bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic Delay in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Qualitative Study of Symptom Interpretation Before the First Visit to the Doctor
Authors: Mølbæk Karen , Hørslev‐Petersen Kim , Primdahl Jette 
Published: June 2015

AbstractBackgroundTo prevent joint damage among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), there is a need to minimize delays from the onset of symptoms until the initiation of appropriate therapy. The present study explored the factors that have an impact on the time it takes for Danish patients with RA to approach their general practitioner (GP) with joint pain, and also how GPs respond to patients’ complaints.MethodsThe study was based on qualitative data collected using 11 semi‐structured individual interviews.ResultsWhen symptoms were obvious to patients, there was a shorter delay between symptom onset and contacting their GP. In cases where symptoms gradually worsened or were difficult to interpret, there was a longer delay. Participants with a high degree of body awareness appeared to be good at detecting when something was not normal, and they responded quickly to their symptoms. For those who regarded the doctor as a resource to which they were entitled and who were not worried about getting a diagnosis there was a shorter delay. Diffuse symptoms seemed to confuse GPs and can contribute to physician delay in the investigation process. Similarly, the presence of other diseases can result in a prolonged period before referral to a rheumatologist.ConclusionsThe nature and severity of symptoms are the deciding factors in their interpretation, by both the GP and the patient. Both the patient's disease recognition and his/her subsequent interaction with the doctor is influenced by the patient's body awareness and general attitude towards going to the doctor. The results showed that the greater the patient's body awareness, the better the disease recognition, the fewer barriers to contacting the GP and the shorter the delay in doing so. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantitative neuromuscular ultrasound in intensive care unit–acquired weakness: A systematic review
Authors: Bunnell Aaron , Ney John , Gellhorn Alfred , Hough Catherine L. 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACTIntensive care unit–acquired weakness (ICU‐AW) causes significant morbidity and impairment in critically ill patients. Recent advances in neuromuscular ultrasound (NMUS) allow evaluation of neuromuscular pathology early in critical illness. Here we review application of ultrasound in ICU‐AW. MEDLINE‐indexed articles were searched for terms relevant to ultrasound and critical illness. Two reviewers evaluated the resulting abstracts (n = 218) and completed full‐text review (n = 13). Twelve studies and 1 case report were included. Ten studies evaluated muscle thickness or cross‐sectional area (CSA): 8 reported a decrease, and 2 reported no change. Two studies reported preservation of muscle thickness in response to neuromuscular electrical stimulation, and 1 found no preservation. One study found decreases in gray‐scale standard deviation, but no change in echogenicity. One study described increases in echogenicity and fasciculations. Ultrasound reliability in ICU‐AW is not fully established. Further investigation is needed to identify ultrasound measures that reliably predict clinical, electrodiagnostic, and pathologic findings of ICU‐AW. Muscle Nerve 52: 701–708, 2015
Expanded superposition method for impedance functions of inclined‐pile groups
Authors: Saitoh M. , Padrón L. A. , Aznárez J. J. , Maeso O. , Goit C. S. 
Published: June 2015

SummaryThis paper presents a superposition method expanded for computing impedance functions (IFs) of inclined‐pile groups. Closed‐form solutions for obtaining horizontal, vertical, and rocking IFs, estimated by using pile‐to‐pile interaction factors, are proposed. IFs of solitary inclined piles, crossed IFs, and explicit incorporation of compatibility conditions for pile‐head movements are also appropriately taken into consideration. All of these factors should be known in advance and will be computed and shown for the most relevant cases. The accuracy of the proposed closed‐form solutions is verified for 2 × 2 and 3 × 3 square inclined‐pile groups embedded in an isotropic viscoelastic homogeneous half‐space soil medium, with hysteretic damping. The pile‐to‐pile interaction factors are computed by means of a three‐dimensional time‐harmonic boundary elements–finite elements coupling formulation. The results indicate that the IFs obtained from the proposed method are in good agreement with those obtained from the coupling formulation. Furthermore, crossed vertical‐rocking IFs of solitary piles need to be appropriately considered for obtaining rocking IFs when the number of piles is small. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Metal‐Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) Synthesis of Heteroepitaxial Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3Films: Effects of Processing Conditions on Structural/Morphological and Functional Properties
Authors: Catalano Maria R. , Cucinotta Giuseppe , Schilirò Emanuela , Mannini Matteo , Caneschi Andrea , Lo Nigro Raffaella , Smecca Emanuele , Condorelli Guglielmo G. , Malandrino Graziella 
Published: June 2015

