bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Left-Sided Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia in Adults With Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot
Authors: Kapel Gijsbert F.L. , Reichlin Tobias , Wijnmaalen Adrianus P. , Tedrow Usha B. , Piers Sebastiaan R.D. , Schalij Martin J. , Hazekamp Mark G. , Jongbloed Monique R.M. , Stevenson William G. , Zeppenfeld Katja 
Published: August 2014

Background—
Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of ventricular tachycardia (VT) in repaired Tetralogy of Fallot focuses on isthmuses in the right ventricle but may be hampered by hypertrophied myocardium or prosthetic material. These patients may benefit from ablation at the left side of the ventricular septum.

Methods and Results—
Records from 28 consecutive repaired Tetralogy of Fallot patients from 2 centers who underwent VT ablation were reviewed. Ablation targeted anatomic isthmuses containing VT re-entry circuits, which were identified by 3-dimensional substrate, pace, and entrainment mapping. A left-sided approach was considered beneficial if (1) right-sided RFCA failed, (2) part of the circuit was mapped to the left side, and (3) left-sided RFCA resulted in isthmus transection and prevention of VT induction. In 4 of 28 patients (52±13 years; 75% men), inducible for 1.5 (quartiles, 1.0 – 2.0) VTs (335±58 ms), left-sided RFCA was performed. In 3 patients, RFCA at aortic sites terminated VT related to a septal isthmus and prevented reinduction. In 1 patient, with prior biventricular implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, diastolic activity was recorded at the left side of the septum in proximity to the His-bundle. RFCA prevented VT reinduction with anticipated complete atrioventricular block. The left-sided approach resulted in complete procedural success (transection of anatomic isthmus and noninducibility) and freedom of VT recurrence during follow-up (20±15 months) in all patients. Right-sided RFCA failure was likely because of septal hypertrophy in 2, overlying pulmonary homograft in 1, and overlying ventricular septal defect patch in 1.

Conclusions—
Left-sided RFCA for VTs dependent on septal anatomic isthmuses improves ablation outcome in repaired Tetralogy of Fallot.
Frequency of Otitis Media Based on Otoendoscopic Evaluation in Preterm Infants
Authors: Coticchia James , Shah Priyanka , Sachdeva Livjot , Kwong Kelvin , Cortez Josef M. , Nation Javan , Rudd Tracy , Zidan Marwan , Cepeda Eugene , Gonik Bernard 
Published: August 2014

ObjectiveThis study was conducted to determine the frequency of otitis media in preterm neonates using otoendoscopy and tympanometry.Study DesignProspective study.SettingWayne State University, Hutzel Women's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.Subjects and MethodsEighty‐six preterm infants were included (gestational age <36 weeks). Otoendoscopy and tympanometry were performed to detect the presence of otitis media. Kappa statistic and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis.ResultsOtoendoscopy was performed in 85 patients. The frequency of otoendoscopy‐diagnosed otitis media was 72.9% (62/85). Tympanometry could be performed on 69.76% of the ears. There was 73.5% agreement between the findings of tympanometry and those of otoendoscopy. The association between the presence of otitis media and gestational age at birth was statistically significant. The lower the gestational age, the higher the frequency of otoendoscopy‐diagnosed otitis media (P =. 001).ConclusionOtoendoscopically diagnosed otitis media is frequent in preterm neonates. There was agreement between the results of tympanometry and those of otoendoscopy. The frequency of otitis media increased with lower gestational age.
Effects of temperature and irradiance on a benthic microalgal community: A combined two‐dimensional oxygen and fluorescence imaging approach
Authors: Hancke Kasper , Sorell Brian K. , Lund-Hansen Lars Chresten , Larsen Morten , Hancke Torunn , Glud Ronnie N. 
Published: August 2014

