bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Automated Measurements of Road Cracks Using Line-Scan Imaging
Authors: Yao Xun , Yao Ming , Xu Bugao 
Published: February 2011

Abstract
This paper presents a new line-scan imaging system for automated measurements of road crack. The system consists of off-the-shelf hardware for real-time image acquisition and the customized image-analysis software for crack detection. A line-scan camera with 2 k pixels, a GigE interface, and a line rate up to 36 kHz was used to scan 3.6-m wide pavements at highway speeds, and a laser line projector was used to cast a transverse beam that overlays the scanline of the camera to eliminate shadows of vehicles and roadside objects and to maintain consistent lighting conditions. In the crack detection algorithms, a pavement image was first divided into grids of 8×8 pixels, and each grid was classified either as a non-crack or crack grid (called seed) using the pixel information of the grid and the overall background. Then, seeds in the vicinity were connected based on geometrical and intensity constrains. The connected seeds served as a candidate for a crack, which were further verified by using the contrast to the pixels along its trace. The paper also reports the experimental results on a designated pavement that was manually rated by an expert, and scanned three-times by the system. The statistic analysis showed that the difference in crack length between the manual and automatic measurements was less than 10 %, and no significant difference among the multiple scans by the system.
Nanometeraufgelöste Koordinatenmesstechnik mit elektrischer Werkstückantastung
Authors: Hoffmann Jörg , Schuler Alexander 
Published: February 2011

Zusammenfassung
Koordinatenmesstechnik gehört vor allem im Maschinenbau zu den Kernelementen der industriellen Qualitätssicherung. Ihre Anwendung kann auch in der Mikrotechnologie zur Bewältigung zahlreicher Herausforderungen im Bereich der geometrischen Werkstückprüfung beitragen, wenn es gelingt praktische Probleme der taktilen Antastung bei der Messung von Mikromerkmalen zu überwinden. Mit kleiner werdenden Tastelementen — Voraussetzung für die Antastung von Mikromerkmalen — wird es überproportional schwieriger, statische und dynamische Antastkräfte so zu begrenzen, dass Beschädigungen von Werkstück und/oder Tastsystem vermieden werden können. Am Lehrstuhl Qualitätsmanagement und Fertigungsmesstechnik der Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg wurde als Alternative zu taktilen Tastsystemen ein berührungslos arbeitendes, auf elektrischer Wechselwirkung beruhendes 3D-Mikrotastsystem entwickelt und wissenschaftlich untersucht, welches für 3D Mikrokoordinatenmesstechnik und Nanometer-aufgelöste Topographiemessungen eingesetzt werden kann.
Sustained and Rapid Chromosome Movements Are Critical for Chromosome Pairing and Meiotic Progression in Budding Yeast
Authors: Brown Megan Sonntag , Zanders Sarah , Alani Eric 
Published: February 2011

AbstractTelomere-led chromosome movements are a conserved feature of meiosis I (MI) prophase. Several roles have been proposed for such chromosome motion, including promoting homolog pairing and removing inappropriate chromosomal interactions. Here, we provide evidence in budding yeast that rapid chromosome movements affect homolog pairing and recombination. We found that csm4Δ strains, which are defective for telomere-led chromosome movements, show defects in homolog pairing as measured in a “one-dot/two-dot tetR-GFP” assay; however, pairing in csm4Δ eventually reaches near wild-type (WT) levels. Charged-to-alanine scanning mutagenesis of CSM4 yielded one allele, csm4-3, that confers a csm4Δ-like delay in meiotic prophase but promotes high spore viability. The meiotic delay in csm4-3 strains is essential for spore viability because a null mutation (rad17Δ) in the Rad17 checkpoint protein suppresses the delay but confers a severe spore viability defect. csm4-3 mutants show a general defect in chromosome motion but an intermediate defect in chromosome pairing. Chromosome velocity analysis in live cells showed that while average chromosome velocity was strongly reduced in csm4-3, chromosomes in this mutant displayed occasional rapid movements. Lastly, we observed that spo11 mutants displaying lower levels of meiosis-induced double-strand breaks showed higher spore viability in the presence of the csm4-3 mutation compared to csm4Δ. On the basis of these observations, we propose that during meiotic prophase the presence of occasional fast moving chromosomes over an extended period of time is sufficient to promote WT levels of recombination and high spore viability; however, sustained and rapid chromosome movements are required to prevent a checkpoint response and promote efficient meiotic progression.
Nosocomial Infection Reduction in VLBW Infants With a Statewide Quality-Improvement Model
Authors: Wirtschafter David D. , Powers Richard J. , Pettit Janet S. , Lee Henry C. , Boscardin W. John , Ahmad Subeh Mohammad , Gould Jeffrey B. 
Published: February 2011

OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the effectiveness of the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative quality-improvement model using a toolkit supplemented by workshops and Web casts in decreasing nosocomial infections in very low birth weight infants.

DESIGN:
This was a retrospective cohort study of continuous California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative members' data during the years 2002–2006. The primary dependent variable was nosocomial infection, defined as a late bacterial or coagulase-negative staphylococcal infection diagnosed after the age of 3 days by positive blood/cerebro-spinal fluid culture(s) and clinical criteria. The primary independent variable of interest was voluntary attendance at the toolkit's introductory event, a direct indicator that at least 1 member of an NICU team had been personally exposed to the toolkit's features rather than being only notified of its availability. The intervention's effects were assessed using a multivariable logistic regression model that risk adjusted for selected demographic and clinical factors.

RESULTS:
During the study period, 7733 eligible very low birth weight infants were born in 27 quality-improvement participant hospitals and 4512 very low birth weight infants were born in 27 non–quality-improvement participant hospitals. For the entire cohort, the rate of nosocomial infection decreased from 16.9% in 2002 to 14.5% in 2006. For infants admitted to NICUs participating in at least 1 quality-improvement event, there was an associated decreased risk of nosocomial infection (odds ratio: 0.81 [95% confidence interval: 0.68–0.96]) compared with those admitted to nonparticipating hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS:
The structured intervention approach to quality improvement in the NICU setting, using a toolkit along with attendance at a workshop and/or Web cast, is an effective means by which to improve care outcomes.
Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Prevalence of Cerebral Palsy
Authors: Wu Yvonne W. , Xing Guibo , Fuentes-Afflick Elena , Danielson Beate , Smith Lloyd H. , Gilbert William M. 
Published: February 2011

OBJECTIVE:
Racial and ethnic disparities in cerebral palsy have been documented, but the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. We determined whether low birth weight accounts for ethnic disparities in the prevalence of cerebral palsy and whether socioeconomic factors impact cerebral palsy within racial and ethnic groups.

METHODS:
In a retrospective cohort of 6.2 million births in California between 1991 and 2001, we compared maternal and infant characteristics among 8397 infants with cerebral palsy who qualified for services from the California Department of Health Services and unaffected infants.

RESULTS:
Overall, black infants were 29% more likely to have cerebral palsy than white infants (relative risk: 1.29 [95% confidence interval: 1.19–1.39]). However, black infants who were very low or moderately low birth weight were 21% to 29% less likely to have cerebral palsy than white infants of comparable birth weight. After we adjusted for birth weight, there was no difference in the risk of cerebral palsy between black and white infants. In multivariate analyses, women of all ethnicities who did not receive any prenatal care were twice as likely to have infants with cerebral palsy relative to women with an early onset of prenatal care. Maternal education was associated with cerebral palsy in a dose-response fashion among white and Hispanic women. Hispanic adolescent mothers (aged &lt;18 years) had increased risk of having a child with cerebral palsy.

CONCLUSIONS:
The increased risk of cerebral palsy among black infants is primarily related to their higher risk of low birth weight. Understanding how educational attainment and use of prenatal care impact the risk of cerebral palsy may inform new prevention strategies.
Population Case-Control Study of Cerebral Palsy: Neonatal Predictors for Low-Risk Term Singletons
Authors: McIntyre Sarah , Badawi Nadia , Brown Chris , Blair Eve 
Published: February 2011

