bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Peginterferon alpha-based therapy for chronic hepatitis B focusing on HBsAg clearance or seroconversion: a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials
Authors: Li Wen-cong , Wang Mao-rong , Kong Ling-bo , Ren Wei-guang , Zhang Yu-guo , Nan Yue-min 
Published: June 2011

Abstract

Background
Interferon alpha (IFNα) therapy has been widely used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) for decades. Nucleos(t)ide analogues are also increasingly used to treat CHB recently. More and more studies are being carried out concerning the clearance or seroconversion of HBsAg, which is recognized as an ideal goal of CHB therapy. This study conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the effect of pegylated interferon alpha (peginterferon α, PEG-IFNα)-based therapy on HBsAg clearance or seroconversion in CHB.

Methods
All available controlled clinical trials, published from 2004 to 2010, with the following antiviral therapies for CHB patients: PEG-IFNα combined with lamivudine (LAM), PEG-IFNα only, conventional IFNα and LAM, with a course ≥24 weeks, were meta-analysed for HBsAg clearance and seroconversion.

Results
Fourteen trials (involving a total of 2,682 patients) were identified, including seven high-quality and seven low-quality studies. The analysis results of the different antiviral therapies on HBsAg clearance or seroconversion were as follows: 1. No significant difference in HBsAg clearance or seroconversion was observed between the combination therapy group and PEG-IFNα monotherapy group [odds ratio (OR) = 1.16, 95% confidence intervals (CI) (0.73-1.85), P = 0.54 and OR = 1.07, 95% CI (0.58-1.97), P = 0.82, respectively]; 2. HBsAg clearance and seroconversion rates in patients with combination therapy were markedly higher than in those with LAM monotherapy [OR = 9.41, 95% CI (1.18-74.94), P = 0.03, and OR = 12.37, 95% CI (1.60-95.44), P = 0.02, respectively]; 3. There was significant difference in HBsAg clearance between the PEG-IFNα group and IFNα monotherapy group [OR = 4.95, 95% CI (1.23-20.00), P = 0.02], but not in seroconversion [OR = 2.44, 95% CI (0.35-17.08), P = 0.37]; 4. PEG-IFNα was superior to LAM in HBsAg seroconversion [OR = 14.59, 95% CI (1.91-111.49), P = 0.01].

Conclusions
PEG-IFNα facilitated HBsAg clearance or seroconversion in CHB patients. PEG-IFNα-based therapy was more effective than LAM monotherapy in achieving HBsAg clearance or seroconversion for both HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative CHB patients. There was no significant difference in HBsAg clearance or seroconversion between PEG-IFNα/LAM combination therapy and PEG-IFNα monotherapy. PEG-IFNα was obviously superior to conventional IFNα in HBsAg clearance, but not in HBsAg seroconversion. Although PEG-IFNα produced significantly higher rates of HBsAg clearance and seroconversion, the absolute change in the proportion of HBsAg clearance and seroconversion was low (about 3-6%). Therefore, additional interventions are needed to improve the rate of positive outcomes.
How has healthcare research performance been assessed? A systematic review
Authors: Patel Vanash M , Ashrafian Hutan , Ahmed Kamran , Arora Sonal , Jiwan Sejal , Nicholson Jeremy K , Darzi Ara , Athanasiou Thanos 
Published: June 2011

Objectives Healthcare research performance is increasingly assessed through research indicators. We performed a systematic review to identify the indicators that have been used to measure healthcare research performance. We evaluated their feasibility, validity, reliability and acceptability; and finally assessed the utility of these indicators in terms of measuring performance in individuals, specialties, institutions and countries. Design A systematic review was performed by searching EMBASE, PsycINFO, Ovid MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases between 1950 and September 2010. Setting Studies of healthcare research were appraised. Healthcare was defined as the prevention, treatment and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical wellbeing through the services offered by the medical and allied health professions. Participants All original studies that evaluated research performance indicators in healthcare were included. Main outcome measures Healthcare research indicators, data sources, study characteristics, results and limitations for each study were studied. Results The most common research performance indicators identified in 50 studies were: number of publications ( n = 38), number of citations ( n = 27), Impact Factor ( n = 15), research funding ( n = 10), degree of co-authorship ( n = 9), and h index ( n = 5). There was limited investigation of feasibility, validity, reliability and acceptability, although the utility of these indicators was adequately described. Conclusion Currently, there is only limited evidence to assess the value of healthcare research performance indicators. Further studies are required to define the application of these indicators through a balanced approach for quality and innovation. The ultimate aim of utilizing healthcare research indicators is to create a culture of measuring research performance to support the translation of research into greater societal and economic impact.
Crystal structure, chemical bonding and magnetic properties of the new antimonides Ce2Ir3Sb4, La2Ir3Sb4, and Ce2Rh3Sb4
Authors: Cardoso-Gil Raul , Caroca-Canales Nubia , Budnyk Serhij , Schnelle Walter 
Published: June 2011

