bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of obesity on the cost of major colorectal surgery
Authors: Tapper R , Dixon L , Frampton C , Frizelle F 
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Background
The incidence of obesity is increasing in New Zealand. The aim of the study was to determine whether obesity impacts on the cost of treating patients undergoing major colorectal surgery.

Methods
Between 1 February 2008 and 31 July 2009, consecutive patients undergoing major colorectal surgery at Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand, were enrolled in the study. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratios were assessed using standardized techniques. Patients with a high surgical risk were identified using established criteria and all patients were assessed using the Portsmouth modification of the Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and morbidity (P-POSSUM). Cost analysis was performed using a structured query language database. Patients were analysed using accepted groupings for BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio.

Results
A total of 372 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 345 were included in the analysis. The incidence of diabetes was significantly higher with increased BMI (P = 0·002), whereas all other co-morbidities, and P-POSSUM values, did not differ between BMI groups. The groups were similar in terms of case mix. Treatment of obese patients (BMI at least 30 kg/m2) was significantly more expensive than that of normal weight patients (BMI 20–24·9 kg/m2): €10 036 versus €7390 (P = 0·005). Treatment costs for patients with a BMI of 25–29·9 kg/m2 were next highest (€9048) followed by those for patients whose BMI was less than 20 kg/m2 (€8884). Patients with a waist circumference above recognized standards for men and women also cost significantly more to treat (€10 063 versus €7836; P = 0·014).

Conclusion
Excess body fat was associated with higher costs of major colorectal surgery.
Measuring colorectal cancer care quality for the publicly insured in New York State
Authors: Sinclair Amber H. , Schymura Maria J. , Boscoe Francis P. , Yung Rachel L. , Chen Kun , Roohan Patrick , Tai Eric , Schrag Deborah 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe extent to which concordance with colorectal cancer treatment quality metrics varies by patient characteristics in the publicly insured is not well understood. Our objective was to evaluate the quality of colorectal cancer care for publicly insured residents of New York State (NYS). NYS cancer registry data were linked to Medicaid and Medicare claims and hospital discharge data. We identified colorectal cancer cases diagnosed from 2004 through 2006 and evaluated three treatment quality measures: adjuvant chemotherapy within 4 months of diagnosis for American Joint Cancer Committee (AJCC) stage III colon cancer, adjuvant radiation within 6 months of diagnosis for AJCC stage IIB or III rectal cancer, and adjuvant chemotherapy within 9 months of diagnosis for AJCC stage II–III rectal cancer. Concordance with guidelines was evaluated separately for Medicaid‐enrollees under age 65 years and Medicare‐enrollees aged 65–79 years. For adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer, 79.4% (274/345) of the Medicaid cohort and 71.8% (585/815) of the Medicare cohort were guideline concordant. For adjuvant radiation for rectal cancer, 72.3% (125/173) of the Medicaid cohort and 66.9% (206/308) of the Medicare cohort were concordant. For adjuvant chemotherapy for rectal cancer, 89.5% (238/266) of the Medicaid cohort and 76.0% (392/516) of the Medicare cohort were concordant. Younger age was associated with higher adjusted odds of concordance for all three measures in the Medicare cohort. Racial differences were not evident in either cohort. There is room for improvement in concordance with accepted metrics of cancer care quality. Feedback about performance may assist in targeting efforts to improve care.
3D‐QSAR‐Assisted Drug Design: Identification of a Potent Quinazoline‐Based Aurora Kinase Inhibitor
Authors: Ke Yi‐Yu , Shiao Hui‐Yi , Hsu Yung Chang , Chu Chang‐Ying , Wang Wen‐Chieh , Lee Yen‐Chun , Lin Wen‐Hsing , Chen Chun‐Hwa , Hsu John T. A. , Chang Chun‐Wei , Lin Cheng‐Wei , Yeh Teng‐Kuang , Chao Yu‐Sheng , Coumar Mohane Selvaraj , Hsieh Hsing‐Pang 
Published: November 2012

