bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A systematic analysis of genetic dilated cardiomyopathy reveals numerous ubiquitously expressed and muscle‐specific genes
Authors: Harakalova Magdalena , Kummeling Gijs , Sammani Arjan , Linschoten Marijke , Baas Annette F. , van der Smagt Jasper , Doevendans Pieter A. , van Tintelen J. Peter , Dooijes Dennis , Mokry Michal , Asselbergs Folkert W. 
Published: March 2015

AimsDespite considerable progress being made in genetic diagnostics for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) using panels of the most prevalent genes, the cause remains unsolved in a substantial percentage of patients. We hypothesize that several previously described DCM genes with low or unknown prevalence have been neglected, which, if catalogued, could increase the yield of diagnostic DCM testing. The aim of this study is to catalogue all genetic evidence on DCM comprehensively.Methods and resultsWe have conducted a systematic literature search on PubMed, Embase, and OMIM to find genes implicated in syndromic and non‐syndromic DCM and peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). Our search yielded 110 nuclear protein‐coding genes and 24 mitochondrial DNA genes. For nuclear genes, in addition to 42 genes sufficiently reviewed previously (group A), we provide a comprehensive annotation of the level of genetic evidence for the remaining 68 genes (group B). Next, we investigated the tissue specificity of the collected genes using public RNA sequencing data. We show that genes primarily expressed in heart and skeletal muscle are more likely to result in DCM with possible skeletal myopathies, while genes expressed ubiquitously cause DCM with extramuscular manifestations.ConclusionThis comprehensive analysis of DCM‐associated genes revealed a much higher number of genes than currently screened in diagnostics. Since most genes in group B have only been found mutated in single DCM patients or families, their importance for DCM genetic diagnostics needs to be validated in large cohorts. Targeted sequencing of validated DCM‐implicated protein‐coding genes and mitochondrial DNA, together with consideration of the tissue specificity of mutated genes, may facilitate further genotype–phenotype studies in DCM.
A Stereoselective Catalytic Nitroaldol Reaction as the Key Step in a Strategy for the Synthesis of the Renin Inhibitor Aliskiren
Authors: Rossi Sergio , Benaglia Maurizio , Porta Riccardo , Cotarca Livius , Maragni Paolo , Verzini Massimo 
Published: March 2015

AbstractAliskiren is the first‐in‐class orally active direct renin inhibitor. It was approved in 2007 for the treatment of hypertension. We have designed a new strategy for the convergent synthesis of aliskiren that involves a catalytic stereoselective nitroaldol reaction as the key step. A new enantiopure nitroalkane (synthon A1), prepared in only three steps from a commercially available enantiopure 2‐(arylmethyl)‐3‐methyl butanol derivative, was successfully used in a copper‐catalysed Henry reaction to give a nitrolactone intermediate in which the correct configuration for the final product was established at all four stereocentres. Nitro‐group reduction, Boc‐protection of the resulting amine, aminolysis of the lactone with 3‐amino‐2,2‐dimethylpropionamide, and finally Boc‐deprotection led to the enantiopure renin inhibitor aliskiren.
Patients with complex regional pain syndrome overestimate applied force in observed hand actions
Authors: Hotta J. , Harno H. , Nummenmaa L. , Kalso E. , Hari R. , Forss N. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractBackgroundMovement accuracy is ensured by interaction between motor, somatosensory, and visual systems. In complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), this interaction is disturbed. To explore CRPS patients’ visual perception of actions, we investigated how these patients evaluate the applied force in observed hand actions of another person.MethodsNineteen patients suffering from unilateral upper‐limb CRPS and 19 healthy control subjects viewed six different videos of left‐ and right‐hand actions. They were asked to evaluate the applied force in each hand action, as well as their subjective sensations of unpleasantness and pain during the observation.ResultsThe patients overestimated the force applied in the videos: the ratings were two times as large as in the control subjects for actions performed with the hand corresponding to the patients’ affected hand, and 1.5 times as large for actions corresponding to their healthy hand. The control subjects considered the stimuli neutral and painless, whereas the patients rated them unpleasant. Moreover, the patients felt increased pain during viewing actions performed with the hand corresponding to their affected side. The overestimation of force was related to the elicited unpleasantness and pain, but not to the patients’ muscle strength.ConclusionsWe propose that the overestimation of force is explained both by the pain elicited by the observation and by the abnormal sensorimotor integration that is associated with perception of increased effort. This visually elicited unpleasantness and painfulness may promote avoidance of viewing own actions, further impairing the patients’ motor performance.
Income and neighbourhood‐level inequality predict self‐esteem and ethnic identity centrality through individual‐ and group‐based relative deprivation: A multilevel path analysis
Authors: Osborne Danny , Sibley Chris G. , Sengupta Nikhil Kumar 
Published: March 2015

