bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Data Envelopment Analysis for Evaluating Structure of Input and Output Items
Authors: INOUE KAZUSHIGE , AOKI SHINGO , FUKUOKA KENJI , TSUJI HIROSHI 
Published: August 2015

SUMMARYData envelopment analysis (DEA) is an evaluation method that allows analysts to evaluate the efficiencies of decision making units (DMUs) with multiple input and output items. When DMUs are evaluated only in terms of efficiency, analysts cannot evaluate how efficient combinations of input and output items are. In order to evaluate the efficiencies of such combinations, we propose a method that is based on DEA in order to evaluate the structure of the efficiency for input and output items based on the conventional hierarchical approach. The proposed method is composed of four steps. In Step 1, dividing the data set, we construct a hierarchical structure. In Step 2, efficiency values are calculated for each divided data set. In Step 3, nodes are integrated, and they are visualized in Step 4. Based on the visualization, analysts can evaluate the characteristics of a DMU structurally and find the second most efficient items and key items that improve efficiency when they are added to other items. A numerical example with a data set from the 2010 Quality of Life Index (35 DMUs, one input and five output items) is used to illustrate the features of the proposed method.
A Pulse‐Type Hardware Extremal Nucleus of the Inferior Colliculus Model for 2D Sound Source Localization Based on the Auditory Sense Mechanism of the Barn Owl
Authors: SAKURAI TSUBASA , NAKAE YUTA , SAEKI KATSUTOSHI , SEKINE YOSHIFUMI 
Published: August 2015

SUMMARYHearing information is very important when visual information is limited. Sound source localization has been noted as particularly important in hearing information processing. Barn owls have excellent auditory processing. We propose a hardware model based on the auditory sense mechanism of barn owls. In this paper, we consider a model of the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICx), which locates the source of a sound by the interaural time difference (ITD) for localization in the horizontal direction, and the interaural level difference (ILD) for localization in the vertical direction. The results show that the detection position of an ITD model and the detection position of an ILD model can converge. In addition, the output position of the ICx model changes with the position of the sound source.
Using species sensitivity distribution approach to assess the risks of commonly detected agricultural pesticides to Australia's tropical freshwater ecosystems
Authors: Pathiratne Asoka , Kroon Frederieke J. 
Published: August 2015

Abstract

To assess the potential impacts of agricultural pesticides on tropical freshwater ecosystems, the present study developed temperature-specific, freshwater species protection concentrations (i.e., ecotoxicity threshold values) for 8 pesticides commonly detected in Australia's tropical freshwaters. Because relevant toxicity data for native tropical freshwater species to assess the ecological risks were mostly absent, scientifically robust toxicity data obtained at ≥20 °C were used for ecologically relevant taxonomic groups representing primary producers and consumers. Species sensitivity distribution (SSD) curves were subsequently generated for predicted chronic exposure using Burrlioz 2.0 software with mixed chronic and converted acute data relevant to exposure conditions at ≥20 °C. Ecotoxicity threshold values for tropical freshwater ecosystem protection were generated for ametryn, atrazine, diuron, metolachlor, and imidacloprid (all moderate reliability), as well as simazine, hexazinone, and tebuthiuron (all low reliability). Using these SSD curves, the retrospective risk assessments for recently reported pesticide concentrations highlight that the herbicides ametryn, atrazine, and diuron are of major concern for ecological health in Australia's tropical freshwater ecosystems. The insecticide imidacloprid also appears to pose an emerging threat to the most sensitive species in tropical freshwater ecosystems. The exposed temperature-specific approach may be applied to develop water quality guideline values for other environmental contaminants detected in tropical freshwater ecosystems until reliable and relevant toxicity data are generated using representative native species. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:419–428. © 2015 SETAC
A head to head comparison of nine tools predicting non‐sentinel lymph node status in sentinel node positive breast cancer women
Authors: van den Hoven Ingrid , Kuijt Gert , Roumen Rudi , Voogd Adri , Steyerberg Ewout W. , Vergouwe Yvonne 
Published: August 2015

