bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Extraction of Whole-Body Affordances for Loco-Manipulation Tasks
Authors: Kaiser Peter , Vahrenkamp Nikolaus , Schültje Fabian , Borràs Júlia , Asfour Tamim 
Published: June 2015

Humanoid robots that have to operate in cluttered and unstructured environments, such as man-made and natural disaster scenarios, require sophisticated sensorimotor capabilities. A crucial prerequisite for the successful execution of whole-body locomotion and manipulation tasks in such environments is the perception of the environment and the extraction of associated environmental affordances, i.e., the action possibilities of the robot in the environment. We believe that such a coupling between perception and action could be a key to substantially increase the flexibility of humanoid robots. In this paper, we approach the affordance-based generation of whole-body actions for stable locomotion and manipulation. We incorporate a rule-based system to assign affordance hypotheses to visually perceived environmental primitives in the scene. These hypotheses are then filtered using extended reachability maps that carry stability information, for identifying reachable affordance hypotheses. We then formulate the hypotheses in terms of a constrained inverse kinematics problem in order to find whole-body configurations that utilize a chosen set of hypotheses. The proposed methods are implemented and tested in simulated environments based on RGB-D scans as well as on a real robotic platform.
Prevalence and Impact of High Platelet Reactivity in Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Baber Usman , Mehran Roxana , Kirtane Ajay J. , Gurbel Paul A. , Christodoulidis Georgios , Maehara Akiko , Witzenbichler Bernhard , Weisz Giora , Rinaldi Michael J. , Metzger D. Christopher , Henry Timothy D. , Cox David A. , Duffy Peter L. , Mazzaferri Ernest L. , Xu Ke , Parise Helen , Brodie Bruce R. , Stuckey Thomas D. , Stone Gregg W. 
Published: June 2015

Background—
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased rates of adverse events after percutaneous coronary intervention. We sought to determine the impact of CKD on platelet reactivity in clopidogrel-treated patients and whether high platelet reactivity (HPR) confers a similar or differential risk for adverse events among patients with CKD and non-CKD.

Methods and Results—

We performed a post hoc analysis of the Assessment of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy With Drug-Eluting Stents (ADAPT-DES) registry, which included 8582 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents and platelet function testing using the VerifyNow assay. We compared HPR and its impact on ischemic and bleeding events >2 years among patients with CKD and non-CKD. Patients with CKD (n=1367) were older, more often female, diabetic, and had lower ejection fraction compared with their non-CKD counterparts (n=7043). Although HPR prevalence increased with worsening renal function in unadjusted analyses, these associations were no longer present after adjustment. Major adverse cardiac event rates at 2 years among those without CKD or HPR, HPR alone, CKD alone, and both CKD and HPR were 9.0%, 11.2%, 13.3%, and 17.5%, respectively (
P
<0.001). Associations between HPR and adverse events were uniform across CKD strata without evidence of interaction.

Conclusions—
HPR is more common among those with versus without CKD, an association that is attributable to confounding risk factors that are more prevalent in CKD. The impact of HPR on ischemic and bleeding events is similar irrespective of CKD status.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00638794.
Temporal Trends in Quality of Life Outcomes After Transapical Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
Authors: Gada Hemal , Kirtane Ajay J. , Wang Kaijun , Lei Yang , Magnuson Elizabeth , Reynolds Matthew R. , Williams Mathew R. , Kodali Susheel , Vahl Torsten P. , Arnold Suzanne V. , Leon Martin B. , Thourani Vinod , Szeto Wilson Y. , Cohen David J. 
Published: June 2015

Background—
In the Placement of AoRTic TraNscathetER Valve (PARTNER) randomized controlled trial (RCT), which represented the first exposure to transapical transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TA-TAVR) for many clinical sites, high-risk patients undergoing TA-TAVR derived similar health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes when compared with surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). With increasing experience, it is possible that HRQoL outcomes of TA-TAVR may have improved.