Abstract
The antimonides Ce2Ir3Sb4, La2Ir3Sb4, and Ce2Rh3Sb4 were synthesized by solid state reaction from the elements. The crystal structures of these compounds were determined from single crystal X-ray diffraction data. Ce2Ir3Sb4 crystallises in a new structure type in the space group Pnma (no. 62) with a = 16.1510(8) Å, b = 4.5600(3) Å, c = 10.9463(5) Å. La2Ir3Sb4 and Ce2Rh3Sb4 crystallise in the Ce2Ir3Sb4 structure type as well with a = 16.2659(10) Å, b = 4.5896(3) Å, c = 10.9996(7) Å) and a = 16.2293(8) Å, b = 4.5604(2) Å, c = 10.9804(5) Å, respectively. The four- and five-bonded transition metal atoms and three- and four-bounded Sb atoms form a 3D-network with the rare-earth metal embedded in its cavities, resembling the topology of Ca in the CaBe2Ge2 or Th in ThCr2Si2 type. Magnetic susceptibility and X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy data indicate a stable trivalent state for Ce in the Ce2Ir3Sb4 compound.
BRAFV600E mutation and expression of proangiogenic molecular markers in papillary thyroid carcinomas
Authors: Durante Cosimo , Tallini Giovanni , Puxeddu Efisio , Sponziello Marialuisa , Moretti Sonia , Ligorio Claudia , Cavaliere Antonio , Rhoden Kerry J , Verrienti Antonella , Maranghi Marianna , Giacomelli Laura , Russo Diego , Filetti Sebastiano 
Published: June 2011

ObjectiveTyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are evaluated for treatment of radioiodine refractory thyroid cancer. Their effects in this setting are based on blockade of proangiogenic signaling mediated by receptors for vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF). Most TKIs also block other cancer-relevant kinases, such as B-type Raf kinase (BRAF), which are constitutively activated in approximately half of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs), but the impact of these effects is not clear.DesignThe aim of our study was to investigate the impact of BRAFV600E on proangiogenic gene expression and microvascular features of PTCs.MethodsmRNA levels for VEGFA, VEGF receptors, and coreceptors (VEGFRs 1, 2, and 3, neuropilin-1), and PDGF receptor β (PDGFRβ or PDGFRB) were measured with real-time PCR in BRAFV600E (n=55) and wild-type BRAF (BRAF-wt; n=35) PTCs. VEGF and VEGFR protein expression and microvessel densities (MVD) and lymphatic vessel densities (LVDs) were assessed by immunohistochemistry in 22 of the 90 PTCs (including 11 BRAFV600E cases). Angiogenic gene expression was also studied in vitro after induction/silencing of the BRAFV600E mutation in thyrocyte lines.ResultsTranscript levels of proangiogenic factors were significantly lower in BRAFV600E PTCs versus BRAF-wt PTCs (P<0.0001), but MVD and LVDs were not significantly different. VEGFA mRNA levels in thyroid cell lines decreased when BRAFV600E mutation was induced (P=0.01) and increased when it was silenced (P=0.01).ConclusionsCompared with BRAF-wt PTCs, those harboring BRAFV600E exhibit downregulated VEGFA, VEGFR, and PDGFRβ expression, suggesting that the presence of BRAF mutation does not imply a stronger prediction of response to drugs targeting VEGF and PDGFB signaling pathways.
The arithmetic of distributions in free probability theory
Authors: Chistyakov Gennadii , Götze Friedrich 
Published: June 2011