AbstractWe describe the 3D‐QSAR‐assisted design of an Aurora kinase A inhibitor with improved physicochemical properties, in vitro activity, and in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles over those of the initial lead. Three different 3D‐QSAR models were built and validated by using a set of 66 pyrazole (Model I) and furanopyrimidine (Model II) compounds with IC50 values toward Aurora kinase A ranging from 33 nM to 10.5 μM. The best 3D‐QSAR model, Model III, constructed with 24 training set compounds from both series, showed robustness (r2CV=0.54 and 0.52 for CoMFA and CoMSIA, respectively) and superior predictive capacity for 42 test set compounds (R2pred=0.52 and 0.67, CoMFA and CoMSIA). Superimposition of CoMFA and CoMSIA Model III over the crystal structure of Aurora kinase A suggests the potential to improve the activity of the ligands by decreasing the steric clash with Val147 and Leu139 and by increasing hydrophobic contact with Leu139 and Gly216 residues in the solvent‐exposed region of the enzyme. Based on these suggestions, the rational redesign of furanopyrimidine 24 (clog P=7.41; Aurora A IC50=43 nM; HCT‐116 IC50=400 nM) led to the identification of quinazoline 67 (clog P=5.28; Aurora A IC50=25 nM; HCT‐116 IC50=23 nM). Rat in vivo pharmacokinetic studies showed that 67 has better systemic exposure after i.v. administration than 24, and holds potential for further development.
A fine‐grained access control and revocation scheme on clouds
Authors: Tu Shan‐shan , Niu Shao‐zhang , Li Hui 
Published: November 2012

SummaryIn recent years, more and more companies outsource their data to the cloud service provider to greatly reduce the cost. However, it also raises underlying security and privacy issues for the significant corporate data. Therefore, a natural way to keep sensitive data confidential against an untrusted cloud service provider is only to store the encrypted data in the cloud. Flexible encryption schemes can provide a fine grain access control for the encrypted data and ensure legitimate user to decrypt the corresponding data. The key problems of this approach include establishing access control for the encrypted data and revoking the access rights from users when they are no longer authorized to access the encrypted data on cloud servers. This paper aims to solve these problems. First, with the attribute encryption and the dual encryption system, we propose a concrete access control scheme constructed over the composite‐order bilinear groups, and we prove its security under the standard model. Then, we propose a fully fine‐grained revocation scheme under the direct revocation model so as to efficiently revoke access rights from users on cloud servers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Enhancing the performances of recycling folded cascode OpAmp in nanoscale CMOS through voltage supply doubling and design for reliability
Authors: Mak Pui‐In , Liu Miao , Zhao Yaohua , Martins Rui P. 
Published: November 2012

ABSTRACTCurrent‐oriented operational amplifier (OpAmp) design has been common for its orderly current‐to‐speed tradeoff. However, for high‐precision or high‐linearity applications, increasing the current does not help much, as the supply voltage (VDD) and intrinsic gain of the MOSFETs in ultra‐scaled CMOS technologies are very limited. This paper introduces voltage‐oriented circuit techniques to address such limitations. Specifically, a 2xVDD‐enabled recycling folded cascade (RFC) OpAmp is proposed. It features: (1) current recycling to enhance the effective trans conductance by 4x with no extra power; (2) transistor stacking to boost the output resistance by one to two orders of magnitude; and (3) VDD elevating to enlarge the linear output swing by 4x. Comparing with its 1xVDD RFC and FC counterparts, the proposed solution achieves 20‐dB higher DC gain (i.e. 72.8 dB) in open loop and 20‐dB lower IM3 (i.e., –76.5 dB) in closed loop, under the same power budget of 0.6 mW in a 1‐V General Purpose 65‐nm CMOS process. In many applications, these joint improvements in a single stage are already adequate, being more power efficient (i.e. less current paths), stable (i.e. more phase margin), and compact (i.e. no frequency compensation) than multi‐stage OpAmps. Voltage‐conscious biasing and node‐voltage trajectory check ensure the device reliability in both transient and steady states. No specialized high‐voltage device is necessary. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fundamental study on the quantification of tactile sensation
Authors: Akiyama Yoko , Mishima Fumihito , Nishijima Shigerhiro 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe objective of this study is to quantify tactile sensation by physical indexes for the material design of cosmetics or fabrics. We attempted to express the sensory scores of tactile sensation as a combination of physical indexes. In order to extract the principal factors of tactile sensation, factor analysis was applied to the sensory evaluation data of skin lotions, whose tactile sensation was designed experimentally. The extracted factors were related to physical indexes by multiple regression analysis, and the sensory score was estimated by using physical indexes such as viscosity, contact angle, friction coefficient, and weight loss on temperature rise. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 95(12): 29–36, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.11435 8
A missing value imputation method using a Bayesian network with weighted learning
Authors: Miyakoshi Yoshihiro , Kato Shohei 
Published: November 2012