Methods and Results—
We evaluated HRQoL outcomes at 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups among 875 patients undergoing TA-TAVR in the PARTNER nonrandomized continued access (NRCA) registry and compared these outcomes with those of the TA-TAVR and SAVR patients in the PARTNER RCT. HRQoL was assessed with the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ), the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 12, and the EuroQoL-5D, with the KCCQ overall summary score serving as the primary end point. The NRCA TA-TAVR and RCT TA-TAVR and SAVR groups were generally similar. The primary outcome, the KCCQ summary score, did not differ between the NRCA TA-TAVR and the RCT TA-TAVR group at any follow-up timepoints, although there were small differences in favor of the NRCA cohort on several KCCQ subscales at 1 month. There were no significant differences in follow-up HRQOL between the NRCA-TAVR and the RCT SAVR cohorts on the KCCQ overall summary scale or any of the disease-specific or generic subscales.

Conclusions—
Despite greater experience with TA-TAVR in the NRCA registry, HRQoL outcomes remained similar to those of TA-TAVR in the original RCT cohort and no better than those with SAVR. These findings have important implications for patient selection for TAVR when transfemoral access is not an option.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00530894.
Influence of Cardiovascular Fitness and Muscle Strength in Early Adulthood on Long-Term Risk of Stroke in Swedish Men
Authors: Åberg N. David , Kuhn H. Georg , Nyberg Jenny , Waern Margda , Friberg Peter , Svensson Johan , Torén Kjell , Rosengren Annika , Åberg Maria A.I. , Nilsson Michael 
Published: June 2015

Background and Purpose—
Low cardiovascular fitness (fitness) in mid- and late life is a risk factor for stroke. However, the respective effects on long-term stroke risk of fitness and muscle strength in early adulthood are unknown. Therefore, we analyzed these in a large cohort of young men.

Method—

We performed a population-based longitudinal cohort study of Swedish male conscripts registered in 1968 to 2005. Data on fitness (by the cycle ergometric test; n=1 166 035) and muscle strength (n=1 563 750) were trichotomized (low, medium, and high). During a 42-year follow-up, risk of stroke (subarachnoidal hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage, and ischemic stroke) and fatality were calculated with Cox proportional hazards models. To identify cases, we used the
International Classification of Diseases
-
Eighth to Tenth Revision
in the Hospital Discharge Register and the Cause of Death Register.

Results—
First-time stroke events were identified (subarachnoidal hemorrhage, n=895; intracerebral hemorrhage, n=2904; ischemic stroke, n=7767). For all stroke and fatality analysis any type of first-time stroke was recorded (n=10 917). There were inverse relationships in a dose–response fashion between fitness and muscle strength with any stroke (adjusted hazard ratios for the lowest, compared with the highest, tertile of each 1.70 [1.50–1.93] and 1.39 [1.27–1.53], respectively). There were stronger associations for fatal stroke. All 3 stroke types displayed similar associations. Associations between fitness and stroke remained when adjusted for muscle strength, whereas associations between muscle strength and stroke weakened/disappeared when adjusted for fitness.

Conclusions—
At the age of 18 years, low fitness and to a lesser degree low muscle strength were independently associated with an increased future stroke risk.
Regenerative Neurogenesis After Ischemic Stroke Promoted by Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase–Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Cascade
Authors: Zhao Yan , Guan Yun-Feng , Zhou Xiao-Ming , Li Guo-Qiang , Li Zhi-Yong , Zhou Can-Can , Wang Pei , Miao Chao-Yu 
Published: June 2015

Background and Purpose—
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a ubiquitous fundamental metabolite. Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) is the rate-limiting enzyme for mammalian NAD salvage synthesis and has been shown to protect against acute ischemic stroke. In this study, we investigated the role of Nampt–NAD cascade in brain regeneration after ischemic stroke.

Methods—
Nampt transgenic (Nampt-Tg) mice and H247A mutant enzymatic-dead Nampt transgenic (ΔNampt-Tg) mice were subjected with experimental cerebral ischemia by middle cerebral artery occlusion. Activation of neural stem cells, neurogenesis, and neurological function recovery were measured. Besides, nicotinamide mononucleotide and NAD, two chemical enzymatic product of Nampt, were administrated in vivo and in vitro.

Results—

Compared with wild-type mice, Nampt-Tg mice showed enhanced number of neural stem cells, improved neural functional recovery, increased survival rate, and accelerated body weight gain after middle cerebral artery occlusion, which were not observed in ΔNampt-Tg mice. A delayed nicotinamide mononucleotide administration for 7 days with the first dose at 12 hours post middle cerebral artery occlusion did not protect acute brain infarction and neuronal deficit; however, it still improved postischemic regenerative neurogenesis. Nicotinamide mononucleotide and NAD
+
promoted proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells in vitro. Knockdown of NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and SIRT2 inhibited the progrowth action of Nampt–NAD axis, whereas knockdown of SIRT1, SIRT2, and SIRT6 compromised the prodifferentiation effect of Nampt–NAD axis.

