bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Thyroid cancer patient perceptions of radioactive iodine treatment choice: Follow‐up from a decision‐aid randomized trial
Authors: Sawka Anna M. , Straus Sharon , Rodin Gary , Heus Lineke , Brierley James D. , Tsang Richard W. , Rotstein Lorne , Ezzat Shereen , Segal Phillip , Gafni Amiram , Thorpe Kevin E. , Goldstein David P. 
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUNDPatient decision aids (P‐DAs) inform medical decision making, but longer term effects are unknown. This article describes extended follow‐up from a thyroid cancer treatment P‐DA trial.METHODSIn this single‐center, parallel‐design randomized controlled trial conducted at a Canadian tertiary/quaternary care center, early‐stage thyroid cancer patients from a P‐DA trial were contacted 15 to 23 months after randomization/radioactive iodine (RAI) decision making to evaluate longer term outcomes. It was previously reported that the use of the computerized P‐DA in thyroid cancer patients considering postsurgical RAI treatment significantly improved medical knowledge in comparison with usual care alone. The P‐DA and control groups were compared for the following outcomes: feeling informed about the RAI treatment choice, decision satisfaction, decision regret, cancer‐related worry, and physician trust. In a subgroup of 20 participants, in‐depth interviews were conducted for a qualitative analysis.RESULTSNinety‐five percent (70 of 74) of the original population enrolled in follow‐up at a mean of 17.1 months after randomization. P‐DA users perceived themselves to be significantly more 1) informed about the treatment choice (P = .008), 2) aware of options (P = .009), 3) knowledgeable about treatment benefits (P = .020), and 4) knowledgeable about treatment risks/side effects (P = .001) in comparison with controls. There were no significant group differences in decision satisfaction (P = .142), decision regret (P = .199), cancer‐related worry (P = .645), mood (P = .211), or physician trust (P = .764). In the qualitative analysis, the P‐DA was perceived to have increased patient knowledge and confidence in decision making.CONCLUSIONSThe P‐DA improved cancer survivors’ actual and long‐term perceived medical knowledge with no adverse effects. More research on the long‐term outcomes of P‐DA use is needed. Cancer 2015;121:3717–3726. © 2015 American Cancer Society.
Comparison of Brain Temperature Distribution in Mathematical and Solid Models of Head Thermal Characteristics
Authors: Takagi Yutaka , Honma Satoru , Wakamatsu Hidetoshi , Ito Minami 
Published: July 2015

SUMMARYAccurate temperature control of brain tissue during hypothermia treatment is necessary in order to prevent secondary brain damage and to avoid various side effects. Thus, the visualization of the intracerebral temperature distribution in hypothermia treatment was studied at the fundamental level. For this purpose a virtual reality technology was used to create a mathematical model that reflects metabolic heat production and Fourier heat conduction in a brain with the necessary parameters based on various clinical models. In the present study, an experimental system was developed to examine a mathematical simulation of the blood flow in a human head by using a solid brain model constructed using silicon rubber in the shape of a brain based on MRI data, taking into account the metabolic heat given off by three film heaters and including six sensors for the measurement of regional brain temperature. The mathematical simulation describes the internal temperature distribution in a brain with a similar structure to the brain solid model. The results of mathematical simulations and experiments using the brain solid model were quite consistent in the steady state, including control of regional temperature. This allows for the performance of heat conduction experiments under conditions similar to those of a living body, in which the internal temperature is clinically difficult to observe. Thus, the mathematical simulation is confirmed to be useful together with experiments using the solid model for the study of future brain hypothermia treatment.
Variation and Influencing Factors of Leakage Current Waveform Depending on Position of Grounding Capacitors
Authors: Ayano Hideki , Sato Yuki , Matsui Yoshihiro 
Published: July 2015