Background and objectivesThis study was conducted to evaluate the performance of available tools predicting non‐sentinel lymph node (non‐SLN) status in women with SLN positive breast cancer and to see if they can be safely used in everyday clinical practice.MethodsData of 220 women with breast cancer who underwent a SLN biopsy at the Máxima Medical Centre between 2000–2008 were analysed. Tools evaluated were: the models from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, Stanford, Mayo, Cambridge, Gur, and MOU, and the scores from Saidi, Tenon, and MDA. Model performance was assessed using calibration, discrimination and Nagelkerke's explained variation.ResultsThe MSKCC nomogram showed best overall performance with best discrimination (AUC 0.69), second best calibration, and highest explained variation (31%). The 10% low risk threshold led to defining only 22% (38/176) of the women as being low risk while in fact 66% (116/176) were non‐SLN negative. The false negative rate was 13% (5/38).ConclusionsCurrent models for predicting non‐SLN metastases in SLN positive breast cancer are not yet ready for implementation in general practice. Further research efforts should improve model performance in selecting patients or perhaps find a role in support in the paradigm shift to a “treat none unless” approach. J. Surg. Oncol. 2015 111:133–138. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Determination of pKa values of some novel benzimidazole salts by using a new approach with 1H NMR spectroscopy
Authors: Mumcu Akın , Küçükbay Hasan 
Published: August 2015

AbstractBenzimidazoles and their derivatives including imidazole are studied widely because they exist in the structure of natural products and different drugs. pKa values are extremely important for drug discovery and improvement in order to determine pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic features such as permeation through biological barriers, interactions with the target area or side effects. Acid–base features (pKa) have great importance not only for physiological characteristics but also for being used as a ligand or changing physico‐chemical features by turning benzimidazoles into salts. Within the scope of this study, a variety of new benzimidazole salts were synthesized, and their characterizations were made by NMR spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and element analysis techniques. The pKa values of synthesized benzimidazole salts were determined by inflection point approach using integration values obtained with 1H NMR spectroscopy and Henderson–Hasselbalch analysis. pKa values of some benzimidazole salts were also determined by potentiometric methods in order to compare those of NMR spectroscopy results. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis of poly(arylene ether ketone)s bearing skeletal crown ether units for cation exchange membranes
Authors: Zoetebier Bram , Tas Sinem , Vancso G. Julius , Nijmeijer Kitty , Hempenius Mark A. 
Published: August 2015

ABSTRACTPoly(arylene ether ketone)s (PAEKs) are the most commonly known high‐performance materials used for ion exchange and fuel cell membranes. Described here is the design of novel sulfonated PAEKs (SPAEKs) and nonsulfonated PAEKs containing crown ether units in the main chain, which can be used in sensing applications and ion‐selective membranes. To this end, 4,4′(5′)‐di(hydroxybenzo)‐18‐crown‐6 was synthesized and used as monomer in a step growth polymerization to form crown ether‐containing PAEKs and SPAEKs. The successful synthesis of PAEKs containing 18‐crown‐6 and sulfonate groups was confirmed by gel permeation chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Membranes are fabricated from the sulfonated polymers. Potassium ion transport properties of the SPAEK and crown ether‐containing SPAEK membranes are assessed by diffusion dialysis. Potassium ion diffusion in the crown ether‐containing SPAEK membranes is almost four times lower than K+ diffusion in the native polymer membranes, without crown ether. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015, 53, 2786–2793
A displacement‐based adaptive pushover method considering modal sign reversal for RC frame structures
Authors: Shafiee Navid , Tehranizadeh Mohsen 
Published: August 2015

SummaryNonlinear static procedures are favored tools for practical applications in the structural engineering profession. However, some limitations are associated with them, including their deficiencies to properly reflect higher modal effects and inertial seismic forces fluctuations in their responses. Some different adaptive pushover methods intended to improve these limitations have been proposed in the literature, but each one has come out with a special deficiency. In this study, based on the concepts of the displacement‐based adaptive pushover, a new dual‐run procedure method called Improved DAP (IDAP) has been developed, aiming to improve higher modal and sign reversal consideration of pushover methods. The seismic scope of this study has been focused on near‐fault regions. Four concrete SMRF with different heights have been employed for the evaluations. The results of the proposed method in terms of capacity curves, interstory and shear profiles are compared with those of the IDA method. Results indicate that the ability of the new method in reproducing seismic story forces and capacity curves, as well as interstory drifts, has been improved in comparison with its primitive counterpart. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Do All Candle-Flame-Shaped Flares Have the Same Temperature Distribution?
Authors: Gou Tingyu , Liu Rui , Wang Yuming 
Published: August 2015

