performance than all general-purpose gene prediction programs surveyed. We find numerous mis-annotations in the current Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago truncatula genome databases using SPADA, most of which have RNA-Seq expression support. We also show that SPADA works well on other classes of small secreted peptides in plants (e.g., self-incompatibility protein homologues) as well as non-secreted peptides outside the plant kingdom (e.g., the alpha-amanitin toxin gene family in the mushroom, Amanita bisporigera).

Conclusions
SPADA is a free software tool that accurately identifies and predicts the gene structure for short peptides with one or two exons. SPADA is able to incorporate information from profile alignments into the model prediction process and makes use of it to score different candidate models. SPADA achieves high sensitivity and specificity in predicting small plant peptides such as the cysteine-rich peptide families. A systematic application of SPADA to other classes of small peptides by research communities will greatly improve the genome annotation of different protein families in public genome databases.
Is synaesthesia more common in autism?
Authors: Baron-Cohen Simon , Johnson Donielle , Asher Julian , Wheelwright Sally , Fisher Simon E , Gregersen Peter K , Allison Carrie 
Published: November 2013

Abstract

Background
Synaesthesia is a neurodevelopmental condition in which a sensation in one modality triggers a perception in a second modality. Autism (shorthand for Autism Spectrum Conditions) is a neurodevelopmental condition involving social-communication disability alongside resistance to change and unusually narrow interests or activities. Whilst on the surface they appear distinct, they have been suggested to share common atypical neural connectivity.

Methods
In the present study, we carried out the first prevalence study of synaesthesia in autism to formally test whether these conditions are independent. After exclusions, 164 adults with autism and 97 controls completed a synaesthesia questionnaire, Autism Spectrum Quotient, and Test of Genuineness-Revised (ToG-R) online.

Results
The rate of synaesthesia in adults with autism was 18.9% (31 out of 164), almost three times greater than in controls (7.22%, 7 out of 97, P<0.05). ToG-R proved unsuitable for synaesthetes with autism.

Conclusions
The significant increase in synaesthesia prevalence in autism suggests that the two conditions may share some common underlying mechanisms. Future research is needed to develop more feasible validation methods of synaesthesia in autism.
Thermochemical processes for biofuels production from biomass
Authors: Canabarro Nicholas , Soares Juliana F , Anchieta Chayene G , Kelling Camila S , Mazutti Marcio A 
Published: November 2013

Abstract
The contribution of biomass to the world’s energy supply is presently estimated to be around 10% to 14%. The conversion of biomass to biofuels can be achieved primarily via biochemical and thermochemical processes. Recently, the use of thermochemical processes as pyrolysis and gasification has received great attention. The biomass composition and form of process conduction can affect greatly the efficiency of conversion for both gasification and pyrolysis. This review compiles recent thermochemical studies using several kinds of biomass to obtain biofuels and, additionally, it presents a brief description of main gasification and pyrolysis processes employed. Publications in Patent database also were reported and compiled.
Errant Modernism
Authors: Gabara Esther 
Published: November 2013

Making a vital contribution to the understanding of Latin American modernism, Esther Gabara rethinks the role of photography in the Brazilian and Mexican avant-garde movements of the 1920s and 1930s. During these decades, intellectuals in Mexico and Brazil were deeply engaged with photography. Authors who are now canonical figures in the two countries’ literary traditions looked at modern life through the camera in a variety of ways. Mário de Andrade, known as the “pope” of Brazilian modernism, took and collected hundreds of photographs. Salvador Novo, a major Mexican writer, meditated on the medium’s aesthetic potential as “the prodigal daughter of the fine arts.” Intellectuals acted as tourists and ethnographers, and their images and texts circulated in popular mass media, sharing the page with photographs of the New Woman. In this richly illustrated study, Gabara introduces the concept of a modernist “ethos” to illuminate the intertwining of aesthetic innovation and ethical concerns in the work of leading Brazilian and Mexican literary figures, who were also photographers, art critics, and contributors to illustrated magazines during the 1920s and 1930s.
Gabara argues that Brazilian and Mexican modernists deliberately made photography err: they made this privileged medium of modern representation simultaneously wander and work against its apparent perfection. They flouted the conventions of mainstream modernism so that their aesthetics registered an ethical dimension. Their photographic modernism strayed, dragging along the baggage of modernity lived in a postcolonial site. Through their “errant modernism,” avant-garde writers and photographers critiqued the colonial history of Latin America and its twentieth-century formations.
Determining an Optimum Model for the Bending of Eucalyptus regnans Wood Heated by Microwave Energy
Authors: Burvill Colin , Ozarska Barbara , Juniper Luke 
Published: November 2013

