bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Laser‐evoked potentials mediated by mechano‐insensitive nociceptors in human skin
Authors: Dusch M. , van der Ham J. , Weinkauf B. , Benrath J. , Rukwied R. , Ringkamp M. , Schmelz M. , Treede R.‐D. , Baumgärtner U. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractObjectivesLaser‐evoked potentials (LEP) were assessed after peripheral nerve block of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) in healthy volunteers from partially anesthetized skin areas to differentially stimulate mechano‐insensitive nociceptors.MethodsAn ultrasound‐guided nerve block of the LFCN was performed in 12 healthy male subjects with Ropivacain 1%. After 30 min, the nerve block induced significantly larger anesthetic areas to mechanical stimuli than to electrical stimuli revealing an area of differential sensitivity. LEPs, reaction times and pain ratings were recorded in response to the laser stimuli of (1) completely anesthetic skin, (2) mechano‐insensitive, but electrically excitable skin (‘differential sensitivity’), (3) normal skin.ResultsLEP latencies in the area of differential sensitivity were increased compared to unaffected skin (228 ± 8.5 ms, vs. 181 ± 3.6 ms, p < 0.01) and LEP amplitudes were reduced (14.8 ± 1.2 μV vs. 24.6 ± 1.7 μV, p < 0.01). Correspondingly, psychophysically assessed response latencies in the differentially anesthetic skin were increased (649 ms vs. 427 ms, p < 0.01) and pain ratings reduced (1.5/10 vs. 5/10 NRS, p < 0.01).ConclusionThe increase in LEP latency suggests that mechano‐insensitive heat‐sensitive Aδ nociceptors (MIA, type II) have a slower conduction velocity or higher utilization time than mechano‐sensitive type II Aδ nociceptors. Moreover, widely branched, slowly conducting and mechano‐insensitive branches of Aδ nociceptors can explain our finding. LEPs in the differentially anesthetized skin provide specific information about a mechanically insensitive but heat‐sensitive subpopulation of Aδ nociceptors. These findings support the concept that A‐fibre nociceptors exhibit a similar degree of modality specificity as C‐fibre nociceptors.
Micro Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (μEIS) Fabricated on the Curved Surface of a Fine Needle for Biotissue Discrimination
Authors: Kang Giseok , Yun Joho , Cho Jin‐Seong , Yoon JungHan , Lee Jong‐Hyun 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThis work presents a novel micro electrical impedance spectroscopy (μEIS) technique that can measure and discriminate the electrical signal responses of biotissues in real time. An EoN (EIS‐on‐a‐needle), EIS on the surface of a fine needle (400 μm in diameter), was fabricated using a newly developed flexible photomask film. The base material of the photomask is parylene‐C, which allows uniform contact on the curved surface of the needle; thus, the designed electrode patterns of the photomask can be transferred onto the needle surface with a high resolution (2.95 % or less in dimensional error). To validate the developed EoN as an electrical sensor, ex vivo experiments with various biotissues—butchered pork (skin, fat, and muscle) and human breast tissues (normal and cancerous)—were conducted by measuring real‐time electrical impedance during a frequency sweep. The conductivities (relative permittivity) of the pork tissues were evaluated by electrical equivalent circuit analysis: 56.6 mS/m (37,800), 68.0 mS/m (74,755), and 74.9 mS/m (26,145) for the skin, fat, and muscle, respectively. Moreover, the normal and cancerous tissues were well distinguished by electrical resistance at 4.04 kHz for various cancer grades (Elston grades 1, 2, and 3). Analysis of the electrical impedance suggests that the EoN can be utilized to diagnose the physiological states of biotissues in clinical use.
Influence of Syngas Composition on the Kinetics of Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis of using Cobalt as Catalyst
Authors: Pöhlmann Ferdinand , Jess Andreas 
Published: October 2015