The effects of temperature and light on both oxygen (O2) production and gross photosynthesis were resolved in a benthic microalgal community by combining two‐dimensional (2D) imaging of O2 and variable chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence. Images revealed a photosynthetically active community with spatial heterogeneity at the millimeter scale. Irradiance strongly increased pore‐water O2 concentration, sediment net O2 production, and gross photosynthesis. The latter was derived from measurements of the electron transfer rate (rETR) in Photosystem II. The onset of light saturation for gross photosynthesis was approximately twofold higher than for net O2 production, reflecting significant light‐stimulated O2 consumption at higher light (> 75 µmol photons m−2 s−1). Temperature stimulated O2 consumption more than photosynthesis, turning the community more heterotrophic at elevated temperatures. Thus, the compensation irradiance (i.e., the irradiance at which community O2 production and consumption balance) increased fivefold (from 6 to 30 µmol photons m−2 s−1) with a temperature increase from 10°C to 25°C, corresponding to a temperature coefficient (Q10) of 2.9. Whereas net O2 production had a temperature optimum at ∼ 20°C, no optimum was observed for gross photosynthesis within the investigated range (10°C to 25°C). The resolved 2D net O2 production and rETR exhibited a significant exponential relationship, demonstrating predictable correlations between the net community production and gross photosynthesis for a complex microbial community, at different temperatures. The present imaging approach demonstrates a great potential to study consequences of environmental effects on photosynthetic activity and O2 turnover in complex phototrophic benthic communities.
Serum tri‐ and tetra‐antennary N‐glycan is a potential predictive biomarker for castration‐resistant prostate cancer
Authors: Ishibashi Yusuke , Tobisawa Yuki , Hatakeyama Shingo , Ohashi Tetsu , Tanaka Masakazu , Narita Shintaro , Koie Takuya , Habuchi Tomonori , Nishimura Shin‐Ichiro , Ohyama Chikara , Yoneyama Tohru 
Published: August 2014

BACKGROUNDThe U.S. FDA has approved several novel systemic agents including abiraterone acetate and taxoid cabazitaxel for metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) result in a complicated decision‐making while selecting an appropriate treatment. Therefore, a predictive biomarker for CRPC would provide useful information to physicians. The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic potential of serum N‐glycan profiling in CRPC.METHODSSerum N‐glycomics was performed in 80 healthy volunteers and 286 benign prostatic hyperplasia, 258 early‐stage PC, 46 PC with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), and 68 CRPC patients using the glycoblotting method. A total of 36 types of N‐glycan levels in each patient were analyzed using logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves. We also examined the expression of N‐glycan branching enzyme genes in PC cell lines using quantitative RT‐PCR.RESULTSWe observed that tri‐ and tetra‐antennary N‐glycans were significantly higher in CRPC patients than in any other groups. The longitudinal follow‐up of tri‐ and tetra‐ antennary N‐glycan levels revealed that one PC with ADT patient showed an increase that was more than the cut‐off level and two consecutive increases in tri‐ and tetra‐antennary N‐glycan levels 3 months apart; resulted in biochemical recurrence despite the castrate level of testosterone, and the patient was defined as CRPC. Expression of N‐glycan branching enzyme genes were significantly upregulated in CRPC cell lines.CONCLUSIONSThese results suggest that the overexpression of tri‐ and tetra‐antennary N‐glycan may be associated with the castration‐resistant status in PC and may be a potential predictive biomarker for CRPC. Prostate 74:1521–1529, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Properties underlying a preference aggregator based on satisficing logic
Authors: González‐Pachón Jacinto , Romero Carlos 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThe basic purpose of this paper is to discuss the theoretical properties underlying the compromise consensuses derived from a general social choice function recently proposed in the literature. This type of social choice function is based on a satisficing logic and encompasses, as particular cases, scenarios for which individual preferences are ordinal (complete or incomplete) or cardinal (provided by utility functions or through pairwise comparisons). We analyze the usual properties required for any preferential aggregation procedure such as decisiveness, neutrality, anonymity, monotonicity, and unanimity. It is interesting to note that the properties may be expressed algebraically in the proposed approach. Hence, a property that does not hold can be imposed as a rigid or flexible constraint. In this way, the resulting compromise consensus holds the respective property, if the respective model is feasible or partially holds the property in a situation of infeasibility modeled by flexible or goal constraints.
Quantum noise properties of CT images with anatomical textured backgrounds across reconstruction algorithms: FBP and SAFIRE
Authors: Solomon Justin , Samei Ehsan 
Published: August 2014

