bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Measuring the signal-to-noise ratio of a neuron
Authors: Czanner Gabriela , Sarma Sridevi V. , Ba Demba , Eden Uri T. , Wu Wei , Eskandar Emad , Lim Hubert H. , Temereanca Simona , Suzuki Wendy A. , Brown Emery N. 
Published: May 2015

SignificanceNeurons represent both signal and noise in binary electrical discharges termed action potentials. Hence, the standard signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) definition of signal amplitude squared and divided by the noise variance does not apply. We show that the SNR estimates a ratio of expected prediction errors. Using point process generalized linear models, we extend the standard definition to one appropriate for single neurons. In analyses of four neural systems, we show that single neuron SNRs range from −29 dB to −3 dB and that spiking history is often a more informative predictor of spiking propensity than the signal or stimulus activating the neuron. By generalizing the standard SNR metric, we make explicit the well-known fact that individual neurons are highly noisy information transmitters.
Effect ofRhizobiumsp. BARIRGm901 inoculation on nodulation, nitrogen fixation and yield of soybean (Glycine max) genotypes in gray terrace soil
Authors: Alam Faridul , Bhuiyan MAH , Alam Sadia Sabrina , Waghmode Tatoba R , Kim Pil Joo , Lee Yong Bok 
Published: May 2015

AbstractSoybean plants require high amounts of nitrogen, which are mainly obtained from biological nitrogen fixation. A field experiment was conducted by soybean (Glycine max) genotypes, growing two varieties (Shohag and BARI Soybean6) and two advanced lines (MTD10 and BGM02026) of soybean with or without Rhizobium sp. BARIRGm901 inoculation. Soybean plants of all genotypes inoculated with Rhizobium sp. BARIRGm901 produced greater nodule numbers, nodule weight, shoot and root biomass, and plant height than non-inoculated plants. Similarly, inoculated plants showed enhanced activity of nitrogenase (NA) enzyme, contributing to higher nitrogen fixation and assimilation, compared to non-inoculated soybean plants in both years. Plants inoculated with Rhizobium sp. BARIRGm901 also showed higher pod, stover, and seed yield than non-inoculated plants. Therefore, Rhizobium sp. BARIRGm901 established an effective symbiotic relationship with a range of soybean genotypes and thus increased the nodulation, growth, and yield of soybean grown in gray terrace soils in Bangladesh.
agplus: a rapid and flexible tool for aggregation plots
Authors: Maehara Kazumitsu , Ohkawa Yasuyuki 
Published: May 2015

Abstract
Summary: Aggregation plots are frequently used to evaluate signal distributions at user-interested points in ChIP-Seq data analysis. agplus, a new and simple command-line tool, enables rapid and flexible generation of text tables tailored for aggregation plots from which users can easily design multiple groups based on user-definitions such as regulatory regions or transcription initiation sites.
Availability and Implementation: This software is implemented in Ruby, supported on Linux and Mac OSX, and freely available at http://github.com/kazumits/agplus
Contact: yohkawa@epigenetics.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
IL-10-independent regulatory B-cell subsets and mechanisms of action
Authors: Ray Avijit , Wang Luman , Dittel Bonnie N. 
Published: May 2015

Abstract
Although classically B cells are known to play important roles in immune protection via humoral immunity, recently their regulatory mechanisms have been best appreciated in the context of autoimmunity. Several studies have identified different subsets of regulatory B cells that vary not only in their phenotype but also in their mechanism of action. Although the best-studied mechanism of B-cell immune regulation is IL-10 production, other IL-10-independent mechanisms have been proposed. These include maintenance of CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells; production of transforming growth factor-β, IL-35, IgM or adenosine or expression of PD-L1 (programmed death 1 ligand 1) or FasL (Fas ligand). Given that B-cell-targeted therapy is being increasingly used in the clinic, a complete understanding of the mechanisms whereby B cells regulate inflammation associated with specific diseases is required for designing safe and effective immunotherapies targeting B cells.
Randomized Comparison of 3 Hemostasis Techniques After Transradial Coronary Intervention
Authors: Cong Xiaoliang , Huang Zhigang , Wu Jia , Wang Jiamei , Wen Feng , Fang Lingling , Fan Min , Liang Chun 
Published: May 2015

Background:
The transradial route for coronary intervention has proven to be a safe and feasible method, and several techniques have been shown to be effective in achieving hemostasis.