AbstractCalcium‐doped praseodymium manganite films (Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3, PCMO) were prepared by metal‐organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on SrTiO3(001) and SrTiO3(110) single‐crystal substrates. Structural characterization through X‐ray diffraction (XRD) measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses confirmed the formation of epitaxial PCMO phase films. Energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization was used to confirm lateral and vertical composition and the purity of the deposited films. Magnetic measurements, obtained in zero‐field‐cooling (ZFC) and field‐cooling (FC) modes, provided evidence of the presence of a ferromagnetic (FM) transition temperature, which was correlated to the transport properties of the film. The functional properties of the deposited films, combined with the structural and chemical characterization collected data, indicate that the MOCVD approach represents a suitable route for the growth of pure, good quality PCMO for the fabrication of novel spintronic devices.
Relapse and outcome patterns of patients with central nervous system mixed malignant germ cell tumors treated without irradiation: Findings from the Third International Central Nervous System (CNS) Germ Cell Tumor (GCT) Study
Authors: Pruitt Rachel , DaSilva Nasjla S. , Cappellano Andrea , Belessiotis Clara , Diez Blanca , Gardner Sharon , Allen Jeffrey , Weinblatt Mark , Gottardo Nicholas , Dhall Girish , Finlay Jonathan L. 
Published: June 2015

ObjectivesTo evaluate patterns of relapse and outcome in patients newly diagnosed with CNS Mixed Malignant GCT (MMGCT) treated initially with chemotherapy alone.MethodsA retrospective chart review was conducted using all 25 patients enrolled on the International CNS GCT Study III, with at least 7 years follow‐up for all surviving patients.ResultsThirteen patients at diagnosis had CNS MMGCT by pathology and tumor markers (n = 11), or tumor markers alone (n = 2). Twelve received chemotherapy alone, one additionally receiving focal irradiation prior to relapse. Six patients (46%) relapsed (mean of 30.5 months; range 6–59 months), two beyond and four within the primary site alone. Three patients relapsed early (6–23 months from diagnosis), two with alpha‐fetoprotein elevations and one without tumor markers assessed; all three expired of progressive disease at 2–10 months following initial relapse. Three patients relapsed late (37–59 months) without AFP elevations, one with pathologically pure germinoma, two with mild beta‐human chorionic gonadotropin elevations; these patients survive disease‐free at 86+, 94+, and 126+ months following additional treatment.ConclusionsPatients with CNS MMGCT relapsing following chemotherapy alone display two distinct patterns of recurrence and outcome; patients relapsing early possess MMGCT elements and have a dismal prognosis, while patients relapsing late do so with pure germinomatous elements and have an excellent outcome. Current cooperative group studies utilizing more localized fields of irradiation should monitor closely the patterns of relapse and outcome; late recurrences with germinomatous elements might be avoided by initial use of low‐dose larger field irradiation in select patients. Pediatr Blood Cancer © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Radiotherapy‐related arterial intima thickening and plaque formation in childhood cancer survivors detected with very‐high resolution ultrasound during young adulthood
Authors: Vatanen Anu , Sarkola Taisto , Ojala Tiina H. , Turanlahti Maila , Jahnukainen Timo , Saarinen‐Pihkala Ulla M. , Jahnukainen Kirsi 
Published: June 2015

