bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Batch‐injection versus Flow‐injection Analysis Using Screen‐printed Electrodes: Determination of Ciprofloxacin in Pharmaceutical Formulations
Authors: Stefano Jéssica S. , Cordeiro Denise S. , Marra Mariana C. , Richter Eduardo M. , Munoz Rodrigo A. A. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThis article highlights the potential use of multi‐walled carbon‐nanotube modified screen‐printed electrodes (SPEs) for the amperometric sensing of ciprofloxacin and compares the association of batch‐injection analysis (BIA) and flow‐injection analysis (FIA) with amperometric detection. Both analytical systems provided precise (RSD<5 %) and sensitive determination of ciprofloxacin (LOD<0.1 μmol L−1) within wide linear range (up to 200 μmol L−1). Accuracy of both methods was attested by recovery values (93–107 %) and comparison with capillary electrophoresis. The BIA system is completely portable (especially due to association with SPEs) and provided faster analyses (130 h−1) and more sensitive detection than the FIA system due to the higher flow rates of injection.
Thermoeconomic and thermoenvironomic modeling and analysis of selected gas turbine power plants in Nigeria
Authors: Oyedepo Sunday O. , Fagbenle Richard O. , Adefila Samuel S. , Alam Md. Mahbub 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThis study presents comprehensive thermoeconomic and thermoenvironomic modeling and analysis of selected gas turbine power plants in Nigeria using the first and second laws of thermodynamics (exergy) concept. Exergetic analysis was conducted using operating data obtained from the power plants to determine the exergy destruction and exergy efficiency of each major component of the gas turbine in each power plant. The results of the study showed that the combustion chamber (CC) is the most exergy destructive component compared to other cycle components. The percentage of exergy destruction in CC varies between 86.05% and 94.6%. By increasing the gas turbine inlet temperature (GTIT), the exergy destruction of this component can be reduced. The total exergy improvement potential of the selected plants varies from 54.04 to 159.88 MW. The component with the highest exergy improvement potential is the CC, which has the value that varies from 30.21 to 88.86 MW. Thermoeconomic analysis showed that the cost of exergy destruction is high in the CC, and an increase in the GTIT effectively decreases this cost. The exergy costing analysis revealed that the unit cost of electricity produced in the plants ranged from cents 1.99/kWh (N3.16/kWh) to cents 5.65 /kWh (N8.98/kWh). Thermoenvironomic analysis showed that the CO2 emissions varied between 100.18 and 408.78 kg CO2/MWh, while cost rate of environmental impact varied from 40.18 $/h (6, 388.62 N/h) to 276.97 $/h (44, 038. 23 N/h). The results further showed that CO2 emissions and cost of environmental impact decrease with increasing GTIT. The sustainability index increase with increasing GTIT. Finally, this study will assist efforts to understand the thermodynamic losses in the gas turbine cycle, and to improve efficiency as well as provide future recommendations for better performance, sustainability, and lessening environmental impact of power plant.
Dextran sulfate as a drug delivery platform for drug‐coated balloons: Preparation, characterization, in vitro drug elution, and smooth muscle cell response
Authors: Lamichhane Sujan , Anderson Jordan , Remund Tyler , Kelly Patrick , Mani Gopinath 
Published: July 2015

AbstractDrug‐coated balloons (DCBs) have now emerged as a promising approach to treat peripheral artery disease. However, a significant amount of drug from the balloon surface is lost during balloon tracking and results in delivering only a subtherapeutic dose of drug at the diseased site. Hence, in this study, the use of dextran sulfate (DS) polymer was investigated as a platform to control the drug release from balloons. An antiproliferative drug, paclitaxel (PAT), was incorporated into DS films (PAT‐DS). The characterizations using SEM, FT‐IR, and DSC showed that the films prepared were smooth and homogenous with PAT molecularly dispersed in the bulk of DS matrix in amorphous form. An investigation on the interaction of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) with control‐DS and PAT‐DS films showed that both films inhibited SMC growth, with a superior inhibitory effect observed for PAT‐DS films. PAT‐DS coatings were then produced on balloon catheters. The integrity of coatings was well‐maintained when the balloons were either deflated or inflated. In this study, up to 2.2 µg/mm2 of PAT was loaded on the balloons using the DS platform. Drug elution studies showed that only 10 to 20% of the total PAT loaded was released from the PAT‐DS coated balloons during the typical time period of balloon tracking (1 min) and then ∼80% of the total PAT loaded was released during the typical time period of balloon inflation and treatment (from 1 min to 4 min). Thus, this study demonstrated the use of DS as a platform to control drug delivery from balloons. © 2015 The Authors Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 1416–1430, 2016.