SUMMARYThis paper deals with the leakage current in an inverter system with a common‐mode choke and grounding capacitors. In the conventional common‐mode equivalent circuit, the leakage current does not depend on the position of the grounding capacitors. However, the characteristics of the leakage current when connecting the grounding capacitors between the common‐mode choke and the rectifier are significantly different from when connecting the grounding capacitors at the DC link stage. This paper clarifies the reason that the leakage current when connecting the grounding capacitors at the DC link stage flows only during the conduction period of the diode rectifier. A new equivalent circuit that reflects this phenomenon is proposed. Moreover, this paper shows the relationship between the positions of the grounding capacitors and the reduction effect on the leakage current based on a technique that we have proposed for an inverter system. The new circuit can also simulate the leakage current in a system using the proposed method.
Power Consumption Smoothing for Water Distribution System Based on Water Supply Management and Demand Adjustment
Authors: Takahashi Shinsuke , Adachi Shingo , Fujii Kenji 
Published: July 2015

SUMMARYTwo power consumption smoothing methods for a water transmission and distribution system based on water supply management and demand adjustment are proposed and evaluated by simulations. One is a power smoothing method with the achievable power target calculation. The other is a power smoothing method with demand adjustment that can achieve flat demand by effectively using the storage capacity of receiving tanks of heavy consumers. Simulation tests show that the former method is effective in attaining flat power consumption during a time zone with high water demand and that the latter method can achieve almost flat power consumption throughout the day.
Irradiance adjustment system developed for various types of solar cells and illumination conditions
Authors: Nishikawa Yoshihiro , Imai Kiyoshi , Miyao Keiji , Uchida Satoshi , Aoki Daisuke , Saito Hidenori , Magaino Shinichi , Takagi Katsuhiko 
Published: July 2015

AbstractA new irradiance adjustment system for the light source named “Programmable Reference cell system for Irradiance adjustment by Spectral Measurement (PRISM)” has been developed for photovoltaics evaluation. It can be applied for various kinds of solar cells and illumination conditions without the preparation of conventional reference cells. This system consists of a device for absolute spectral responsivity measurements, that is, the spectral responsivity unit, and a device for irradiance adjustment of the light source, that is, the spectral reference cell. First, the short circuit current of the target solar cell (Iref) is calculated by convolution of the absolute spectral responsivity with the spectral irradiance under STC (AM1.5 G, 1 kW/m2, 25°C) as defined in IEC 60904‐3. The spectral irradiance of the light source is then adjusted for I–V measurements so that the short‐circuit current of the spectral reference cell (Ical), calculated by convolution of the absolute spectral responsivity with the spectral irradiance of the light source, agrees with Iref. The difference between Iref and the short circuit current, as determined at an internationally recognized test center under STC, was within ±2% for crystalline silicon solar cells and ±3% for organic solar cells. The difference between Ical and the short‐circuit current measured under a solar simulator or LED in which the irradiance was adjusted by this system was within ±4% when the irradiance was higher than 4 W/m2.
Improvement of the two‐way decode‐and‐forward scheme by energy harvesting and digital network coding relay
Authors: Son Pham Ngoc , Kong Hyung Yun 
Published: July 2015

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a two‐way decode‐and‐forward scheme with an energy‐harvesting relay in which the relay harvests energy from radio‐frequency signals of source nodes by applying a power‐splitting receiver and broadcasts coded signals using digital network coding (NCTW protocol). The system performance of the proposed NCTW protocol is compared with that of a conventional two‐way decode‐and‐forward scheme without digital network coding (CTW protocol) and a two‐way amplify‐and‐forward scheme with analogue network coding (TWAF protocol). Exact outage probability expressions are obtained to the NCTW and CTW protocols, whereas a lower bound expression is used to evaluate the TWAF protocol. The theoretical analyses are verified by Monte Carlo simulations. Evaluations show that (1) the proposed NCTW protocol outperforms the CTW and TWAF protocols; (2) the NCTW, CTW and TWAF protocols achieve the best performance when the power‐splitting ratios converge to optimal values; (3) at the midpoint of two source nodes, the sum system performance of the NCTW and CTW protocols is the best, whereas that of the TWAF protocol is the worst; and finally, (4) the theoretical analyses of the NCTW and CTW protocols match well with the Monte Carlo simulation results, and the lower bound expression of the TWAF protocol converges to the exact results at the high signal‐to‐noise ratio. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Production of freeze‐dried yeast culture for the brewing of traditional sorghum beer, tchapalo
Authors: N'Guessan Florent K. , Coulibaly Hermann W. , Alloue‐Boraud Mireille W. A. , Cot Marlène , Djè Koffi Marcellin 
Published: July 2015