Abstract
Microwave wood bending involves softening wood using microwave energy and then bending it into a required shape. An experimental framework was developed that included two sets of experiments: microwave mechanical property experiments (MMPE) and microwave wood-bending experiments (MWBE).
This article reports on an investigation into the effect of the salient wood-bending variables on important mechanical and bending characteristics of Eucalyptus regnans wood, using a full factorial experimental framework and associated statistical analysis. Variables investigated were moisture content in the range of 18 to 20 percent and above 35 percent; wood temperature in the ranges of 80°C to 85°C, 100°C to 105°C, and 120°C to 125°C; MMPE for three wood strain rates of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.6 mm/s; and MWBE for three strain rates of 13°/s, 27°/s, and 81°/s.
This article reports on two objectives: (1) the development of a full factorial experimental design framework for wood-bending research, and (2) the application of this framework to efficiently determine salient mechanical properties of E. regnans during microwave bending and to determine the bending parameters required for optimum microwave bending of this species. Bending strains for compression parallel-to-grain, shear parallel-to-grain, and tension parallel-to-grain were investigated.
The study revealed the following optimum microwave bending variables for E. regnans: moisture content above 70 percent, temperature in the range of 100°C to 105°C, and strain rates in the region of 0.1 mm/s or 13°/s.
The study authenticated an optimum set of bending variables for the microwave heating of E. regnans that enabled minimum wood failure during bending operation.
Protein Modifiers Generally Provide Limited Improvement in Wood Bond Strength of Soy Flour Adhesives
Authors: Frihart Charles R. , Lorenz Linda 
Published: November 2013

Abstract
Soy flour adhesives using a polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin (PAE) polymeric coreactant are used increasingly as wood adhesives for interior products. Although these adhesives give good performance, higher bond strength under wet conditions is desirable. Wet strength is important for accelerated tests involving the internal forces generated by the swelling of wood and plasticization of the adhesive with increasing humidity.
Soy proteins are globular due to their hydrophobicity; thus, it was expected that adding modifiers to open the protein structure should improve protein–protein and protein–wood interactions to help withstand both internal and external forces applied to the bond. Because modifiers have been shown to improve the performance of soy protein isolate adhesives, use of these modifiers has been examined as a way to improve soy flour adhesives. Protein-disrupting chaotropic agents (urea, guanidine hydrochloride, and dicyandiamide), surfactants (sodium dodecyl sulfate or cetyltrimethylammonium bromide), and the cosolvent propylene glycol were all expected to provide increased protein–protein and protein–PAE interactions. Improved interactions would make the soy flour adhesives durable enough to better pass wet bond strength tests specified for most interior bonded wood products. However, no substantial improvement was seen in cured wood bond strengths in wet conditions for soy flour adhesives by adding any of these modifiers with or without PAE polymer addition. These results led to a proposal that carbohydrates, about 45 percent by weight of soy flour, are interfering with obtaining greater adhesive bond strengths from the protein portion of the flour.
Improved Coating Performance on Wood Treated with Carbon-Based Preservatives and an Ultraviolet/Visible Light Protective Precoat
Authors: Stirling Rod , Morris Paul I. 
Published: November 2013

Abstract
Transparent and semitransparent coatings applied to wood products often fail due to photochemical degradation and colonization by black stain fungi. Longer-lasting coatings are needed to enhance the competitiveness of wood products used in appearance applications. We hypothesized that shell treatment with carbon-based wood preservatives combined with a protective precoat containing organic ultraviolet (UV) absorbers and hindered amine light stabilizers would control black stain fungi and provide enhanced coating service life. After 3 years of field exposure at Maple Ridge, British Columbia, and Saucier, Mississippi, samples were evaluated for degree of black stain, coating degradation, and substrate damage. Heartwood substrate, preservative treatment, and use of protective precoats were associated with better stain resistance and enhanced coating performance. Use of preservative treatments and UV protective precoats is recommended to enhance the service life of high-quality transparent and semitransparent finishes. However, further work is needed to enhance the performance of transparent and semitransparent coatings to meet consumer demands for low maintenance.
Evolution of Dioctahedral Vermiculite in Geological Environments—An Experimental Approach
Authors: Skiba Michał 
Published: November 2013

