bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Incidence of support limb laminitis in horses treated with half limb, full limb or transfixation pin casts: A retrospective study of 113 horses (2000–2009)
Authors: VIRGIN J. E. , GOODRICH L. R. , BAXTER G. M. , RAO S. 
Published: November 2011

SummaryReasons for performing study:To determine the incidence of support limb laminitis among horses treated with half limb, full limb or transfixation pin casts and determine potential risk factors.Methods:Medical records of 113 horses treated with half limb, full limb or transfixation pin casts at an equine referral hospital from 2000 to 2009 were reviewed. Associations between potential risk factors and development of support limb laminitis were evaluated by bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses.Results:Of the 113 horses that received casts, 14 (12%) developed confirmed support limb laminitis. The bodyweight of the horse and duration of casting in weeks were significantly associated with support limb laminitis. Horses requiring full limb casts or transfixation pin casts were more likely to develop this complication than horses requiring half limb casts. There were no significant associations between developing support limb laminitis and weightbearing capacity on presentation to the hospital, the limb affected (fore‐ or hind), whether there was a fracture present or breed of horse.Conclusions:Support limb laminitis is a relatively common complication among horses treated with half limb, full limb and transfixation pin casts. Greater durations of casting and higher bodyweights increase the likelihood of developing this complication.Potential relevance:Support limb laminitis may occur secondary to any painful unilateral lameness and is not necessarily more likely to develop in horses with severe orthopaedic conditions such as fractures. However, heavier horses, those requiring casts for longer periods of time and those that require a full limb or transfixation pin cast as opposed to a half limb cast should be considered to have an increased risk for developing support limb laminitis post operatively.
Risk factors for injuries in alpine skiing, telemark skiing and snowboarding – case-control study
Authors: Sulheim Steinar , Holme Ingar , Rødven Andreas , Ekeland Arne , Bahr Roald 
Published: November 2011

BackgroundAlpine skiing and snowboarding have a substantial risk of injuries, but precise risk factor estimates are limited.ObjectiveTo determine the risk factors among skiers and snowboarders.Study designCase-control study.MethodsSki patrols reported cases (N=3277) in eight major Norwegian alpine resorts. Injury type and risk factors (age, gender, nationality, skill level, equipment, helmet use, ski school attendance, rented or own equipment) were recorded. An uninjured control group (N=2992) was obtained at the same resorts. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between individual risk factors and risk of injury.ResultsThe overall injury risk was increased among beginners (OR 2.72; 2.12 to 3.47), children (OR 1.72; 1.41 to 2.13), adolescents (OR 2.16; 1.72 to 2.66) and non-Nordic skiers (OR 1.80; 1.37 to 2.36). Snowboarders had a higher overall injury risk than skiers (OR 2.11; 1.81 to 2.46). Alpine skiers (OR 2.65; 1.47 to 4.80), beginners (OR 2.50; 1.61 to 3.85), children (OR 11.1; 6.7 to 20.0) and adolescents (OR 4.17; 2.44 to 7.14) were prone to lower leg fractures. Knee injuries occurred more frequently among alpine skiers (OR 1.82; 1.39 to 2.38), females (OR 1.67; 1.38 to 2.03) and beginners (OR 3.13; 2.50 to 3.85). Males (OR 1.85; 1.45 to 2.38), telemark skiers (OR 1.70; 1.30 to 2.23), children (OR 2.22; 1.37 to 3.57) and adults (OR 1.64; 1.11 to 2.37) had an increased risk for shoulder injuries.ConclusionsSnowboarders, beginners, children and adolescents had an increased injury risk.
Hybrid Open Endovascular Technique for Aortic Thoracoabdominal Pathologies
Authors: Moulakakis Konstantinos G. , Mylonas Spyridon N. , Avgerinos Efthimios D. , Kakisis John D. , Brunkwall Jan , Liapis Christos D. 
Published: November 2011

Background—
Many authors using a hybrid debranching strategy for the treatment of thoracoabdominal pathologies have reported disappointing results and the initial enthusiasm for the technique has given way to criticism and ambiguity. The aim of the present meta-analysis study was to assess the safety and efficacy of the technique in patients with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms or other aortic pathologies.