Objectives:
The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of 3 hemostasis techniques on radial artery outcomes after transradial catheterization.

Methods:
A total of 1650 patients were randomly assigned to 1 of the 3 hemostasis techniques after the procedure. The outcome measures were local vascular complications, tolerance to the device, and the time taken to achieve hemostasis.

Results:
Time taken to achieve hemostasis was significantly longer in the pressure dressing (PD) group than in the pneumatic compression device (PCD) group and rotary compression pad device (RCD) group (306 ± 65 vs 263 ± 62 and 237 ± 58 minutes; P < .0001). There were also significant differences between PD, PCD, and RCD groups with respect to the incidence of oozing (8.2% vs 5.1% and 5.1%; P = .047) and discomfort level (1.68 vs 1.43 and 1.40; P < .0001). The incidence of early (24 hours after the procedure) radial artery occlusion was significantly higher in the PD group than in the PCD and RCD groups (15.6% vs 5.8% and 4.5%; P < .0001). Logistic regression analysis showed that independent predictors of radial artery occlusion at 30-day follow-up visit were diabetes (hazard ratio, 2.39), larger radial artery diameter (hazard ratio, 0.52), the use of the PCD (hazard ratio, 0.51, compared with PD) and the RCD (hazard ratio, 0.52, compared with PD), and radial artery patency during compression (hazard ratio, 0.016).

Conclusions:
Hemostasis devices have comparative advantages over the conventional pressure dressing. The presence of radial artery flow during compression represents a strong predictor of radial artery patency during follow-up periods.
U.S. Compounding Pharmacy-Related Outbreaks, 2001–2013: Public Health and Patient Safety Lessons Learned
Authors: Shehab Nadine , Brown Megan N. , Kallen Alexander J. , Perz Joseph F. 
Published: May 2015

Objectives
Pharmacy-compounded sterile preparations (P-CSPs) are frequently relied upon in U.S. health care but are increasingly being linked to outbreaks of infections. We provide an updated overview of outbreak burden and characteristics, identify drivers of P-CSP demand, and discuss public health and patient safety lessons learned to help inform prevention.

Methods
Outbreaks of infections linked to contaminated P-CSPs that occurred between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2013, were identified from internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, Food and Drug Administration drug safety communications, and published literature.

Results
We identified 19 outbreaks linked to P-CSPs, resulting in at least 1000 cases, including deaths. Outbreaks were reported across two-thirds of states, with almost one-half (8/19) involving cases in more than 1 state. Almost one-half of outbreaks were linked to injectable steroids (5/19) and intraocular bevacizumab (3/19). Non–patient-specific compounding originating from nonsterile ingredients and repackaging of already sterile products were the most common practices associated with P-CSP contamination. Breaches in aseptic processing and deficiencies in sterilization procedures or in sterility/endotoxin testing were consistent findings. Hospital outsourcing, preference for variations of commercially available products, commercial drug shortages, and lower prices were drivers of P-CSP demand.

Conclusions
Recognized outbreaks linked to P-CSPs have been most commonly associated with non–patient-specific repackaging and nonsterile to sterile compounding and linked to lack of adherence to sterile compounding standards. Recently enhanced regulatory oversight of compounding may improve adherence to such standards. Additional measures to limit and control these outbreaks include vigilance when outsourcing P-CSPs, scrutiny of drivers for P-CSP demand, as well as early recognition and notification of possible outbreaks.
Adverse Events in Korean Traditional Medicine Hospitals: A Retrospective Medical Record Review
Authors: Hwang Jee-In , Kim Jinsung , Park Jae-Woo 
Published: May 2015

Objectives
Traditional medicine has been used worldwide in recent decades. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of adverse events (AEs) in traditional medicine hospitals and investigate patient and health-care utilization factors associated with AE occurrence.

