bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Integrated Procedure to Determine a Reference Station Network for Evaluating and Adjusting Urban Bias in Surface Air Temperature Data
Authors: Ren Guoyu , Li Jiao , Ren Yuyu , Chu Ziying , Zhang Aiying , Zhou Yaqing , Zhang Lei , Zhang Yuan , Bian Tao 
Published: March 2015

AbstractTrends in surface air temperature (SAT) are a critical indicator for climate change at varied spatial scales. Because of urbanization effects, however, the current SAT records of many urban stations can hardly meet the demands of the studies. Evaluation and adjustment of the urbanization effects on the SAT trends are needed, which requires an objective selection of reference (rural) stations. Based on the station history information from all meteorological stations with long-term records in mainland China, an integrated procedure for determining the reference SAT stations has been developed and is applied in forming a network of reference SAT stations. Historical data from the network are used to assess the urbanization effects on the long-term SAT trends of the stations of the national Reference Climate Network and Basic Meteorological Network (RCN+BMN or national stations), which had been used most frequently in studies of regional climate change throughout the country. This paper describes in detail the integrated procedure and the assessment results of urbanization effects on the SAT trends of the national stations applying the data from the reference station network determined using the procedure. The results showed a highly significant urbanization effect of 0.074°C (10 yr)−1 and urbanization contribution of 24.9% for the national stations of mainland China during the time period 1961–2004, which compared well to results that were reported in previous studies by the authors using the predecessor of the present reference network and the reference stations selected but when applying other methods. The authors are thus confident that the SAT data from the updated China reference station network as reported in this paper best represented the baseline SAT trends nationwide and could be used for evaluating and adjusting the urban biases in the historical data series of the SAT from different observational networks.
Observed Trends in Canada’s Climate and Influence of Low-Frequency Variability Modes
Authors: Vincent L. A. , Zhang X. , Brown R. D. , Feng Y. , Mekis E. , Milewska E. J. , Wan H. , Wang X. L. 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
Trends in Canada’s climate are analyzed using recently updated data to provide a comprehensive view of climate variability and long-term changes over the period of instrumental record. Trends in surface air temperature, precipitation, snow cover, and streamflow indices are examined along with the potential impact of low-frequency variability related to large-scale atmospheric and oceanic oscillations on these trends. The results show that temperature has increased significantly in most regions of Canada over the period 1948–2012, with the largest warming occurring in winter and spring. Precipitation has also increased, especially in the north. Changes in other climate and hydroclimatic variables, including a decrease in the amount of precipitation falling as snow in the south, fewer days with snow cover, an earlier start of the spring high-flow season, and an increase in April streamflow, are consistent with the observed warming and precipitation trends. For the period 1900–2012, there are sufficient temperature and precipitation data for trend analysis for southern Canada (south of 60°N) only. During this period, temperature has increased significantly across the region, precipitation has increased, and the amount of precipitation falling as snow has decreased in many areas south of 55°N. The results also show that modes of low-frequency variability modulate the spatial distribution and strength of the trends; however, they alone cannot explain the observed long-term trends in these climate variables.
Seasonal-to-Interannual Time-Scale Dynamics of the Equatorial Undercurrent in the Indian Ocean
Authors: Chen Gengxin , Han Weiqing , Li Yuanlong , Wang Dongxiao , McPhaden Michael J. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractThis paper investigates the structure and dynamics of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) of the Indian Ocean by analyzing in situ observations and reanalysis data and performing ocean model experiments using an ocean general circulation model and a linear continuously stratified ocean model. The results show that the EUC regularly occurs in each boreal winter and spring, particularly during February and April, consistent with existing studies. The EUC generally has a core depth near the 20°C isotherm and can be present across the equatorial basin. The EUC reappears during summer–fall of most years, with core depth located at different longitudes and depths. In the western basin, the EUC results primarily from equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves directly forced by equatorial easterly winds. In the central and eastern basin, however, reflected Rossby waves from the eastern boundary play a crucial role. While the first two baroclinic modes make the largest contribution, intermediate modes 3–8 are also important. The summer–fall EUC tends to occur in the western basin but exhibits obvious interannual variability in the eastern basin. During positive Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) years, the eastern basin EUC results largely from Rossby waves reflected from the eastern boundary, with directly forced Kelvin and Rossby waves also having significant contributions. However, the eastern basin EUC disappears during negative IOD and normal years because westerly wind anomalies force a westward pressure gradient force and thus westward subsurface current, which cancels the eastward subsurface flow induced by eastern boundary–reflected Rossby waves. Interannual variability of zonal equatorial wind that drives the EUC variability is dominated by the zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradients associated with IOD and is much less influenced by equatorial wind associated with Indian monsoon rainfall strength.
Icebergs and Sea Ice Detected with Inverted Echo Sounders
Authors: Andres M. , Silvano A. , Straneo F. , Watts D. R. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractA 1-yr experiment using a pressure-sensor-equipped inverted echo sounder (PIES) was conducted in Sermilik Fjord in southeastern Greenland (66°N, 38°E) from August 2011 to September 2012. Based on these high-latitude data, the interpretation of PIESs’ acoustic travel-time records from regions that are periodically ice covered were refined. In addition, new methods using PIESs for detecting icebergs and sea ice and for estimating iceberg drafts and drift speeds were developed and tested. During winter months, the PIES in Sermilik Fjord logged about 300 iceberg detections and recorded a 2-week period in early March of land-fast ice cover over the instrument site, consistent with satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. The deepest icebergs in the fjord were found to have keel depths greater than approximately 350 m. Average and maximum iceberg speeds were approximately 0.2 and 0.5 m s−1, respectively. The maximum tidal range at the site was ±1.8 m and during neap tides the range was ±0.3 m, as shown by the PIES’s pressure record.
Gene Expression Profiles of the Cochlea and Vestibular Endorgans
Authors: Nishio Shin-ya , Hattori Mitsuru , Moteki Hideaki , Tsukada Keita , Miyagawa Maiko , Naito Takehiko , Yoshimura Hidekane , Iwasa Yoh-ichiro , Mori Kentaro , Shima Yutaka , Sakuma Naoko , Usami Shin-ichi 
Published: March 2015