Abstract
We give an analytical approach to the definition of additive and multiplicative free convolutions which is based on the theory of Nevanlinna and Schur functions. We consider the set of probability distributions as a semigroup M equipped with the operation of free convolution and prove a Khintchine type theorem for the factorization of elements of this semigroup. An element of M contains either indecomposable (“prime”) factors or it belongs to a class, say I
0, of distributions without indecomposable factors. In contrast to the classical convolution semigroup, in the free additive and multiplicative convolution semigroups the class I
0 consists of units (i.e. Dirac measures) only. Furthermore we show that the set of indecomposable elements is dense in M.
Adaptive nonlinear control of a continuous stirred tank reactor
Authors: Dostál Petr , Bakošová Monika , Vojtěšek Jiří , Bobál Vladimír 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThe paper deals with continuous-time nonlinear adaptive control of a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). Control strategy is based on the application of a controller consisting of a linear and a nonlinear part. The static nonlinear part is derived as an inversion and exponential approximation of measured or simulated input-output data. Design of the dynamic linear part is based on an approximation of nonlinear elements in the control loop by a continuous-time external linear model with directly estimated parameters. In the control design procedure, polynomial approach with the pole assignment method was used. The nonlinear adaptive control was tested by simulations on a nonlinear model of a CSTR with a consecutive exothermic reaction.
Design of Robust PI Controllers and their Application to a Nonlinear Electronic System
Authors: Matušů Radek , Vaneková Katarína , Prokop Roman , Bakošová Monika 
Published: June 2011

Design of Robust PI Controllers and their Application to a Nonlinear Electronic SystemThe principal aim of the paper is to present a possible approach to the design of simple Proportional-Integral (PI) robust controllers and subsequently to demonstrate their applicability during control of a laboratory model with uncertain parameters through the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) SIMATIC S7-300 by Siemens Company. The proposed and utilized synthesis consists of two steps. The former one is determination of controller parameters area, which ensures the robustly stable control loop and is based on computing/plotting the stability boundary locus while the latter one lies in the final choice of the controller itself relying on algebraic techniques. The basic theoretical parts are followed by laboratory experiments in which the 3rd order nonlinear electronic model has been successfully controlled in various working points.
Hybrid Feature Selection for Myoelectric Signal Classification Using MICA
Authors: Naik Ganesh , Kumar Dinesh 
Published: June 2011

Hybrid Feature Selection for Myoelectric Signal Classification Using MICA
This paper presents a novel method to enhance the performance of Independent Component Analysis (ICA) of myoelectric signal by decomposing the signal into components originating from different muscles. First, we use Multi run ICA (MICA) algorithm to separate the muscle activities. Pattern classification of the separated signal is performed in the second step with a back propagation neural network. The focus of this work is to establish a simple, yet robust system that can be used to identify subtle complex hand actions and gestures for control of prosthesis and other computer assisted devices. Testing was conducted using several single shot experiments conducted with five subjects. The results indicate that the system is able to classify four different wrist actions with near 100% accuracy.
Combined Operation of AC and DC Distribution System with Distributed Generation Units
Authors: Noroozian Reza , Abedi Mehrdad , Gharehpetian Gevorg 
Published: June 2011

Combined Operation of AC and DC Distribution System with Distributed Generation Units
This paper presents a DC distribution system which has been supplied by external AC systems as well as local DG units in order to demonstrate an overall solution to power quality issue. In this paper, the proposed operation method is demonstrated by simulation of power transfer between external AC systems, DG units, AC and DC loads. The power flow control in DC distribution system has been achieved by network converters and DG converters. Also, the mathematical model of the network, DG and load converters are obtained by using the average technique, which allows converter systems accurately simulated and control strategies for this converters is achieved. A suitable control strategy for network converters has been proposed that involves DC voltage droop regulator and novel instantaneous power regulation scheme. Also, a novel control technique has been proposed for DG converters. In this paper, a novel control system based on stationary and synchronously rotating reference frame has been proposed for load converters for supplying AC loads connected to the DC bus by balanced voltages. The several case studies have been studied based on proposed methods. The simulation results show that DC distribution systems including DG units can improve the power quality at the point of common coupling (PCC) in the power distribution system or industrial power system.
Small-Signal Analysis of Autonomous Hybrid Distributed Generation Systems in Presence of Ultracapacitor and Tie-Line Operation
Authors: Ray Prakash , Mohanty Soumya , Kishor Nand 
Published: June 2011