AbstractWith the development of computer networks, it has become easy to have huge databases. Accordingly, it is becoming difficult for users to extract knowledge from such databases. In this paper we focus on data mining, especially classification. In real‐world data mining, the missing value problem occurs in cases such as speech containing noise, facial occlusion, and the like. When a test sample has missing values, a classification system cannot handle them. In previous studies, various imputation methods have been developed, with the objective of solving the missing value problem with numerous explanatory variables, even if some explanatory variables were ineffective for imputation. It has been said that the use of many variables degrades learning efficiency, and thus we believe that imputation methods should be developed considering the relations among explanatory variables. It is also effective to consider the relations between the test sample and each of the training samples. Therefore, we have proposed an imputation method using a Bayesian network with weighted learning. Experiments have confirmed that the proposed method imputes missed values with approximate values, and the classification system successfully classified test samples in which missed values were imputed by the proposed method, with better success than some conventional imputation methods. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 95(12): 1–9, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.11449
Governance and Sense of Place: Half a Century of a German Nature Park
Authors: Mehnen Nora , Mose Ingo , Strijker Dirk 
Published: November 2012

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to analyse the relationship between sense of place and the governance of nature parks. Sense of place has been well researched, including in protected areas, but its relationship to and influence on the governance structure of a protected area has received little attention thus far. Over the last few years, the concept of (regional) governance has been increasingly used with respect to protected areas. It is often stated that governance actually reflects a desire for increased participation of the local population. We argue that regional governance structures will come about more easily in IUCN Category V protected landscapes, where bottom‐up approaches are required and multiple interests have to be taken into account. The findings from a case study on the German Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park, one of the oldest nature parks in Germany, are explored against this background. Today, this nature park faces new challenges (e.g. structural and demographical changes, financial insecurity, weaker legislation, and pressure on nature conservation) and it is important to consider in which direction it wants to develop. More attention to regional governance and sense of place is important to improving the standing and acceptance of the park and to strengthening both regional development and biodiversity protection. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Mechanism and Enantioselectivity of [Zinc(diamine)(diol)]‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrosilylation of Ketones: DFT, NMR and ECD Studies
Authors: Gajewy Jadwiga , Gawronski Jacek , Kwit Marcin 
Published: November 2012

AbstractNMR and ECD measurements together with density functional theory computations were used to analyze the mechanism of [Zn(diamine)(diol)]‐catalyzed ketone hydrosilylation. Of the three possible pathways, the one that assumes formation of a Zn‐hydride species acting as an active catalyst appears energetically most favorable. This conclusion is in contrast to a previously proposed mechanism that assumed the reaction between the [Zn(diamine)(diol)] catalyst, the silane, and the substrate, took place through Zn‐activation of the carbonyl group. The absolute stereochemistry of the final product predicted on the basis of our proposal is in agreement with the available experimental data. It appears that the most important factor that controls stereochemistry of the whole process is preorganization of the reaction substrates by formation of a NH···O=C hydrogen bond between the catalyst and the substrate.
Synthesis and evaluation of antibacterial polyurethane coatings made from soybean oil functionalized with dimethylphenylammonium iodide and hydroxyl groups
Authors: Bakhshi Hadi , Yeganeh Hamid , Mehdipour‐Ataei Shahram 
Published: November 2012

