bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Could a peer-led intervention increase uptake of chlamydia screening? A proof of principle pilot study
Authors: Loaring Jessica , Hickman Matthew , Oliver Isabel , Campbell Rona , Trotter Caroline , Macleod John , Pye Karl , Crichton Joanna , Horner Paddy 
Published: August 2012

BackgroundUptake of the English National Chlamydia Screening Programme is lower than predicted necessary to result in a rapid fall in chlamydia prevalence. Peer-led approaches may increase screening uptake but their feasibility and acceptability to young people is not known.MethodsFocus groups and interviews with young women and men. Following interview, chlamydia postal kits were introduced to participants and their opinions on giving these out to their peers sought. Participants were asked for their views and experiences of discussing chlamydia screening and distributing kits to their friends 4–8 weeks after the focus group/interview. All kits returned to the laboratory over a 9-month period were recorded.ResultsSix men (mean age 19 years) and six women (mean age 20 years) were recruited. In total 45 kits were distributed, 33 (73%) to female participants. 22 (67%) and 3 (25%) of kits given to females and males, respectively, were given to peers. Ten kits (22%; seven female, three male) all of which had been given out by females, were returned for testing. Participants generally felt positive about the idea of peer-led screening (PLS) using postal kits. However, embarrassment was a key theme, particularly among men. Generally women but not men were able to discuss PLS among their close friends. Both sexes felt PLS would be easier if kits were readily available in multiple sites, and chlamydia screening was more widely promoted.ConclusionFemale PLS but not male PLS was successful in recruiting peers to participate in chlamydia screening. An evaluation of the acceptability and cost-effectiveness of PLS is now indicated.
Adaptive route choice model for public transit systems: an application of Markov decision processes
Authors: Rouhieh Behzad , Alecsandru Ciprian 
Published: August 2012

Over the past couple of decades the advancements in the areas of information and computational technology allowed for a variety of intelligent transportation systems developments and deployments. This study investigates an advanced traveler information system (ATIS) and (or) an advanced public transit system (APTS) adaptive and real-time transit routing component. The proposed methodology is applied to bus routes with fixed, predefined bus line alignments. It is shown that routing buses on such systems can be modeled in real-time by employing an associated Markov chain with reward model to minimize the impact of congested traffic conditions on the travelers and the overall operation cost of the transit system. A case study using a traffic and transit data from a real-world bus line was used to apply the proposed bus routing approach. It was found that under certain traffic congestion conditions buses should be re-routed to minimize their travel time and the associated system costs. The hypothetical congestion scenarios investigated show that individual bus travel time delays range between 50 and 740 s when the proposed adaptive routing is employed. The proposed methodology is also suitable for application to transit systems that run on a demand-adaptive basis (the bus line alignment changes with the travelers demand). Additional calibration and future integration of the system into specific ATIS and (or) APTS user services will be investigated.
Thalidomide in Total Therapy 2 Overcomes Inferior Prognosis of Myeloma with Low Expression of the Glucocorticoid Receptor GeneNR3C1
Authors: Heuck Christoph J. , Szymonifka Jackie , Hansen Emily , Shaughnessy John D. , Usmani Saad Z. , van Rhee Frits , Anaissie Elias , Nair Bijay , Waheed Sarah , Alsayed Yazan , Petty Nathan , Bailey Clyde , Epstein Joshua , Hoering Antje , Crowley John , Barlogie Bart 
Published: August 2012