Mechanical properties of human autologous tubular connective tissues (human biotubes) obtained from patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis
Authors: Nakayama Yasuhide , Kaneko Yoshiyuki , Takewa Yoshiaki , Okumura Noriko 
Published: July 2015

AbstractCompletely autologous in vivo tissue‐engineered connective tissue tubes (Biotubes) have promise as arterial vascular grafts in animal implantation studies. In this clinical study of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) (n = 11; age: 39–83 years), we evaluated human Biotubes' (h‐Biotubes) mechanical properties to determine whether Biotubes with feasibility as vascular grafts could be formed in human bodies. We extracted PD catheters, embedded for 4–47 months, and obtained tubular connective tissues as h‐Biotubes (internal diameter: 5 mm) from around the catheter' silicone tubular parts. h‐Biotubes were composed mainly of collagen with smooth luminal surfaces. The average wall thickness was 278 ± 178 μm. No relationship was founded between the tubes' mechanical properties and patients' ages or PD catheter embedding periods statistically. However, the elastic modulus (2459 ± 970 kPa) and tensile strength (623 ± 314 g) of h‐Biotubes were more than twice as great as those from animal Biotubes, formed from the same PD catheters by embedding in the beagle subcutaneous pouches for 1 month, or beagle arteries. The burst strength (6338 ± 1106 mmHg) of h‐Biotubes was almost the same as that of the beagle thoracic or abdominal aorta. h‐Biotubes could be formed in humans over a 4‐month embedding period, and they satisfied the mechanical requirements for application as vascular grafts. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 1431–1437, 2016.
An overview of the current plant biostimulant legislations in different European Member States
Authors: La Torre Anna , Battaglia Valerio , Caradonia Federica 
Published: July 2015

AbstractPlant biostimulants are borderline substances that play an intermediate role between plant protection products and fertilisers. At present, such substances are regulated by national laws and have different names in the various European Member States. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview on the activity of these substances and on the national laws that regulate them, as they vary considerably from one Member State to another. The greatest difficulty in terms of the correct regulatory framework for these substances is related to their heterogeneity. This situation creates uncertainties for operators, control authorities and bodies that certify and control the organic production, and strongly limits the growth of these substances. This problem will be overcome with the amendment of Regulation EC No 2003/2003 which will shortly extend its scope to the category of plant biostimulants included within the fertilising additives. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
An overview of available crop growth and yield models for studies and assessments in agriculture
Authors: Di Paola Arianna , Valentini Riccardo , Santini Monia 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThe scientific community offers numerous crop models with different levels of sophistication. In such a wide range of crop models, users should have the possibility to choose the most suitable, in terms of detail, scale and representativeness, to their objectives. However, even when an appropriate choice is made, model limitations should be clarified such that modelling studies are put in the proper perspective and robust applications are achieved. This work is an overview of available models to simulate crop growth and yield. A summary matrix with more than 70 crop models is provided, storing the main model characteristics that can help users to choose the proper tool according to their purposes. Overall, we found that two main aspects of models, despite their importance, are not always clear from the published references, i.e. the versatility of the models, in terms of reliable transferability to different conditions, and the degree of complexity. Hence, the developers of models should be encouraged to pay more attention to clarifying the model limitations and limits of applicability, and users should make an effort in proper model selection, to save time often devoted to iteration of tuning steps to force an inappropriate model to be adapted to their own purpose. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