Methods
A 2-stage review of 1152 randomly sampled charts in 2 teaching Korean traditional medicine hospitals was conducted. Three physicians and a quality improvement specialist identified AE occurrence, severity, and preventability using the Global Trigger Tool (Appendix 1, Supplemental Digital Content, http://links.lww.com/JPS/A19). Two traditional Korean medicine professors validated the findings. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with AE occurrence.

Results
One hundred twenty-two admissions (10.6%) had at least one AE (7.39 events per 1000 patient days and 14.5 events per 100 admissions). Among 167 AEs, 73.7% were mild and 70.7% were judged preventable. Procedure-related AEs were most common. After considering other patient and health-care utilization characteristics, factors associated with AE occurrence were altered mental status on admission (OR, 3.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20–12.44), use of various traditional medicine therapies (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.32–2.15), length of stay (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.03), and number of unique triggers (OR, 6.35; 95% CI, 4.54–8.89).

Conclusions
Approximately 11% of inpatients in traditional medicine hospitals experienced AEs. Because patients have a higher risk of AEs, special attention should be paid to those with altered mental status on admission, receiving various traditional medicine therapies, staying for a longer period, and having various positive triggers.
Acute Fracture Neck of Femur Among Inpatients: Severe Injuries Which Need to be Taken Seriously
Authors: Green Carl M. , Zeiton Moez , Foulkes Katherine , Barrie Jim 
Published: May 2015

Objectives
This study assesses fall prevention measures and subsequent incident reporting of falls resulting in an “inpatient fracture neck of femur (FNOF)” within a single NHS Trust, with the aim of identifying potential areas of improvement and changing practice within a Trust.

Methods
Forty patients (mean age, 82.6 years) sustained an injury while being treated in hospital for an unrelated cause between January 2012 and June 2013. Case notes and incident reports were analyzed retrospectively.

Results
Thirty-three (82.5%) of 40 patients had at least 1 fall screen on admission, with 27 patients (81.8%) identified as a fall risk. Fifteen patients (37.5%) had at least one fall before sustaining a FNOF. Fifteen falls occurred between midnight—0500 hours and only 4 falls were witnessed. Thirty-nine of 40 falls were reported, but none were rated as “severe” injuries. Twenty-eight (71.8%) of 39 patients had a root cause analysis performed for the injury, but only 10 root cause analyses (25.6%) produced an action plan. Fifty percent of patients died within 1 year of injury.

Conclusion
Accurate fall risk assessments and adequate patient supervision are essential to minimize risks of falls, as the inpatient FNOF is linked to a higher mortality rate than patients injured in the community. A standardized method of analyzing such incidents and dissemination of the results of investigation are also required to reduce the risk of similar incidents from occurring within the hospital environment.
Structured Handover in General Surgery: An Audit of Current Practice
Authors: Jones Huw Geraint , Watt Bethany , Lewis Lauren , Chaku Shiban 
Published: May 2015

Introduction
Verbal handover alone compromises patient safety, and supporting written documents significantly increases retention of information, with printed handover sheets being the best at avoiding data loss. The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has produced guidelines on safe handover practice, in which a minimum dataset is recommended for inclusion when handing over patients to incoming surgical teams, and studies have indicated better adherence to these guidelines when preprinted handover proformas are used.

Methods
All surgical handover sessions were attended for a one-week period, and copies of handover sheets were taken. These were analyzed against RCS guidelines on the essential dataset for safe handover practice. A standardized handover sheet, developed in accordance with these guidelines and designed to encourage impartation of this minimum dataset, was then circulated among members of the surgical department and made readily available on wards. After a 6-week period, a postintervention audit was conducted using the same methods.

