bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A comparison of two methods of endoscopic dilation of acute subglottic stenosis using a ferret model
Authors: Tubbs Kyle J. , Silva Rodrigo C. , Ramirez Harvey E. , Castleman William L. , Collins William O. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractObjectives/Hypothesis:Balloon dilation is accepted as a first line treatment of acute subglottic stenosis, but its effects on the subglottic tissue remain largely unknown. We aimed to develop an animal model of acute subglottic stenosis using endoscopic techniques. Once developed, this model was used to compare the immediate effects of balloon dilation and endotracheal tube dilation on subglottic tissue.Study Design:Prospective randomized animal study.Methods:Acute subglottic injury was induced in 10 ferrets by endoscopic cauterization with silver nitrate. After 48–72 hours of observation, eight animals were randomized to undergo subglottic dilation with either a 5‐mm balloon or endotracheal tubes of increasing diameter. These eight ferrets were euthanized within 10 minutes after dilation. The other two ferrets served as controls and were euthanized following observation only. The larynx from each ferret was harvested, and the subglottis was examined histologically by a pathologist blinded to the treatment arms.Results:Acute subglottic stenosis was induced in all 10 ferrets using the endoscopic technique. Both balloon and endotracheal tube dilation resulted in comparable improvement in the subglottic airway diameter. A decreased thickness of submucosa/lamina propria was seen in the balloon dilation group.Conclusions:Acute subglottic stenosis can be reliably induced in ferrets using endoscopic techniques. Multiple dilation methods can be used to relieve acute obstruction. Balloon dilators seem to improve airway patency, in part, by decreasing the thickness of the submucosa and lamina propria. Further research is needed to determine how this impacts later stages of wound healing and final outcomes. Laryngoscope, 2013
Human papillomavirus in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: Assessing virus presence in normal tissue and activity in cervical metastasis
Authors: Laborde Rebecca R. , Janus Jeffrey R. , Olsen Steven M. , Wang Vivian W. , Garcia Joaquin J. , Graham Rondell P. , Moore Eric J. , Olsen Kerry D. , Kasperbauer Jan L. , Price Daniel L. , Berres Michael , Halling Geoffrey , Smith David I. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractObjectives/Hypothesis:Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been established as an etiologic and prognostic factor in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). HPV oncogenesis involves expression of E6/E7 oncoproteins, with downstream p53 degradation and pRb inhibition. Although much research has focused on HPV's oncogenic behavior in primary OPSCC, minimal information exists about HPV in adjacent normal and metastatic tissue.Study Design:Retrospective cohort studyMethods:Patient‐matched tumor, normal, and metastatic tissue was gathered from 42 OPSCC patients and tested with real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR), in situ hybridization (ISH), and immunohistochemistry (IHC). RT‐qPCR was performed using total RNA from fresh‐frozen tissues and primers for HPV16 E6, E7, and p16 transcripts. HPV ISH was performed to detect the presence of HPV DNA and IHC to detect p16 protein.Results:Primary tumor, adjacent normal tissue, and tumor metastasis from 17 OPSCC patients were analyzed. When comparing the presence of HPV16 DNA in tumor, metastatic, and normal tissue by ISH, perfect correlation is found at all subsites (P < .0001). However, active infections determined by HPV16 E6 and E7 expression using quantitative polymerase chain reaction or p16 detection by IHC, were present only in primary and metastatic tissue (P = .0012, E6; P = .02, E7). No such correlation was found in normal tissue when compared to primary or metastatic tissue.Conclusions:There is a clear pattern of active HPV expression that correlates to disease course. In HPV‐positive patients, all sites including primary, metastatic, and normal tissues are DNA positive. Transcriptionally active infections were detected in primary and metastatic tissues, whereas normal tissues appear to have latent infections.
Deceased donation in Asia: Challenges and opportunities
Authors: Lo Chung-Mau 
Published: September 2012

Key Points
1. The deceased donation rate is low in Asia, and there is a critical shortage of liver grafts.
2. The number of liver transplants in Asia has increased rapidly during the last decade, mainly because of the rapid increase in the use of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).
3. Various social, cultural, religious, and economic factors account for the low rate of deceased donation, and there is marked diversity between different countries and even within individual countries.