Popliteal sentinel lymph node involvement in melanoma patients
Authors: Bertolli Eduardo , Bevilacqua José Luiz Barbosa , Molina André Sapata , de Macedo Mariana Petaccia , Pinto Clovis Antonio Lopes , Duprat Neto João Pedreira 
Published: July 2015

BackgroundSentinel lymph nodes (SLN) in popliteal basins are rare, and there is controversy in literature regarding their origin, management, and outcomes.ObjectivesTo correlate clinical and pathological features of popliteal basin drainage and analyze the impact of popliteal lymph node drainage on survival.Materials and MethodsRetrospective analysis of SLN biopsies performed at a single institution between 2000 and 2010.ResultsSLN biopsies were performed in 254 patients with melanoma in lower limbs, 247 of which were evaluated. In this group, there were 59 patients (24%) with a positive SLN. Twenty‐seven cases (11%) presented with popliteal drainage, one of which lacked concurrent groin drainage. Among these 27 patients, three (11%) had popliteal metastasis, one of which had exclusive involvement of this basin. Popliteal drainage was associated with worse 5‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) (P = 0.028) but not 5‐year overall survival (OS) (P = 0.219) in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, Breslow thickness, mitotic index, and positive SLN were prognostic factors for DFS. Only mitotic index correlated significantly with OS (P = 0.044).ConclusionsPopliteal drainage seems to be associated with worse prognostic features of the primary tumor. J. Surg. Oncol. 2015 111:179–182. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Neutrophil‐lymphocyte and platelet‐lymphocyte ratio as predictors of disease specific survival after resection of adrenocortical carcinoma
Authors: Bagante Fabio , Tran Thuy B. , Postlewait Lauren M. , Maithel Shishir K. , Wang Tracy S. , Evans Douglas B. , Hatzaras Ioannis , Shenoy Rivfka , Phay John E. , Keplinger Kara , Fields Ryan C. , Jin Linda X. , Weber Sharon M. , Salem Ahmed , Sicklick Jason K. , Gad Shady , Yopp Adam C. , Mansour John C. , Duh Quan‐Yang , Seiser Natalie , Solorzano Carmen C. , Kiernan Colleen M. , Votanopoulos Konstantinos I. , Levine Edward A. , Poultsides George A. , Pawlik Timothy M. 
Published: July 2015

BackgroundThe systemic inflammatory response may be associated with tumor progression. We sought to analyze the impact of neutrophil‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on recurrence‐free survival (RFS) and disease‐specific survival (DSS) among patients who underwent surgery for adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC).MethodsPatients undergoing surgery for ACC were identified from a multi‐center database. Cut‐off values of 5 and 190 were defined as elevated NLR and PLR, respectively, and long‐term outcome was assessed.ResultsAmong 84 patients with ACC, 29 (34.%) had NLR > 5 while 32 (40.5%) had PLR > 190. NLR and PLR were associated with larger tumors (NLR > 5: ≤5 cm, 0% vs. >5 cm, 39.7%; PLR > 190: ≤ 5cm, 0% vs. >5 cm, 45.7%), as well as need to resect of other organs (NLR > 5: other organ resected 48.8% vs. not resected 20.9%; PLR > 190: other organ resected 25.0% vs. not resected 56.4%)(all P < 0.05). Five‐year RFS was associated with an elevated NLR (NLR ≤ 5, 14.2% vs. NLR> 5, 10.5%) and PLR (PLR ≤ 190: 19.4% vs. PLR > 190: 5.2%) (both P < 0.05). On multivariate survival analyses, PLR remained a predictor of RFS (HR 1.72), while NLR was associated with both DSS (HR 2.21) and RFS (HR 1.99) (both P < 0.05).ConclusionsImmune markers such as NLR and PLR may be useful to stratify patients with regards to prognosis following surgery for ACC. J. Surg. Oncol. 2015 111:164–172. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Counteracting effects of recruitment and predation shape establishment of rotifer communities under climate change