Small-Signal Analysis of Autonomous Hybrid Distributed Generation Systems in Presence of Ultracapacitor and Tie-Line OperationThis paper presents small-signal analysis of isolated as well as interconnected autonomous hybrid distributed generation system for sudden variation in load demand, wind speed and solar radiation. The hybrid systems comprise of different renewable energy resources such as wind, photovoltaic (PV) fuel cell (FC) and diesel engine generator (DEG) along with the energy storage devices such as flywheel energy storage system (FESS) and battery energy storage system (BESS). Further ultracapacitors (UC) as an alternative energy storage element and interconnection of hybrid systems through tie-line is incorporated into the system for improved performance. A comparative assessment of deviation of frequency profile for different hybrid systems in the presence of different storage system combinations is carried out graphically as well as in terms of the performance index (PI),ieintegral square error (ISE). Both qualitative and quantitative analysis reflects the improvements of the deviation in frequency profiles in the presence of the ultracapacitors (UC) as compared to other energy storage elements.
Influence of Nano Aluminium Powder Produced by Wire Explosion Process at Different Ambience on Hydrogen Generation
Authors: Sarathi Ramanujam , Sankar Binu , Chakravarthy Satyanarayanan 
Published: June 2011

Influence of Nano Aluminium Powder Produced by Wire Explosion Process at Different Ambience on Hydrogen Generation
Nano-aluminium particles are produced through the wire explosion process in different gas medium. The particles produced by wire explosion process, in helium medium are of smaller size compared to argon/nitrogen medium. The nano aluminium powder on reaction with water forms oxides having bayerite and boehmite structure. It is observed that nano aluminium on reaction with KOH solution at room temperature it forms bayerite. The results of the study were confirmed through Wide Angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) studies. The reaction of nano aluminium powder with KOH solution/water indicates that the rate of hydrogen generation is high when nano aluminium powder reacts with KOH solution than with water. The rate of hydrogen generation gets reduced drastically when the nano aluminium powder which is exposed to air medium for some period is used for reaction with KOH/water. It is also observed that the rate of hydrogen generation is high with nano size aluminium particles compared with ultrafine particles.
New Digital Architecture of CNN for Pattern Recognition
Authors: Raschman Emil , Záluský Roman , Ďuračková Daniela 
Published: June 2011

New Digital Architecture of CNN for Pattern RecognitionThe paper deals with the design of a new digital CNN (Cellular Neural Network) architecture for pattern recognition. The main parameters of the new design were the area consumption of the chip and the speed of calculation in one iteration. The CNN was designed as a digital synchronous circuit. The largest area of the chip belongs to the multiplication unit. In the new architecture we replaced the parallel multiplication unit by a simple AND gate performing serial multiplication. The natural property of this method of multiplication is rounding. We verified some basic properties of the proposed CNN such as edge detection, filling of the edges and noise removing. At the end we compared the designed network with other two CNNs. The new architecture allows to save till 86% gates in comparison with CNN with parallel multipliers.
Influence of ECAP on Densification Behaviour in the PM Aluminium Al-Mg-Si-Cu-Fe Alloy
Authors: Bidulská Jana , Kvačkaj Tibor , Kočiško Róbert , Bidulský Róbert , Grande Marco 
Published: June 2011

Influence of ECAP on Densification Behaviour in the PM Aluminium Al-Mg-Si-Cu-Fe AlloyThe main aim of this paper is to show how ECAP influences the densification behaviour of PM aluminium alloys. An aluminium based powder (Al-Mg-Si-Cu-Fe) was used as material to be investigated. After applying different compacting pressures, specimens were dewaxed in a ventilated furnace at 400 °C for 60 min. Sintering was carried out in a vacuum furnace at 610 °C for 30 min. The specimens were ECAPed for 1 pass. Optical characterization was carried out on the minimum of 10 different image fields. The results were measured for each pore individually in order to describe the dimensional and morphological porosity characteristics. ECAP influences the porosity distribution in terms of the severe shear deformation involved.
Safety Evaluation of Fail-Safe Fieldbus in Safety Related Control System
Authors: Franeková Mária , Rástočný Karol 
Published: June 2011