4. There are excellent opportunities for the actualization of deceased donation through legislation, education, donor actions, and innovations.
5. In the foreseeable future, LDLT will continue to play a crucial role for patients with liver disease in Asia. Liver Transpl, 2012. © 2012 AASLD.
An Efficient Thiol‐Ene Chemistry for the Preparation of Amphiphilic PHA‐Based Graft Copolymers
Authors: Le Fer Gaëlle , Babinot Julien , Versace Davy‐Louis , Langlois Valérie , Renard Estelle 
Published: September 2012

AbstractWe present a straightforward method to prepare amphiphilic graft copolymers consisting of hydrophobic poly(3‐hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) backbone and hydrophilic α‐amino‐ω‐methoxy poly(oxyethylene‐co‐oxypropylene) (Jeffamine®) units. Poly(3‐hydroxyoctanoate)‐co‐(3‐hydroxyundecenoate) (PHOU) was first methanolyzed to obtain the desired molar mass. The amino end groups of Jeffamine were converted into thiol by a reaction with N‐acetylhomocysteine thiolactone and subsequently photografted. This “one‐pot” functionalization prevents from arduous and time‐consuming functionalization of the hydrophilic precursor or tedious modifications of PHAs, thus simplifying the process. The amphiphilic nature of modified PHAs leads to water‐soluble copolymers exhibiting thermoresponsive behavior.
Probability Based hERG Blocker Classifiers
Authors: Wang Zhi , Mussa Hamse Y. , Lowe Robert , Glen Robert C. , Yan Aixia 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) require in vitro human ether‐a‐go‐go related (hERG) ion channel affinity tests for all drug candidates prior to clinical trials. In this study, probabilistic‐based methods were employed to develop prediction models on hERG inhibition prediction, which are different from traditional QSAR models that are mainly based on supervised ‘hard point’ (HP) classification approaches giving ‘yes/no’ answers. The obtained models can ‘ascertain’ whether or not a given set of compounds can block hERG ion channels. The results presented indicate that the proposed probabilistic‐based method can be a valuable tool for ranking compounds with respect to their potential cardio‐toxicity and will be promising for other toxic property predictions.
Harnessing Human N‐type Ca2+ Channel Receptor by Identifying the Atomic Hotspot Regions for Its Structure‐Based Blocker Design
Authors: Pandey Ashish , P Jigneshkumar , Tripathi Satyaprakash , Gopi Mohan C. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThe voltage dependent N‐type Ca2+ channel (NCC) receptor was identified to have therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuropathic pain and stroke disease. The Ca2+ ion transport through the transmembrane influx is mainly dependent on the closing, opening, or intermediate state gating mechanism of NCC. Harnessing this dynamic gating mechanism at the structural level is an important and challenging physiological phenomenon. The three dimensional (3D) structure of this membrane receptor is not yet experimentally determined to understand its mechanism of action. Based on these observations, we have developed for the first time the structure of the closed state of the NCC receptor at the pore forming domains which mainly involve three transmembrane helices (TMhs) S5, P and S6. Hot‐spot binding site residues of this receptor model were identified by molecular docking technique using amlodipine, cilnidipine and nifedipine compounds known to be potent Ca2+ channel antagonists. Further, the Ca2+ ion permeability and the hydrophobic gating mechanism provided better structural and functional insights on the NCC receptor. These results are in consonance with other Ca2+ channel receptors and would provide guidance for further biochemical investigations.