AbstractFreeze‐drying is a well‐known dehydration method widely used to preserve microorganisms. In order to produce freeze‐dried yeast starter culture for the brewing purpose of African sorghum beer, we tested protective agents (sucrose, glucose, glycerol) in combination with support materials (millet, maize, sorghum, and cassava flours) at 1:1 ratio (v/v). The yeast strains Saccharomyces cerevisiae F12–7 and Candida tropicalis C0–7 previously isolated from sorghum beer were used in a mixed culture at a ratio of 2:1 (C. tropicalis/S. cerevisiae). After the freeze‐drying, the residual water contents were between 0.78 –2.27%, 0.55 –4.09%, and 0.40–2.61%, respectively, with sucrose, glucose and glycerol. The dried yeasts viabilities were between 4.0% and 10.6%. Among the protective agents used, sucrose was found to be the best protectant giving cell viabilities of 8.4–10.6%. Considering the support materials, millet flour was the best support after drying. When the freeze‐dried yeast powders were stored at 4°C and room temperature (25–28°C) for up to 3 months, the survival rates were the highest with cassava flour as the support material.
Comment: “On Approximating Deep in‐the‐money Asian Options Under Exponential Lévy Processes”
Authors: Sun Xianming , Haesen Dorien , Vanmaele Michèle 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThe approximation in Tchuindjo (2012) for the value of the in‐the‐money arithmetic Asian options in the exponential Lévy setting is shown to be an upper bound, which cannot be smaller than the optimal upper bound derived in Albrecher et al. (2005). Consequently, some of the results in Table VIII of Tchuindjo (2012) are inaccurate. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 35:1220–1221, 2015
Neuroticism and conscientiousness respectively constrain and facilitate short‐term plasticity within the working memory neural network
Authors: Dima Danai , Friston Karl J. , Stephan Klaas E. , Frangou Sophia 
Published: July 2015

AbstractIndividual differences in cognitive efficiency, particularly in relation to working memory (WM), have been associated both with personality dimensions that reflect enduring regularities in brain configuration, and with short‐term neural plasticity, that reflects task‐related changes in brain connectivity. To elucidate the relationship of these two divergent mechanisms, we tested the hypothesis that personality dimensions, which reflect enduring aspects of brain configuration, inform about the neurobiological framework within which short‐term, task‐related plasticity, as measured by effective connectivity, can be facilitated or constrained. As WM consistently engages the dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC), parietal (PAR), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), we specified a WM network model with bidirectional, ipsilateral, and contralateral connections between these regions from a functional magnetic resonance imaging dataset obtained from 40 healthy adults while performing the 3‐back WM task. Task‐related effective connectivity changes within this network were estimated using Dynamic Causal Modelling. Personality was evaluated along the major dimensions of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Only two dimensions were relevant to task‐dependent effective connectivity. Neuroticism and Conscientiousness respectively constrained and facilitated neuroplastic responses within the WM network. These results suggest individual differences in cognitive efficiency arise from the interplay between enduring and short‐term plasticity in brain configuration. Hum Brain Mapp 36:4158–4163, 2015. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Identification and structural characterization of novel O‐ and N‐glycoforms in the urine of a Schindler disease patient by Orbitrap mass spectrometry
Authors: Sarbu Mirela , Munteanu Cristian V. A. , Dehelean Liana , Petrescu Andrei J. , Peter‐Katalinic Jasna , Zamfir Alina D. 
Published: July 2015