AbstractPurpose: Because dexamethasone remains a key component of myeloma therapy, we wished to examine the impact of baseline and relapse expression levels of the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 on survival outcomes in the context of treatment with or without thalidomide.Experimental Design: We investigated the clinical impact of gene expression profiling (GEP)–derived expression levels of NR3C1 in 351 patients with GEP data available at baseline and in 130 with data available at relapse, among 668 subjects accrued to total therapy 2 (TT2).Results: Low NR3C1 expression levels had a negative impact on progression-free survival (PFS; HR, 1.47; P = 0.030) and overall survival (OS; HR, 1.90; P = 0.002) in the no-thalidomide arm. Conversely, there was a significant clinical benefit of thalidomide for patients with low receptor levels (OS: HR, 0.54; P = 0.015; PFS: HR, 0.54; P = 0.004), mediated most likely by thalidomide's upregulation of NR3C1. In the context of both baseline and relapse parameters, post-relapse survival (PRS) was adversely affected by low NR3C1 levels at relapse in a multivariate analysis (HR, 2.61; P = 0.012).Conclusion: These findings justify the inclusion of NR3C1 expression data in the work-up of patients with myeloma as it can significantly influence the choice of therapy and, ultimately, OS. The identification of an interaction term between thalidomide and NR3C1 underscores the importance of pharmacogenomic studies in the systematic study of new drugs. Clin Cancer Res; 18(19); 5499–506. ©2012 AACR.
Contrasted Outcomes to Gefitinib on Tumoral IGF1R Expression in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Postoperative Chemoradiation (GORTEC Trial 2004-02)
Authors: Thariat Juliette , Bensadoun René-Jean , Etienne-Grimaldi Marie-Christine , Grall Dominique , Penault-Llorca Frédérique , Dassonville Olivier , Bertucci Francois , Cayre Anne , De Raucourt Dominique , Geoffrois Lionnel , Finetti Pascal , Giraud Philippe , Racadot Séverine , Morinière Sylvain , Sudaka Anne , Van Obberghen-Schilling Ellen , Milano Gérard 
Published: August 2012

AbstractPurpose: Intermediate/high-risk operated patients with head and neck cancer may benefit from the addition of EGF receptor (EGFR) inhibitor gefitinib to chemoradiation. This study was designed to assess improved outcomes and identify predictive biomarkers.Experimental Design: Patients provided informed consent for tumor biomarker analyses and, when eligible, were further enrolled in the therapeutic CARISSA multicenter randomized phase II trial of postoperative irradiation with cisplatin + gefitinib (GORTEC 2004-02-NCT00169221).Results: Seventy-nine patients were included in the biomarker study, whereas 27 did not meet prerequisites for randomization between gefitinib and placebo. Two-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 65.0% and did not differ between randomized patients treated with gefitinib or placebo (P = 0.85). The similarity of DFS curves between nonrandomized patients (n = 27), randomized patients without gefitinib (n = 27), and randomized patients receiving gefitinib (n = 25), and similar histoclinical parameter distributions for all groups, allowed us to conduct statistical analyses on the entire population. On multivariate analysis, elevated expression of PAK1 by Western blotting, CD31 and membranous insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) both by immunohistochemistry was significantly associated with shorter DFS. There was a significant interaction between IGF1R and gefitinib. Gefitinib abolished the prognostic discriminative power of high IGF1R expression; patients with elevated IGF1R expression benefited from gefitinib whereas those with low IGF1R fared worse.Conclusion: Gefitinib treatment affords no significant clinical benefit on DFS in an unselected population of patients with head and neck cancer. Our results point to the potential advantage of personalizing treatment for gefitinib based on tumoral IGF1R expression. This should foster confirmatory analyses in trials involving EGFR-targeting agents. Clin Cancer Res; 18(18); 5123–33. ©2012 AACR.
Effect of β-Blocker Cessation on Chronotropic Incompetence and Exercise Tolerance in Patients With Advanced Heart Failure
Authors: Hirsh Benjamin J. , Mignatti Andrea , Garan A. Reshad , Uriel Nir , Colombo Paolo , Sims Daniel B. , Jorde Ulrich P. 
Published: August 2012

Background—
Chronotropic incompetence is defined as the inability to reach 80% of heart rate (HR) reserve or 80% of the maximally predicted HR during exercise. The presence of chronotropic incompetence is associated with reduced peak oxygen consumption, and rate–responsive pacing therapy is under investigation to improve exercise capacity in heart failure (HF). However, uncertainty exists about whether chronotropic incompetence and reduced exercise tolerance in HF are attributable to β-blockade.

Methods and Results—

Subjects with HF and receiving long-term β-blocker therapy underwent cardiopulmonary exercise tolerance testing under 2 conditions in random sequence: (1) after a 27-hour washout period (Off-BB) and (2) 3 hours after β-blocker ingestion (On-BB). Norepinephrine levels were drawn at rest and at peak exercise. β1-response to norepinephrine was assessed using the chronotropic responsiveness index: ΔHR/Δlog norepinephrine. Nineteen patients with systolic HF (left ventricular ejection fraction, 22.8±7.7%) were enrolled. Mean age was 49.4±12.3 years. Average carvedilol equivalent dose was 29.1±17.0 mg daily. Peak HR off/on β-blockers was 62.7±18.7% and 51.4±18.2% HR reserve (
P
<0.01) and 79.1±11.0% and 70.3±12.3% maximally predicted HR (
P
<0.01). For the Off-BB and On-BB conditions, the respiratory exchange ratios were 1.05±0.06 and 1.05±0.10 (
P
=0.77), respectively, confirming maximal and near identical effort in both conditions. The peak oxygen consumption was 16.6±3.34 and 15.9±3.31 mL/kg/min (
P
=0.03), and the chronotropic responsiveness index was 19.3±7.2 and 16.2±7.1 (
P
=0.18).