Purpose:Quantum noise properties of CT images are generally assessed using simple geometric phantoms with uniform backgrounds. Such phantoms may be inadequate when assessing nonlinear reconstruction or postprocessing algorithms. The purpose of this study was to design anatomically informed textured phantoms and use the phantoms to assess quantum noise properties across two clinically available reconstruction algorithms, filtered back projection (FBP) and sinogram affirmed iterative reconstruction (SAFIRE).Methods:Two phantoms were designed to represent lung and soft‐tissue textures. The lung phantom included intricate vessel‐like structures along with embedded nodules (spherical, lobulated, and spiculated). The soft tissue phantom was designed based on a three‐dimensional clustered lumpy background with included low‐contrast lesions (spherical and anthropomorphic). The phantoms were built using rapid prototyping (3D printing) technology and, along with a uniform phantom of similar size, were imaged on a Siemens SOMATOM Definition Flash CT scanner and reconstructed with FBP and SAFIRE. Fifty repeated acquisitions were acquired for each background type and noise was assessed by estimating pixel‐value statistics, such as standard deviation (i.e., noise magnitude), autocorrelation, and noise power spectrum. Noise stationarity was also assessed by examining the spatial distribution of noise magnitude. The noise properties were compared across background types and between the two reconstruction algorithms.Results:In FBP and SAFIRE images, noise was globally nonstationary for all phantoms. In FBP images of all phantoms, and in SAFIRE images of the uniform phantom, noise appeared to be locally stationary (within a reasonably small region of interest). Noise was locally nonstationary in SAFIRE images of the textured phantoms with edge pixels showing higher noise magnitude compared to pixels in more homogenous regions. For pixels in uniform regions, noise magnitude was reduced by an average of 60% in SAFIRE images compared to FBP. However, for edge pixels, noise magnitude ranged from 20% higher to 40% lower in SAFIRE images compared to FBP. SAFIRE images of the lung phantom exhibited distinct regions with varying noise texture (i.e., noise autocorrelation/power spectra).Conclusions:Quantum noise properties observed in uniform phantoms may not be representative of those in actual patients for nonlinear reconstruction algorithms. Anatomical texture should be considered when evaluating the performance of CT systems that use such nonlinear algorithms.
Is Age Associated with Risk of Malignancy in Thyroid Cancer?
Authors: Do Bao Anh , Payne Richard J. , Bastianelli Mark , Mlynarek Alex M. , Tamilia Michael , Hier Michael , Forest Veronique‐Isabelle 
Published: August 2014

ObjectivesMany predictive models for risk of malignancy in well‐differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) have been proposed, and many scoring systems for thyroid cancer prognosis have been established. Age is taken in consideration in all. Our main goal is to establish whether patients’ age has a correlation with the rate of malignancy, size, and aggressiveness of the tumor.Study DesignCase series with chart review.SettingMcGill University Thyroid Teaching Hospitals.Subjects and MethodsA retrospective analysis of 1022 patients undergoing consecutive thyroidectomy was performed. The patients were divided based on age (<45 and ≥45 years). Data were gathered for the size of thyroid nodules, the presence of lymph node (LN) metastasis, and the final thyroid pathology, including the presence of extrathyroidal extension.ResultsThere were 396 patients younger than 45 years and 626 patients 45 years or older. The rates of malignancy were 67.2% in the first group and 68.7% in the second group (P =. 111). When patients were stratified according to different age cutoffs, WDTC and LN metastasis occurred more often in patients younger than 50 years (50.2% vs 43.2%, P =. 031 and 18.9% vs 14.1%, P =. 0496, respectively). Micropapillary carcinoma occurred more often in patients 50 years or older (23.6% vs 16.1%, P =. 0035).ConclusionsTumor behavior and rates of WDTC were similar in patients aged <45 and ≥45 years. Well‐differentiated thyroid cancer occurred more often in patients younger than 50 years, whereas the rate of micropapillary carcinoma occurred more often in patients 50 years or older.
Interior-architectured ZnO nanostructure for enhanced electrical conductivity via stepwise fabrication process
Authors: Chong Eugene , Kim Sarah , Choi Jun-Hyuk , Choi Dae-Geun , Jung Joo-Yun , Jeong Jun-Ho , Lee Eung-sug , Lee Jaewhan , Park Inkyu , Lee Jihye 
Published: August 2014