Methods and Results—
A multiple electronic search was performed on all articles describing hybrid open endovascular repair. Separate meta-analyses were conducted for technical success, visceral graft patency, spinal cord ischemia symptoms, renal insufficiency, and other complications as well as 30-day/in-hospital mortality.
Nineteen publications with a total of 507 patients were analyzed. The pooled estimates for primary technical success and visceral graft patency were 96.2% (95% CI, 93.5%–98.2%) and 96.5% (95% CI, 95.2%–97.8%) respectively. A pooled rate of 7.5% (95% CI, 5.0%–11.0%) for overall spinal cord ischemia symptoms was observed; whereas for irreversible paraplegia the pooled rate was 4.5% (95% CI, 2.5%–7.0%). The pooled estimate for renal failure was 8.8% (95% CI, 3.9%–15.5%). The pooled 30-day/in-hospital mortality rate was 12.8% (95% CI, 8.6%–17.0%). During the mean follow-up period of 34.5 (95% CI, 31.5–37.5) months, a total of 119 endoleaks were identified in 111 patients (22.7%).

Conclusions—
The repair of thoracoabdominal pathologies by means of hybrid procedures in patients who are poor surgical candidates is still associated with significant morbidity and mortality rates. Future studies may substantiate whether the technique is amenable to amelioration and improvement.
Protection Against Myocardial Infarction and No-Reflow Through Preservation of Vascular Integrity by Angiopoietin-Like 4
Authors: Galaup Ariane , Gomez Elisa , Souktani Rachid , Durand Mélanie , Cazes Aurélie , Monnot Catherine , Teillon Jérémie , Le Jan Sébastien , Bouleti Claire , Briois Gaëlle , Philippe Josette , Pons Sandrine , Martin Valérie , Assaly Rana , Bonnin Philippe , Ratajczak Philippe , Janin Anne , Thurston Gavin , Valenzuela David M. , Murphy Andrew J. , Yancopoulos George D. , Tissier Renaud , Berdeaux Alain , Ghaleh Bijan , Germain Stéphane 
Published: November 2011

Background—
Increased permeability, predominantly controlled by endothelial junction stability, is an early event in the deterioration of vascular integrity in ischemic disorders. Hemorrhage, edema, and inflammation are the main features of reperfusion injuries, as observed in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Thus, preservation of vascular integrity is fundamental in ischemic heart disease. Angiopoietins are pivotal modulators of cell–cell junctions and vascular integrity. We hypothesized that hypoxic induction of angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) might modulate vascular damage, infarct size, and no-reflow during AMI.

Methods and Results—

We showed that vascular permeability, hemorrhage, edema, inflammation, and infarct severity were increased in
angptl4
-deficient mice. We determined that decrease in vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) and VE-cadherin expression and increase in Src kinase phosphorylation downstream of VEGFR2 were accentuated after ischemia-reperfusion in the coronary microcirculation of
angptl4
-deficient mice. Both events led to altered VEGFR2/VE-cadherin complexes and to disrupted adherens junctions in the endothelial cells of
angptl4
-deficient mice that correlated with increased no-reflow. In vivo injection of recombinant human ANGPTL4 protected VEGF-driven dissociation of the VEGFR2/VE-cadherin complex, reduced myocardial infarct size, and the extent of no-reflow in mice and rabbits.