Conclusions—
Acute β-blocker cessation does not normalize the chronotropic response to exercise in patients with advanced HF and chronotropic incompetence.
Myocardial Perfusion Reserve Assessed by T2-Prepared Steady-State Free Precession Blood Oxygen Level–Dependent Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Comparison to Fractional Flow Reserve
Authors: Walcher Thomas , Manzke Robert , Hombach Vinzenz , Rottbauer Wolfgang , Wöhrle Jochen , Bernhardt Peter 
Published: August 2012

Background—
Blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has been shown to be able to detect myocardial perfusion differences. However, validation of BOLD CMR against fractional flow reserve (FFR) is lacking. The aim of our study was to analyze the potential diagnostic accuracy of BOLD CMR in comparison to invasively measured FFR, which served as gold standard for a hemodynamic significant coronary lesion.

Methods and Results—

BOLD image was performed at rest and during adenosine infusion in a 1.5-T CMR scanner. Thirty-six patients were analyzed for relative BOLD signal intensity increase according to the 16-segment model. Invasive FFR measurements were performed in the 3 major coronary arteries during adenosine infusion in all patients. An FFR≤0.8 was regarded to indicate a significant coronary lesion. Relative BOLD signal intensity increase was significantly lower in myocardial segments supplied by coronary arteries with an FFR≤0.8 compared with segments with an FFR>0.8 (1.1±0.2 versus 1.5±0.2;
P
<0.0001). Sensitivity and specificity yielded 88.2% and 89.5%, respectively.

Conclusions—
CMR BOLD imaging reliably detects hemodynamic significant coronary artery disease and is, thus, an alternative to contrast–enhanced perfusion studies.
Improvement in Coronary Blood Flow Velocity With Acute Biventricular Pacing Is Predominantly Due to an Increase in a Diastolic Backward-Travelling Decompression (Suction) Wave
Authors: Kyriacou Andreas , Whinnett Zachary I. , Sen Sayan , Pabari Punam A. , Wright Ian , Cornelussen Richard , Lefroy David , Davies D. Wyn , Peters Nicholas S. , Kanagaratnam Prapa , Mayet Jamil , Hughes Alun D. , Francis Darrel P. , Davies Justin E. 
Published: August 2012

Background—
Normal coronary blood flow is principally determined by a backward-traveling decompression (suction) wave in diastole. Dyssynchronous chronic heart failure may attenuate suction, because regional relaxation and contraction overlap in timing. We hypothesized that biventricular pacing, by restoring left ventricular (LV) synchronization and improving LV relaxation, might increase this suction wave, improving coronary flow.

Method and Results—

Ten patients with chronic heart failure (9 males; age 65±12; ejection fraction 26±7%) with left bundle-branch block (LBBB; QRS duration 174±18 ms) were atriobiventricularly paced at 100 bpm. LV pressure was measured and wave intensity calculated from invasive coronary flow velocity and pressure, with native conduction (LBBB) and during biventricular pacing at atrioventricular (AV) delays of 40 ms, 120 ms, and separately preidentified hemodynamically optimal AV delay. In comparison with LBBB, biventricular pacing at separately preidentified hemodynamically optimal AV delay (BiV-Opt) enhanced coronary flow velocity time integral by 15% (7%–25%) (
P
=0.007), LV dP/dt
max
by 15% (10%–21%) (
P
=0.005), and
neg
dP/dt
max
by 17% (9%–22%) (
P
=0.005). The cumulative intensity of the diastolic backward decompression (suction) wave increased by 26% (18%–54%) (
P
=0.005). The majority of the increase in coronary flow velocity time integral occurred in diastole (69% [41%–84% ];
P
=0.047). The systolic compression waves also increased: forward by 36% (6%–49%) (
P
=0.022) and backward by 38% (20%–55%) (
P
=0.022). Biventricular pacing at AV delays of 120 ms generated a smaller LV dP/dt
max
(by 12% [5%–23% ],
P
=0.013) and
neg
dP/dt
max
(by 15% [8%–40% ];
P
=0.009) increase than BiV-Opt, against LBBB as reference; BiV-Opt and biventricular pacing at AV delays of 120 ms were not significantly different in coronary flow velocity time integral or waves. Biventricular pacing at AV delays of 40 ms was no different from LBBB.