Abstract
Fabrication of ZnO nanostructure via direct patterning based on sol-gel process has advantages of low-cost, vacuum-free, and rapid process and producibility on flexible or non-uniform substrates. Recently, it has been applied in light-emitting devices and advanced nanopatterning. However, application as an electrically conducting layer processed at low temperature has been limited by its high resistivity due to interior structure. In this paper, we report interior-architecturing of sol-gel-based ZnO nanostructure for the enhanced electrical conductivity. Stepwise fabrication process combining the nanoimprint lithography (NIL) process with an additional growth process was newly applied. Changes in morphology, interior structure, and electrical characteristics of the fabricated ZnO nanolines were analyzed. It was shown that filling structural voids in ZnO nanolines with nanocrystalline ZnO contributed to reducing electrical resistivity. Both rigid and flexible substrates were adopted for the device implementation, and the robustness of ZnO nanostructure on flexible substrate was verified. Interior-architecturing of ZnO nanostructure lends itself well to the tunability of morphological, electrical, and optical characteristics of nanopatterned inorganic materials with the large-area, low-cost, and low-temperature producibility.
Living near the edge: Being close to mature forest increases the rate of succession in beetle communities
Authors: Fountain-Jones Nicholas M. , Jordan Gregory J. , Baker Thomas P. , Balmer Jayne M. , Wardlaw Tim , Baker Susan C. 
Published: August 2014

In increasingly fragmented landscapes, it is important to understand how mature forest affects adjacent secondary forest (forest influence). Forest influence on ecological succession of beetle communities is largely unknown. We investigated succession and forest influence using 235 m long transects across boundaries between mature and secondary forest at 15 sites, sampling a chronosequence of three forest age classes (5–10, 23–29, and 42–46 years since clear‐cutting) in tall eucalypt forest in Tasmania, Australia. Our results showed that ground‐dwelling beetle communities showed strong successional changes, and in the oldest secondary forests, species considered indicators of mature forest had recolonized to abundance levels similar to those observed within adjacent mature forest stands. However, species composition also showed forest influence gradients in all age classes. Forest influence was estimated to extend 13 m and 20 m in the youngest and intermediate‐aged secondary forests, respectively. However, the estimated effect extended to at least 176 m in the oldest secondary forest. Our environmental modeling suggests that leaf litter, microclimate, and soil variables were all important in explaining the spatial variation in beetle assemblages, and the relative importance of factors varied between secondary forest age classes.Mature‐forest beetle communities can recolonize successfully from the edge, and our results provide a basis for land managers to build mature habitat connectivity into forest mosaics typical of production forests. Our results also indicate the importance of forest influence in determining potential conservation value of older secondary forest for beetles.
Molecular Network Analysis Suggests a Logical Hypothesis for the Pathological Role of C9orf72 in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Frontotemporal Dementia
Authors: Satoh Jun-Ichi , Yamamoto Yoji , Kitano Shouta , Takitani Mika , Asahina Naohiro , Kino Yoshihiro 
Published: August 2014

BackgroundExpanded GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeats, ranging from hundreds to thousands in number, located in the noncoding region of the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 ( C9orf72) gene represent the most common genetic abnormality for familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) (abbreviated as C9ALS). Currently, three pathological mechanisms, such as haplo insufficiency of C9orf72, formation of nuclear RNA foci composed of sense and antisense repeats, and accumulation of unconventionally transcribed dipeptide-repeat (DPR) proteins, are proposed for C9ALS. However, at present, the central mechanism underlying neurodegeneration in C9ALS remains largely unknown.MethodsBy using three distinct pathway analysis tools of bioinformatics, we studied molecular networks involved in C9ALS pathology by focusing on C9orf72 omics datasets, such as proteome of C9orf72 repeat RNA-binding proteins, transcriptome of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived motor neurons of patients with C9ALS, and transcriptome of purified motor neurons of patients with C9ALS.ResultsWe found that C9orf72 repeat RNA-binding proteins play a crucial role in the regulation of post-transcriptional RNA processing. The expression of a wide range of extracellular matrix proteins and matrix metalloproteinases was reduced in iPSC-derived motor neurons of patients with C9ALS. The regulation of RNA processing and cytoskeletal dynamics is disturbed in motor neurons of patients with C9ALS in vivo.ConclusionsBioinformatics data mining approach suggests a logical hypothesis that C9orf72 repeat expansions that deregulate post-transcriptional RNA processing disturb the homeostasis of cytoskeletal dynamics and remodeling of extracellular matrix, leading to degeneration of stress-vulnerable neurons in the brain and spinal cord of patients with C9ALS.
Dispersal pathways of American eel larvae from the Sargasso Sea
Authors: Rypina Irina I. , Llopiz Joel K. , Pratt Lawrence J. , Lozier M. Susan 
Published: August 2014

