bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Adherence Rates and Associations with Nonadherence in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Using Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs
Authors: van den BEMT BART J.F. , van den HOOGEN FRANK H.J. , BENRAAD BART , HEKSTER YECHIEL A. , van RIEL PIET L.C.M. , van LANKVELD WIM 
Published: September 2009

Objective.Nonadherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) may result in unnecessarily high levels of disease activity and function loss. The aim of this descriptive study was to assess adherence rates with self-report measures in a large random population, and to identify potential risk factors for nonadherence.Methods.A randomly selected sample of 228 patients with RA using DMARD was invited for a standardised interview. For each medicine, the patients were asked about adherence, consumption and perceived (side) effects. After the interview, the patients received self-report questionnaires to assess adherence [Compliance Questionnaire on Rheumatology (CQR) and the Medication Adherence Scale (MARS)], coping, beliefs about medicines, satisfaction about medicine information, and physical functioning. Subsequently, associations between adherence and demographics, clinical characteristics, and patient attitudes were examined.Results.Depending on the instrument used, 68% (CQR) and 60% (MARS) of the patients were adherent to DMARD. Nonadherence was not associated with demographic and clinical characteristics, satisfaction about information, medication concerns, and coping styles. The disease duration, the number of perceived side-effects, and beliefs about the necessity of the medicine were weakly associated with adherence.Conclusion.In this large study with a random RA population, 32%–40% of the patients did not adhere to their DMARD prescription. As none of the possible risk factors was strongly related to adherence, no general risk factor seems to be powerful enough as a possible screening tool or target for adherence-improving interventions. This implies that nonadherence barriers should be assessed on an individual basis.
What Factors Influence the Health Status of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Measured by the SF-12v2 Health Survey and the Health Assessment Questionnaire?
Authors: LINDE LOUISE , SØRENSEN JAN , ØSTERGAARD MIKKEL , HØRSLEV-PETERSEN KIM , RASMUSSEN CLAUS , JENSEN DORTE VENDELBO , HETLAND MERETE LUND 
Published: September 2009

Objective.The Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ) is a widely used outcome measure in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), whereas the SF-12v2 Health Survey (SF-12) was introduced recently. We investigated how the HAQ and SF-12 were associated with socio-demographic, lifestyle, and disease- and treatment-related factors in patients with RA.Methods.In RA patients from 11 Danish centers, clinical and patient-reported data, including the HAQ and SF-12, were collected. Three multiple linear regression models were estimated, with the HAQ, SF-12 physical component score (PCS), and SF-12 mental component score (MCS) as outcome and sociodemographic, lifestyle, and RA-related treatment and comorbidity characteristics as explanatory variables.Results.In total, 3156 (85%) of 3704 invited patients participated — 75% women, 76% rheumatoid factor-positive, median age 61 years (range 15–93 yrs), disease duration 7 years (range 0–68 yrs), Disease Activity Score on 28 joints (DAS28) 2.97 (range 0.96–8.61), HAQ score 0.63 (range 0–3), SF-12 PCS 56 (range 6–99), and SF-12 MCS 57 (range 16–99). Variation in HAQ was associated with 12 of 15 possible variables (R2 0.41), in PCS and MCS with 6 of 15 variables (R2 0.02 and 0.05). Patients with moderate to high DAS28 and ≥ 3 comorbid conditions had consistently worse HAQ and SF-12 scores compared to the reference groups, while weekly exercise was associated with better scores compared to no exercise.Conclusion.The HAQ was more sensitive to differences in demographic, lifestyle, and disease- and treatment-related factors than the SF-12. The established clinical value and feasibility of the HAQ highlights its advantages over the SF-12 in describing health status in RA.
Lessons Taught and Learned from the Operation of the Solar Energy E-Learning Laboratory
Authors: Eleftheriou Polyvios C. , Michaelides Ioannis M. 
Published: September 2009

The solar energy e learning laboratory (solar e-lab) in Cyprus is a good example of a web-based, remote engineering laboratory. It comprises a pilot solar energy conversion plant which is equipped with all necessary instrumentation, data acquisition, and communication devices needed for remote access, control, data collection and processing.
The impact that the solar e-lab had during its nearly 5 years of operation is indeed high. Throughout this period, the solar e-lab has been accessed by users from over 500 locations from 79 countries spread all over the world. In the period of November 2004 to October 2008, more than a million visits were recorded, out of which 25000 have registered on the site and surfed through studying the supplied material. Around 1000 hits concerned registered users that passed the pre-lab test and performed the experimentation part.