Conclusions—
When biventricular pacing improves LV contraction and relaxation, it increases coronary blood flow velocity, predominantly by increasing the dominant diastolic backward decompression (suction) wave.
Loss of Perivascular Adipose Tissue on Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptor-γ Deletion in Smooth Muscle Cells Impairs Intravascular Thermoregulation and Enhances Atherosclerosis
Authors: Chang Lin , Villacorta Luis , Li Rongxia , Hamblin Milton , Xu Wei , Dou Chunyan , Zhang Jifeng , Wu Jiarui , Zeng Rong , Chen Y. Eugene 
Published: August 2012

Background—
Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) surrounds most vessels and shares common features with brown adipose tissue (BAT). Although adaptive thermogenesis in BAT increases energy expenditure and is beneficial for metabolic diseases, little is known about the role of PVAT in vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. We hypothesize that the thermogenic function of PVAT regulates intravascular temperature and reduces atherosclerosis.

Methods and Results—
PVAT shares similar structural and proteomics with BAT. We demonstrated that PVAT has thermogenic properties similar to BAT in response to cold stimuli in vivo. Proteomics analysis of the PVAT from mice housed in a cold environment identified differential expression in proteins highly related to cellular metabolic processes. In a mouse model deficient in peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-γ in smooth muscle cells (SMPG KO mice), we uncovered a complete absence of PVAT surrounding the vasculature, likely caused by peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-γ deletion in the perivascular adipocyte precursor cells as well. Lack of PVAT, which results in loss of its thermogenic activity, impaired vascular homeostasis, which caused temperature loss and endothelial dysfunction. We further showed that cold exposure inhibits atherosclerosis and improves endothelial function in mice with intact PVAT but not in SMPG KO mice as a result of impaired lipid clearance. Proinflammatory cytokine expression in PVAT is not altered on exposure to cold. Finally, prostacyclin released from PVAT contributes to the vascular protection against endothelial dysfunction.