Results
Striking differences were seen in the quality of information handed over preintervention and postintervention. The documentation of patient location increased significantly (56%–87%, P < 0.0001; 95% CI, 0.460–0.151), as did the documentation of important outstanding clinical tasks (45%–89%, P = 0.004; 95% CI, 0.439–0.089). Documentation of blood results increased (P < 0.0001; 95% CI, 0.523–0.226), and the proportion of patients for whom the occurrence of a senior review was documented increased from 28% (18) to 85% (45) (P < 0.0001; 95% CI, 0.717–0.419)

Conclusions
The use of a structured, computer-generated handover proforma significantly improved compliance with RCS guidelines within the surgical department of our hospital, and we recommend its continued use among on-call surgical teams.
Re-Annotator: Annotation Pipeline for Microarrays
Authors: Arloth Janine , Bader Daniel Magnus , Röh Simone , Altmann Andre 
Published: May 2015

AbstractBackgroundMicroarray technologies are established approaches for high throughput gene expression, methylation and genotyping analysis. An accurate mapping of the array probes is essential to generate reliable biological findings. Manufacturers typically provide incomplete and outdated annotation tables, which often rely on older genome and transcriptome versions differing substantially from up-to-date sequence databases.ResultsHere, we present the Re-Annotator, a re-annotation pipeline for microarrays. It is primarily designed for gene expression microarrays but can be adapted to other types of microarrays. The Re-Annotator is based on a custom-built mRNA reference, used to identify the positions of gene expression array probe sequences. A comparison of our re-annotation of the Human-HT12-v4 microarray to the manufacturer’s annotation led to over 25% differently interpreted probes.ConclusionsA thorough re-annotation of probe information is crucial to any microarray analysis. The Re-Annotator pipeline consists of Perl and Shell scripts, freely available athttp://sourceforge.net/projects/reannotator. Re-annotation files for Illumina microarrays Human HT-12 v3/v4 and MouseRef-8 v2 are available as well.
A non-local model for cancer stem cells and the tumor growth paradox
Authors: Borsi I. , Fasano A. , Primicerio M. , Hillen T. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThetumor growth paradoxrefers to the observation that incomplete treatment of cancers can enhance their growth. As shown here and elsewhere, the existence of cancer stem cells (CSC) can explain this effect. CSC are less sensitive to treatments, hence any stress applied to the tumor selects for CSC, thereby increasing the fitness of the tumor. In this paper we use a mathematical model to understand the role of CSC in the progression of cancer. Our model is a rather general system of integro-differential equations for tumor growth and tumor spread. Such a model has never been analysed, and we prove results on local and global existence of solutions, their uniqueness and their boundedness. We show numerically that this model exhibits the tumor growth paradox for all parameters tested. This effect becomes more relevant for small renewal rate of the CSC.
Characterizing and Prototyping Genetic Networks with Cell-Free Transcription-Translation Reactions
Authors: Takahashi Melissa K. , Hayes Clarmyra A. , Chappell James , Sun Zachary Z. , Murray Richard M. , Noireaux Vincent , Lucks Julius B. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractA central goal of synthetic biology is to engineer cellular behavior by engineering synthetic gene networks for a variety of biotechnology and medical applications. The process of engineering gene networks often involves an iterative ‘design-build-test’ cycle, whereby the parts and connections that make up the network are built, characterized and varied until the desired network function is reached. Many advances have been made in the design and build portions of this cycle. However, the slow process ofin vivocharacterization of network function often limits the timescale of the testing step. Cell-free transcription-translation (TX-TL) systems offer a simple and fast alternative to performing these characterizations in cells. Here we provide an overview of a cell-free TX-TL system that utilizes the nativeEscherichia coliTX-TL machinery, thereby allowing a large repertoire of parts and networks to be characterized. As a way to demonstrate the utility of cell-free TX-TL, we illustrate the characterization of two genetic networks: an RNA transcriptional cascade and a protein regulated incoherent feed-forward loop. We also provide guidelines for designing TX-TL experiments to characterize new genetic networks. We end with a discussion of current and emerging applications of cell free systems.AbbreviationsTX-TL(transcription-translation),I1-FFL(incoherent feed-forward loop type 1)GFP(green fluorescent protein)
Entrepreneurship and socioeconomic development
Authors: Edoho Felix Moses 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of public policies on engendering entrepreneurship and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) development in Nigeria. Gaps in policies and factors that impede entrepreneurship and MSME development are identified and proposals are offered to address the impediments.Design/methodology/approach– A thorough review of the mainstream literature on entrepreneurship and MSME development is undertaken. This constitutes the reference point for identifying and reviewing specific public policies formulated and programs designed to stimulate entrepreneurial activities and facilitate MSME development. Data were obtained from federal government agencies. This paper contends that for public policies to accomplish their designed objectives of engendering entrepreneurship and MSME development, strategic realignments of various policy dimensions and programs are imperative.Findings– Misalignments occur when existing public policies in other domains are in conflict with policies to promote entrepreneurship and MSME development. Policy misalignments negate the profit motive of entrepreneurship; stifle business innovation and expansion; and contribute to survivalist mode of entrepreneurship in the country. This thwarts the public policy goals of creating jobs and alleviating poverty.Practical implications– Government needs to streamline current regulatory requirements and revamp tax policies to encourage entrepreneurs and MSMEs. Improvements in infrastructure (road networks, highways, power supply, and telecommunications) will significantly reduce overhead costs for entrepreneurs and help MSMEs to grow.Originality/value– The paper demonstrates that without strategic realignments of public policies to ensure consistency and coherency in various dimensions, efforts to promote entrepreneurship and MSME development will not yield positive results. Existing public policies and programs need to be brought into tight realignment with policies and regulations in other domains to galvanize entrepreneurial efforts.
Determinants of SMEs growth and performance in Cameroon’s central and littoral provinces’ manufacturing and retail sectors
Authors: Akinboade Oludele Akinloye 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to discuss growth and performance of small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Central and Littoral provinces of Cameroon’s manufacturing and retail sectors.

