bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Social inclusivity through public transportation: a strategic approach to improve quality of life in developing countries
Authors: Gunaruwan T. Lalithasiri , Jayasekera D. Harshanee W. 
Published: January 2015

SummaryWelfare services such as healthcare and education are commonly recognised as determinants of physical quality of life indices during the early phases of development in the third world. In order to benefit from these services, it is important that the general public have the mobility means to access welfare provision centres. However, very low vehicle ownership under the conditions of low per‐capita incomes and large shares of population living in deep rural areas prevent the masses from accessing such services, thereby retarding the process of social development, which is reflected in the very poor physical quality of life indices in low‐income countries.Public transportation could offer a viable and affordable solution to this apparent ambivalence. It could permit mobility for poor masses in spite of low per‐capita vehicle ownership enabled by the national income levels. The present research demonstrates this strategic niche through an econometric examination of the evolution of the physical quality of life indices such as maternal mortality, infant mortality and literacy as against the healthcare, education and affordable mobility proxies in post‐independent Sri Lanka. The country, which was then referred to as Ceylon, is often cited as a rare example of achieving social inclusion and reduced marginalisation and thereby a high social welfare standing, in spite of relatively poor per‐capita income levels. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A nanogold resonance Rayleigh scattering method for determination of trace As based on the hydride nanoreaction
Authors: Jiang Caina , Chen Chunqiang , Lu Zujun , Liu Qingye , Tang Meiling , Liang Aihui , Jiang Zhiliang 
Published: January 2015

AbstractIn H2SO4 solution, As(III) was reduced to arsine (AsH3) by NaBH4, and was absorbed in HAuCl4 solution to form nanogold particles (NGs) that exhibited a resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) effect at 370 nm. Under the selected conditions, when the As(III) concentration increased the RRS peak also increased due to the formation of more NGs. There was a linear correlation between RRS intensity and As(III) concentration in the range 6–1000 ng/mL, with a detection limit of 3 ng/mL. This new hydride generation–nanogold reaction RRS (HG–NG RRS) method was applied to determine trace amounts of As in milk samples, with satisfactory results. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tissue distribution and excretion study of neopanaxadiol in rats by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry
Authors: Geng Cong , Yin Jian‐yuan , Yu Xiu‐hua , Liu Jing‐yan , Yang Yu‐xia , Sun De‐ya , Meng Qin , Wei Zhong‐lin , Liu Ji‐hua 
Published: January 2015

AbstractNeopanaxadiol (NPD), a major ginsenoside in Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (Araliaceae), was reported to have neuroprotective effect. In this study, a method of ultra‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/QTOF‐MS) was developed and validated for quantitative analysis of NPD in tissues, urine and feces, using liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) to isolate NPD from different biological samples, and chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent Zorbax Stable Bond C18 (2.1 × 50 mm, 1.8 µm) column with 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile. All standard calibration curves were linear (all r2 > 0.995) within the test range. After oral administration, NPD was extensively distributed to most of the tissues without long‐term accumulation. The higher levels were observed in stomach and intestine, followed by kidney and liver. Approximately 64.56 ± 20.32% of administered dose in feces and 0.0233 ± 0.0356% in urine were found within 96 h, which indicated that the major elimination route was fecal excretion. This analytical method was applied to the study of NPD distribution and excretion in rats after oral intake for the first time. The results we found here are helpful for us to understand the pharmacological effects of NPD, as well as its toxicity. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A simple and sensitive LC‐MS/MS method for the determination of sotalol in rat plasma
Authors: Feng Zhiping , Yu Siyuan , Liu Wei , Yang Li , Liu Yang , Zhai Suodi , Wang Fang , Zhang Xianhua 
Published: January 2015