The four years of operation of the solar e-lab demonstrated how the Internet can be used as a tool to make the laboratory facilities accessible to engineering students and technicians located outside the laboratory, including overseas. In this way, the solar energy e-learning lab, its equipment and experimental facilities were made available and shared by a number of interested people, thus widening educational experiences. Judging from the online evaluation reports that were received from the solar e-lab users during the last 2 years of operation, it can be concluded that there is nearly excellent satisfaction by the users.
Analyzing Gene Expression Data from Microarray and Next‐Generation DNA Sequencing Transcriptome Profiling Assays Using GeneSifter Analysis Edition
Authors: Porter Sandra , Olson N. Eric , Smith Todd 
Published: September 2009

AbstractTranscription profiling with microarrays has become a standard procedure for comparing the levels of gene expression between pairs of samples, or multiple samples following different experimental treatments. New technologies, collectively known as next‐generation DNA sequencing methods, are also starting to be used for transcriptome analysis. These technologies, with their low background, large capacity for data collection, and dynamic range, provide a powerful and complementary tool to the assays that formerly relied on microarrays. In this chapter, we describe two protocols for working with microarray data from pairs of samples and samples treated with multiple conditions, and discuss alternative protocols for carrying out similar analyses with next‐generation DNA sequencing data from two different instrument platforms (Illumina GA and Applied Biosystems SOLiD). Curr. Protoc. Bioinform. 27:7.14.1‐7.14.35. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Strategies in visuospatial working memory for learning virtual shapes
Authors: Smith Glenn Gordon , Ritzhaupt Albert Dieter , Tjoe Edwin 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis study investigated visuospatial working memory (WM) strategies people use to remember unfamiliar randomly generated shapes in the context of an interactive computer‐based visuospatial WM task. In a three‐phase experiment with random shapes, participants (n = 94) first interactively determined if two equivalent shapes were rotated or reflected; second, memorized the shape; and third, determined if an imprint in a profile view of the ground was a rotated, reflected imprint of the shape, or an imprint not matching the original shape. Participants self‐reported these strategies: Key feature, shape interaction, association/elaboration, holistic/perspective, divide and conquer, mental rotation/reflection and others. Participants reporting key features strategy were significantly more accurate on the computer‐based visuospatial WM task. These results highlight the importance of strategy in visuospatial WM. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Identical cryptic partial monosomy 20pter and trisomy 20qter in three adult siblings due to a large maternal pericentric inversion: Detection by MLPA and breakpoint mapping by SNP array analysis
Authors: Stevens Servi J.C. , Smeets Eric E.J.G.L. , Blom Eveline , van Uum Chris M.J. , Albrechts Jozefa C.M. , Herbergs Jos , Janssen Jannie W.M. , Engelen John J.M. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractGenotypic and phenotypic data are presented on three adult siblings with mild to moderate mental retardation and mild dysmorphic features. All three siblings showed a chromosome 20 gain at the q‐telomere and loss at the p‐telomere in routine subtelomeric MLPA screening. Analysis of GTG‐banded chromosomes did not detect any abnormalities, but subtelomeric fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) confirmed cryptic partial monosomy of chromosome region 20p13 → 20pter and cryptic partial trisomy of chromosome region 20q13.33 → 20qter. Furthermore, FISH analysis in the mother showed a cryptic inv(20)(p13q13.33). This explained the cytogenetic mechanism underlying the chromosomal imbalance in the three children, that is, the meiotic formation of a recombinant chromosome 20 due to crossing‐over in the inverted segment. All three children thus carried a rec(20)dup(20q)inv(20)(p13q13.33)mat chromosome. SNP array analysis enabled rapid and detailed imbalance sizing and showed a 1.06 Mb loss in 20p13 and a 2.51 Mb gain in 20q13.33, comprising 21 and 78 genes, respectively. The maternal inversion is the largest described thus far for chromosome 20, comprising 94.4% of its length. Such large inversions result in a particularly high risk for live‐born unbalanced offspring because the partial monosomy and trisomy segments are small. Moreover, the inversion size is directly related to the percentage of unbalanced gametes due to high crossing‐over change within the inverted segment. The fact that all three children carry an identical chromosomal rearrangement has consequences for genetic counseling for carriers of large pericentric inversions, as the recurrence risk is very high. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multiple genomic aberrations in a patient with mental retardation and hypogonadism: 45,X/46,X,psu dic(Y) karyotype, thyroid hormone receptor beta (THRB) mutation and heterozygosity for Wilson disease
Authors: Hes Frederik J. , Madan Kamlesh , Rombout‐Liem I. Shan , Szuhai Karoly , Sørensen Helena , van Amstel Hans Kristian Ploos , Bakker Egbert , Visser Theo J. , Smit Johannes W. , Hansson Kerstin 
Published: September 2009