Outcome of patients with localized orbital sarcoma who relapsed following treatment on Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group (IRSG) Protocols‐III and ‐IV, 1984–1997: A report from the Children's Oncology Group
Authors: Raney Beverly , Huh Winston , Hawkins Douglas , Hayes‐Jordan Andrea , Million Lynn , Rodeberg David , Teot Lisa , Anderson James ,   for the Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee of the Children's Oncology Group, Arcadia, CA
Published: September 2012

AbstractBackgroundWe wanted to ascertain patterns of recurrence, re‐treatment, and outcome among 188 eligible patients treated for localized orbital sarcoma on IRSG Protocols III/IV, 1984–1997.ProcedureRetrospective chart review.ResultsTwenty‐four of 188 patients (12.8%) developed local (n = 22) or distant relapse (n = 2) at 0.057–7.05 years (median, 1.58) after enrollment. Ages at study entry were 0.14–17 years (median, 5 years). Initial tumor operations included biopsy (n = 20) or gross resection with microscopic residual (n = 4). Initial tumor diameters were 0.5–7 cm (median, 3). Pathologic subtypes were embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS, n = 19), sarcoma not otherwise specified (n = 2), and alveolar RMS, botryoid ERMS, or undifferentiated sarcoma (n = 1 each). Initial treatment included vincristine/dactinomycin (n = 24) including an alkylator (n = 4) and radiotherapy (RT, n = 21). Twenty patients responded, 14 completely, 6 partially. After recurrence, patients underwent orbital exenteration (n = 10), enucleation (2), tumor excision (3), or biopsy (1); 7 had no operation, and 1 had no data. Post‐relapse chemotherapy included combinations of etoposide (n = 14 patients), doxorubicin (14), ifosfamide (12), cyclophosphamide (7), and dacarbazine (n = 1). Six patients received RT, including four previously treated and two not irradiated initially. Two patients died; one at 1.79 years after contralateral brain metastasis followed by local recurrence, and another at 2.49 years after multiple local recurrences. Twenty‐two patients (91.7%) survived sarcoma‐free for 0.04–17 years (median, 6.9) after relapse, and 18 of 22 (82%) were alive ≥5 years after relapse.ConclusionSurvival following recurrent localized orbital sarcoma appears likely after vigorous re‐treatment given with curative intent. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013; 60: 371–376. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
No evidence of increased asparagine levels in the bone marrow of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia during asparaginase therapy
Authors: Tong Wing H. , Pieters Rob , Hop Wim C.J. , Lanvers‐Kaminsky Claudia , Boos Joachim , van der Sluis Inge M. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractBackgroundMesenchymal cells (MSCs) in bone marrow (BM) may produce asparagine and form protective niches for leukemic cells. In vitro, this led to high levels of asparagine and conferred asparaginase resistance to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells. The aim of this study was to investigate whether MSCs or other cells in BM indeed produce such significant amounts of asparagine in vivo as to result in clinical asparaginase resistance.ProcedureTwenty‐six patients with newly diagnosed ALL were enrolled. All children received induction chemotherapy according to the Dutch Childhood Oncology Group (DCOG) ALL‐10 protocol. Asparaginase was administered from days 12–33. Asparaginase, asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamine, and glutamic acid levels were measured in BM and blood at diagnosis, days 15, 33, and 79.ResultsMedian asparaginase trough levels were not significantly different at days 15 and 33. Only at diagnosis, asparagine level was significantly higher in BM than in blood (P = 0.001). Asparagine levels were all below the lower limit of quantification in BM and blood at days 15 and 33. However, aspartic acid level in BM was significantly higher than in blood (P < 0.001) at diagnosis, and also at days 15, 33, and 79.ConclusionsWe demonstrate higher aspartic acid levels in BM compared to blood; however, no increased asparagine levels were seen during induction therapy containing asparaginase in BM when compared to blood. Therefore, increased asparagine synthesis by MSCs is of relevance for resistance to asparaginase of leukemic cells in vitro, but it is questionable whether this leads to asparaginase resistance in childhood ALL patients. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013;60:258–261. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Food selection for treatment of hypoglycaemia in insulin‐treated diabetes: what happens in real life?
Authors: Vindedzis Sally A , Marsh Beryl , Sherriff Jill L , Dhaliwal Satvinder S , Stanton Kim G 
Published: September 2012

AbstractHypoglycaemia is a feared complication of insulin‐treated diabetes. Treatment recommendations vary worldwide and their implementation is poorly documented. The primary study objective was to assess adherence to broad guidelines of hypoglycaemic treatment; initially with quick‐acting carbohydrate and follow up with long‐acting carbohydrate. The secondary objective was to assess if initial treating carbohydrate quantity complied with current worldwide recommendations.Assessment was by questionnaire, which was validated, piloted and administered to all insulin‐treated individuals attending routine outpatient diabetes clinic appointments over four weeks. The questionnaire response rate, readability and validity were acceptable at 74%, grade 6 level and 0.61 (Cohen's kappa), respectively.Assessment of broad guidelines for treatment of hypoglycaemia showed 78% of responders reported initial treatment with recommended foods, but only 40.8% of these were quick‐acting carbohydrate. Only 55.8% reported ingesting follow‐up food. Assessment of initial treating carbohydrate quantity showed 20.6% of responders used quantities exceeding all guidelines. Of the remaining, 46.4% used quantities consistent with the most liberal recommendations (European Association for the Study of Diabetes).Most study participants reported treating with recommended foods in quantities exceeding minimum recommendations, possibly attempting to resolve unpleasant symptoms of hypoglycaemia quickly. Failure of many to ingest follow‐up food is concerning and warrants investigation. Increased patient education and standardisation of guidelines for treatment of hypoglycaemia are indicated. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons.