AbstractA sensitive, rapid and robust HPLC method with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) detection has been developed and validated for the quantification of sotalol in rat plasma. Plasma samples were precipitated with acetonitrile before analysis. The chromatographic separation was performed on an Atlantis hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography Silica column (50 × 2.1 mm, 3 µm) with a gradient mobile phase of 10 mm NH4COOH (containing 0.2% of formic acid) as buffer A and acetonitrile as mobile phase B. Sotalol (m/z 273.2 → 255.1) and atenolol (the internal standard, IS, m/z 267.2 → 190.1) were monitored under positive ionization mode with 5500 QTRAP. Retention time of sotalol and the IS were 2.69 and 3.43 min, respectively. The linear range was 5–500 nm based on the analysis of 0.1 mL of plasma. The intrabatch precision ranged from 1.2 to 6.1%, and the inter‐batch precision was from 3.3 to 6.5%. The coefficient of variation of IS‐normalized matrix factor was 7.6%. Experiments for stability were performed and the analyte was sufficiently stable. A run time of 6 min for each injection made it possible to analyze a high throughput of plasma samples. The assay was successfully applied to the determination of sotalol in rat plasma after a micro‐dose oral administration. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Aberrant DNA hypermethylation reduces the expression of the desmosome‐related molecule periplakin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Otsubo Takeshi , Hagiwara Teruki , Tamura‐Nakano Miwa , Sezaki Takuhito , Miyake Oki , Hinohara Chihaya , Shimizu Toshio , Yamada Kazuhiko , Dohi Taeko , Kawamura Yuki I. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractPeriplakin (PPL), a member of the plakin family of proteins that localizes to desmosomes and intermediate filaments, is downregulated in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Little is known, however, about the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of PPL expression and the contribution of PPL loss to the malignant property of the cancer is unclear. We demonstrated that PPL mRNA expression was significantly reduced in ESCC tissues compared with that in normal tissues. Therefore, we hypothesized that CpG hypermethylation is the cause of the downregulation of PPL. Bisulfite‐pyrosequencing of 17 cases demonstrated that the frequency of PPL methylation was higher in ESCC tissues than in normal tissues. When human ESCC cell lines were treated with 5‐aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine (5‐aza‐dC), a DNA‐methyltransferase inhibitor, PPL transcription was induced. Human KYSE270 ESCC cells do not stratify under ordinary culture conditions and rarely produce desmosomes; however, the forced expression of PPL promoted cell stratification. PPL induction also promoted adhesion to extracellular matrix but delayed cell migration. The abundance of desmosome‐like structures was greatly increased in PPL transfectant as determined by transmission electron microscopy. Very low expression of another desmosome protein EVPL in ESCC, even in PPL transfectant, also supported the significant role of PPL in desmosome formation and cell stratification. Our results first indicate that the downregulation of PPL mediated by DNA hypermethylation, which may play an important role in the loss of ESCC stratification and likely in metastatic phenotype.
An audit and feedback system for effective quality improvement in head and neck surgery: Can we become better surgeons?
Authors: Lewis Carol M. , Monroe Marcus M. , Roberts Dianna B. , Hessel Amy C. , Lai Stephen Y. , Weber Randal S. 
Published: January 2015

BACKGROUNDAn evaluation system was established for measuring physician performance. This study was designed to determine whether an initial evaluation with surgeon feedback improved subsequent performance.METHODSAfter an evaluation of an initial cohort of procedures (2004‐2008), surgeons were given risk‐adjusted individual feedback. Procedures in a postfeedback cohort (2009‐2010) were then assessed. Both groups were further stratified into high‐acuity procedure (HAP) and low‐acuity procedure (LAP) groups. Negative performance measures included the length of the perioperative stay (2 days or longer for LAPs and 11 days or longer for HAPs); perioperative blood transfusions; a return to the operating room within 7 days; and readmission, surgical site infections, and mortality within 30 days.RESULTSThere were 2618 procedures in the initial cohort and 1389 procedures in the postfeedback cohort. Factors affecting performance included the surgeon, the procedure's acuity, and patient comorbidities. There were no significant differences in the proportions of LAPs and HAPs or in the prevalence of patient comorbidities between the 2 assessment periods. The mean length of stay significantly decreased for LAPs from 2.1 to 1.5 days (P = .005) and for HAPs from 10.5 to 7 days (P = .003). The incidence of 1 or more negative performance indicators decreased significantly for LAPs from 39.1% to 28.6% (P < .001) and trended downward for HAPs from 60.9% to 53.5% (P = .081).CONCLUSIONSPeriodic assessments of performance and outcomes are essential for continual quality improvement. Significant decreases in the length of stay and negative performance indicators were seen after feedback. Therefore, an audit and feedback system may be an effective means of improving quality of care and reducing practice variability within a surgical department. Cancer 2015;121:1581–1587. © 2015 American Cancer Society.
Atypical urothelial tissue fragments in noninstrumented voided urine specimens are associated with low but significantly higher rates of urothelial neoplasia than benign‐appearing urothelial tissue fragments
Authors: Onur Irem , Rosenthal Dorothy L. , VandenBussche Christopher J. 
Published: January 2015