At the end of their life cycle, American eel (Anguilla rostrata) migrate to the Sargasso Sea from freshwater habitats along the east coast of North America in order to spawn planktonic eggs. The eggs develop into larvae that then have to reach estuarine and freshwater nursery habitats along the North American coast within approximately their first year of life. A coupled biological—physical model was used to study how potential behavioral adaptations influence the ability of American eel larvae to reach near‐coastal waters. Specifically, several larval swimming behaviors were investigated, including passive drift, random walk swimming, and directional navigation with and without a preferred swimming direction. Directional swimming with a randomly chosen direction improved the success rates of larvae reaching the continental shelf by more than two orders of magnitude compared to passive drift, and swimming primarily to the northwest further tripled these success rates. Success rates also substantially increased for larvae with swimming abilities even slightly above an estimated average. Notably, directional swimming resulted in a reasonable distribution of larvae along the North American shelf break, whereas other swimming scenarios left distinct gaps where no simulated larvae reached the shelf, including near the Gulf of Maine where juvenile eels are abundant. Additionally, directional swimming yielded transit times of ∼ 1 yr, in agreement with observations. Finally, the model supported the southwestern Sargasso Sea as the probable spawning area for American eel.
Frequent and Transient Acquisition of Pluripotency During Somatic Cell Trans-Differentiation with iPSC Reprogramming Factors
Authors: Maza Itay , Caspi Inbal , Viukov Sergey , Rais Yoach , Zviran Asaf , Geula Shay , Krupalnik Vladislav , Zerbib Mirie , Massarwa Rada , Novershtern Noa , Hanna Jacob H. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractRecent reports have proposed a new paradigm for obtaining mature somatic cell types from fibroblasts without going through a pluripotent state, by briefly expressing canonical iPSC reprogramming factorsOct4,Sox2,Klf4,c-Myc(abbreviated as OSKM) in cells expanded in lineage differentiation promoting conditions. Here we apply genetic lineage tracing for endogenous Nanog locus and X chromosome reactivation during OSKM induced trans-differentiation, as these molecular events mark final stages for acquisition of induced pluripotency. Remarkably, the majority of reprogrammed cardiomyocytes or neural stem cells derived from mouse fibroblasts via OSKM mediated trans-differentiation (∼>90%), are attained after transient acquisition of pluripotency, and followed by rapid differentiation. Our findings underscore a molecular and functional coupling between inducing pluripotency and obtaining “trans-differentiated” somatic cells via OSKM induction, and have implications on defining molecular trajectories assumed during different cell reprogramming methods.
Sources of PCR-induced distortions in high-throughput sequencing datasets
Authors: Kebschull Justus M , Zador Anthony M 
Published: August 2014

AbstractPCR permits the exponential and sequence-specific amplification of DNA, even from minute starting quantities. PCR is a fundamental step in preparing DNA samples for high-throughput sequencing. However, there are errors associated with PCR-mediated amplification. Here we examine the effects of four important sources of error — bias, stochasticity, template switches and polymerase errors — on sequence representation in low-input next-generation sequencing libraries. We designed a pool of diverse PCR amplicons with a defined structure, and then used Illumina sequencing to search for signatures of each process. We further developed quantitative models for each process, and compared predictions of these models to our experimental data. We find that PCR stochasticity is the major force skewing sequence representation after amplification of a pool of unique DNA amplicons. Polymerase errors become very common in later cycles of PCR but have little impact on the overall sequence distribution as they are confined to small copy numbers. PCR template switches are rare and confined to low copy numbers. Our results provide a theoretical basis for removing distortions from high-throughput sequencing data. In addition, our findings on PCR stochasticity will have particular relevance to quantification of results from single cell sequencing, in which sequences are represented by only one or a few molecules.