Authors: Zhang Huan , Ekvall Mattias K. , Xu Jun , Hansson Lars–Anders 
Published: July 2015

AbstractTo assess how synergies between climate warming and increased concentrations of humic substances (“brownification”) will affect rotifer community establishment in spring, we conducted a mesocosm experiment where we combined a 3°C temperature increase with a doubling in water color, changes corresponding to modeled projections for the coming 25–75 yr. We also performed a complementary predation experiment to separate the effects of predation from climate–driven changes. We show that recruitment from the sediment is crucial for shaping the rotifer community and that an elevated temperature will likely advance the recruitment peak resulting in an earlier rotifer peak abundance in spring. However, increased predator abundances, also resulting from elevated temperatures, counteracted the climate driven increase in rotifer recruitment and thereby hampered the pelagic establishment of rotifers. We show further that different rotifer genera respond differently to these increased predation pressure due to selective predation by copepods and taxa–specific protection morphologies and behaviors of rotifers. However, with the exception of one taxon, the effects from brownification were negligible, compared to effects imposed by elevated temperatures. We conclude, therefore, that future rotifer dynamics will be affected both directly through elevated temperatures and indirectly by increased predation.
Suspended particulate matter transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the lower Columbia River and its estuary
Authors: Gregg Tiffany , Prahl Fredrick G. , Simoneit Bernd R. T. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractAnalysis of suspended particulate material (SPM) collected from the Columbia River and its estuary in 2007–2008 revealed the ubiquitous presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from several distinct sources. The two dominant ones were: (1) a suite of non‐alkylated, three to five‐ringed compounds derived from high temperature combustion and (2) perylene, a compound of diagenetic origin. A particle‐selective, hydrodynamic trapping process explains how both PAH types become concentrated on both a particle weight and organic carbon basis in the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) by as much as 10 times relative to the riverborne particle source. The ETM is a transient sedimentary feature at the land‐to‐sea interface of river‐dominated estuarine systems which, in the case of our study region, is located remotely from the likely site of initial PAH input. Particle normalized concentrations for PAH of notable environmental concern, such as fluoranthene, chrysene, and benzo[a]pyrene, exceeded the EPA‐defined threshold effects level in all cases and were typically at, or above, the probable effects level. Comparison with results from studies for other waterways around the world indicates PAH concentrations in ETM‐trapped particles from the Columbia River estuary are higher than those documented for SPM in waters of many far more industrialized and populated regions. Our refined understanding of PAH behavior in the Columbia River and its estuary should prove valuable for reliably modeling the transport and dispersal mechanism that is characteristic of other hydrophobic, particle associated persistent organic pollutants prevalent in this system, and for other river‐dominated estuarine systems.