OBJECTIVES:For singletons with cerebral palsy (CP) who were born at term, the goals were (1) to determine the proportion not admitted to a Special Care Unit/NICU (NICU), (2) to compare clinical descriptions of those admitted to NICUs and those not admitted, and (3) to identify neonatal predictors of CP among those not admitted to a NICU.METHODS:A total-population case- (N = 442) control (N = 468) study of, singleton, term-born infants with CP, as ascertained from the Western Australian Cerebral Palsy Register, was performed.RESULTS:All types of CP were represented among the 67% of term infants with CP (N = 295) who were not admitted to a NICU, which also included 54% of the subjects with the most severe impairments. Independent neonatal predictors were abnormalities of tone (odds ratio [OR]: 7.3 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 2–26.8]), temperature regulation (OR: 4.1 [95% CI: 1.2–14]), consciousness (OR: 3.7 [95% CI: 2–7]), and fontanelles (OR: 4.4 [95% CI: 0.8–23]), requirement for resuscitation (OR: 2.9 [95% CI: 2.2–12.9]), and birth defects (OR: 5.1 [95% CI: 2.4–10]). The risk of CP increased with the number of factors, but 58% of subjects who were not admitted to a NICU exhibited none of these factors.CONCLUSIONS:Neonatal predictors of CP among term infants not admitted to a NICU were identified. However, 39% of all term singletons with CP were not admitted to a NICU and exhibited none of these predictors.
The Scope of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury on YouTube
Authors: Lewis Stephen P. , Heath Nancy L. , St Denis Jill M. , Noble Rick 
Published: February 2011

OBJECTIVE:
Nonsuicidal self-injury, the deliberate destruction of one's body tissue (eg, self-cutting, burning) without suicidal intent, has consistent rates ranging from 14% to 24% among youth and young adults. With more youth using video-sharing Web sites (eg, YouTube), this study examined the accessibility and scope of nonsuicidal self-injury videos online.

METHODS:
Using YouTube's search engine (and the following key words: “self-injury” and “self-harm”), the 50 most viewed character (ie, with a live individual) and noncharacter videos (100 total) were selected and examined across key quantitative and qualitative variables.

RESULTS:
The top 100 videos analyzed were viewed over 2 million times, and most (80%) were accessible to a general audience. Viewers rated the videos positively (M = 4.61; SD: 0.61 out of 5.0) and selected videos as a favorite over 12 000 times. The videos' tones were largely factual or educational (53%) or melancholic (51%). Explicit imagery of self-injury was common. Specifically, 90% of noncharacter videos had nonsuicidal self-injury photographs, whereas 28% of character videos had in-action nonsuicidal self-injury. For both, cutting was the most common method. Many videos (58%) do not warn about this content.

CONCLUSIONS:
The nature of nonsuicidal self-injury videos on YouTube may foster normalization of nonsuicidal self-injury and may reinforce the behavior through regular viewing of nonsuicidal self-injury–themed videos. Graphic videos showing nonsuicidal self-injury are frequently accessed and received positively by viewers. These videos largely provide nonsuicidal self-injury information and/or express a hopeless or melancholic message. Professionals working with youth and young adults who enact nonsuicidal self-injury need to be aware of the scope and nature of nonsuicidal self-injury on YouTube.
Implementation of Goal-Directed Therapy for Children With Suspected Sepsis in the Emergency Department
Authors: Cruz Andrea T. , Perry Andrew M. , Williams Eric A. , Graf Jeanine M. , Wuestner Elizabeth R. , Patel Binita 
Published: February 2011

BACKGROUND:
Suboptimal care for children with septic shock includes delayed recognition and inadequate fluid resuscitation.

OBJECTIVE:
To describe the implementation of an emergency department (ED) protocol for the recognition of septic shock and facilitate adherence to national treatment guidelines.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:
Root-cause analyses and morbidity and mortality conferences identified system problems with sepsis recognition and management. A group of ED and critical care physicians met to identify barriers and create solutions.

RESULTS:
To facilitate sepsis recognition, a computerized triage system alarmed on abnormal vital signs, and then toxic-appearing children or children at high risk for invasive infection were placed in a resuscitation room. To facilitate timely delivery of interventions, additional nursing, respiratory therapy, and pharmacy personnel were recruited. Fluids were administered via syringe delivery; standardized laboratory studies and antibiotics were ordered and prioritized. Frequent vital-sign measurements and interventions were documented on a graphical flow sheet to facilitate interpretation of physiologic response to therapy. After protocol initiation, there were 191 encounters in 167 patients with suspected sepsis. When compared with children seen before the protocol, time from triage to first bolus decreased from a median of 56 to 22 minutes (P &lt; .001) and triage to first antibiotics decreased from a median of 130 to 38 minutes (P &lt; .001).