Performance management in clinical diabetes: are the Diabetes UK ‘15 health care essentials’ a good enough measure of the standard of diabetes care?
Authors: Grant Paul , Haq Masud , Barnes Dennis 
Published: September 2012

AbstractHaving the right care is essential for the wellbeing of all people with diabetes. There is a minimum level of health care that every person with diabetes should expect. In 2010, Diabetes UK produced a list of 15 essential checks and services that people with diabetes should expect to receive. We wanted to assess whether we were adequately achieving all of these targets in our own diabetes service and assess whether the targets were themselves adequate and appropriate.We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 200 randomly selected patients attending the diabetes review clinic in a district general hospital. We recorded whether the parameters outlined in the Diabetes UK ‘15 health care essentials’ had been achieved in the last 12 months and then collated the data.The data showed that we scored well in terms of monitoring HbA1c, blood pressure, body mass index, retinal screening and cholesterol. However, we scored sub‐optimally in terms of the following parameters: smoking cessation, pregnancy planning, structured education, measurement of waist circumference and psychological assessment.In conclusion, the Diabetes UK ‘essentials’ checklist may be viewed as mechanistic, but it provides a useful starting point to assess the effectiveness of a diabetes service in providing the basics of patient care in much the same way as the WHO surgical checklist reduces adverse outcomes. We have been able to see where the deficiencies in our own service lie and have made amends to ensure that these areas are covered in future.One issue that arose is that there are certain other ‘essentials’ that would be good to include in such a checklist, such as: erectile dysfunction (as suggested by the NICE guidelines), obstructive sleep apnoea, vitamin D deficiency, neuropathy screening and monitoring of liver function to rule out incipient steatohepatitis/fatty liver disease. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons.
Photon absorption and photocurrent in solar cells below semiconductor bandgap due to electron photoemission from plasmonic nanoantennas
Authors: Novitsky A. , Uskov A. V. , Gritti C. , Protsenko I. E. , Kardynał B. E. , Lavrinenko A. V. 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTWe model the electron photoemission from metal nanoparticles into a semiconductor in a Schottky diode with a conductive oxide electrode hosting the nanoparticles. We show that plasmonic effects in the nanoparticles lead to a substantial enhancement in photoemission compared with devices with continuous metal films. Optimally designed metal nanoparticles can provide an effective mechanism for the photon absorption in the infrared range below the semiconductor bandgap, resulting in the generation of a photocurrent in addition to the photocurrent from band‐to‐band absorption in a semiconductor. Such structure can form the dais of the development of plasmonic photoemission enhanced solar cells. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gettering of transition metals by porous silicon in epitaxial silicon solar cells
Authors: Radhakrishnan Hariharsudan Sivaramakrishnan , Ahn Chihak , Van Hoeymissen Jan , Dross Frédéric , Cowern Nick , Van Nieuwenhuysen Kris , Gordon Ivan , Mertens Robert , Poortmans Jef 
Published: September 2012

AbstractEpitaxial silicon solar cells (“epicells”) are based on an epitaxial active layer (“epilayer”) grown on top of a low‐cost, inactive p+ silicon substrate. A key challenge is to mitigate transition metal out‐diffusion from the low‐purity substrate into the active layer. An embedded porous silicon (PSi) layer can be used to getter metals within the substrate. This was studied theoretically using density functional theory where large binding energies (∼1.9–2.2 eV) for metal segregation to PSi void surface were calculated for Fe and Cu. Incorporating this in a diffusion model yielded large gettering coefficients of ∼104 even at 1000 °C. To verify this experimentally, a test structure consisting of a 2‐µm thick epilayer grown on top of an 8.5 × 8.5 cm2 area of re‐organized PSi etched into the middle of an 8″ Cz, p+ wafer was used. These wafers were surface‐contaminated with metals (Fe, Ni, Cu) to ∼1014–1015 cm−2 and annealed at high temperatures (950–1000 °C) for up to 15 min. This allowed the metals to distribute throughout the wafer and getter to preferential sites. Direct total reflection X‐ray fluorescence mapping of Cu on the front side showed that the embedded PSi reduced the amount of Cu reaching the top surface by ∼103 times, compared to the areas without PSi. Moreover, SIMS depth profiling revealed large metal concentrations (1018–1019 cm−3) in the depth associated with PSi, while the metal concentrations were below detection limits in the surrounding area, suggesting a gettering coefficient of ∼103–104. A slow cooling rate and smaller pore radii were also found to be beneficial for gettering.