BACKGROUNDThe interpretation of urothelial tissue fragments (UTF) in voided urine (VU) specimens is controversial. If UTF contain cytomorphologically atypical cells, the diagnosis often becomes more challenging. The authors previously analyzed the outcome of patients with benign‐appearing UTF in 274 noninstrumented VU specimens. In this retrospective study, noninstrumented VU specimens containing UTF with atypical cytomorphological features (AUTF) were evaluated and compared with the previous results.METHODSThe Johns Hopkins Hospital electronic pathology database was searched for VU cases containing UTF over a 5‐year period.RESULTSA total of 170 noninstrumented VU specimens containing AUTF were identified. Twenty‐four specimens had subsequent or coincidental surgical pathology specimens with the following overall rates of neoplasia: high‐grade urothelial carcinoma: 8.8% (15 specimens), low‐grade urothelial neoplasia: 1.2% (2 specimens), and prostate carcinoma invading the bladder: 0.6% (1 specimen). A total of 49 specimens (28.8%) were diagnosed with urolithiasis on follow‐up. Twenty‐five cases had follow‐up cytology specimens, all of which were negative for malignancy. Of 72 cases without histopathologic, radiologic, or cytopathologic follow‐up, 62 (86.1%) had a mean clinical follow‐up of 22.5 months and 10 cases did not have clinical follow‐up.CONCLUSIONSThe presence of AUTF in noninstrumented VU is associated with low rates of urothelial neoplasia but a statistically higher risk of urothelial neoplasia than the presence of BUTF (10.0% vs 4.4%; P<.05). In particular, the rate of high‐grade urothelial carcinoma is significantly higher in noninstrumented VU specimens containing AUTF than those containing BUTF (8.8% vs 0.7%; P<.0001). In addition, urolithiasis is associated with AUTF in a substantial percentage of noninstrumented VU specimens. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2015. © 2015 American Cancer Society. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2015;123:186–192. © 2014 American Cancer Society.
Physisorption and Chemisorption on Silver Clusters
Authors: Schmidt Martin , Masson Albert , Cheng Hai‐Ping , Bréchignac Catherine 
Published: January 2015

AbstractAdsorption and coadsorption studies on free silver clusters show that nitrogen physisorbs like rare gases, whereas oxygen chemisorbs with similarities and differences to bulk silver surfaces. Silver nanoparticles activate, or even dissociate adsorbed oxygen molecules. The global electron configurations of the adsorbent and adsorbate dominate the stability at small clusters. This is more important than geometry and site effects. Due to electronic shell effects and electron pairing, the activation of oxygen strongly varies with size. At more than 40 free electrons in the complex, such quantum effects start to blur. The size dependence becomes smoother and general trends govern the reactivity, which is driven by the interaction between the charge state of the nanoparticle and the charge transfer of the reaction.
A FinFET SRAM cell design with BTI robustness at high supply voltages and high yield at low supply voltages
Authors: Ebrahimi Behzad , Asadpour Reza , Afzali‐Kusha Ali , Pedram Massoud 
Published: January 2015

SummaryIn this paper, a SRAM cell structure which uses pMOS access transistors and predischarged bitlines is presented. By using the strained pMOS transistor technology, the degradation of the read static noise margin (SNM) at high supply voltages due to the aging, especially in the presence of symmetric stress, is suppressed. In contrast to conventional cell, the write margin of the proposed cell does not degrade considerably at low supply voltages. To assess the efficacy, the proposed cell is compared with conventional cell for two cases of unstrained and strained pMOS. A comparative study is performed using mixed mode device/circuit simulations for a gate length of 22 nm. The results show that the read SNM degradation due to the symmetric aging at the supply voltage of 1 V is about 6% after three years for the proposed strained structure, while degradations are 14%, 12%, and 11% for the unstrained proposed structure, unstrained, and strained conventional structures, respectively. In addition, the proposed cell has both read and write cell sigma yields higher than six for supply voltages ranging from 1 V down to 0.5 V while the other structures have read or write yields less than six at the minimum supply voltage. Through some work function tuning, the cell sigma yields of the other structures reach above six for both read and write while being still lower than those of the proposed structure. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Basic Study on Receiving Light Signal by LED for Bidirectional Visible Light Communications
Authors: Suzuki Kousuke , Asahi Kensaku , Watanabe Akira 
Published: January 2015