AbstractWe report on multiple genomic aberrations in a patient with mental retardation. In addition, he had hypogonadism, elevated thyroid hormone levels, hearing loss, delayed speech development and mild dysmorphic features. First, we identified a mosaic karyotype, 45,X/46,X,psu dic(Y). The pseudo‐dicentric Y chromosome has three short arm segments. Second, we found a germline mutation (Pro453Thr) of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (THRB) which is associated with resistance to thyroid hormone. Third, he was found to be a carrier of a heterozygous ATP7B mutation (c.2575 + 5G > C), the Wilson disease gene. Even though an array‐CGH (with a density of ∼1 Mb) did not reveal any further genomic gains or losses, we cannot exclude that all contributing factors have been identified. However, this case report shows that with increasing technological possibilities we can find more than one cause for developmental problems in a single patient. The identification of multiple causes in a single patient may complicate explaining the disorder and genetic counseling. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Physicochemical and electrochemical characterizations of organic montmorillonite (OMMT)/sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) composite membranes
Authors: Gosalawit R. , Figoli A. , Chirachanchai S. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractPhysicochemical and electrochemical properties of the organic montmorillonite (OMMT)/sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) composite membranes are considered for their use as proton conducting membranes. The paper presents the preparation and characterization of SPEEK and its composite membranes with OMMT as well as their comparison to the reference Nafion® 117 membrane. Water uptake and thermal property (Td1) are improved when the OMMT loading content increases. Methanol permeability decreases as OMMT loading content increases up to as high as 53% (5 wt% OMMT/SPEEK composite membrane). For proton conductivity, all membranes show improvement when the operating temperature increases from 25 to 90 °C. The proton conductivity at 100 °C of 3 wt% OMMT/SPEEK composite membrane (5.6 × 10−2 S/cm) is one order of magnitude higher than that of Nafion® 117 (2 × 10−3 S/cm). Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Innovative membrane based process for the selective oxidation of light alkanes assisted by the Fenton system
Authors: Espro C. , Mendolia F. , Marini S. , Frusteri F. , Parmaliana A. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractSelective oxidation of light alkanes under mild conditions (temp, 80–120 °C; pressure, 140 kPa) mediated by Fe2+/H2O2 Fenton system on Nafion based composite membranes is studied in a multifunctional three phase catalytic membrane reactor (3PCMR). The role of textural properties and acid functionality on the catalytic performance of the Nafion composite membranes is outlined. The features of the multifunctional 3PCMR, enabling reaction along with product separation and recovery, are discussed. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
New poly ether ether ketones containing phosphorus for membrane preparation
Authors: Trotta Francesco , Mio Simona Ceresa , Martina Katia , Drioli Enrico , Finocchiaro Paolo 
Published: September 2009

AbstractIn this study is reported the synthetic procedure and the characterisation of novel phosphorus containing polyether ether ketone (PEEK‐P). The new polymer was synthesized via direct polycondensation of 2,2‐bis(3‐diethylphosphono‐4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐propane and 4,4′‐difluorobenzophenone according to well known general procedure and was extensively characterized by using infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), viscosity measurements and †H‐NMR analysis. The obtained polymer is soluble in some organic solvents and the solution of phosphonated polymer could be used to obtain membranes by using the phase inversion technique. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sentiment analysis of Chinese documents: From sentence to document level
Authors: Zhang Changli , Zeng Daniel , Li Jiexun , Wang Fei‐Yue , Zuo Wanli 
Published: September 2009

AbstractUser‐generated content on the Web has become an extremely valuable source for mining and analyzing user opinions on any topic. Recent years have seen an increasing body of work investigating methods to recognize favorable and unfavorable sentiments toward specific subjects from online text. However, most of these efforts focus on English and there have been very few studies on sentiment analysis of Chinese content. This paper aims to address the unique challenges posed by Chinese sentiment analysis. We propose a rule‐based approach including two phases: (1) determining each sentence's sentiment based on word dependency, and (2) aggregating sentences to predict the document sentiment. We report the results of an experimental study comparing our approach with three machine learning‐based approaches using two sets of Chinese articles. These results illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed method and its advantages against learning‐based approaches.
Parent‐selected interventions for infants at‐risk for autism spectrum disorders and their affected siblings
Authors: Regehr Kaleigh , Feldman Maurice 
Published: September 2009