Direct growth of vertically aligned single‐walled carbon nanotubes on conducting substrate and its electrochemical performance in ionic liquids
Authors: Azam Mohd Asyadi , Isomura Kazuki , Fujiwara Akihiko , Shimoda Tatsuya 
Published: September 2012

AbstractWe report the fabrication of vertically aligned single‐walled carbon nanotube (VA‐SWCNT) electrodes for a symmetric electrochemical capacitor using a simple, low‐cost ethanol‐based SWCNT growth system. From the CNT direct growth technique, the electrode was easily prepared and consequently assembled with an electrochemically stable ionic liquid as electrolyte. VA‐SWCNTs were directly grown on conducting SUS 310S foils in which the binder material was not incorporated in the capacitor structure. The morphology of as‐grown CNTs was investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. This capacitor demonstrated a gravimetric capacitance of up to 584 F g−1 (at 1 mV s−1 scan rate) and a high‐rate capability, with up to 1000 mV s−1 scan rate being obtained. From the cyclic voltammetric analysis, the capacitance was contributed not only from the ideal double‐layer capacitance, but also from faradaic/redox processes that might have occurred during charge–discharge. Other than the capacitance, the VA‐SWCNT capacitor electrochemical performance was also measured by using frequency response (electrochemical impedance) and charge–discharge analyses.
Multicrystalline silicon solar cells from RST ribbon process
Authors: De Moro Fabrice , Focsa Alexandru , Derbouz Karim , Slaoui Abdelilah , Auriac Nicolas , Lignier Hélène , Keller Philipp 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThe aim of Solarforce is the achievement of high efficiency solar cells made out of ≤100 µm thick multicrystalline silicon wafers produced by the Ribbon on Sacrificial Template (RST) process. For a first evaluation of the RST material, solar cells were fabricated on p‐type RST wafers with different processes. The first conclusion is that the density of silicon carbide inclusions has to be lowered to obtain better FF values, and in turn a better homogeneity in cell performances. Secondly, conversion efficiency is found to be limited around 14% by low bulk minority carrier lifetime values, limiting both Voc and Leff. ICP‐MS analyses on RST material show that this lifetime may be improved with the possible achievement of low metallic impurity content in the wafers, under 1 ppb wt. Further enhancement is also shown to be possible with the n doping of RST material, a well controlled process in ribbon growth (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Reduction of surface reflectivity in multi‐crystalline silicon solar cells by wet nano‐texturing
Authors: Cho Young Joon , Chang Hyo Sik 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThe effect of electroless wet treatment on multi‐crystalline silicon solar cells was investigated. We prepared nanostructures on a multi‐crystalline silicon surface via wet nano‐texturing processes to ensure that less light is reflected off the surface. Nano‐texturing can reduce the average reflectance to about 2.5% in the wavelength range of 400‐900 nm. Further, we obtained an effective reflectance of 1.9% with Al2O3/SiNx:H coating. The use of our wet nano‐texturing process resulted in a reflectance value lower than that obtained with conventional acid texturization. Thus, the nano‐texturing of multi‐crystalline silicon via the wet chemical process can further increase the efficiency of silicon solar cells (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)