AbstractAlthough income and inequality (objective measures of deprivation and the distribution of income within a defined area, respectively) predict people's self‐appraisals, the psychological mechanisms underlying these relationships are largely unknown. We address this oversight by predicting that feeling individually deprived (individual‐based relative deprivation [IRD])—a self‐focused appraisal—mediates the relationship between these two objective measures and self‐esteem. Conversely, believing that one's group is deprived (group‐based relative deprivation [GRD])—a group‐focused appraisal—mediates the relationship between these two objective measures and ethnic identity centrality. We examined these predictions in a national sample of New Zealand adults (N = 6349). As expected, income negatively correlated with IRD and GRD; in turn, IRD negatively correlated with self‐esteem, and GRD positively correlated with ethnic identity centrality. Moreover, after accounting for between‐level variability in income, neighbourhood‐level inequality had indirect effects on self‐esteem and ethnic identity centrality through IRD and GRD, respectively. Thus, income and inequality independently predicted self‐esteem and strength of ingroup identification through distinct mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Similarity as threat: A motivational explanation of self–other similarity judgment asymmetry
Authors: Dang Junhua , Xiao Shanshan , Sun Xiaoyan , Louis Lee N.Y. , Mao Lihua 
Published: March 2015

AbstractPeople tend to judge others to be more similar to themselves than themselves are to others. This self–other similarity judgment asymmetry was often explained by a cognitive model. However, some findings were inconsistent with this model, implying that there might be complementary processes underlying such asymmetry. Although a motivational explanation has been proposed to account for the asymmetry, little evidence has been accumulated to verify this explanation and differentiate it from the cognitive model. The current research tested both the core assumption of the motivational explanation as well as a hypothesis derived only from it. Results suggest that the perception of oneself as being similar to others was more threatening to people's uniqueness than the perception of others as being similar to oneself. Individuals with high need for uniqueness exhibited greater asymmetry than did individuals with low need. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new species of Aechmea Ruiz & Pavon (Bromelioideae‐bromeliaceae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest
Authors: de Sousa Gardene Maria , das Graças Lapa Wanderley Maria 
Published: March 2015

AbstractAechmea prasinata G. Sousa & Wand., a new species from southeast Brazil, is described and illustrated. The species belongs to the subg. Chevaliera and shows morphological similarities with Aechmea hostilis E. Pereira and Aechmea gustavoi J. A. Siqueira & Leme, in the short‐peduncled and capituliform inflorescence, but differs in the oval to oblong floral bracts, the acuminate sepals and the green colour of all perianth structures. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Mass conservation in computational morphodynamics: uniform sediment and infinite availability
Authors: Jacobsen Niels Gjøl 
Published: March 2015