Targeted narrowband intense pulsed light on cutaneous vasculature
Authors: Moy Wesley J. , Yakel Joshua D. , Osorio O. Cecilia , Salvador Jocelynda , Hayakawa Carole , Kelly Kristen M. , Choi Bernard 
Published: July 2015

Background and ObjectivesLaser based therapies are the standard treatment protocol for port wine stain in the United States, but complete removal is infrequently achieved. Intense pulsed light (IPL) offers a broadband light spectrum approach as a viable treatment alternative. Previous studies suggest that IPL can be more effective in treatment of port wine stain by utilizing multiple wavelengths to selectively target different peaks in oxy‐ and deoxy‐hemoglobin. Our study objectives were to (i) determine a characteristic radiant exposure able to achieve persistent vascular shutdown with narrowband IPL irradiation, (ii) determine the degree to which narrowband IPL irradiation can achieve persistent vascular shutdown, and (iii) compare the effectiveness of narrowband IPL radiation to single wavelength pulsed dye laser (PDL) irradiation in achieving persistent vascular shutdown.Study Design/Materials and MethodsWe utlized either single pulse or double, stacked pulses in narrowband IPL experiments, with the IPL operating over a 500–600 nm wavelength range on the rodent dorsal window chamber model. We compared the results from our narrowband IPL experiments to acquired PDL data from a previous study and determined that narrowband IPL treatments can also produce persistent vascular shutdown. We ran Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the relationship between absorbed energy, wavelength, and penetration depth.ResultsFor single and double pulse narrowband IPL irradiation we observed (i) little to no change in blood flow, resulting in no persistent vascular shutdown, (ii) marked acute disruption in blood flow and vascular structure, followed by partial to full recovery of blood flow, also resulting in no persistent vascular shutdown, and (iii) immediate changes in blood flow and vascular structure, resulting in prolonged and complete vascular shutdown. Monte Carlo modeling resulted in a 53.2% and 69.0% higher absorbed energy distribution in the top half and the total simulated vessel when comparing the composite narrowband IPL to the 595 nm (PDL), respectively.ConclusionsOur data collectively demonstrate the potential to achieve removal of vascular lesions using a 500–600 nm range. Additionally, the narrowband IPL was tuned to optimize a specific wavelength range that can be used to treat PWS, whereas the PDL can only operate at one discrete wavelength. Lasers Surg. Med. 47:651–657, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A guide on gene prioritization in studies of psychiatric disorders
Authors: Stringer Sven , Cerrone Kim C. , van den Brink Wim , van den Berg Julia F. , Denys Damiaan , Kahn Rene S. , Derks Eske M. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThere has been an increasing interest in the identification of genetic variants causing individual differences in human behavior. Psychiatrists have contributed to the genetics field by defining the most important behavioral characteristics and by studying the association between genetic variants and behavioral differences within phenotypically well‐characterized samples in which detailed assessments have been collected (e.g. neuroimaging). These samples are typically limited in size and are therefore not suitable for a genome‐wide association analysis. Instead, gene association studies conducted in such samples typically focus on a few genes of interest, allowing smaller sample sizes. However, the selection of high‐priority genes is not always straightforward and psychiatrists will usually have a limited background in genetics. We aim to fill this gap by (i) providing a basic introduction to genetics; (ii) showing how the selection of genes of interest can be optimized by the use of two web tools: Polysearch and Gene Prospector; (iii) illustrating how statistical power analyses can be performed and discussing the importance of sufficiently powered studies. This guide can help psychiatrists with limited experience in genetics in designing genetic studies that allow identification of specific behavioral, cognitive, or neural correlates of genetic risk variants, while avoiding common pitfalls. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
General design approach and practical realization of decoupling matrices for parallel transmission coils
Authors: Mahmood Zohaib , McDaniel Patrick , Guérin Bastien , Keil Boris , Vester Markus , Adalsteinsson Elfar , Wald Lawrence L. , Daniel Luca 
Published: July 2015

PurposeIn a coupled parallel transmit (pTx) array, the power delivered to a channel is partially distributed to other channels because of coupling. This power is dissipated in circulators resulting in a significant reduction in power efficiency. In this study, a technique for designing robust decoupling matrices interfaced between the RF amplifiers and the coils is proposed. The decoupling matrices ensure that most forward power is delivered to the load without loss of encoding capabilities of the pTx array.Theory and MethodsThe decoupling condition requires that the impedance matrix seen by the power amplifiers is a diagonal matrix whose entries match the characteristic impedance of the power amplifiers. In this work, the impedance matrix of the coupled coils is diagonalized by a successive multiplication by its eigenvectors. A general design procedure and software are developed to generate automatically the hardware that implements diagonalization using passive components.ResultsThe general design method is demonstrated by decoupling two example parallel transmit arrays. Our decoupling matrices achieve better than −20 db decoupling in both cases.ConclusionA robust framework for designing decoupling matrices for pTx arrays is presented and validated. The proposed decoupling strategy theoretically scales to any arbitrary number of channels. Magn Reson Med 76:329–339, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.