Conclusions—
Our data demonstrate that the Nampt–NAD cascade may act as a centralizing switch in postischemic regeneration through controlling different sirtuins and therefore represent a promising therapeutic target for long-term recovery of ischemic stroke.
First epidemiological data for venotonics in pregnancy from the EFEMERIS database
Authors: Lacroix Isabelle , Beau Anna-Belle , Hurault-Delarue Caroline , Bouilhac Claire , Petiot Dominique , Vayssière Christophe , Vidal Sabine , Montastruc Jean-Louis , Damase-Michel Christine 
Published: June 2015

Objective There are few published data about possible effects of veinotonics in pregnant women. The present study investigates potential adverse drug reactions of veinotonics in pregnancy. Method EFEMERIS is a database including prescribed and dispensed reimbursed drugs during pregnancy (data from Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie) and outcomes (data from Maternal and Infant Protection Service and Antenatal diagnostic Centre). Women who delivered from 1 July 2004 to December 2007 in Haute-Garonne and were registered in the French Health Insurance Service have been included in the EFEMERIS database. We compared pregnancy outcomes and newborn health between women exposed to veinotonics during pregnancy and unexposed women. Results We found that 8998 women (24%) had received at least one prescription for venotonic agents during their pregnancy, corresponding to the period of organogenesis in 1200 cases. We compared data for these women with those for the 27,963 women for whom these drugs were not prescribed during pregnancy. The most widely used veinotonics were hesperidin, diosmin and troxerutin. Pregnancies led to 98.4% versus 93.6% of live births, 0.2% versus 0.2% of postnatal deaths and 1.6% versus 6.4% of pregnancy termination (miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, medical termination, intrauterine death) in exposed and non-exposed groups, respectively. The risks of pregnancy termination (HR = 0.71 (0.60–0.84)) and prematurity (HR = 0.82 (0.73–0.93)) remained significantly lower in the women exposed to venotonics than in unexposed women. In the group of newborns whose mother had a prescription of veinotonics during organogenesis, 39 out of 1200 (3.4%) had a malformation versus 789 (3.0%) in the control group (ORa = 1.134 (0.873–1.472)). The risk of neonatal diseases was not increased by exposure to venotonic agents in the third trimester (4.9% versus 6.1% for the controls, ORa = 1.07 (0.95–1.20)). Conclusion We found no increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcome among women exposed to veinotonics compared with unexposed pregnant women.
The relationship between bipolar disorders, anxiety, and trauma – implications for clinical practice
Authors: Kuiper Sandy , McAulay Claire , McLean Loyola , Malhi Gin 
Published: June 2015

Objective: To assess the relationship between bipolar spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, and personality function. Method: A cohort of 37 diagnostically challenging bipolar spectrum patients, including both bipolar and personality disordered patients, were assessed using the Structured Combined Interview for DSM-IV to establish diagnosis of bipolarity and anxiety. Diagnoses were then quantitatively related to personality function, using the DSM-5 Level of Personality Function Scale, and to attachment, using the Relationship Questionnaire and Relationship Style Questionnaire. Results: Number of comorbid anxiety disorders was significantly related to both personality and attachment, but not to bipolar status. Patients with more than one anxiety disorder were significantly more likely to have an underlying disturbance of personality. Conclusions: The presence of multiple anxiety disorders in bipolar spectrum patients may indicate heightened risk of an underlying personality disorder. Replication in a larger and more representative sample is needed.
Effects of carbon dioxide insufflation in balloon‐assisted enteroscopy: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Nishizawa Toshihiro , Suzuki Hidekazu , Fujimoto Ai , Ochiai Yasutoshi , Kanai Takanori , Naohisa Yahagi 
Published: June 2015