Objectives: We sought to elucidate the gene expression profiles of the causative genes as well as the localization of the encoded proteins involved in hereditary hearing loss. Methods: Relevant articles (as of September 2014) were searched in PubMed databases, and the gene symbols of the genes reported to be associated with deafness were located on the Hereditary Hearing Loss Homepage using localization, expression, and distribution as keywords. Results: Our review of the literature allowed us to systematize the gene expression profiles for genetic deafness in the inner ear, clarifying the unique functions and specific expression patterns of these genes in the cochlea and vestibular endorgans. Conclusions: The coordinated actions of various encoded molecules are essential for the normal development and maintenance of auditory and vestibular function.
Association of irisin concentrations with the presence of diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy
Authors: Hu Wenchao , Wang Rui , Li Jun , Zhang Jie , Wang Wenhui 
Published: March 2015

Objective Irisin, a recently identified myokine, is involved in the protection of mice against obesity and diabetes. This study aims to determine the serum and vitreous concentrations of irisin in patients with diabetic nephropathy and diabetic retinopathy. Methods A total of 178 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as 22 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without diabetic retinopathy and 35 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy were enrolled in this study. Results Serum irisin concentrations were significantly elevated in the control group compared with those in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Furthermore, type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with macroalbuminuria exhibited significantly lower serum irisin concentrations than the controls and type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with normoalbuminuria and microalbuminuria. Simple regression analysis showed that the serum irisin concentrations in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients were negatively correlated with age, fasting plasma glucose, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and positively correlated with creatinine clearance and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers treatment. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy patients showed significantly decreased serum and vitreous irisin concentrations compared with the control group and type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without diabetic retinopathy. Furthermore, decreased serum and vitreous irisin concentrations were found in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without diabetic retinopathy than those in the controls. Conclusion Irisin concentrations are associated with the presence of diabetic nephropathy and diabetic retinopathy.
Between a Ball and a Harsh Place
Authors: Horton David 
Published: March 2015

Objective: This study examined to what extent differences exist in pre-college characteristics and academic performance between Black male student-athletes and their student-athlete peers. Method: Data provided by the Florida Department of Education’s PK-20 Education Data Warehouse (EDW) were analyzed as a function of group membership (gender and race), using descriptive analysis, cross-tabulations, and a one-way ANOVA. The sample included 513 cases, with White females comprising 36.3% of the sample, White males 24.3%, Black females 15.5%, and Black males 14.3%. Student-athletes’ academic performance was operationalized using four continuous variables (grade point average [GPA], course credit hours enrolled, course credit hours earned, and credit hours enrolled/earned ratio) and one dichotomous variable (degree completion). Results: Findings suggest that Black males earned 72% of the credit hours they attempted, which was less than all other examined groups. Within Black males, differences between socio-economic groups were also found. Individuals identified as high socio-economic status (SES) earned approximately 82% of credit hours enrolled, compared with those identified as low SES, which earned 67% of credit hours attempted. Between-group differences were also found when examining college readiness and percentage of degrees completed. Contributions: This study contributes to the extant literature on student-athletes at community and 2-year colleges by providing insight into the potential impact individual characteristics have on academic performance outcomes for Black male student-athletes. The author also provides thoughtful consideration concerning how institutions and policy changes can positively affect these outcomes.
Anthropometric indices and dietary intake
Authors: Agarwal Aditika , Chauhan Komal , Shinglot Kiran 
Published: March 2015