Conclusions—
These data showed that ANGPTL4 might constitute a relevant target for therapeutic vasculoprotection aimed at counteracting the effects of VEGF, thus being crucial for preventing no-reflow and conferring secondary cardioprotection during AMI.
Continuous Time Series of Catchment-Averaged Sensible Heat Flux from a Large Aperture Scintillometer: Efficient Estimation of Stability Conditions and Importance of Fluxes under Stable Conditions
Authors: Samain Bruno , Defloor Willem , Pauwels Valentijn R. N. 
Published: November 2011

Abstract
A large aperture scintillometer (LAS) observes the intensity of the atmospheric turbulence across large distances, which is related to the path-averaged sensible heat flux H. In this paper, two problems in the derivation of continuous series of H from LAS data are investigated and the importance of nighttime H fluxes is assessed. First, as an LAS is unable to determine the sign of H, the transition from unstable to stable conditions is evaluated in order to make continuous H series. Therefore, different algorithms to judge the atmospheric stability for an LAS installed over a distance of 9.5 km have been tested. The diurnal cycle of the refractive index structure parameter, , results in the best suitable, operational algorithm. A second issue is the humidity correction for LAS data, which is performed by using the Bowen ratio (β). As β is taken from ground-based measurements with data gaps, the number of resulting H values is reduced. Not including this humidity correction results in a marginal error in H, but increases the completeness of the H series. Applying these conclusions to the 2-yr time series of the LAS results in an almost-continuous H time series. As the majority of the time steps has been found to be under stable conditions, there is a clear impact of Hstable on H24h—the 24-h average of H. For stable conditions, Hstable values are mostly negative, and hence lower than the H = 0 W m−2 assumption as mostly adopted. For months where stable conditions prevail (winter), H24h is overestimated using this assumption, and calculation of Hstable is recommended.
Ground source heat pumps: observations from United Kingdom ground thermal response tests
Authors: Underwood CP 
Published: November 2011

The United Kingdom is experiencing a period of rapid growth in the use of ground source heat pump systems. Most installations in the United Kingdom use vertical ‘borehole’ heat-exchanger arrays, the design of which depends on four parameters: formation thermal conductivity, formation heat capacity, heat-exchanger resistance and heat-exchanger grout material heat capacity. Conventionally, two of these parameters (conductivity and resistance) are obtained from a thermal response test carried out on a trial heat exchanger at the site of interest by fitting thermal response data to classical line-source heat conduction theory. This test method gives no information on the heat capacities of the formation and grout material and requires an assumption about the former to enable the heat-exchanger resistance parameter to be extracted. In this work, a new method is developed for extracting all four parameters using a trust-region search algorithm in conjunction with a detailed numerical model of the test heat exchanger. Results give excellent agreement between the fitted-model predictions of heat-exchanger outlet water temperature and measured outlet water temperature for 13 test cases. A further advantage of the method developed here is that it can be used with data sets that contain disturbances and discontinuities. Practical applications: Most of the ground source heat pump installations in the United Kingdom use vertical ‘borehole’ heat-exchanger arrays. The design of these arrays requires information about the rock formation thermal conductivity and volume specific heat capacity and the borehole heat-exchanger thermal resistance and grout material volume specific heat capacity. These design parameters are usually obtained from a thermal response test carried out on a trial heat exchanger at the site of interest. In this work, thermal response test results from 13 UK sites are presented and a new method for obtaining the four design parameters is developed and proposed.
A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Comparing 3 Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Types
Authors: Genuario James W. , Faucett Scott C. , Boublik Martin , Schlegel Theodore F. 
Published: November 2011