SummaryComputational morphodynamics in finite volume methods are based on the evaluation of the rate of bed level change in the vertices on the deforming bed. With the use of finite volume methods on collocated (unstructured) grids, the rate of bed level change needs to be interpolated from the mesh faces to the vertices. First, this work reviews two methods based on a vectorial shape of the bed evolution equation (no scalar contributions from storage, erosion and deposition) in terms of their mass conserving properties. Second, a method that allows for scalar contributions in the bed evolution equation (the Exner equation) is proposed for general, unstructured meshes, and an analytical derivation for the simple one‐dimensional problem on a non‐equidistantly discretised grid is considered. The solution is compared with the general two‐dimensional formulation. The two‐dimensional formulation leads to the formulation of a geometric sand sliding routine on unstructured grids. The newly proposed interpolation method and the sand sliding routine are tested, and mass conservation of the sediment is considered with special emphasis on the effect of the solution accuracy for the suspended sediment transport. Discussions on other interpolation methods and their mass conserving properties are given with a special focus of the distance weighted interpolation method directly available and easily applied in OpenFOAM. Furthermore, effects from horizontal displacements of the vertices, explicit filtering of the evolving bed and morphological acceleration on global mass conservation, are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Numerical simulation of the penetration process of ship anchors in sand
Authors: Grabe Jürgen , Qiu Gang , Wu Lingyue 
Published: March 2015

AbstractIn order to study the burial depth of submarine power cables in the German North Sea, the penetration process of ships' anchors in seabed soil was simulated by using the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian method in Abaqus/Explicit. In the 3D finite element model the sandy seabed was simulated with different densities under both drained and undrained conditions. The resulting penetration mechanism of a ship anchor in sand was verified by field test data. It showed that under specific conditions the penetration depth of a ship's anchor could be more than 1.5 m, which is suggested in “Bundesfachplan Offshore für die deutsche ausschließliche Wirtschaftszone der Nordsee 2012 und Umweltbericht” [8] as the standard burial depth of submarine power cables in the German North Sea by Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH).Numerische Simulation des Penetrationsprozesses eines Schiffsankers in Sand. Um die Verlegetiefe von Offshore‐Seekabeln in der Nordsee zu untersuchen, wurde der Penetrationsprozess eines Schiffsankers in den Meeresboden mittels der gekoppelten Euler‐Lagrangeschen Methode im Abaqus/Explicit modelliert. Im 3D‐FE‐Modell wird der sandige Meeresboden mit unterschiedlichen Lagerungsdichten unter dränierten sowie undränierten Bedingungen angesetzt. Der berechnete Eindringmechanismus des Schiffsankers im Sand wird durch Feldmessungen in der Nordsee bestätigt. Es zeigt sich, dass die Penetrationstiefe des Ankers unter Umständen größer ist als die im “Bundesfachplan Offshore für die deutsche ausschließliche Wirtschaftszone der Nordsee 2012 und Umweltbericht” [8] vom Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) vorgegebene Verlegetiefe von 1,5 m.
Undrained bearing capacity of tripod skirted foundations under eccentric loading
Authors: Stergiou Themistoklis , Terzis Dimitrios , Georgiadis Konstantinos 
Published: March 2015