Abstract
We performed a differential emission measure (DEM) analysis of candle-flame-shaped flares observed with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory. The DEM profile of flaring plasmas generally exhibits a double peak distribution in temperature, with a cold component around

$\log T\approx6.2$

log
T
≈
6.2

and a hot component around

$\log T\approx7.0$

log
T
≈
7.0

. Attributing the cold component mainly to the coronal background, we propose a mean temperature weighted by the hot DEM component as a better representation of flaring plasma than the conventionally defined mean temperature, which is weighted by the whole DEM profile. Based on this corrected mean temperature, the majority of the flares studied, including a confined flare with a double candle-flame shape sharing the same cusp-shaped structure, resemble the famous Tsuneta flare in temperature distribution, i.e., the cusp-shaped structure has systematically higher temperatures than the rounded flare arcade underneath. However, the M7.7 flare on 19 July 2012 poses a very intriguing violation of this paradigm: the temperature decreases with altitude from the tip of the cusp toward the top of the arcade; the hottest region is slightly above the X-ray loop-top source that is co-spatial with the emission-measure-enhanced region at the top of the arcade. This signifies that a different heating mechanism from the slow-mode shocks attached to the reconnection site operates in the cusp region during the flare decay phase.
Multicentre prospective clinical application of the T14 paediatric outcome tool
Authors: Hopkins C , Almeyda R , Alreefy H , Ismail-Koch H , Lim J , Possamai V , Powell S , Sharma R , Hore I 
Published: August 2015

AbstractObjective:This study aimed to measure changes in disease-specific quality of life in children following tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy.Methods:A multicentre prospective cohort study was performed involving seven ENT departments in England. A total of 276 children entered the study over a 2-month period: 107 underwent tonsillectomy and 128 adenotonsillectomy. Forty-one children referred with throat problems initially managed by watchful waiting were also recruited. The follow-up period was 12 months. Outcome measures were the T14, parental impressions of their child's quality of life and the number of days absent from school.Results:One-year follow-up data were obtained from 150 patients (52 per cent). The mean baseline T14 score in the non-surgical group was significantly lower (T14 = 23) than in the tonsillectomy group (T14 = 31) or the adenotonsillectomy group (T14 = 35; p < 0.001). There was a significant improvement in the T14 scores of responders in all groups at follow up. The effect size was 1.3 standard deviations (SD) for the non-surgical group, 2.1 SD for the tonsillectomy group and 1.9 SD for the adenotonsillectomy group. Between-group differences did not reach statistical significance. A third of children in the non-surgical group underwent surgery during the follow-up period.Conclusion:Children who underwent surgical intervention achieved a significant improvement in disease-specific quality of life. Less severely affected children were managed conservatively and also improved over 12 months, but 1 in 3 crossed over to surgical intervention.
Shaping Vulnerable Bodies at the Thin Boundary between Environment and Organism: Skin, DNA Repair, and a Genealogy of DNA Care Strategies
Authors: von Schwerin Alexander 
Published: August 2015

ArgumentThis paper brings together the history of risk and the history of DNA repair, a biological phenomenon that emerged as a research field in between molecular biology, genetics, and radiation research in the 1960s. The case of xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), an inherited hypersensitivity to UV light and, hence, a disposition to skin cancer will be the starting point to argue that, in the 1970s and 1980s, DNA repair became entangled in the creation of new models of the human body at risk – what is here conceptually referred to as the vulnerability aspect of body history – and new attempts at cancer prevention and enhancement of the body associated with the new flourishing research areas of antimutagenesis and anticarcinogenesis. The aim will be to demonstrate that DNA repair created special attempts at disease prevention: molecular enhancement, seeking to identify means to increase the self-repair abilities of the body at the molecular level. Prevention in this sense meant enhancing the body's ability to cope with the environmental hazards of an already toxic world. This strategy has recently been adopted by the beauty industry, which introduced DNA care as a new target for skin care research and anti-aging formulas.
Ornithine Transcarbamylase ArgK Plays a Dual role for the Self-defense of Phaseolotoxin Producing Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola
Authors: chen Li , li Pin , deng Zixin , zhao Changming 
Published: August 2015