AbstractPreparation of antibacterial polyurethane coatings from novel functional soybean oil was considered in this work. First, epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO) as a low price and widely available renewable resource raw material was subjected to the reaction with aniline using an ionic liquid as a green catalyst. The intermediate phenylamine containing polyol (SAP) was then methylated by reaction with methyl iodide to produce a polyol (QAP) with pendant dimethylphenylammonium iodide groups. To regulate the physical and mechanical properties as well as biological characteristics of final coatings, QAP was mixed with different portions of a similar soybean oil‐based polyol (MSP) without quaternary ammonium groups. The mixtures were reacted with isophorone diisocyanate to produce crosslinked polyurethane coatings. Evaluation of viscoelastic properties by DMA method revealed single phase structure with Tg in the range of 50–82°C. Stress–strain analysis of the prepared polyurethanes showed initial modulus, tensile strength, and elongation at break in the ranges of 13–299 MPa, 4.5–13.8 MPa, and 16–109%, respectively. Additionally, the coatings showed good adherence to aluminum and PVC substrates. The solvent extracted samples showed excellent biocompatibility as determined by monitoring L929 fibroblast cells morphology and MTT assay. Meanwhile, very promising antibacterial properties against both Gram‐positive (S. aureus) and Gram‐negative (E. coli) bacteria with bacterial reduction in the range of 83–100% was observed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2013.
High biocompatibility and improved osteogenic potential of novel Ca–P/titania composite scaffolds designed for regeneration of load‐bearing segmental bone defects
Authors: Cunha Carla , Sprio Simone , Panseri Silvia , Dapporto Massimiliano , Marcacci Maurilio , Tampieri Anna 
Published: November 2012

AbstractRegeneration of load‐bearing bone segments is still an open challenge due to the lack of biomaterials mimicking natural bone with a suitable chemicophysical and mechanical performance. This study proposes ceramic bone scaffolds made of β‐tricalcium phosphate (β‐TCP) and titania (TiO2), developed from hydroxyapatite (HA) and TiO2 starting nanopowders, which exhibit high and interconnected macroporosity (>70 vol %). The scaffold composition was designed to achieve a synergistic effect of bioactivity/resorbability and mechanical properties suitable for load‐bearing regenerative applications. The analysis of the morphology, structure, and mechanical strength of the scaffolds resulted in compression strength nearly twice that of commercially available HA bone grafts with similar structure (Engipore®). Biological characterization was carried out for human MG‐63 osteoblast‐like cells proliferation, activity, attachment, and viability. β‐TCP/TiO2 scaffolds show high proliferation rate, high viability, and high colonization rates. Moreover, an increased activity of the osteogenic marker alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was found. These results demonstrate that β‐TCP/TiO2 scaffolds have good potential as osteogenically active load‐bearing scaffolds; moreover, given the high and interconnected macroporosity as well as the resorbability properties of β‐TCP, these scaffolds may enhance in vivo osteointegration and promote the formation of new organized bone, thus resulting in very promising biomimetic scaffolds for long bone regeneration. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2013.
Novel Chromatic Transitions of Azobenzene‐Functionalized Polydiacetylene Aggregates in 1,2‐Dichlorobenzene Solution
Authors: Hu Wenlong , Hao Jiang , Li Jingguo , Zou Gang , Zhang Qijin 
Published: November 2012

AbstractHerein, we prepare three azobenzene‐functionalized polydiacetylene (PDA) aggregates in 1,2‐dichlorobenzene solution with reversible thermochromic and novel photo‐induced chromatic behavior. The influence of chemical structural variation on the chromatic transition properties of the PDAs aggregates has been explored in detail by in situ FTIR spectroscopic analyses. The links between chromatic transitions and the molecular structure of PDA aggregates has been established. The results demonstrate that suitable head group interactions and alkyl side chain lengths are both essential for the sensitivity and reversibility of the thermochromic and photochromic properties of PDAs aggregates in solution.
Reactive Graphene Oxide Nanosheets: A Versatile Platform for the Fabrication of Graphene Oxide–Biomolecule/Polymer Nanohybrids
Authors: Xu Li Qun , Zhang Bin , Chen Yu , Neoh Koon‐Gee , Kang En‐Tang , Fu Guo Dong 
Published: November 2012