AbstractDioctahedral vermiculite commonly occurs in soils and fresh sediments, but has not been reported in sedimentary rocks. Little is known of the evolution of this mineral during diagenesis. According to the available literature, dioctahedral vermiculite is likely to exhibit strong potential for selective sorption and fixation of K+ involving interlayer dehydration and collapse. he objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of K+ saturation and seawater treatments on the structure o dioctahedral vermiculite. Due to the fact that no dioctahedral vermiculite standard reference material was available, a natural sample of soil clay containing dioctahedral vermiculite was used in the study. The clay was saturated with K+ using different protocols simulating natural processes taking place in soils and marine environments. The solid products of the experiments were analyzed for potassium content using flame photometry. The effect of the treatments used on the structure of dioctahedral vermiculite was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The percentages of the collapsed interlayers were estimated by modeling the XRD patterns based on a whole-pattern multi-specimen modeling technique. All the treatments involving K+ saturation caused K+ fixation and irreversible collapse (i.e. contraction to 10 Å) of at least a portion of the hydrated (vermiculitic) interlayers. Air drying of the K+-saturated samples greatly enhanced the degree of the collapse. The results obtained gave no clear answer as to whether time had had a significant effect on the degree to which irreversible collapse occurred. Selective sorption of K+ from artificial seawater was observed. These results clearly indicate that collapse of dioctahedral vermiculite is likely to occur in soils during weathering and in sediments during early diagenesis. Both processes need to be taken into consideration in sedimentary basin studies.
The Influence of Oxalate-Promoted Growth of Saponite and Talc Crystals on Rectorite: Testing the Intercalation-Synthesis Hypothesis of 2:1 Layer Silicates
Authors: Schumann Dirk , Hartman Hyman , Eberl Dennis D. , Sears S. Kelly , Hesse Reinhard , Vali Hojatollah 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe intercalating growth of new silicate layers or metal hydroxide layers in the interlayer space of other clay minerals is known from various mixed-layer clay minerals such as illite-smectite (I-S), chlorite-vermiculite, and mica-vermiculite. In a recent study, the present authors proposed that smectite-group minerals can be synthesized from solution as new 2:1 silicate layers within the low-charge interlayers of rectorite. That study showed how oxalate catalyzes the crystallization of saponite from a silicate gel at low temperatures (60ºC) and ambient pressure. As an extension of this work the aim of the present study was to test the claim that new 2:1 silicate layers can be synthesized as new intercalating layers in the low-charge interlayers of rectorite and whether oxalate could promote such an intercalation synthesis. Two experiments were conducted at 60ºC and atmospheric pressure. First, disodium oxalate solution was added to a suspension of rectorite in order to investigate the effects that oxalate anions have on the structure of rectorite. In a second experiment, silicate gel of saponitic composition (calculated interlayer charge -0.33 eq/O10(OH)2) was mixed with a suspension of rectorite and incubated in disodium oxalate solution. The synthesis products were extracted after 3 months and analyzed by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The treatment of ultrathin sections with octadecylammonium (nC =18) cations revealed the presence of 2:1 layer silicates with different interlayer charges that grew from the silicate gel. The oxalate-promoted nucleation of saponite and talc crystallites on the rectorite led to the alteration and ultimately to the destruction of the rectorite structure. The change was documented in HRTEM lattice-fringe images. The crystallization of new 2:1 layer silicates also occurred within the expandable interlayers of rectorite but not as new 2:1 silicate layers parallel to the previous 2:1 silicate layers. Instead, they grew independently of any orientation predetermined by the rectorite crystal substrate and their crystallization was responsible for the destruction of the rectorite structure.
Market-Share Contracts with Vertical Externalities
Authors: Amemiya Yuki , Kitamura Hiroshi , Oshiro Jun 
Published: November 2013

Abstract
We construct a model of market-share contracts with vertical externalities. When a dominant supplier offers a linear wholesale price to a retailer, vertical externalities, well-recognized as double-marginalization problems, arise in the vertical relation. The dominant supplier facing vertical externalities charges a wholesale price that is excessively high for both the vertical relation and social welfare. Under market-share contracts, the retailer can commit to increase the sales of goods produced by the dominant supplier for a lower wholesale price. We point out that this induces the vertical relation to engage in market-share contracts even in the absence of exclusionary effects in the upstream market. We also show that such contracts mitigate vertical externalities and improve social welfare.