Schindler disease is an inherited metabolic disorder caused by the deficient activity of α‐N‐acetylgalactosaminidase enzyme. An accurate diagnosis requires, besides clinical examination, complex and costly biochemical and molecular genetic tests.In the last years, mass spectrometry (MS) based on nanofluidics and high‐resolution instruments has become a successful alternative for disease diagnosis based on the investigation of O‐glycopeptides in patient urine.A complex mixture of glycoforms extracted from the urine of a 3‐year‐old patient was investigated by Orbitrap MS equipped with Nanospray Flex Ion Source in the negative ion mode. For structural characterization of several molecular species, collision‐induced dissociation MS2–MS3 was carried out using collision energy values within 20–60 eV range. By our approach, 39 novel species associated to this condition were identified, among which O‐glycopeptides, free O‐glycans and one structure corresponding to an N‐glycan never characterized in the context of Schindler disease.The experiments conducted at a resolution of 60 000 allowed the discrimination and identification of a total number of 69 different species with an average mass accuracy of 9.87 ppm, an in‐run reproducibility of almost 100%, an experiment‐to‐experiment and day‐to‐day reproducibility of about 95%. This study brings contributions in the diagnosis of Schindler disease through the elucidation of potential biomarker species in urine.Our multistage MS results completed with 39 new glycoforms the inventory of potential biomarker structures associated to Schindler disease. For the first time, an N‐glycan was identified and structurally characterized in Schindler patient urine, which opens new research directions in the field. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mixing ratio as indicator of climate variations at a local scale: trends in an industrial area of the Eastern Mediterranean
Authors: Mavrakis Anastasios , Salvati Luca , Flocas Helena 
Published: July 2015

ABSTRACTThe present study investigates long‐term climate variations of mixing ratio in an industrial basin of the Eastern Mediterranean region (Thriasio Plain, Greece), considering the serious environmental and socioeconomic impacts of a projected drier future climate in the Mediterranean. For this purpose, monthly average temperature, precipitation, dew point and atmospheric pressure were used for the period between 1958 and 2011. It was found that mixing ratio can be considered as a proxy for climate aridity in the area. Although air temperature was substantially stable during the investigated period, mixing ratio showed a marked reduction on both annual and monthly basis.
Sleep Quality and Reexperiencing Symptoms of PTSD Are Associated With Current Pain in U.S. OEF/OIF/OND Veterans With and Without mTBIs
Authors: Powell Margaret A. , Corbo Vincent , Fonda Jennifer R. , Otis John D. , Milberg William P. , McGlinchey Regina E. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractPain, a debilitating condition, is frequently reported by U.S. veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. This study investigated how commonly reported clinical factors were associated with pain and whether these associations differed for individuals with a history of chronic pain. From the Boston metropolitan area, 171 veterans enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Center of Excellence were assessed for current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, current mood and anxiety diagnoses, lifetime traumatic brain injury, combat experiences, sleep quality, and alcohol use. Hierarchical regression models were used to determine the association of these conditions with current pain. Average pain for the previous 30 days, assessed with the McGill Pain Questionnaire, was 30.07 out of 100 (SD = 25.43). Sleep quality, PTSD symptom severity, and alcohol use were significantly associated with pain (R2 = .24), as were reexperiencing symptoms of PTSD (R2 = .25). For participants with a history of chronic pain (n = 65), only PTSD symptoms were associated with pain (R2 = .19). Current pain severity was associated with increased PTSD severity (notably, reexperiencing symptoms), poor sleep quality, and increased alcohol use. These data support the hypothesis that PTSD symptoms influence pain, but suggest that problems with sleep and alcohol use may exacerbate the relationship.
Transient liquid phase bonding of AA 6082 aluminium alloy
Authors: Schällibaum J. , Burbach T. , Münch C. , Weiler W. , Wahlen A. 
Published: July 2015