AbstractPseudomonas syringae is a phytopathogenic bacterium widely spread on terrestrial plants. Sulfodiaminophosphinyl tripeptide Phaseolotoxins (PHTs), produced by P. syringae pv. phaseolicola and P. syringae pv. actinidiae, represent a kind of antimetabolic phytotoxins. PHTs inhibit host cell Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTCase) activity and induce Arginine auxotrophic phenotype. The biosynthesis of PHT is temperature dependent, being optically produced at around 18 °C, while blocked above 28 °C. PHT resistant OTCase ArgK acts as a functional replacement of housekeeping OTCase ArgF, which is the acting target of PHT, to confer PHT producers with self-resistance. It was postulated that argK might be regulated directly by a PHT biosynthetic precursor and indirectly by temperature with an unknown manner. Neither transcriptional regulator nor thermal regulation related protein encoding gene was detected from PHT biosynthetic gene cluster. The tripeptide, Cit-Ala-hArg, was identified to be a by-product of PHT biosynthetic pathway in this report. Formation of Cit-Ala-hArg was catalyzed by ArgK with tripeptide Orn-Ala-hArg and carbamyl phosphate as substrates. It showed that ArgK not only provided alternative Arginine source as reported previously, but also controlled the production of PHTs by converting PHT biosynthetic precursors to nontoxic Cit-Ala-hArg reservoir for producers’ self-defense.
Nationwide variation in the effects of temperature on infectious gastroenteritis incidence in Japan
Authors: Onozuka Daisuke , Hagihara Akihito 
Published: August 2015

AbstractAlthough several studies have investigated the effects of temperature on the incidence of infectious gastrointestinal disease in a single city or region, few have investigated variations in this association using nationwide data. We obtained weekly data, gathered between 2000 and 2012, pertaining to infectious gastroenteritis cases and weather variability in all 47 Japanese prefectures. A two-stage analysis was used to assess the nonlinear and delayed relationship between temperature and morbidity. In the first stage, a Poisson regression allowing for overdispersion in a distributed lag nonlinear model was used to estimate the prefecture-specific effects of temperature on morbidity. In the second stage, a multivariate meta-analysis was applied to pool estimates at the national level. The pooled overall relative risk (RR) was highest in the 59.9th percentile of temperature (RR, 1.08; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.15). Meta-analysis results also indicated that the estimated pooled RR at lower temperatures (25th percentile) began immediately but did not persist, whereas an identical estimate at a higher temperature (75th percentile) was delayed but persisted for several weeks. Our results suggest that public health strategies aimed at controlling temperature-related infectious gastroenteritis may be more effective when tailored according to region-specific weather conditions.
Evaluation of genetic susceptibility of common variants in CACNA1D with schizophrenia in Han Chinese
Authors: Guan Fanglin , Li Lu , Qiao Chuchu , Chen Gang , Yan Tinglin , Li Tao , Zhang Tianxiao , Liu Xinshe 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThe heritability of schizophrenia (SCZ) has been estimated to be as high as 80%, suggesting that genetic factors may play an important role in the etiology of SCZ. Cav1.2 encoded by CACNA1C and Cav1.3 encoded by CACNA1D are dominant calcium channel-forming subunits of L-type Voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels, expressed in many types of neurons. The CACNA1C has been consistently found to be a risk gene for SCZ, but it is unknown for CACNA1D. To investigate the association of CACNA1D with SCZ, we designed a two-stage case-control study, including a testing set with 1117 cases and 1815 controls and a validation set with 1430 cases and 4295 controls in Han Chinese. A total of selected 97 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CACNA1D were genotyped and single-SNP association, imputation analysis and gender-specific association analyses were performed in the two independent datasets. None was found to associate with SCZ. Further genotype and haplotype association analyses indicated a similar pattern in the two-stage study. Our findings suggested CACNA1D might not be a risk gene for SCZ in Han Chinese population, which add to the current state of knowledge regarding the susceptibility of CACNA1D to SCZ.
Systems biology approach to studying proliferation-dependent prognostic subnetworks in breast cancer
Authors: Song Qianqian , Wang Hongyan , Bao Jiguang , Pullikuth Ashok K. , Li King C. , Miller Lance D. , Zhou Xiaobo 
Published: August 2015