AbstractInfants with older siblings having Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are at genetically increased risk for showing characteristics of ASD in the first 2 years of life. Parents, who already have at least one child with ASD, may closely monitor their later born children and implement interventions as soon as the children begin to show what the parents believe is aberrant behavior or development that may be early stages of ASD. To date, no study has examined the number and types of services and interventions these parents access for their at‐risk infants. Using a Service and Intervention Questionnaire developed for this study, we interviewed 23 parents involved in a larger prospective study of genetically at‐risk infants who reported developmental and/or behavior problems in their at‐risk infants. Parents reported utilizing a mean of 1.83 and 7.26 services and/or interventions for their at‐risk infants and older children with ASD, respectively. Two‐thirds of the interventions received by the infants were also given to their older affected siblings. The interventions included empirically validated approaches (e.g., early intensive behavioral intervention), professional services (speech–language therapy, occupational therapy), and non‐validated treatments (e.g., diet and vitamin therapies). Overall, 81 non‐validated and 18 validated interventions were used. On a Likert‐type rating scale, parents reported being involved and satisfied with what they generally thought were effective services. They felt more involved and satisfied with ABA, and felt it was more effective than non‐validated interventions. The findings suggest that parents with infants at‐risk for ASD and an older affected child will access a variety of autism services for both children, but the parents will implement primarily non‐validated interventions. Parent education is recommended to help parents make informed treatment decisions for their children. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Modeling the influence of cyclodextrins on oral absorption of low solubility drugs: II. Experimental validation
Authors: Gamsiz Ece Dilber , Miller Lee , Thombre Avinash G. , Ahmed Imran , Carrier Rebecca Lyn 
Published: September 2009

AbstractA model was developed for predicting the influence of cyclodextrins (CDs) delivered as a physical mixture with drug on oral absorption. CDs are cyclic oligosaccharides which form inclusion complexes with many drugs and are often used as solubilizing agents. The purpose of this work is to compare the simulation predictions with in vitro as well as in vivo experimental results to test the model's ability to capture the influence of CD on key processes in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract environment. Dissolution and absorption kinetics of low solubility drugs (Naproxen and Nifedipine) were tested in the presence and absence of CD in a simulated gastrointestinal environment. Model predictions were also compared with in vivo experimental results (Glibenclamide and Carbamazepine) from the literature to demonstrate the model's ability to predict oral bioavailability. Comparisons of simulation and experimental results indicate that a model incorporating the influence of CD (delivered as a physical mixture) on dissolution kinetics and binding of neutral drug can predict trends in the influence of CD on bioavailability. Overall, a minimal effect of CD dosed as a physical mixture was observed and predicted. Modeling may aid in enabling rational design of CD containing formulations. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010; 105: 421–430. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Irreversible thermoinactivation of ribonuclease‐A by soft‐hydrothermal processing
Authors: Miyamoto Toru , Okano Shinya , Kasai Noriyuki 
Published: September 2009

AbstractRibonuclease (RNase), which often represents molecular biological contamination, is a thermostable enzyme. When RNase is heated at 121°C by autoclave sterilization for 20 min, it does not lose its activity. However, the nature of the molecular events by which the irreversible denaturation occurs remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of irreversible thermal denaturation of RNase A and to develop an advanced sterilization method using soft‐hydrothermal processing, which has the advantages of improved safety and cost‐efficiency. The enzymatic activity of RNase was measured using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with torula yeast RNA. We evaluated the temperature and time course of irreversible thermoinactivation of RNase by normal autoclaving, hot‐air sterilization, and soft‐hydrothermal processing that had been controlled to the desired steam saturation ratio. The results indicated that RNase A was deactivated by autoclave sterilization (121°C, 20 min) immediately after treatment, but was reactivated over time. Hot‐air sterilization (180°C, atmospheric pressure, 60 min) produced results similar to that of autoclave sterilization. In contrast, RNase A was irreversibly thermoinactivated by soft‐hydrothermal processing (110°C, 20 min) at 100% steam saturation ratio. We also determined that the mechanism of irreversible thermoinactivation of RNase A involved hydrolysis and deamidation under this condition at a steam saturation ratio of more than 100%. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009
Using highly efficient nonlinear experimental design methods for optimization of Lactococcus lactis fermentation in chemically defined media
Authors: Zhang Guiying , Block David E. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractOptimization of fermentation media and processes is a difficult task due to the potential for high dimensionality and nonlinearity. Here we develop and evaluate variations on two novel and highly efficient methods for experimental fermentation optimization. The first approach is based on using a truncated genetic algorithm with a developing neural network model to choose the best experiments to run. The second approach uses information theory, along with Bayesian regularized neural network models, for experiment selection. To evaluate these methods experimentally, we used them to develop a new chemically defined medium for Lactococcus lactis IL1403, along with an optimal temperature and initial pH, to achieve maximum cell growth. The media consisted of 19 defined components or groups of components. The optimization results show that the maximum cell growth from the optimal process of each novel method is generally comparable to or higher than that achieved using a traditional statistical experimental design method, but these optima are reached in about half of the experiments (73–94 vs. 161, depending on the variants of methods). The optimal chemically defined media developed in this work are rich media that can support high cell density growth 3.5–4 times higher than the best reported synthetic medium and 72% higher than a commonly used complex medium (M17) at optimization scale. The best chemically defined medium found using the method was evaluated and compared with other defined or complex media at flask‐ and fermentor‐scales. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009