AbstractA promising method for the utilization of CO2 (e.g., captured from the flue gases of gas‐ or coal‐based power plants) is the production of liquid hydrocarbons from CO2 and renewable H2 (power to liquid, PTL). This is a three‐step process and consists of water electrolysis, reverse water–gas shift (RWGS), and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS). Here, the syngas for the FTS always contains CO2 owing to the incomplete conversion of CO2 in the RWGS reactor because of thermodynamic constraints. Therefore, the influence of not only the main reactants CO and H2 but also CO2 on the kinetics of FTS using a homemade cobalt catalyst was studied. Moreover, under effective conditions (i.e., with particles of millimeter size, as used in fixed‐bed reactors), the FTS is affected by internal mass‐transport limitations, which lead to an increased H2/CO ratio inside the particle, which has an impact on the local reaction rate and selectivity. Therefore, the effect of the H2/CO ratio was studied in a broad range of 0.5 to 40 at temperatures of 210 to 230 °C at a total pressure of approximately 3 MPa. With increasing H2/CO ratio and a surplus of H2, the methane selectivity rises and the selectivity to higher hydrocarbons decreases. As long as a certain (very low) amount of CO is present, CO2 behaves like an inert component. However, for particle sizes of several millimeters and pronounced pore diffusion limitations, the CO concentration decreases towards the particle center and a core region free of CO is formed. At H2/CO ratios >10, CO2 is also converted (but practically solely to methane). The intrinsic kinetic parameters of the reaction rates were evaluated by using Langmuir–Hinshelwood‐type rate expressions. The selectivities were also described by a model from Vervloet et al.1 The used models are in good agreement with the experimental results.
Semiparametric Allelic Tests for Mapping Multiple Phenotypes: Binomial Regression and Mahalanobis Distance
Authors: Majumdar Arunabha , Witte John S. , Ghosh Saurabh 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACTBinary phenotypes commonly arise due to multiple underlying quantitative precursors and genetic variants may impact multiple traits in a pleiotropic manner. Hence, simultaneously analyzing such correlated traits may be more powerful than analyzing individual traits. Various genotype‐level methods, e.g., MultiPhen (O'Reilly et al. []), have been developed to identify genetic factors underlying a multivariate phenotype. For univariate phenotypes, the usefulness and applicability of allele‐level tests have been investigated. The test of allele frequency difference among cases and controls is commonly used for mapping case‐control association. However, allelic methods for multivariate association mapping have not been studied much. In this article, we explore two allelic tests of multivariate association: one using a Binomial regression model based on inverted regression of genotype on phenotype (Binomial regression‐based Association of Multivariate Phenotypes [BAMP]), and the other employing the Mahalanobis distance between two sample means of the multivariate phenotype vector for two alleles at a single‐nucleotide polymorphism (Distance‐based Association of Multivariate Phenotypes [DAMP]). These methods can incorporate both discrete and continuous phenotypes. Some theoretical properties for BAMP are studied. Using simulations, the power of the methods for detecting multivariate association is compared with the genotype‐level test MultiPhen's. The allelic tests yield marginally higher power than MultiPhen for multivariate phenotypes. For one/two binary traits under recessive mode of inheritance, allelic tests are found to be substantially more powerful. All three tests are applied to two different real data and the results offer some support for the simulation study. We propose a hybrid approach for testing multivariate association that implements MultiPhen when Hardy‐Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) is violated and BAMP otherwise, because the allelic approaches assume HWE.
Health information systems and disability in the Lao PDR: a qualitative study
Authors: Durham Jo , Sychareun Vanphanom , Rodney Anna , Gouda Hebe N. , Richards Nicola , Rampatige Rasika , Whittaker Maxine 
Published: October 2015

SummaryThe Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides an opportunity to strengthen disability‐related health information. This study analysed the health information system in Lao PDR and sought evidence of interventions to improve disability‐related health information. The study was based on a literature review and key informant interviews (N = 17) informed by the Health Metrics Network's Framework and Standards and the Performance of Routine Information System Management framework. The Lao health information system is in an embryonic stage with health data often incomplete, inaccurate and poorly used. Indicators related to disability or functioning are not included, and capacity to diagnose the health condition of disability is limited. No studies of health information interventions were found. As a State Party to the CRPD, the Lao PDR has a legal obligation to collect health‐related information on people with disabilities. Given the nascent stage of development of the health information system in the Lao PDR and diagnostic capacity, indicators related to basic functioning and access to services should be integrated into household level surveys. As the health information system further develops, small, incremental changes in the type of disability information and rehabilitation and the way it is collected can be implemented. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Rate of Inducible MLSBResistance in the Methicillin‐Resistant Staphylococci Isolated From Clinical Samples
Authors: Toka Özer Türkan 
Published: October 2015