CONCLUSIONS:
The protocol resulted in earlier recognition of suspected sepsis and substantial reductions in both time to receipt of time-sensitive interventions and a decrement in treatment variation.
Controversies in the Adjuvant Therapy of High-Grade Gliomas
Authors: Holdhoff Matthias , Grossman Stuart A. 
Published: February 2011

Abstract
The 2-year survival rate of patients with glioblastoma accrued to research studies increased from 10% to nearly 40% from 2000 to 2010. These improvements began with the demonstration of a survival benefit when daily temozolomide was administered with 6 weeks of standard radiation and for 6 months thereafter. This treatment regimen is often associated with significant lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, and progressive blood–brain barrier dysfunction that can result in clinical and radiologic deterioration without true tumor progression (“pseudoprogression”). With new evidence that combining this cytotoxic agent with radiation improves survival in this malignancy, many investigators have modified the regimen to further improve patient outcomes. These largely uncontrolled studies highlight controversies regarding the optimal therapy of this disease. This review focuses on the following selected controversies: (a) What is the appropriate temozolomide dose, schedule, and duration in the postradiation period? (b) How should other U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved therapies (such as carmustine wafers and bevacizumab) be incorporated into this treatment regimen? (c) Should the results in glioblastoma be extrapolated to patients aged &gt;70 and to patients with lower grade gliomas? and (d) How should novel therapeutic approaches be added to radiation and temozolomide in clinical trials for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma?
Treatment of Intrabony Defects After Impacted Mandibular Third Molar Removal With Bioabsorbable and Non‐Resorbable Membranes
Authors: Corinaldesi Giuseppe , Lizio Giuseppe , Badiali Giovanni , Morselli‐Labate Antonio M. , Marchetti Claudio 
Published: February 2011

Background: Mandibular second molar (M2) periodontal defects after third molar (M3) removal in high‐risk patients are a clinical dilemma for clinicians. This study compares the healing of periodontal intrabony defects at distal surfaces of mandibular M2s using bioabsorbable and non‐resorbable membranes.Methods: Eleven patients with bilateral probing depths (PDs) ≥6 mm distal to mandibular M2s and intrabony defects ≥3 mm, related to the total impaction of M3s, were treated with M3 extraction and covering of the surgical bone defect with a bioabsorbable collagen barrier on one side and a non‐resorbable expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) barrier contralaterally. The PD, clinical attachment level (CAL), M2 mobility, and furcation class probing were evaluated preoperatively and 3, 6, and 9 months postoperatively. Intraoral periapical radiographs were taken immediately preoperatively and 3 and 9 months postoperatively.Results: Both treatment modalities were successful. At 9 months, the mean PD reduction was 5.2 ± 3.9 mm for bioabsorbable sites and 5.5 ± 3.0 mm for non‐resorbable sites; the CAL gain was 5.9 ± 3.3 mm and 5.5 ± 3.4 mm, respectively. The outcome difference between the two sites for PD and CAL did not differ statistically (P >0.05) at any assessment time.Conclusion: Bioabsorbable collagen membranes in guided tissue regeneration treatment of intrabony defects distal to the mandibular M2 obtained the same marked PD reductions and CAL gains as non‐resorbable ePTFE membranes after M3 extraction.
Antibody Responses to Periodontopathic Bacteria in Relation to Rheumatoid Arthritis in Japanese Adults
Authors: Okada Moe , Kobayashi Tetsuo , Ito Satoshi , Yokoyama Tomoko , Komatsu Yasutaka , Abe Asami , Murasawa Akira , Yoshie Hiromasa 
Published: February 2011