Conclusions—
PVAT is a vasoactive organ with functional characteristics similar to BAT and is essential for intravascular thermoregulation of cold acclimation. This thermogenic capacity of PVAT plays an important protective role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Examining Trends in Satellite-Detected Tropical Overshooting Tops as a Potential Predictor of Tropical Cyclone Rapid Intensification
Authors: Monette Sarah A. , Velden Christopher S. , Griffin Kyle S. , Rozoff Christopher M. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractA geostationary satellite–derived cloud product that is based on a tropical-overshooting-top (TOT) detection algorithm is described for applications over tropical oceans. TOTs are identified using a modified version of a midlatitude overshooting-top detection algorithm developed for severe-weather applications. The algorithm is applied to identify TOT activity associated with Atlantic Ocean tropical cyclones (TCs). The detected TOTs can serve as a proxy for “hot towers,” which represent intense convection with possible links to TC rapid intensification (RI). The purpose of this study is to describe the adaptation of the midlatitude overshooting-top detection algorithm to the tropics and to provide an initial exploration of possible correlations between TOT trends in developing TCs and subsequent RI. This is followed by a cursory examination of the TOT parameter’s potential as a predictor of RI both on its own and in multiparameter RI forecast schemes. RI forecast skill potential is investigated by examining empirical thresholds of TOT activity and trends within prescribed radii of a large sample of developing North Atlantic TC centers. An independent test on Atlantic TCs in 2006–07 reveals that an empirically based TOT scheme has potential as a predictor for RI occurring in the subsequent 24 h, especially for RI maximum wind thresholds of 25 and 30 kt (24 h)−1 (1 kt ≈ 0.5 m s−1). As expected, the stand-alone TOT-based RI scheme is comparatively less accurate than existing objective multiparameter RI prediction methods. A preliminary experiment that adds TOT-based predictors to an objective logistic regression-based scheme is shown to improve slightly the forecast skill of RI, however.
Comparing Ship-Track Droplet Sizes Inferred from Terra and Aqua MODIS Data
Authors: Kabatas Burcu , Menzel W. Paul , Bilgili Ata , Gumley Liam E. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractIn this study of ship tracks, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements from late-morning (Terra) and early-afternoon (Aqua) Earth Observing System platforms are analyzed in five separate geographically distributed cases to compare estimates of the sizes (and their changes in time) of droplets associated with ship exhaust. Ship tracks are readily detected in near-infrared imagery as bright features, especially in 2.13-μm observations. The Terra “MOD06” and Aqua “MYD06” cloud products are used to determine the effective radius of the ship-track droplets; droplet age (time in the atmosphere) is estimated as a function of the distance from the ship. Terra and Aqua MODIS estimates of droplet sizes in ship-track plumes are found to be in agreement, with a correlation greater than 0.90; for the cases studied, droplet sizes in the ship plumes are between 6 and 18 μm. Moreover, the droplets’ size growth rates inferred from the length of the ship track were found to average between 0.5 and 1.0 μm h−1.
Examination of Effective Dielectric Constants of Nonspherical Mixed-Phase Hydrometeors
Authors: Liao Liang , Meneghini Robert 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe validity of the effective dielectric constant ɛeff for nonspherical mixed-phase particles is tested by comparing the scattering parameters of ice–water mixtures for oblate and prolate spheroids obtained from the conjugate-gradient and fast Fourier transform (CGFFT) numerical scheme with those computed from the T matrix for a homogeneous particle with the derived ɛeff with the same size, shape, and orientation as that of the mixed-phase particle. The accuracy of the effective dielectric constant is evaluated by examining whether the scattering parameters of interest can reproduce those of the direct computations, that is, the CGFFT results. Computations have been run over a range of prolate and oblate spheroids of different axial ratios up to size parameters of 4. It is found that the effective dielectric constant, obtained from realizations of small particles, can be applied to a class of particle types if the fractional water content remains the same. Analysis of the results indicates that the effective dielectric constant approach is useful in computing radar and radiometer polarimetric scattering parameters of nonspherical mixed-phase particles.
Monitoring Drought Conditions and Their Uncertainties in Africa Using TRMM Data
Authors: Naumann G. , Barbosa P. , Carrao H. , Singleton A. , Vogt J. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe main objective of this study is to evaluate the uncertainties due to sample size associated with the estimation of the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and their impact on the level of confidence in drought monitoring in Africa using high-spatial-resolution data from short time series. To do this, two different rainfall datasets, each available on a monthly basis, were analyzed over four river basins in Africa—Oum er-Rbia, Limpopo, Niger, and eastern Nile—as well as at the continental level. The two precipitation datasets used were the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite monthly rainfall product 3B43 and the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre full-reanalysis gridded precipitation dataset. A nonparametric resampling bootstrap approach was used to compute the confidence bands associated with the SPI estimation, which are essential for making a qualified assessment of drought events. The comparative analysis of different datasets suggests that for reliable drought monitoring over Africa it is feasible to use short time series of remote sensing precipitation data, such as those from TRMM, that have a higher spatial resolution than other gridded precipitation data. The proposed approach for drought monitoring has the potential to be used in support of decision making at both continental and subcontinental scales over Africa or over other regions that have a sparse distribution of rainfall measurement instruments.
Assessment of Aerosol Modes Used in the MODIS Ocean Aerosol Retrieval
Authors: Wang Jiacheng , Zhao Qiang , Cui Shengcheng , Zhu Chengjie 
Published: August 2012

Abstract
Coastal and island Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites are used to determine characteristic aerosol modes over marine environments. They are compared with the assumed modes used in the operational Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) ocean aerosol algorithm, and the results show that 1) the standard deviation values of three fine aerosol modes (0.6) and one dustlike aerosol mode (0.8) are much higher than the corresponding statistical AERONET modal values (0.45 and 0.6, respectively). The values of three sea salt aerosol modes (0.6) are somewhat lower than the corresponding statistical AERONET modal value (0.675). 2) The number median radius of the current fine and dustlike aerosol modes cannot span the dynamic range of corresponding aerosol distribution properly. 3) AERONET products show that the standard deviation and the number median radius exhibit an obvious negative correlation, especially for sea salt and dustlike aerosol modes. According to this, a refinement of the current aerosol modes is made. These revised modes are used in a version of the MODIS retrieval over ocean. Compared with the current aerosol modes: 1) more retrieved aerosol optical depths (AODs) from the revised aerosol modes lie within the expected error bars and 2) the linear regression lines of the retrievals from the revised aerosol modes and AERONET are closer to the 1:1 line.