BackgroundStaphylococci are one of the most common pathogens in nasocomial and community‐acquired infections. Methicillin‐resistant staphylococci are known to be resistant against all beta‐lactam antibiotics. Therefore, non‐beta‐lactam antibiotics such as macrolide and lincosamides can be used. Resistance to those antibiotics may lead to therapeutic failure. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of macrolide–lincosamide–streptogramin B (MLSB) resistance by usingD‐test in staphylococcal isolates from various clinical samples.MethodsSeventy‐one methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus isolates (sixS. aureus, 65 coagulase negative staphylococci) were included in this study. Staphylococci were identified with conventional methods. According to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) criteria, susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method.ResultsOne of six (16.6%) methicillin‐resistantS. aureusisolates and 19 of 65 (29.2%) methicillin‐resistant coagulase‐negative staphylococci (MR‐CNS) were detected asD‐test positive. Twenty of 71 (28.1%) staphylococcal isolates detected asD‐test positive. Inducible clindamycin resistance was found at a higher rate in MR‐CNS.ConclusionSince the resistant community and hospital acquired staphylococcal infections have become a therapeutic problem, it is very important to detect MLSBresistance routinely in microbiology laboratories.D‐test is a cheap and reliable diagnostic method that can be performed in every laboratory.
Automated liver elasticity calculation for MR elastography
Authors: Dzyubak Bogdan , Venkatesh Sudhakar K. , Manduca Armando , Glaser Kevin J. , Ehman Richard L. 
Published: October 2015

PurposeMR elastography (MRE) is a phase‐contrast MRI technique that is used to quantitatively assess liver stiffness for staging hepatic fibrosis. The current approach requires manual selection of a region of interest (ROI) with good wave quality from which to measure stiffness. The purpose of this work was to develop and evaluate a fully automated approach for measuring hepatic stiffness from MRE images to further reduce measurement variability.Materials and MethodsAn automated liver elasticity calculation (ALEC) algorithm was developed to address reader stiffness measurement variability. ALEC has three stages: initial tissue estimation, segmentation, and ROI cleanup. Stiffnesses measured by the algorithm were compared with technicians and an expert radiologist in a set of 121 clinical cases acquired at 1.5 Tesla. Intra‐class correlation (ICC), Bland‐Altman analysis, and a noninferiority test were performed to evaluate whether the algorithm can be used in place of manual analysis by technicians.ResultsThe stiffness measurement difference with the expert was 1.42% ± 11.17% (mean ± standard deviation) for the algorithm and 1.82% ± 13.65% for the technicians. The ICCs were 0.981 and 0.984, respectively. Both the algorithm and technicians were equivalent to the expert within a 5% significance margin (P < 0.01). The algorithm had no failures in the 119 cases that were considered analyzable by the human readers.ConclusionThe results of this study show that the newly developed automated algorithm is able to measure stiffness in clinical liver MRE exams with an accuracy that is equivalent to that of an expert radiologist. ALEC may be useful for analysis of archived data and suitable for performing multi‐center studies. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;43:1055–1063.
The Turkana low‐level jet: mean climatology and association with regional aridity
Authors: Nicholson Sharon 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACTThis article develops the first climatology of the low‐level jet that prevails in the Turkana Channel of northern Kenya. ERA‐Interim data are utilized, giving the analysis a resolution of 0.75° of latitude/longitude and a temporal resolution of 6 h. The jet is found to be a semi‐permanent feature, its occurrence ranging from 69% of the days in May to 90% of the days in October. It is strongest during the June–September dry season. Typical core speeds in a 0.75 × 0.75 grid point are 10–15 m s−1. The Turkana Jet is clearly a nocturnal feature, being strongest at 0000 UTC or 0600 UTC and usually barely discernible at 1200 UTC. There are distinct patterns of divergence and vertical motion associated with the jet and these differ between the entrance, core, and exit regions. The jet appears to modulate rainfall, especially during the nocturnal hours, with strong jets suppressing rainfall. It also appears to be a factor in the prevailing aridity in the northeast Kenya, southern Somalia, and southeastern Ethiopia and the absence of a summer rainy season in this region.
Production of the angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory peptides and isolation of four novel peptides from jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) protein hydrolysate
Authors: Liu Xin , Zhang Miansong , Shi Yaping , Qiao Ruojin , Tang Wei , Sun Zhenliang 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBACKGROUNDAngiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) plays an important role in regulating blood pressure in the human body. ACE inhibitory peptides derived from food proteins could exert antihypertensive effects without side effects. Jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) is an important fishery resource suitable for production of ACE inhibitory peptides. The objective of this study was to optimize the hydrolysis conditions for production of protein hydrolysate from R. esculentum (RPH) with ACE inhibitory activity, and to isolate and identify the ACE inhibitory peptides from RPH.RESULTSRhopilema esculentum protein was hydrolyzed with Compound proteinase AQ to produce protein hydrolysate with ACE inhibitory activity, and the hydrolysis conditions were optimized using response surface methodology. The optimum parameters for producing peptides with the highest ACE inhibitory activity were as follows: hydrolysis time 3.90 h, hydrolysis temperature 58 °C, enzyme:substrate ratio 2.8% and pH 7.60. Under these conditions, the ACE inhibitory rate reached 32.21%. In addition, four novel ACE inhibitory peptides were isolated, and their amino acids sequences were identified as Val‐Gly‐Pro‐Tyr, Phe‐Thr‐Tyr‐Val‐Pro‐Gly, Phe‐Thr‐Tyr‐Val‐Pro‐Gly‐Ala and Phe‐Gln‐Ala‐Val‐Trp‐Ala‐Gly, respectively. The IC50 value of the purified peptides for ACE inhibitory activity was 8.40, 23.42, 21.15 and 19.11 µmol L−1.CONCLUSIONThese results indicate that the protein hydrolysate prepared from R. esculentum might be a commercial competitive source of ACE inhibitory ingredients to be used in functional foods. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
Comment on Demars et al. 2015, “Stream metabolism and the open diel oxygen method: Principles, practice, and perspectives”
Authors: Holtgrieve Gordon W. , Schindler Daniel E. , Jankowski KathiJo 
Published: October 2015