Safety Evaluation of Fail-Safe Fieldbus in Safety Related Control System
The paper deals with the problem of modelling safety features of the safety Fieldbus transmission system used within safety related control systems. The basic principles of the modelling failures effect upon the safety of closed transmission system and standards used in the process of safety evaluation are summarized in the paper. The practical part is oriented to a description of a realized Markov model for determination of the random failures effect on the safety of a closed transmission system. The model reflects the safety analysis of failures effect caused by electromagnetic interference in the communication channel and random HW failures of the transmission system. In the paper the results of simulation of parameters of the transmission system are discussed, such as the probability of an undetected corrupted message.
Ohmic contacts to p-GaN Using Au/Ni-Mg-O Metallization
Authors: Liday Jozef , Vogrinčič Peter , Hotový Ivan , Bonanni Alberta , Sitter Helmut , Lalinský Tibor , Vanko Gabriel , Řeháček Vlastimil , Breza Juraj , Ecke Gernot 
Published: June 2011

Ohmic contacts to p-GaN Using Au/Ni-Mg-O Metallization
Electrical characteristics and elemental depth profiles of ohmic contacts to p-GaN using Au/Ni-Mg-Ox metallization have been investigated. The objective was to examine the possibilities of increasing the charge carrier concentration in the surface region of GaN by adding Mg, thus of a p-type dopant into the Au/NiOx metallization structure. For this purpose, a Ni-Mg-Ox layer with a low concentration of Mg was deposited on p-GaN by dc reactive magnetron sputtering. The top Au layer was deposited in a similar way. The fabricated contact structures were annealed in N2. When the Ni-Mg layer in the Au/Ni-Mg-Ox/p-GaN structure was deposited in an atmosphere with a low concentration of oxygen (0.2 at%), the structure exhibited a low resistance ohmic nature. The contact resistance was lower than in the case of a Au/Ni-Ox/p-GaN structure without the Mg dopant in the metallic layer. An increase in the concentration of oxygen in the working atmosphere resulted in higher values of the contact resistance of the Au/Ni-Mg-Ox/p-GaN structure. In our opinion the ohmic nature of the contact structure is related to the existence of a metal/p-NiO/p-GaN scheme. The measured values of the contact resistance in the Au/Ni-Mg-Ox/p-GaN structure in comparison with the Au/Ni-Ox/p-GaN structure are caused by an increased charge carrier concentration in the surface region of p-GaN, which is a consequence of Mg diffusion from the Ni-Mg-Ox layer.
Structural Evolution of Sputtered Indium Oxide Thin Films
Authors: Hotový Ivan , Kups Thomas , Hotový Juraj , Liday Jozef , Búc Dalibor , Čaplovičová Mária , Řeháček Vlastimil , Sitter Helmut , Simbrunner Clemens , Bonnani Alberta , Spiess Lothar 
Published: June 2011

Structural Evolution of Sputtered Indium Oxide Thin Films
The indium oxide thin films were deposited at room temperature by reactive magnetron sputtering in the mixture of oxygen and argon on silicon and oxidized silicon substrates. The influence of the oxygen flow in the reactive mixture and post-deposition annealing on the structural properties were investigated. The as deposited In2O3 films showed a dominating randomly oriented nanocrystalline structure of cubic In2O3. The grain size decreased with increasing oxygen concentration in the plasma. Annealing in reducing atmospheres (vacuum, nitrogen and argon), besides improving the crystallinity, led to a partial cubic to rhombohedral phase transition in the indium oxide films.
Low Complex Forward Adaptive Loss Compression Algorithm and Its Application in Speech Coding
Authors: Nikolić Jelena , Perić Zoran , Antić Dragan , Jovanović Aleksandra , Denić Dragan 
Published: June 2011

Low Complex Forward Adaptive Loss Compression Algorithm and Its Application in Speech CodingThis paper proposes a low complex forward adaptive loss compression algorithm that works on the frame by frame basis. Particularly, the algorithm we propose performs frame by frame analysis of the input speech signal, estimates and quantizes the gain within the frames in order to enable the quantization by the forward adaptive piecewise linear optimal compandor. In comparison to the solution designed according to the G.711 standard, our algorithm provides not only higher level of the average signal to quantization noise ratio, but also performs a reduction of the PCM bit rate for about 1 bits/sample. Moreover, the algorithm we propose completely satisfies the G.712 standard, since it provides overreaching the curve defined by the G.712 standard in the whole of variance range. Accordingly, we can reasonably believe that our algorithm will find its practical implementation in the high quality coding of signals, represented with less than 8 bits/sample, which as well as speech signals follow Laplacian distribution and have the time varying variances.