Background: Periodontopathic bacteria have been implicated as contributory to the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Anticyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibodies and rheumatoid factor (RF) were shown to be associated with RA. This study examines whether serum levels of antibodies to periodontopathic bacteria may affect clinical and laboratory profiles of RA.Methods: The study participants consisted of 80 patients with RA, and 38 age‐, sex‐, smoking status–, and periodontal condition–balanced healthy controls. After periodontal and rheumatologic examination, serum levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), Prevotella intermedia, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) (previously Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans), and Eikenella corrodens (Ec) and those of anti‐CCP antibodies and RF were determined by an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.Results: Patients with RA showed significantly higher levels of anti–Pg and anti‐CCP antibodies than controls (P = 0.04 and P <0.0001). In contrast, IgG responses to Aa and Ec in patients with RA were significantly lower than those in controls (P <0.0001 and P = 0.0001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association of anti–Pg and anti–Aa IgG responses with RA, after adjustment for age, sex, and smoking (P = 0.005 and P = 0.02). Anti–Pg titer displayed a significant correlation with RF levels, probing depth, and clinical attachment level (P = 0.03, P = 0.03, and P = 0.02).Conclusion: These results suggest that serum levels of anti–Pg IgG antibodies were associated with RA, and might affect serum levels of RF and periodontal condition in patients with RA.
Partition Perforation Optimization for Horizontal Wells Based on Genetic Algorithms
Authors: Zhiming Wang , Jianguang Wei , Hui Jin 
Published: February 2011

Summary
Because of heterogeneity in permeability along horizontal wellbores, early water breakthrough and rapid water-cut increase are always observed in high-permeability completion intervals when a uniform perforating scheme, as a common practice, is applied throughout the wellbore. Optimization on perforation parameters along horizontal intervals helps homogenize the inflow-velocity profile and thus is critically important for enhanced oil recovery. This paper derives a coupled reservoir/wellbore flow model that is based on inflow-velocity-control theory. Genetic algorithms are applied to solve the model because they excel in obtaining the global optimal on discrete functions. The optimized perforating strategy applies a low perforation density in high-permeability intervals and high perforation density in low-permeability intervals. As a result, the inflow-velocity profile is homogenized and idealized.
Using Regression Analysis To Relate Safety and Environmental Outcomes to Incidence Factors
Authors: Jablonowski C.J.. J. 
Published: February 2011

Summary
This paper addresses the need for more-rigorous quantitative analysis of health, safety, and environmental (HSE) data. Regression analysis is proposed and demonstrated as a tool to be used within the data-analysis function of an operator's safety-management system (SMS). It is argued that regression analysis can provide incremental value relative to qualitative or basic statistical analysis. A case study is employed to demonstrate how specific hypotheses can be tested in a systematic way. Results from such studies can be brought to bear on operational and safety-management policy decisions. As results of such studies accumulate over the long term, resources will be allocated more efficiently and new best practices will emerge.
First Correlation of NORM with a Specific Geological Hypothesis
Authors: Smith Andrew L 
Published: February 2011

Abstract
It is now possible to relate most oil and gas reserves to six stratigraphic black shale formations which include the majority of the world's oil and gas source rocks (Ulmishek and Klemme, 1990). From 1997 the US Dept of Energy attempted to predict the activity of NORM and other factors which may affect the activity and / or occurrence of NORM in E&P production operations (Chriss 2002). Black shales are the source rocks for petroleum trapped within Uranium deposits (IAEA 2009).
According to current ideas kerogen† is the organic constituent of sedimentary materials that is associated with petroleum formation. Kerogen is considered by petroleum geologists as being of two different varieties: humic kerogen associated with poor oil sources and sapropelic‡ kerogen, related to subaqueous sediments and associated with rich oil sources. Oil and gas is formed by the thermal cracking of organic matter (kerogen) trapped in sedimentary rock.
Two hypotheses regarding NORM in E&P production operations need to be considered. The first hypothesis is that NORM is produced by locally high U and Th concentrations in the reservoir rocks. If this is generally true, NORM scale will be largely controlled by the geological formation and lithology. The second hypothesis is that NORM is released from ordinary geological media during normal geological processes. If this is generally true, the potential for NORM scale precipitation may be predicted largely from basin setting and history.
A worldwide survey comprising a comprehensive review and detailed analysis of reported NORM activity in oilfield scales has now determined which of these hypotheses prevails. For the first time management will now have the ability to predict the magnitude of NORM in E&P facilities worldwide.