AbstractDemars et al. present a review of stream ecosystem metabolism theory that provides the basis for a set of best practices. Here we clarify two technical and conceptual errors in reviewing the current state of research regarding inverse modeling of ecosystem metabolism. Specifically, the assertions by Demars et al. that inverse modeling of metabolism is limited to low reaereation, high productivity ecosystems and, when feasible, measurement of gas transfer by volatile tracer injection is the preferred method, are based on an incomplete conceptualization of current ecosystem metabolism models and does not recognize the unconstrained biases in tracer injection methods. In addition to these corrections, we highlight how inverse model fitting is a robust methodology to constrain key metabolic parameters by capturing the information contained in the dynamics of diel O2 data. When done in a Bayesian context, inverse model fitting also provides a means to incorporate multiple sources of available data, including those from tracer studies, and formally propagate uncertainties in parameter estimates. Last, we describe how model fitting of diel O2 data can also provide information on temperature sensitivity of ecosystem respiration.
Influence of the Al(Co, Ni) layer on the corrosion resistance of a cobalt based alloy (Mar‐M‐509®)
Authors: Sitek R. , Kaminski J. , Zdunek J. , Jaroszewicz J. , Mizera J. 
Published: October 2015

In the present work, the results of studies on the structure and corrosion resistance of Al(Co, Ni) layer are shown. The diffusion Al(Co, Ni) layer was created on the cobalt alloy Mar‐M‐509 substrate by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method with aluminum trichloride (AlCl3) under the hydrogen atmosphere. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations and microtomography measurements of layers were performed. Also an analysis of the chemical (energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS)) and phase (X‐ray diffraction (XRD)) composition was carried out. By the X‐ray diffraction method (sin2 φ) also the residual stresses were calculated in the matrix of the material.The corrosion resistance was tested with impedance and potentiodynamic methods in 0.1 M Na2SO4, 0.1 M H2SO4 solutions and acidulous 0.1 M NaCl solution (pH = 4.2) at room temperature.The results indicate that the analyzed layer with a thickness of about 14 μm have a similar corrosion resistance compared to the base material – Mar‐M‐509® cobalt alloy. Only in the strongly acidic environments, the corrosion resistance of the layer is remarkably decreased.
How does magnetization transfer influence mcDESPOT results?
Authors: Zhang Jing , Kolind Shannon H. , Laule Cornelia , MacKay Alex L. 
Published: October 2015