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to evaluate arterial morphology and function in a national cohort of long‐term survivors of high‐risk neuroblastoma (NBL) treated with high‐dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with or without total body irradiation (TBI).Methods and ResultsCommon carotid, femoral, brachial, and radial artery morphology were assessed with very‐high‐resolution vascular ultrasound (25–55 MHz), and carotid artery stiffness and brachial artery flow‐mediated dilatation measured with conventional vascular ultrasound in 19 adult or pubertal (age 22.7 ± 4.9 years, range 16–30) NBL survivors transplanted during 1984–1999 at the mean age of 2.5 ± 1.0 years. Results were compared with 20 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls. The cardiovascular risk assessment included history, body mass index, fasting plasma lipids, glucose, and 24‐h ambulatory blood pressure (BP). The survivors had consistently smaller arterial lumens, increased carotid intima‐media thickness (IMT), plaque formation (N = 3), and stiffness, as well as increased radial artery intima thickness (N = 5) compared with the control group. Survivors displayed higher plasma triglyceride and cholesterol levels, and increased heart rate, as well as increased systolic and diastolic BPs. TBI (N = 10) and a low body surface area were independent predictors for decreased arterial lumen size and increased IMT. Three out of five survivors with subclinical intima thickening had arterial plaques. Plaques occurred only among TBI‐treated survivors.ConclusionsLong‐term childhood cancer survivors treated with TBI during early childhood display significant signs of premature arterial aging during young adulthood. Pediatr Blood Cancer © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Quantitative and qualitative investigations of pharmacopoeial plant material polygoni avicularis herba by UHPLC‐CAD and UHPLC‐ESI‐MS methods
Authors: Granica Sebastian 
Published: June 2015

AbstractIntroductionPolygonum aviculare L. also known as common knotgrass is an annual herbaceous weed occurring all over the world in the temperate regions. Recent studies report that flavonol glucuronides are major constituents of common knotgrass. There is no comprehensive analytical procedure for the standardisation of Polygoni Avicularis Herba available on the European market.ObjectiveTo develop a method for the proper authentication and standardisation of Polygoni Avicularis Herba and to preliminary evaluate variability in qualitative and quantitative composition among commercial samples and samples from wild harvesting defined as Polygonum aviculare sensu lato.MethodologyThe UHPLC‐ESI(+)‐MS method was used for the qualitative screening of nine independent samples of Polygonum aviculare herb. The UHPLC‐CAD method was developed for the quantitation of the major compounds in an extract using quercetin‐3‐O‐glucuronide as a standard.ResultsTwenty‐five major constituents were detected and characterised. Among them three new natural products were tentatively identified. Twelve compounds were quantitated using a validated UHPLC‐CAD method. In all nine samples flavonol glucuronides were confirmed as major compounds. The total flavonoid content was estimated for all samples and varied from 0.70 to 2.20%.ConclusionThe developed procedure may be used for the routine standardisation of common knotgrass. The results indicate that the pharmacopoeial approach to the authentication and standardisation of Polygonum aviculare herb should be revised. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
New‐Onset Refractory Status Epilepticus in an Adult with an Atypical Presentation of Cat‐Scratch Disease: Successful Treatment with High‐Dose Corticosteroids
Authors: Laswell Emily M. , Chambers Kasandra D. , Whitsel Danielle R. , Poudel Kiran 
Published: June 2015