Objective: To assess the magnitude of elderly (aged 60–85 years) persons with cognitive impairment and its relation with their dietary and anthropometric status. Methods: Design: Cross-sectional study. The cognitive status of the subjects was screened using the Mini Mental Score Examination (MMSE). The binary logistic regression coefficients were ascertained for determining the association of predictors like MMSE score, body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) with the age of the subjects. Setting: Government hospitals, Vadodara, India. Subjects: Geriatric subjects ( n = 50) aged 60–85 years. Results: The mean age of the elderly subjects was around 68 years old. The majority of subjects fell into the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) category, with Grade I obesity. We noted significant correlations ( p < 0.05; p < 0.01) with energy, protein, vitamin B12, WHR and BMI. Conclusions: Cognitive abnormalities doubly elevate with advancing age, with decreased intake of dietary nutrients. The cognitive assessment undertaken focused on this rampant under-diagnosed cognition. The burgeoning prodromal insidious stage of cognitive impairment demands rapid diagnosis for preserving mental health, or else severe deterioration takes over, leading to compromised mental abilities in the elderly.
Towards Understanding Employability in the Indian Context
Authors: Pandit Shilpa Ashok , G. Preethi , Wallack Dave C. , C. Vijayalakshmi 
Published: March 2015

The article reports a year-long study to systematically understand ‘employability’ as a social psychological construct and its linkages with various person centred attributes and choice of career tracks. To that end, the article is divided into three sections. The first section analyses the Indian context of the demographic dividend and higher education and locates the construction of employability within it. The second section reports the rationale, the method and the results. Finally, the article concludes with the discussion of results and implications.  Employability has a duality associated with it. It is a construct that, on one hand, is sensitive to macro variables like the state of the economy, the access to education and finance and sector-wise trends. On the other hand, employability may also be related to the person-centred variables like effectiveness and hope. The recruitment process can be seen as a site of this interaction between structural trends and agentic competencies. Through understanding the duality of structure and agency can we centre the debate on employability, skewed away from economic and sociological factors to psychological ones. This article is an attempt in that direction.  In the present study, based on preliminary field research, six career tracks were identified. 643 students from final/pre-final semesters in colleges and employed cohort from Thanjavur and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, were administered psychological instruments regarding personal effectiveness and attribution to success and failure. Additionally, students were tested before and after the placement season to cross-validate whether they got employed or not.  The model was tested using binomial logistic regression analysis. Results indicate that the employed cohort both as students and recently employed displayed significantly different internal and external attribution to success and failure and personal effectiveness than the non-employed cohort. Implications, limitations and future research questions are discussed.
Microskin Grafting for Stable Vitiligo of the Penis and Vulva
Authors: Gupta Devendra Kumar , Devendra Shruti 
Published: March 2015

Background: The vitiligo of the penis and vulva is a difficult to treat region of the body where the existing surgical repigmentation methods usually do not give satisfactory results. Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of microskin grafting in stable genital vitiligo. Methods: Four male patients and 1 female patient were included in this study, and microskin grafting was performed in the stable vitiliginous areas of genitals under regional anaesthesia. Results: The microskin grafting technique has shown desired results at these sites with near total pigmentation and negligible donor area deformity. Conclusion: The microskin grafting for vitiligo is simple, reliable, and the most cost-effective technique of tissue grafting that has all the benefits of the latest cellular grafting techniques without its high cost and infrastructure.
Activation of renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) in the lung of smoking-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) rats
Authors: Yuan Yi-Ming , Luo Li , Guo Zhen , Yang Ming , Ye Ren-Song , Luo Chuan 
Published: March 2015

Objectives: To explore the role of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) induced by chronic exposure to cigarette smoke. Methods: 48 healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups (12/group): control group (group A); inhibitor alone group (group B); cigarette induction group (group C); cigarette induction + inhibitor group (group D). After the establishment of smoking-induced PAH rat model, the right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) was detected using an inserted catheter; western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE); expression levels of angiotensin II (AngII) in lung tissue were measured by radioimmunoassay. Results: After six months of cigarette exposure, the RVSP of chronic cigarette induction group was significantly higher than that of the control group; expression levels of AngII and ACE increased in lung tissues, but ACE2 expression levels reduced. Compared with cigarette exposure group, after losartan treatment, RVSP, ACE and AngII obviously decreased ( P<0.05), and ACE2 expression levels significantly increased. Conclusion: Chronic cigarette exposure may result in PAH and affect the protein expression of ACE2 and ACE in lung tissue, suggesting that ACE2 and ACE play an important role in the pathogenesis of smoking-induced PAH.
Stent-Graft Treatment of Dissecting Aneurysm in Association with Aortic Intramural Hematoma: When Should the Procedure Be Performed?
Authors: Ide Koichi , Kichikawa Kimihiko , Uchida Hideo , Nagata Takeshi , Higashiura Wataru , Sakaguchi Shoji , Kubota Yasushi , Nishimine Kiyoshi , Ohishi Hajime 
Published: March 2015