Design/methodology/approach
– A full survey of 700 randomly selected SMEs owner-managers was conducted though only 575 enterprises were retained for analysis after performing the coherence test. The survey was conducted in the central and littoral regions, the location of almost 70 per cent of the SMEs in Cameroon. The survey questionnaire administered consisted of about 50-60 questions covering the profile of the business owner, and business growth and performance. The full sample consists mainly of enterprises in the tertiary and secondary sectors. They were mostly retails and wholesales (supermarket, hardware shop, clothing shop, perfume shops and liquor store). Although, the secondary sector contributes 31 per cent of Cameroon's GDP and employs 15 per cent of the population, they are mostly large enterprises, with very few SMEs. Hence few businesses were interviewed in this sector.

Findings
– Business location affects turnover growth. The likelihood of negative growth or zero growth decreases with the age of enterprise. Increased levels of education result in improved turnover growth. There is no association of gender of with growth of business turnover. The burden imposed by municipal regulation and compliance with it negatively affects turnover growth. Time taken to be in compliance with tax regulations overall also negatively affects turnover growth.

Social implications
– Disseminating regulatory information to SMEs would be useful in order to improve compliance in general and newly formed enterprises located in the Littoral Province in particular. It is important to reduce regulatory burden on SMEs overall. Restrictive trade and business regulations in Africa tend to be largely devised through negotiated settlements with large corporates, and the onerous requirements tend to be inappropriate and out of reach for small, medium and micro firms. The business environment in the Littoral Province should be improved.

Originality/value
– Studies that examine econometric determinants of the growth of SMEs in Africa, and especially in Cameroon are few indeed. This is an area that is very crucial to examine and fully understand for policy development.