New‐onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) is defined as a sudden onset of refractory status epilepticus in patients who do not have a history of epilepsy. It is a neurologic emergency, and determining the underlying etiology is an important factor for effectively managing and predicting the prognosis of NORSE. We describe the case of a 28‐year‐old woman who was hospitalized with NORSE secondary to an unknown etiology. She did not respond to traditional anticonvulsant therapy, including benzodiazepines, fosphenytoin, propofol, and levetiracetam. The patient was placed on continuous electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring and was treated further with multiple antiepileptics, which were titrated aggressively based on EEG readings and therapeutic drug levels; despite this treatment, EEG monitoring revealed continued seizures. Thus, high‐dose corticosteroids were started for seizure control. Her workup included computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the head, a lumbar puncture, toxicology screening, and extensive testing for multiple infectious and inflammatory etiologies. The patient's history revealed recent exposure to a new cat. Serologic results were positive for Bartonella henselae, and she was diagnosed with cat‐scratch disease (CSD). She did not have the typical presentation of symptoms of lymphadenopathy, however, which is common in CSD. Doxycycline 100 mg and rifampin 300 mg twice daily were added to the patient's anticonvulsant and corticosteroid therapy. She was hospitalized for a total of 26 days and discharged with only minor neurologic impairment (short‐term memory deficits and minor cognitive problems). The patient was discharged receiving antiepileptics, antibiotics, and a corticosteroid taper. To our knowledge, this is the first clinically known case of NORSE secondary to CSD without typical CSD symptoms in the adult population. The patient failed to respond to traditional anticonvulsant therapy alone. With the addition of high‐dose corticosteroids to aggressive anticonvulsant therapy, seizure control was achieved. Further studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of high‐dose corticosteroid and anticonvulsant therapy followed by antibiotics in patients with NORSE secondary to CSD.
Semi‐quantitative temperature accelerated life test (ALT) for the reliability qualification of concentrator solar cells and cell on carriers
Authors: Nuñez Neftali , Vazquez Manuel , Orlando Vincenzo , Espinet‐González Pilar , Algora Carlos 
Published: June 2015

AbstractAn adequate qualification of concentrator photovoltaic solar cells and cell‐on‐carriers is essential to increase their industrial development. The lack of qualification tests for measuring their reliability together with the fact that conventional accelerated life tests are laborious and time consuming are open issues. Accordingly, in this paper, we propose a semi‐quantitative temperature‐accelerated life test to qualify solar cells and cell‐on‐carriers that can assure a minimum life when failure mechanisms are accelerated by temperature under emulated nominal working conditions with an activation energy >0.9 eV. A properly designed semi‐quantitative accelerated life test should be able to determine if the device under test will satisfy its reliability requirements with an acceptable uncertainty level. The applicability, procedure, and design of the proposed test are detailed in the paper. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impact of cysteine variants on the structure, activity, and stability of recombinant human α‐galactosidaseA
Authors: Qiu Huawei , Honey Denise M. , Kingsbury Jonathan S. , Park Anna , Boudanova Ekaterina , Wei Ronnie R. , Pan Clark Q. , Edmunds Tim 
Published: June 2015