SUMMARYLight emitting diodes (LEDs) are now used for lighting and illumination because of features such as low power consumption and long life. Lighting equipment has only LEDs, therefore it is necessary to install a photodetector to allow bidirectional communication. In this paper, we propose reception of a light signal by means of an LED for bidirectional visible light communications. We evaluate the characteristics of the LED used as a photodetector for bidirectional visible light communications through experiments. Further, we describe the newly developed experimental system that uses LEDs as a photodetector. Experiments show that an LED can be used not only as a light source but also as a photodetector for bidirectional visible light communications.
Occurrence of fenestral diaphragms and knots in renal glomerular endothelia of diabetic mutant MafA−/−MafK+ mice as revealed in embedment‐free transmission electron microscopy
Authors: Chaiciwamongkol Kowit , Toomsan Yanyong , Arnanteerakul Tansita , Kondo Hisatake , Hipkaeo Wiphawi 
Published: January 2015

ABSTRACTUsing the advantages (high contrast and transparency and efficient 3D viewing) of embedment‐free section transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the occurrence of numerous fenestral diaphragms was clearly shown in 3D en‐face viewing of the renal glomerular capillary endothelium of severe overt diabetes mellitus mice, which were generally MafA‐deficient and simultaneously MafK‐overexpressed specifically in pancreatic β‐cells. This presents another example of nephritis‐induced diaphragmed fenestrae in the renal glomerular endothelium. In addition, knot‐/umbilicus‐like structures discrete from and larger than the central knots of regular diaphragms of fenestrated endothelium were clearly demonstrated to occur randomly in the renal glomerular endothelial fenestrae of mutant mice and wild ones. The knot‐structures were revealed to be protrusions of underlining basement lamina in conventional TEM by section‐tilting observation. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:207–212, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Thyme and basil essential oils included in edible coatings as a natural preserving method of oilseed kernels
Authors: Riveros Cecilia G , Nepote Valeria , Grosso Nelson R 
Published: January 2015

AbstractBACKGROUNDSunflower seeds are susceptible to developing rancidity and off‐flavours through lipid oxidation. Edible coatings and essential oils have proven antioxidant properties in different food products. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combined effect of using an edible coating and thyme and basil essential oils to preserve the chemical and sensory quality parameters of roasted sunflower seeds during storage.RESULTS50% DPPH inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 0.278 and 0.0997 µg mL−1 were observed for thyme and basil, respectively. On storage day 40, peroxide values were 80.68, 70.28, 68.43, 49.31 and 33.87 mEq O2 kg−1 in roasted sunflower seeds (RS), roasted sunflower seeds coated with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) (RS‐CMC), roasted sunflower seeds coated with CMC added with basil (RS‐CMC‐A), thyme (RS‐CMC‐T) and butylated hydroxytoluene (RS‐CMC‐BHT), respectively. RS‐CMC‐T and RS‐CMC‐BHT presented the lowest peroxide values, conjugated dienes and p‐anisidine values during storage. RS‐CMC‐BHT, RS‐CMC‐T, and RS‐CMC‐A showed the lowest oxidized and cardboard flavour intensity ratings. On storage day 40, roasted sunflower flavour intensity ratings were higher in RS‐CMC‐T and RS‐CMC‐A.CONCLUSIONSThyme and basil essential oils added to the CMC coating improved the sensory stability of this product during storage, but only thyme essential oil increased their chemical stability. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
Artificial neural networks to model the production of blood protein hydrolysates for plant fertilisation
Authors: Gálvez Raúl Pérez , Carpio Francisco Javier Espejo , Guadix Emilia M , Guadix Antonio 
Published: January 2015