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, despite being one of the most common surgical interventions, is also one of the least agreed upon surgeries when it comes to optimum graft choice. Three graft choices stand among the most widely used in this procedure: (1) bone–patellar tendon–bone autograft (BPTB), (2) quadruple hamstring tendon autograft (HS), and (3) allograft. Hypothesis: Bone–patellar tendon–bone ACL reconstruction is the most cost-effective method of ACL reconstruction. Study Design: Economic and decision analysis; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: A simplified decision tree model was created with theoretical patients assigned equally to 1 of 3 ACL reconstruction cohorts based on graft type. These treatment arms were further divided into outcome arms based on probabilities from the literature. The terminal outcomes were assigned a health state/utility score and a societal cost. Utilities were calculated from real clinic patients via the time trade-off questionnaire. Costs were literature based. An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $50 000/quality-adjusted life year (QALY) was used as the threshold for cost-effectiveness. Results: Hamstring tendon autograft was the least costly ($5375/surgery) and most effective (0.912) graft choice, dominating both BPTB and allograft reconstructions. Allograft was both the most costly and least effective strategy for the average patient undergoing ACL reconstruction. However, if baseline costs of BPTB could be reduced (by $500) or the effectiveness increased (anterior knee pain <15% or postoperative instability <7%), then BPTB became an incrementally cost-effective choice. In addition, if the effectiveness of HS could be reduced (instability >29% or revision rates >7%), then BPTB also became incrementally cost-effective. Conclusions: This model suggests that hamstring autograft ACL reconstruction is the most cost-effective method of surgery for the average patient with ACL deficiency. However, specific clinical scenarios that change postoperative probabilities of the different complications may sway surgeons to choose either allografts or BPTB. Cost-effectiveness analysis is not intended to replace individual clinician judgment but rather is intended to examine both the effectiveness and costs associated with theoretical groups undergoing specific multifactorial decisions.
Prospective Randomized Clinical Evaluation of Conventional Single-Bundle, Anatomic Single-Bundle, and Anatomic Double-Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Hussein Mohsen , van Eck Carola F. , Cretnik Andrej , Dinevski Dejan , Fu Freddie H. 
Published: November 2011

Background: Three different techniques of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction—conventional (transtibial) single bundle (CSB), anatomic single bundle (ASB), and anatomic double bundle (ADB)—have been described. Purpose: To determine if double-bundle reconstruction is needed to restore rotational stability or if anatomic placement of a single bundle can yield similar results. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: From December 2005 to December 2007, 320 patients were prospectively randomized into 3 groups: ADB, ASB, and CSB reconstruction. The average follow-up was 51.15 months (range, 39-63 months). At the final follow-up, 281 patients were available. In all groups, hamstring tendons were used with suspensory fixation on the femoral side and bioabsorbable interference screw fixation on the tibial side. The outcomes were evaluated by an independent blinded observer using the Lysholm score and subjective International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) form. The KT-1000 arthrometer was used to evaluate anteroposterior stability, and the pivot-shift test was used to determine rotational stability. Results: Anatomic single-bundle reconstruction resulted in better anteroposterior and rotational stability than CSB reconstruction (average side-to-side difference for anterior tibial translation was 1.6 mm in the ASB group vs 2.0 mm in the CSB group; P = .002). Negative pivot shift was 66.7% vs 41.7% ( P = .003). In other parameters, the differences between groups were not statistically significant. The results of the ADB group were also superior to the ASB group for anteroposterior and rotational stability (average side-to-side difference for anterior tibial translation was 1.2 mm in the ADB group vs 1.6 mm in the ASB group; P = .002). Negative pivot shift was 93.1% vs 66.7%, respectively ( P < .001), and range of motion was also significantly different ( P = .005). The Lysholm score was 90.9, 91.8, and 93.0 in the CSB, ASB, and ADB groups, respectively. The difference was significant only when we compared ADB and CSB ( P = .025). Subjective IKDC scores were 90.2, 90.6, and 92.1 in the CSB, ASB, and ADB groups, respectively. The difference was not significant. Conclusion: Anatomic double-bundle ACL reconstruction is significantly superior to conventional single-bundle ACL reconstruction and better than anatomic single-bundle reconstruction. Anatomic single-bundle reconstruction was superior to conventional single-bundle reconstruction. However, these differences are small and may not be clinically relevant.
Cell survival and proliferation after encapsulation in a chemically modified Pluronic® F127 hydrogel
Authors: Lippens Evi , Swennen Ives , Gironès Jordi , Declercq Heidi , Vertenten Geert , Vlaminck Lieven , Gasthuys Frank , Schacht Etienne , Cornelissen Ria 
Published: November 2011