AbstractTumor proliferative capacity is a major biological correlate of breast tumor metastatic potential. In this paper, we developed a systems approach to investigate associations among gene expression patterns, representative protein-protein interactions and the potential for clinical metastases, to uncover novel survival-related subnetwork signatures as a function of tumor proliferative potential. Based on the statistical associations between gene expression patterns and patient outcomes, we identified three groups of survival prognostic subnetwork signatures (SPNs) corresponding to three proliferation levels. We discovered 8 SPNs in the high proliferation group, 8 SPNs in the intermediate proliferation group and 6 SPNs in the low proliferation group. We observed little overlap of SPNs between the three proliferation groups. The enrichment analysis revealed that most SPNs were enriched in distinct signaling pathways and biological processes. The SPNs were validated on other cohorts of patients and delivered high accuracy in the classification of metastatic vs non-metastatic breast tumors. Our findings indicate that certain biological networks underlying breast cancer metastasis differ in a proliferation-dependent manner. These networks, in combination, may form the basis of highly accurate prognostic classification models and may have clinical utility in guiding therapeutic options for patients.
Systematic analyses reveal uniqueness and origin of the CFEM domain in fungi
Authors: Zhang Zhen-Na , Wu Qin-Yi , Zhang Gui-Zhi , Zhu Yue-Yan , Murphy Robert W. , Liu Zhen , Zou Cheng-Gang 
Published: August 2015

AbstractCFEM domain commonly occurs in fungal extracellular membrane proteins. To provide insights for understanding putative functions of CFEM, we investigate the evolutionary dynamics of CFEM domains by systematic comparative genomic analyses among diverse animals, plants and more than 100 fungal species, which are representative across the entire group of fungi. We here show that CFEM domain is unique to fungi. Experiments using tissue culture demonstrate that the CFEM-containing ESTs in some plants originate from endophytic fungi. We also find that CFEM domain does not occur in all fungi. Its single origin dates to the most recent common ancestors of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, instead of multiple origins. Although the length and architecture of CFEM domains are relatively conserved, the domain-number varies significantly among different fungal species. In general, pathogenic fungi have a larger number of domains compared to other species. Domain-expansion across fungal genomes appears to be driven by domain duplication and gene duplication via recombination. These findings generate a clear evolutionary trajectory of CFEM domains and provide novel insights into the functional exchange of CFEM-containing proteins from cell-surface components to mediators in host-pathogen interactions.
Feeding regulates sex pheromone attraction and courtship in Drosophila females
Authors: Lebreton Sébastien , Trona Federica , Borrero-Echeverry Felipe , Bilz Florian , Grabe Veit , Becher Paul G. , Carlsson Mikael A. , Nässel Dick R. , Hansson Bill S. , Sachse Silke , Witzgall Peter 
Published: August 2015

AbstractIn Drosophila melanogaster, gender-specific behavioural responses to the male-produced sex pheromone cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) rely on sexually dimorphic, third-order neural circuits. We show that nutritional state in female flies modulates cVA perception in first-order olfactory neurons. Starvation increases and feeding reduces attraction to food odour, in both sexes. Adding cVA to food odour, however, maintains attraction in fed females, while it has no effect in males. Upregulation of sensitivity and behavioural responsiveness to cVA in fed females is paralleled by a strong increase in receptivity to male courtship. Functional imaging of the antennal lobe (AL), the olfactory centre in the insect brain, shows that olfactory input to DA1 and VM2 glomeruli is also modulated by starvation. Knocking down insulin receptors in neurons converging onto the DA1 glomerulus suggests that insulin-signalling partly controls pheromone perception in the AL and adjusts cVA attraction according to nutritional state and sexual receptivity in Drosophila females.