AbstractRecombinant human α‐galactosidase A (rhαGal) is a homodimeric glycoprotein deficient in Fabry disease, a lysosomal storage disorder. In this study, each cysteine residue in rhαGal was replaced with serine to understand the role each cysteine plays in the enzyme structure, function, and stability. Conditioned media from transfected HEK293 cells were assayed for rhαGal expression and enzymatic activity. Activity was only detected in the wild type control and in mutants substituting the free cysteine residues (C90S, C174S, and the C90S/C174S). Cysteine‐to‐serine substitutions at the other sites lead to the loss of expression and/or activity, consistent with their involvement in the disulfide bonds found in the crystal structure. Purification and further characterization confirmed that the C90S, C174S, and the C90S/C174S mutants are enzymatically active, structurally intact and thermodynamically stable as measured by circular dichroism and thermal denaturation. The purified inactive C142S mutant appeared to have lost part of its alpha‐helix secondary structure and had a lower apparent melting temperature. Saturation mutagenesis study on Cys90 and Cys174 resulted in partial loss of activity for Cys174 mutants but multiple mutants at Cys90 with up to 87% higher enzymatic activity (C90T) compared to wild type, suggesting that the two free cysteines play differential roles and that the activity of the enzyme can be modulated by side chain interactions of the free Cys residues. These results enhanced our understanding of rhαGal structure and function, particularly the critical roles that cysteines play in structure, stability, and enzymatic activity.
Elastic properties of mono‐ and polydisperse two‐dimensional crystals of hard‐core repulsive Yukawa particles
Authors: Narojczyk Jakub W. , Pigłowski Paweł M. , Wojciechowski Krzysztof W. , Tretiakov Konstantin V. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractMonte Carlo simulations of mono‐ and polydisperse two‐dimensional crystals are reported. The particles in the studied system, interacting through hard‐core repulsive Yukawa potential, form a solid phase of hexagonal lattice. The elastic properties of crystalline Yukawa systems are determined in the NpT ensemble with variable shape of the periodic box. Effects of the Debye screening length (), contact value of the potential (), and the size polydispersity of particles on elastic properties of the system are studied. The simulations show that the polydispersity of particles strongly influences the elastic properties of the studied system, especially on the shear modulus. It is also found that the elastic moduli increase with density and their growth rate depends on the screening length. Shorter screening length leads to faster increase of elastic moduli with density and decrease of the Poisson's ratio. In contrast to its three‐dimensional version, the studied system is non‐auxetic, i.e., shows positive Poisson's ratio.
Structural, electrical and luminescent properties of ZnO:Li films fabricated by screen‐printing method on sapphire substrate
Authors: Khomenkova L. , Kushnirenko V. I. , Osipyonok M. M. , Syngaivsky O. F. , Zashivailo T. V. , Pekar G. S. , Polishchuk Yu. O. , Kladko V. P. , Borkovska L. V. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractUndoped and Li‐doped ZnO thick films were fabricated by a screen‐printing technique on sapphire substrate. The effect of sintering temperature (TS = 800, 900 and 1000 °C) and Li content ([Li] = 0.003, 0.03 and 0.3 wt%) on the photoluminescence (PL), electrical and structural properties of the films was investigated. The X‐ray diffraction shows that all the films are polycrystalline with a wurtzite structure. It is found that both high sintering temperature and low Li content favour formation of the low‐resistive films with an enhanced UV emission. The high Li content stimulates an appearance of semi‐insulating behaviour of the films and deteriorated PL properties. It is shown that the effect of Li‐doping on light‐emitting properties of the films consists mainly in the modification of the film crystallinity and the engineering of the concentration of intrinsic defects. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Oxygen‐related defects: minority carrier lifetime killers in n‐type Czochralski silicon wafers for solar cell application
Authors: Kolevatov I. , Osinniy V. , Herms M. , Loshachenko A. , Shlyakhov I. , Kveder V. , Vyvenko O. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractMany authors (Haunschild et al., Phys. Status Solidi RRL 5, 199–201 (2012) [1]) reported about areas in Cz‐Si with an extremely low lifetime of minority carriers after high temperature stages of solar cell manufacture. In such regions the minority carrier lifetime may be fallen 100 times after annealing, what leads to a considerable drop in the solar cell efficiency. In present work the electrical and structural properties of phosphorus doped Bosch Cz‐Si wafers with degrading areas were studied by means of photoluminescence, deep level transient spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Based on these data it is concluded that the dominant recombination channel in the degrading areas is related to strained oxygen precipitates. We found electronic states of traps which may cause their formation. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Turbostratic pyrocarbon structure study by means of exit wave reconstruction from high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy
Authors: Prikhodko A. S. , Borgardt N. I. , Seibt M. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThis paper reports results of turbostratic pyrolytic carbon structure study using high‐resolution electron microscopy techniques. We obtained a through‐focus series of images and noted that domain‐like contrast features were varied depending on defocus of the objective lens. Since these features are commonly explained in terms of the domain model of pyrocarbon structure we carried out exit wave reconstruction to obtain the phase map. The visual appearance of the map indicates that the ribbon‐like model more appropriately describes the pyrocarbon structure in comparison to the domain model. In the context of the ribbon‐like model we constructed a test carbon structure using the recovered phase map and molecular dynamics modeling. After determination of atomic positions we simulated high‐resolution images of the structure. Our calculations demonstrated that high‐resolution micrographs showing domain‐like image features can be obtained without carbon domains presented in the actual structure. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)