PurposeA steady‐state approach that was termed multicomponent driven equilibrium single pulse observation of T1 and T2 (mcDESPOT) has recently been proposed for myelin water fraction (fM) mapping in brain development and demyelinating diseases. However, fMs estimated by mcDESPOT are significantly higher than myelin water fraction derived from multiecho spin echo T2‐decay curve approaches. Magnetization transfer (MT), enhanced by the use of short, relatively high amplitude radiofrequency (RF) pulses in mcDESPOT, may artifactually influence fM maps. Our goal was to investigate the role of MT in mcDESPOT.MethodsmcDESPOT data was collected twice from three healthy volunteers using short RF pulses with higher MT effect and long RF pulses with lower MT effect. MR parameters from 11 white and gray regions were compared using a paired student t‐test. Whole slice difference images were also compared.ResultsMT effects had a substantial influence on the signal generated by the balanced steady‐state free procession sequences used in mcDESPOT. However, these MT effects were not clearly evident in the fM values determined by the conventional two‐pool mcDESPOT analysis.ConclusionThe signal generated from mcDESPOT is sensitive to MT, but the extracted myelin water fractions are relatively insensitive to changes of MT. Magn Reson Med 74:1327–1335, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Modeling and solution for the ship stowage planning problem of coils in the steel industry
Authors: Tang Lixin , Liu Jiyin , Yang Fei , Li Feng , Li Kun 
Published: October 2015

AbstractWe consider a ship stowage planning problem where steel coils with known destination ports are to be loaded onto a ship. The coils are to be stowed on the ship in rows. Due to their heavy weight and cylindrical shape, coils can be stowed in at most two levels. Different from stowage problems in previous studies, in this problem there are no fixed positions on the ship for the coils due to their different sizes. At a destination port, if a coil to be unloaded is not at a top position, those blocking it need to be shuffled. In addition, the stability of ship has to be maintained after unloading at each destination port. The objective for the stowage planning problem is to minimize a combination of ship instability throughout the entire voyage, the shuffles needed for unloading at the destination ports, and the dispersion of coils to be unloaded at the same destination port. We formulate the problem as a novel mixed integer linear programming model. Several valid inequalities are derived to help reducing solution time. A tabu search (TS) algorithm is developed for the problem with the initial solution generated using a construction heuristic. To evaluate the proposed TS algorithm, numerical experiments are carried out on problem instances of three different scales by comparing it with a model‐based decomposition heuristic, the classic TS algorithm, the particle swarm optimization algorithm, and the manual method used in practice. The results show that for small problems, the proposed algorithm can generate optimal solutions. For medium and large practical problems, the proposed algorithm outperforms other methods. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 62: 564–581, 2015
Partitioned formulation and stability analysis of a fluid interacting with a saturated porous medium by localised Lagrange multipliers
Authors: Zinatbakhsh S. , Koch D. , Park K. C. , Markert B. , Ehlers W. 
Published: October 2015

SummaryIn this work, a partitioned scheme for the numerical simulation of the surface‐coupled problem of a fluid interacting with a saturated porous medium (fluid‐porous‐media interaction) is proposed by adopting the method of localised Lagrange multipliers, which facilitates an automatic spatial partitioning of the problem and a parallel treatment of the interacting components, and allows for using tailored solvers optimised for each subproblem. Moreover, proceeding from the interaction between an incompressible bulk fluid with a saturated biphasic porous medium with intrinsically incompressible and inert constituents, the characteristics of the governing equations are scrutinised, and the various constraints within the subsystems are identified. Following this, the method of perturbed Lagrange multipliers is used to replace the constrained equation systems within each subdomain by unconstrained ones. Furthermore, considering the one‐dimensional (1D) version of the equations, a stability analysis of the proposed solution method is performed, and the unconditional stability of the partitioned solution scheme is shown. Solving 1D and 2D numerical benchmark examples, the applicability of the proposed scheme is demonstrated. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.