AbstractThe undrained bearing capacity of a group of three rigidly connected skirted foundations (tripod) under vertical, moment or combined vertical‐moment loading is investigated. Three‐dimensional displacement finite element analyses of a single footing are first presented in order to validate the numerical modelling procedure. Various loading paths are considered and comparisons with known solutions are made. Subsequently, a series of analyses of undrained loading on a three‐footing group is presented. Different footing spacings and loading directions are considered. The predominant failure mechanisms for characteristic load combinations are determined and the calculated failure loads are presented in dimensionless and normalized form. Based on the numerical results, a unique normalized failure load surface is proposed which applies to all loading directions and footing spacings for a given skirt length to footing diameter ratio.Undränierte Grenztragfähigkeit von Tripod‐Gründungen mit Schürze unter außermittiger Belastung. Die undränierte Grenztragfähigkeit einer Gruppe von drei starr miteinander verbundenen Gründungselementen (Tripods) unter Vertikallast, Momentenbelastung oder unter einer kombinierten Vertikal‐ und Momentenbelastung wird untersucht. Zunächst werden dreidimensionale Finite‐Elemente‐Berechnungen von einem einzelnen Gründungskörper präsentiert, um die numerische Modellierung zu validieren. Unterschiedliche Belastungspfade werden untersucht und mit bekannten Lösungen verglichen. Anschließend wird eine Reihe von undränierten Analysen mit allen drei Gründungskörpern eines Tripods vorgestellt. Variiert werden die Fundamentabstände und die Lastrichtung. Die vorherrschenden Versagensmechanismen werden für charakteristische Lastkombinationen bestimmt und die berechneten Grenztraglasten in dimensionsloser und normierter Form dargestellt. Basierend auf den numerischen Ergebnissen wird eine einzige normierte Grenzzustandskurve vorgeschlagen, welche auf alle Lastrichtungen und Fundamentabstände für ein gegebenes Verhältnis von Schürzenlänge zu Durchmesser der Gründungskörper anwendbar ist.
A Note on the Comparative Statics of Pay‐for‐Performance in Health Care
Authors: Sherry Tisamarie B. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractPay‐for‐performance (P4P) is a widely implemented quality improvement strategy in health care that has generated much enthusiasm, but only limited empirical evidence to support its effectiveness. Researchers have speculated that flawed program designs or weak financial incentives may be to blame, but the reason for P4P's limited success may be more fundamental. When P4P rewards multiple services, it creates a special case of the well‐known multitasking problem, where incentives to increase some rewarded activities are blunted by countervailing incentives to focus on other rewarded activities: these incentives may cancel each other out with little net effect on quality. This paper analyzes the comparative statics of a P4P model to show that when P4P rewards multiple services in a setting of multitasking and joint production, the change in both rewarded and unrewarded services is generally ambiguous. This result contrasts with the commonly held intuition that P4P should increase rewarded activities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Expression of the myostatin gene in the adductor muscle of the Pacific lion‐paw scallop Nodipecten subnodosus in association with growth and environmental conditions
Authors: Morelos Rosa M. , Ramírez José L. , García‐Gasca Alejandra , Ibarra Ana M. 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACTThe cDNA sequence of the myostatin gene in the Pacific lion‐paw Nodipecten subnodosus (Ns‐mstn) was characterized, and the temporal expression during grow‐out was analyzed for the first time in a scallop. Ns‐mstn encodes a 459‐amino‐acid protein in which two propeptide proteolytic sites were identified, the previously recognized (RSKR) and a second one at position 266–269 aa (RRKR). The alternative furin cleavage site could be related with post‐translational processing, or it could be a tissue‐specific mechanism for signaling activity. The Ns‐mstn transcript was located by in situ hybridization in sarcomeres and around the nucleus of muscle fibers. The temporal expression analysis by qPCR in the adductor muscle showed that Ns‐mstn expression was significantly different (P < 0.05) between months during the grow‐out period, increasing largely during the summer months when both biomass and muscle weight did not increase or even decreased; muscle fiber size and number were found to decrease significantly. Exogenous and endogenous factors such as high temperature and low food availability, as well as gametogenesis and reproduction, can be associated with the growth pattern and Ns‐mstn expression changes. Our results indicate that MSTN is involved in adductor muscle growth regulation in N. subnodosus as it occurs in vertebrate skeletal muscle although Ns‐mstn expression in non‐muscle organs/tissues suggests additional functions. J. Exp. Zool. 323A: 239–255, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Efficient method for analyzing MR real‐time cines: Toward accurate quantification of left ventricular function
Authors: Wu Yin , Jiang Ke , Zhang Na , Gao Yinzhu , Chen Yucheng , Zheng Hairong , Liu Xin , Chung Yiu‐Cho 
Published: March 2015