Transient liquid phase bonding (TLP) on AA 6082 samples were performed under ambient non‐vacuum conditions, which was possible by a suitable pre‐treatment. This treatment involves a zincate treatment followed by copper plating, which is a common industrial process and can be performed in large batches. This treatment allows to remove the natural aluminium oxide layer and to protect the aluminium surface from excessive oxidation.Different bonding conditions were investigated and showed the feasibility of the transient liquid phase bonding process for AA 6082.Energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX) investigations showed that the isothermal solidification is already terminated after 5 min. The microstructure of the bonding zone showed no metallurgical discontinuity such as eutectic microstructure or intermetallic Al–Cu phases. However the microstructure shows numerous voids with a size of approximately 30 µm in the bonding zone. It is assumed that these voids were formed during the bonding process due to solidification shrinkage and the presence of interfacial oxide layers.The transient liquid phase bonded samples that were mechanically tested under tensile load showed an average strength of approximately 270 MPa, the minimum yield strength required for the base material according to EN 754‐2 is 255 MPa. Due to the notch effect of the voids, the tensile sample failed under forced fracture and showed no plastic deformation.
Improvement of temporal signal‐to‐noise ratio of GRAPPA accelerated echo planar imaging using a FLASH based calibration scan
Authors: Talagala S. Lalith , Sarlls Joelle E. , Liu Siyuan , Inati Souheil J. 
Published: July 2015

PurposeTo demonstrate that the temporal signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA) accelerated echo planar imaging (EPI) can be enhanced and made more spatially uniform by using a fast low angle shot (FLASH) based calibration scan.MethodsEPI of a phantom and human brains were acquired at 3 Tesla without and with GRAPPA acceleration factor of 2. The GRAPPA accelerated data were reconstructed using calibration scans acquired with EPI and FLASH acquisition schemes. The increase in temporal signal fluctuation due to GRAPPA reconstruction was quantified and compared. Simulated g‐factor maps were also created for different calibration scans.ResultsGRAPPA accelerated phantom data exhibited areas with high g values when using the EPI based calibration for reconstruction. The g‐factor maps were uniform when using the FLASH calibration scan. g was greater than 1.1 in 74% of pixels in 64 × 64 data reconstructed with the EPI calibration compared with only 15% when using the FLASH calibration scan. Human data also showed abnormally high g regions when using the EPI calibration but not when using the FLASH calibration scan. Use of the FLASH calibration scan increased the whole brain temporal SNR by ∼12% without affecting the image quality. Experimental observations were confirmed by simulations.ConclusionA calibration scan based on a FLASH acquisition scheme can be used to improve the temporal SNR of GRAPPA accelerated EPI time series. Magn Reson Med 75:2362–2371, 2016. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Exploring multifractal‐based features for mild Alzheimer's disease classification
Authors: Ni Huangjing , Zhou Luping , Ning Xinbao , Wang Lei ,   for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)
Published: July 2015

PurposeMultifractal applications to resting state functional MRI (rs‐fMRI) time series for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) are still limited. We aim to address two issues: (I) if and what multifractal features are sufficiently discriminative to detect AD from the healthy; (II) if AD classification could be further improved by combining multifractal features with traditional features in this field.MethodsRs‐fMRI data of 25 AD patients and 38 normal controls were analyzed. A set of multifractal features were systematically investigated. Traditional features in monofractal, linear, and network‐based categories were also extracted for comparison and combination. Both support vector machines and multiple kernel learning (MKL) were used to perform classification with individual and combined features.ResultsWe identified a multifractal feature,
, which has the strongest discriminative power among all the features in our study. Moreover, we found that the classification accuracy could be significantly improved from 69% (by
only) to up to 76%, when nonsparse MKL is used to combine
with the monofractal feature, Hurst. Finally, we showed that incorporating other multifractal features,
,
and
, could also improve traditional‐feature‐based AD classification.ConclusionOur work demonstrated the potential usefulness of multifractal analysis for AD research, especially when combining with the traditional rs‐fMRI features. It contributes to distinguishing AD from NC subjects. Magn Reson Med 76:259–269, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Pediatric pulmonology year in review 2014: Part 2
Authors: Noah Terry L. , Auten Richard , Schwarze Jurgen , Davis Stephanie 
Published: July 2015

SummaryTo better meet the needs of our readership for updated perspectives on the rapidly expanding knowledge in our field, we here summarize the past year's publications in our major topic areas, as well as selected publications in these areas from the core clinical journal literature outside our own pages. This is Part 2 of a series and covers articles on neonatal lung disease, pulmonary physiology, and respiratory infection. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2015; 50:1140–1146. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.