Purpose: To report 2 cases of stent-graft implantation for localized dissecting aneurysm during the conservative treatment of aortic intramural hematoma. Case Reports: One patient underwent stent-graft implantation for 2 localized dissecting aneurysms about 23 months after symptom onset. Computed tomography (CT) 1 year after the procedure demonstrated aneurysm shrinkage. In the other patient, a localized dissecting aneurysm was treated about 3 months after symptom onset, even though the intramural hematoma had not resolved. CT scanning 3 months after the procedure demonstrated aneurysm shrinkage, but also revealed poor attachment of the distal stent-graft to the aortic wall due to subsequent resolution of the hematoma. Conclusions: Endograft implantation for treatment of localized dissecting aneurysm associated with aortic intramural hematoma should probably not be performed before the hematoma has completely resolved.
Endovascular Management of Visceral Artery Aneurysm
Authors: Kasirajan Karthikeshwar , Greenberg Roy K. , Clair Daniel , Ouriel Kenneth 
Published: March 2015

Purpose: To retrospectively review our experience with visceral artery aneurysms (VAAs) treated with percutaneous coil embolization techniques. Methods: Patient records were retrospectively reviewed between 1988 and 1998 for VAA cases treated with catheter-based techniques. Nine patients (5 women; mean age 64 ± 11 years) with 12 (8 false and 4 true) VAAs were identified. The majority (67%) of these patients presented with symptoms of aneurysm rupture. The etiology of the aneurysm was iatrogenic in 4, pancreatitis in 4, and idiopathic in 4. Ten cases involved the hepatic artery; the other 2 aneurysmal arteries were the middle colic and the gastroduodenal. Selective and superselective catheter techniques were used to obtain access to the VAA. A variety of microcoils were delivered to entirely fill saccular aneurysms, whereas fusiform aneurysms were thrombosed by occluding the inflow and outflow vessels. Results: Aneurysm exclusion was achieved in 9 (75%) of the 12 cases. The 3 technical failures resulted from the inability to cannulate the aneurysm neck. Coil embolization of the neck of the aneurysm sac did not result in occlusion of the native vessel, with a single exception. No procedure-related complications or deaths were noted. All patients remained symptom free during a mean follow-up of 46.0 ± 29.6 months. Conclusions: Percutaneous transcatheter coil embolotherapy is an effective alternative to open surgery for the management of VAAs. This therapy may decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with an open surgical procedure in patients with ruptured aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms, selectively thrombosing the aneurysm while preserving flow in the native vessel.
Corroded Nitinol Wires in Explanted Aortic Endografts: An Important Mechanism of Failure?
Authors: Heintz Carsten , Riepe Gunnar , Birken Lars , Kaiser Edelgard , Chakfé Nabil , Morlock Michael , Delling Günter , Imig Herbert 
Published: March 2015

Purpose: To analyze surface alterations and fractures observed in the nitinol stent wires of explanted endovascular grafts used for treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Methods: Twenty-one explanted Stentor devices and 1 Cragg stent were received from investigators in Germany and France. After macroscopy and photography, the explants were cleaned and the polyester coating removed. The frame was examined completely by stereomicroscopy, and irregularities were assayed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDAX). The observed alterations were classified according to stereomicroscopic and electron microscopic morphology. Results: The mean implantation interval for the endografts was 29.1 ± 13.2 months (range 5–46). All examined explants, even those retrieved after only a few months in situ, showed pitlike surface damage 10–25 µm in diameter. Larger, irregularly shaped surface alterations were observed in ∼70% of the explants. Older explants (age >32 months) presented vast regions of decay, with bending of the wire and stress cracks in some areas. EDAX examination revealed decreased nickel concentration in the corroded regions. Conclusions: Corrosion of the nitinol wire in endovascular grafts is confirmed. Presumably, the observed pitting and irregularly shaped corrosion defects are the precursors of material failure. They weaken the thin wire, which leads to stress cracks and eventually fracture of the stent wire under circulatory pulsation. Cell-induced electrochemical corrosion and active cellular destruction of surfaces are well-known mechanisms that must be investigated for their possible roles in the corrosion of stent metals.