AbstractGraphene oxide (GO) nanosheets can be functionalized with reactive pentafluorophenyl ester via esterification of the carboxylic groups. The resulting reactive GO nanosheets provide a versatile platform for grafting of amino‐containing polymers or biomolecules via ester–amine coupling. Coupling of poly[(9,9‐dioctylfluorene)‐alt‐(4‐amino‐phenylcarbazole)] (PFCz‐NH2), amino‐terminated hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG‐NH2), and lysozyme (Lyz) was illustrated. The Al/GO‐g‐PFCz/ITO sandwich thin‐film device exhibits bistable electrical switching and rewritable memory effects. The GO‐g‐Lyz nanohybrids exhibit high bactericidal efficacy against S. aureus and E. coli, while the GO‐g‐HPG nanohybrids exhibit reduced cytotoxicity toward 3T3 fibroblasts.
Effect of ethylenediamine on corrosion of AISI 4130 steel alloy in 30% ethylene glycol solution under static and hydrodynamic condition
Authors: Danaee I. , Niknejad Khomami M. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe electrochemical behavior of steel alloy in 30% ethylene glycol‐water solution at different solution rotating speeds was investigated by polarization curves and AC impedance measurements. The results obtained showed that corrosion rate was not changed significantly in different rotating speed. The effect of ethylenediamine as inhibitor was studied and high inhibition efficiency was obtained. It was found that inhibitor adsorption was occurred in presence of inhibitor. The inhibiting effect of the ethylenediamine was explained on the basis of the competitive adsorption between the inhibitor and the aggressive Cl– ions and the adsorption isotherm basically obeys the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Thermodynamic parameters for inhibitor adsorption were determined and reveal that the adsorption process is spontaneous.
The role of polycarbonate molecular weight in the poly(L‐lactide) blends compatibilized with poly(butylene succinate‐co‐L‐lactate)
Authors: Wang Y. , Chiao S.M. , Lai M.‐T. , Yang S.‐Y. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractPoly(butylene succinate‐co‐L‐lactate) (PBSL)–compatibilized poly(L‐lactide) (PLLA) polymer blends with two commercial grades of polycarbonate (PC) were investigated. The capillary tests showed that the steady shear viscosity of high molecular weight PC (PC‐L) was 10 times higher than that of low molecular weight PC (PC‐AD) throughout the shear rate range under investigation. Morphologic examination revealed that the shape of the dispersed PC‐L phase in the as‐extruded blends was largely spherical, but the PC‐AD phase was more like a rod and elongated further during injection molding. Notched Izod impact strength (IS) of the unmodified PLLA/PC‐L blend was higher than that of PC‐AD blend. The IS of modified ternary blends increased with PBSL content because of enhanced phase interaction indicated from thermal and morphologic analysis. The PBSL modification also enhanced IS more significantly in PLLA/PC‐L than in PLLA/PC‐AD blends. On the contrary, the heat deflection temperature (HDT) of PLLA/PC‐L binary system was much lower than that of PLLA/PC‐AD. HDT of PBSL‐modified PLLA/PC‐AD blends dropped with increasing PBSL content, which is a ductile polymer. Thermal and dynamic mechanical analysis of the ternary blends showed that individual components were immiscible with distinct Tgs for PC and PLLA and distinct Tms for PBSL and PLLA. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers
Topological insulators and thermoelectric materials
Authors: Müchler Lukas , Casper Frederick , Yan Binghai , Chadov Stanislav , Felser Claudia 
Published: November 2012

Abstractmagnified imageTopological insulators (TIs) are a new quantum state of matter which have gapless surface states inside the bulk energy gap [1–4]. Starting with the discovery of two‐dimensional TIs, the HgTe‐based quantum wells [5, 6], many new topological materials have been theoretically predicted and experimentally observed. Currently known TI materials can possibly be classified into two families [7], the HgTe family and the Bi2Se3 family. The signatures found in the electronic structure of a TI also cause these materials to be excellent thermoelectric materials [8–10]. On the other hand, excellent thermoelectric materials can be also topologically trivial. Here we present a short introduction to topological insulators and thermoelectrics, and give examples of compound classes where both good thermoelectric properties and topological insulators can be found. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)