Background and aimThe efficacy of CO2 insufflation during balloon‐assisted enteroscopy remains controversial. This study aimed to perform a systematic review with meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which CO2 insufflation was compared with air insufflation in balloon‐assisted enteroscopy.MethodsPubMed, the Cochrane library, and the Igaku‐Chuo‐Zasshi database were searched to identify RCTs eligible for inclusion in the systematic review. Data from the eligible studies were combined to calculate the pooled odds ratios (ORs) or weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsFour RCTs (461 patients) were identified. Compared with air insufflation, CO2 insufflation significantly increased intubation depth of oral enteroscopy (WMD: 55.2, 95% CI: 10.77–99.65, p  = 0.015). However, there was significant heterogeneity. The intubation depth of anal enteroscopy showed no significant difference between the CO2 group and the air group. CO2 insufflation significantly reduced abdominal pain compared with air insufflation (WMD: −2.463, 95% CI: −4.452 to −0.474, p  = 0.015), without significant heterogeneity. The PaCO2 or end‐tidal CO2 level showed no significant difference between the CO2 group and air group.ConclusionsCompared with air insufflation, CO2 insufflation during balloon‐assisted enteroscopy caused less post‐procedural pain without CO2 retention.
Composition, Electronic and Magnetic Investigation of the Encapsulated ZnFe2O4 Nanoparticles in Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes Containing Ni Residuals
Authors: Al Khabouri Saja , Al Harthi Salim , Maekawa Toru , Nagaoka Yutaka , Elzain Mohamed E , Al Hinai Ashraf , Al-Rawas AD , Gismelseed AM , Yousif Ali A 
Published: June 2015

Abstract
We report investigation on properties of multiwall carbon nanotubes (mCNTs) containing Ni residuals before and after encapsulation of zinc ferrite nanoparticles. The pristine tubes exhibit metallic character with a 0.3 eV reduction in the work function along with ferromagnetic behavior which is attributed to the Ni residuals incorporated during the preparation of tubes. Upon encapsulation of zinc ferrite nanoparticles, 0.5 eV shift in Fermi level position and a reduction in both the π band density of state along with a change in the hybridized sp2/sp3 ratio of the tubes from 2.04 to 1.39 are observed. As a result of the encapsulation, enhancement in the σ bands density of state and coating of the zinc ferrite nanoparticles by the internal layers of the CNTs in the direction along the tube axis is observed. Furthermore, Ni impurities inside the tubes are attracted to the encapsulated zinc ferrite nanoparticles, suggesting the possibility of using these particles as purifying agents for CNTs upon being synthesized using magnetic catalyst particles. Charge transfer from Ni/mCNTs to the ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles is evident via reduction of the density of states near the Fermi level and a 0.3 eV shift in the binding energy of C 1 s core level ionization. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that encapsulated zinc ferrite nanoparticles in mCNTs resulted in two interacting sub-systems featured by distinct blocking temperatures and enhanced magnetic properties; i.e., large coercivity of 501 Oe and saturation magnetization of 2.5 emu/g at 4 K.
Neural versus pneumatic control of pressure support in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases at different levels of positive end expiratory pressure: a physiological study
Authors: Liu Ling , Xia Feiping , Yang Yi , Longhini Federico , Navalesi Paolo , Beck Jennifer , Sinderby Christer , Qiu Haibo 
Published: June 2015

AbstractIntroductionIntrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEPi) is a “threshold” load that must be overcome to trigger conventional pneumatically-controlled pressure support (PSP) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Application of extrinsic PEEP (PEEPe) reduces trigger delays and mechanical inspiratory efforts. Using the diaphragm electrical activity (EAdi), neurally controlled pressure support (PSN) could hypothetically eliminate asynchrony and reduce mechanical inspiratory effort, hence substituting the need for PEEPe. The primary objective of this study was to show that PSNcan reduce the need for PEEPe to improve patient-ventilator interaction and to reduce both the “pre-trigger” and “total inspiratory” neural and mechanical efforts in COPD patients with PEEPi. A secondary objective was to evaluate the impact of applying PSNon breathing pattern.MethodsTwelve intubated and mechanically ventilated COPD patients with PEEPi ≥ 5 cm H2O underwent comparisons of PSPand PSNat different levels of PEEPe (at 0 %, 40 %, 80 %, and 120 % of static PEEPi, for 12 minutes at each level on average), at matching peak airway pressure. We measured flow, airway pressure, esophageal pressure, and EAdi, and analyzed neural and mechanical efforts for triggering and total inspiration. Patient-ventilator interaction was analyzed with the NeuroSync index.ResultsMean airway pressure and PEEPe were comparable for PSPand PSNat same target levels. During PSP, the NeuroSync index was 29 % at zero PEEPe and improved to 21 % at optimal PEEPe (P < 0.05). During PSN, the NeuroSync index was lower (<7 %, P < 0.05) regardless of PEEPe. Both pre-trigger (P < 0.05) and total inspiratory mechanical efforts (P < 0.05) were consistently higher during PSPcompared to PSNat same PEEPe. The change in total mechanical efforts between PSPat PEEPe0%and PSNat PEEPe0%was not different from the change between PSPat PEEPe0%and PSPat PEEPe80%.ConclusionPSNabolishes the need for PEEPe in COPD patients, improves patient-ventilator interaction, and reduces the inspiratory mechanical effort to breathe.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.govNCT02114567. Registered 04 November 2013.
Simple and green technique for sequestration and concentration of silver nanoparticles by polysaccharides immobilized on glass beads in aqueous media
Authors: Kibeche Alaeddine , Dionne Alexandre , Brion-Roby Roxanne , Gagnon Christian , Gagnon Jonathan 
Published: June 2015