BackgroundTo develop and assess an efficient method to identify end‐expiratory end‐diastolic (ED) and end‐systolic (ES) images for accurate quantification of left ventricular (LV) function in real‐time cine imaging.MethodsECG‐free free‐breathing real‐time cine imaging was performed on short‐axis slices of thirteen healthy volunteers at 3 Tesla. K‐means cluster segmentation was applied to delineate the endocardial contour, from which the LV centroid and cavity area were determined in each cine image. LV centroid displacement along the superior–inferior direction was filtered to extract respiratory motion in each slice. End‐expiratory ED and ES images were then identified and used for LV function quantification. Accuracy was evaluated with that measured from the slice‐matched standard ECG‐gated breathhold segmented cines using two‐tail paired Student's t‐tests, linear regression analyses and Bland‐Altman plots. Intra‐ and interobserver variability was calculated for each imaging technique.ResultsQualitatively, end‐expiratory ED and ES images identified with the proposed method agreed with those determined by frame‐by‐frame visual inspection in 97.5% of cases (P > 0.05). Quantitatively, good agreement of LV function indices between the real‐time cine and the standard segmented cine was observed with averaged differences of 0.1 ± 0.9 g for myocardium mass, −0.3 ± 1.0 mL for ED volume, 0.2 ± 1.2 mL for ES volume, −0.2 ± 1.3 mL for stroke volume, and −0.3 ± 0.8% for ejection fraction. Paired LV function values exhibited strong correlation (r ≥ 0.96) and no significant difference (P > 0.05). The real‐time cine and the standard segmented cine showed similar intra‐ (1.2–3.3% and 1.1–2.8%, respectively) and interobserver variability (2.6–6.9% and 1.8–4.8%, respectively) with all P‐values > 0.05. All the variability was comparable with published results.ConclusionCompared with the laborious frame‐by‐frame visual inspection, as conventionally adopted, the proposed method is efficient in analyzing real‐time cines for the accurate quantification of LV function without excessively manual interactions. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2015;42:972–980.
Simulated effects of soil moisture on oasis self‐maintenance in a surrounding desert environment in Northwest China
Authors: Meng X. , Lu S. , Gao Y. , Guo J. 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACTIrrigation is the only method to sustain oasis agriculture in northwest China. In this study, the effects of soil moisture perturbations on the oasis self‐maintenance mechanism were investigated using the mesoscale model MM5 with satellite observations of land‐surface parameters from MODIS data. Twelve simulations were performed, among which CTL (default simulation) and MOD (with parameters replaced with MODIS data) were used to evaluate the model results. Another 10 simulations with soil moisture perturbations (DRY and WET) assessed the influence of soil moisture on the oasis self‐maintenance mechanism. Independent of the initial soil moisture content, all simulations showed dramatic reductions of soil moisture in the initial several days of the simulation, due to the strong evapotranspiration in this arid environment. Both the DRY and WET perturbations led to substantial changes in surface heat flux partitioning and the oasis ‘cold‐wet’ effect, which were also verified by an analysis of the secondary circulation and moisture‐inversion level. Drying tends to have more influence than wetting, which indicates that irrigation should be performed more frequently than intensively to protect the oasis self‐maintenance mechanism.
An estimation of the land‐atmosphere coupling strength in South America using the Global Land Data Assimilation System
Authors: Spennemann Pablo C. , Saulo Andrea Celeste 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to identify regions of strong land surface –atmosphere coupling for the austral summer over South America. To accomplish this, a statistical methodology is applied to estimate the interactions of soil moisture with evapotranspiration and precipitation derived from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) dataset. Possible impacts of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the coupling strength are also examined. Particular emphasis is set over two sub‐regions of interest: Southeastern South America (SESA) and the continental part of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ). Positive and significant soil moisture–precipitation feedbacks are found over parts of SACZ and in the southern part of South America. Instead, significant negative feedback is found over SESA. The influence of ENSO over the soil moisture–precipitation coupling strength signal is evident over tropical regions. Plausible physical mechanisms involved in the land surface–atmosphere interactions, the influence of ENSO and that of precipitation persistence over extratropical regions on the results, are discussed. The implications of this analysis on monthly to seasonal forecast are also examined. Despite that this methodology cannot be used to establish a precise causal–effect relationship, this study gives a valuable first order approximation of land surface–atmosphere interactions over South America that complements pre‐existing work.