Pluronic® F127 is a biocompatible, injectable, and thermoresponsive polymer with promising biomedical applications. In this study, a chemically modified form, i.e., Pluronic ALA-L with tailored degradation rate, was tested as an encapsulation vehicle for osteoblastic cells. UV cross-linking of the modified polymer results in a stable hydrogel with a slower degradation rate. Toxicological screening showed no adverse effects of the modified Pluronic ALA-L on the cell viability. Moreover, high viability of embedded cells in the cross-linked Pluronic ALA-L was observed with life/death fluorescent staining during a 7-day-culture period. Cells were also cultured on macroporous, cross-linked gelatin microbeads, called CultiSpher-S® carriers, and encapsulated into the modified cross-linked hydrogel. Also, in this situation, good cell proliferation and migration could be observed in vitro. Preliminary in vivo tests have shown the formation of new bone starting from the injected pre-loaded CultiSpher-S® carriers.
Contrasting dynamic responses in vivo of the Bcl-xL and Bim erythropoietic survival pathways
Authors: Koulnis Miroslav , Porpiglia Ermelinda , Porpiglia P. Alberto , Liu Ying , Hallstrom Kelly , Hidalgo Daniel , Socolovsky Merav 
Published: November 2011

AbstractSurvival signaling by the erythropoietin (Epo) receptor (EpoR) is essential for erythropoiesis and for its acceleration in hypoxic stress. Several apparently redundant EpoR survival pathways were identified in vitro, raising the possibility of their functional specialization in vivo. Here we used mouse models of acute and chronic stress, including a hypoxic environment and β-thalassemia, to identify two markedly different response dynamics for two erythroblast survival pathways in vivo. Induction of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL is rapid but transient, while suppression of the proapoptotic protein Bim is slower but persistent. Similar to sensory adaptation, however, the Bcl-xL pathway “resets,” allowing it to respond afresh to acute stress superimposed on a chronic stress stimulus. Using “knock-in” mouse models expressing mutant EpoRs, we found that adaptation in the Bcl-xL response occurs because of adaptation of its upstream regulator Stat5, both requiring the EpoR distal cytoplasmic domain. We conclude that survival pathways show previously unsuspected functional specialization for the acute and chronic phases of the stress response. Bcl-xL induction provides a “stop-gap” in acute stress, until slower but permanent pathways are activated. Furthermore, pathologic elevation of Bcl-xL may be the result of impaired adaptation, with implications for myeloproliferative disease mechanisms.
Prediction using step-wise L1, L2 regularization and feature selection for small data sets with large number of features
Authors: Demir-Kavuk Ozgur , Kamada Mayumi , Akutsu Tatsuya , Knapp Ernst-Walter 
Published: November 2011

Abstract

Background
Machine learning methods are nowadays used for many biological prediction problems involving drugs, ligands or polypeptide segments of a protein. In order to build a prediction model a so called training data set of molecules with measured target properties is needed. For many such problems the size of the training data set is limited as measurements have to be performed in a wet lab. Furthermore, the considered problems are often complex, such that it is not clear which molecular descriptors (features) may be suitable to establish a strong correlation with the target property. In many applications all available descriptors are used. This can lead to difficult machine learning problems, when thousands of descriptors are considered and only few (e.g. below hundred) molecules are available for training.

Results
The CoEPrA contest provides four data sets, which are typical for biological regression problems (few molecules in the training data set and thousands of descriptors). We applied the same two-step training procedure for all four regression tasks. In the first stage, we used optimized L1 regularization to select the most relevant features. Thus, the initial set of more than 6,000 features was reduced to about 50. In the second stage, we used only the selected features from the preceding stage applying a milder L2 regularization, which generally yielded further improvement of prediction performance. Our linear model employed a soft loss function which minimizes the influence of outliers.

Conclusions
The proposed two-step method showed good results on all four CoEPrA regression tasks. Thus, it may be useful for many other biological prediction problems where for training only a small number of molecules are available, which are described by thousands of descriptors.