Abstract

Background
Engineered nanoparticles have unique properties compared to bulk materials and their commercial uses growing rapidly. They represent a potential risk for environment and health and could be eventually released in water. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NP) are applied in various products and are well-known for their antibacterial properties. Nowadays, pre-concentration and separation methods for Ag NP possess some limitations. Here, we present a simple, green method to sequestrate and concentrate Ag NP from different aqueous media.

Results
Supported polysaccharides on glass beads synthesized in water by a single step reaction show high sequestration capacity of citrate-coated Ag NP in aqueous media. Supported polysaccharides were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis. Sequestration of 83.0 % of Ag NP was attained from a 20 μg.L−1 aqueous solution with supported chitosan in water whereas supported 2-hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) reached 64.0 % in synthetic seawater in 2 h. The influence of polymer/glass beads ratio and molecular weight of polysaccharides was also studied. The effect of the salinity and humic acids on sequestration of Ag NP was investigated. Supported polymers have shown high performance for sequestration of ionic silver. Sequestration of 82.5 % and 80.8 % were obtained from a 60 μg.L−1 silver ion (as nitrate salt) with supported HEC and chitosan, respectively. Sequestrated Ag NP was characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) where images showed Ag NP with unchanged size and shape.

Conclusions
This sequestration method, involving green synthesis, allows efficient concentration and characterization of Ag NP from different aqueous media. This simple and fast method is a potential sustainable technique for elimination of Ag NP and ionic silver from waste waters and waters at different salinities.
PHEW: a parallel segmentation algorithm for three-dimensional AMR datasets
Authors: Bleuler Andreas , Teyssier Romain , Carassou Sébastien , Martizzi Davide 
Published: June 2015

AbstractWe introduce phew (Parallel HiErarchical Watershed), a new segmentation algorithm to detect structures in astrophysical fluid simulations, and its implementation into the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code ramses. phew works on the density field defined on the adaptive mesh, and can thus be used on the gas density or the dark matter density after a projection of the particles onto the grid. The algorithm is based on a ‘watershed’ segmentation of the computational volume into dense regions, followed by a merging of the segmented patches based on the saddle point topology of the density field. phew is capable of automatically detecting connected regions above the adopted density threshold, as well as the entire set of substructures within. Our algorithm is fully parallel and uses the MPI library. We describe in great detail the parallel algorithm and perform a scaling experiment which proves the capability of phew to run efficiently on massively parallel systems. Future work will add a particle unbinding procedure and the calculation of halo properties onto our segmentation algorithm, thus expanding the scope of phew to genuine halo finding.
An Alternative Method for Evaluating Stabilities of DNA Hairpin Structures
Authors: Zhang Hao , Ba Sai , Co Co Sarajane , Lee Jasmine Yiqin , Guo Juanjuan , Ye Ruijuan , Liang Zhaoxun , Huang Dejian , Li Tianhu 
Published: June 2015

Abstract
We have developed an alternative methodology for determining the stabilities of DNA hairpin structures based on a specially designed oligonucleotide template and the T4 DNA ligase. This method was systematically tested by evaluation of DNA hairpin stabilities when varying the loop size and the nature of the loop sequence.