AbstractBACKGROUNDAmino acid‐based fertilisers increase the bioavailability of nitrogen in plants and help withstand stress conditions. Additionally, porcine blood protein hydrolysates are able to supply iron, which is involved in chlorophyll synthesis and improves the availability of nutrients in soil. A high degree of hydrolysis is desirable when producing a protein hydrolysate intended for fertilisation, since it assures a high supply of free amino acids. Given the complexity of enzyme reactions, empirical approaches such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) are preferred for modelisation.RESULTSPorcine blood meal was hydrolysed for 3 h with subtilisin. The time evolution of the degree of hydrolysis was successfully modelled by means of a feedforward ANN comprising 10 neurons in the hidden layer and trained by the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. The ANN model described adequately the influence of pH, temperature, enzyme concentration and reaction time upon the degree of hydrolysis, and was used to estimate the optimal operation conditions (pH 6.67, 56.9 °C, enzyme to substrate ratio of 10 g kg−1 and 3 h of reaction) leading to the maximum degree of hydrolysis (35.12%).CONCLUSIONSANN modelling was a useful tool to model enzymatic reactions and was successfully employed to optimise the degree of hydrolysis. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
Optimizing and evaluating new automotive HMI image enhancement algorithms under bright light conditions using display reflectance characteristics
Authors: Blankenbach Karlheinz , Sycev Andrej , Kurbatfinski Sascha , Zobl Martin 
Published: January 2015

AbstractWe have developed and investigated new image enhancement (tone mapping) algorithms for automotive Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) so that displays can be better read in bright light. Our ‘ΔL/L’ approach with adaptive color rendering (CR) is based on Weber's fraction and is easy to use with various displays and illumination variables. In tests with automotive HMIs under different lighting conditions—including driver glare—the ‘ΔL/L + CR’ image enhancement method proved to be a good choice. First, reflective, transflective, and transmissive displays were tested and their image quality compared with and without new tone mapping. It was found that enhancing improved the gray scale perception, even on reflective (e‐paper by dithering) displays. A transmissive LCD, which only reflects monochrome, is highly suitable for mostly monochrome content as it maintains a high contrast ratio under bright light; however, its gamut is degraded at large extent. Transmissive matte LCDs perform best with image enhancement for automotive color HMIs.
Discrimination of non‐melanoma skin lesions from non‐tumor human skin tissues in vivo using Raman spectroscopy and multivariate statistics
Authors: Silveira Fabricio L. , Pacheco Marcos T.T. , Bodanese Benito , Pasqualucci Carlos A. , Zângaro Renato A. , Silveira Landulfo 
Published: January 2015

Background and ObjectiveRaman spectroscopy was used to discriminate human non‐melanoma skin lesions from non‐tumor tissues in vivo. This work proposed the discrimination between non‐melanoma (basal cell carcinoma, BCC; squamous cell carcinoma, SCC) and pre‐cancerous lesions (actinic keratosis, AK) from benign lesions and normal (non‐tumor group, NT) tissues, using near‐infrared Raman spectroscopy with a Raman probe.Materials and MethodsPrior to surgery, the spectra of suspicious lesions were obtained in situ. The spectra of adjacent, clinically normal skin were also obtained. Lesions were resectioned and submitted for histopathology. The Raman spectra were measured using a Raman spectrometer (830 nm). Two types of discrimination models were developed to distinguish the different histopathological groups. The principal components analysis discriminant analysis (PCA/DA) and the partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS/DA) were based on Euclidean, quadratic and Mahalanobis distances.ResultsPCA and PLS spectral vectors showed spectral features of skin constituents, such as lipids (between 1,250 cm−1 and 1,300 cm−1 and at 1,450 cm−1) and proteins (between 870 cm−1 and 940 cm−1, 1,240 cm−1 and 1,271 cm−1, and at 1,000 cm−1 and 1,450 cm−1). Despite the small spectral differences between malignant lesions and benign tissues, the algorithms discriminated the spectra of non‐melanoma skin and pre‐cancerous lesions from benign and normal tissues, with an overall accuracy of 82.8% and 91.9%, respectively.ConclusionPCA and PLS could discriminate Raman spectra of skin tissues, opening the way for an in vivo optical diagnosis. Lasers Surg. Med. 47:6–16, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.