bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Moving Beyond a Single Perfusion Threshold to Define Penumbra
Authors: Nagakane Yoshinari , Christensen Soren , Ogata Toshiyasu , Churilov Leonid , Ma Henry , Parsons Mark W. , Desmond Patricia M. , Levi Christopher R. , Butcher Kenneth S. , Davis Stephen M. , Donnan Geoffrey A. 
Published: April 2012

Background and Purpose—
The mismatch lesion volumes defined by perfusion-weighted imaging exceeding diffusion-weighted imaging have been used as a marker of ischemic penumbral tissue. Defining the perfusion lesion by thresholding has shown promise as a practical tool; several positron emission tomography studies have indicated a more probabilistic relationship between perfusion and infarction. Here, we used a randomized controlled trial dataset of tissue-type plasminogen activator 3 to 6 hours after stroke to: (1) quantify the relationship between severity of hypoperfusion (measured by Tmax) and risk of infarction; (2) exploit this relationship to present a novel definition of mismatch based on infarct probabilities rather than dichotomies; and (3) examine the treatment response in the subgroup of patients with mismatch by the new definition.

Methods—
Patients from the Echoplanar Imaging Thrombolytic Evaluation Trial (EPITHET) were included. Baseline perfusion-weighted imaging and 90-day T2-weighted imaging were coregistered. Perfusion-weighted imaging lesion volumes were divided into 10 Tmax delay strata, and infarct risk was defined as the fraction of the tissue at a given Tmax strata that progressed to infarction by day 90.

Results—
Sixty-two patients were studied. Infarct risk was an increasing function of Tmax for all subgroups, including the whole cohort. The probabilistic approach outperformed all Tmax thresholds, with exception of the Tmax ≥10 threshold, for which it was only favored by a trend.

Conclusions—
Infarct risk and treatment effect increased with severity of perfusion abnormalities. This suggests that a severity-weighted mismatch definition may define penumbral tissue more accurately.
Automated optimal design methodology of elevator systems using rules and graphical methods (the HARint plane)
Authors: Al-Sharif Lutfi , Alqumsan Ahmad M Abu , Aal Osama F Abdel 
Published: April 2012

The design of an elevator system heavily relies on the calculation of the round-trip time under up-peak (incoming) traffic conditions. The round-trip time can either be calculated analytically or by the use of Monte Carlo simulation. However, the calculation of the round-trip time is only part of the design methodology. This paper does not discuss the round-trip time calculation methodology as this has been addressed in detail elsewhere. This paper presents a step-by-step automated design methodology which gives the optimum number of elevators in very specific, constrained arrival situations. A range of situations can be considered and a judgement can be made as to what is the best cost–performance tradeoff. It uses the round trip value calculated by the use of other tools to automatically arrive at an optimal elevator design for a building. It employs rules and graphical methods. The methodology starts from the user requirements in the form of three parameters: the target interval; the expected passenger arrival rate (AR%) which is the passenger arrival in the busiest 5 min expressed as a percentage of the building population; and the total building population. Using these requirements, the expected number of passengers boarding an elevator car is calculated. Then, the round-trip time is calculated (using other tools) and the optimum number of elevators is calculated. Further iterations are carried out to refine the actual number of passengers boarding the elevator and the actual achieved target. The optimal car capacity is then calculated based on the final expected passengers boarding the car. The HARint plane is presented as a graphical tool that allows the designer to visualise the solution. Three different rated speeds are suggested and used in order to explore the possibility of reducing the number of elevator cars. Moreover, the average passenger travel time is used to indicate the need for zoning of buildings. Practical application: This paper has an important application in allowing the designer to arrive at the optimum design for the elevator system using a clearly defined methodology. This ensures that the number of elevators, their speed and their capacity are optimised, thus ensuring that the cost of the elevator system and the space it occupies within the building are minimised. The method also employs a graphical method (the HARint) in order to allow the designer to visualise the optimality and the feasibility of the different design options.
Central venous saturation is not an alternative to mixed venous saturation during cardiopulmonary bypass in coronary artery surgery patients
Authors: Soussi MS , Jebali MA , Le Manach Y , Nasri M , Zouari B , Chenik S , Ferjani M 
Published: April 2012

Background: To evaluate the correlation and agreement between central venous saturation (ScvO2) and mixed venous saturation (SvO2) during cardiopulmonary bypass. Methods: Twenty-two consecutive patients scheduled for coronary artery surgery were prospectively included. Paired measurements of ScvO2 and SvO2 were performed 5 minutes after aortic cross-clamping, after each cardioplegia dose and after de-clamping of the aortic cross-clamp. ScvO2 and SvO2 were measured, respectively, by a fibreoptic catheter in the superior vena cava and on blood samples from the venous return line of the extracorporeal circuit, using a blood gas analyser Results: Ninety-five paired measurements of venous saturation were obtained. Correlation between the measurements was associated with an r = 0.55. The mean bias was 2.2 [Limits of agreement: –13.6%, +18%]. Changes in oxygen saturation over time showed an r = 0.4 and a mean bias of 0.2 [Limits of agreement: –17.9%, +18.3%]. Multivariate analysis identified the oxygen consumption index as the only factor explaining this variability. Conclusions: Although mean biases between the measurements were low, limits of agreement were too large to provide a clinically acceptable estimation of SvO2 by ScvO2 in these conditions. Variations in regional oxygen consumption seem to be the main factor worsening the relationship.
Postural control in elderly women with osteoporosis: comparison of balance, strengthening and stretching exercises. A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Burke Thomaz Nogueira , França Fábio Jorge Renovato , Meneses Sarah Rúbia Ferreira de , Pereira Rosa Maria Rodrigues , Marques Amélia Pasqual 
Published: April 2012

Objective: To compare the efficacy of balance training associated with muscle strengthening or stretching, relative to no intervention, in the postural control of elderly women with osteoporosis. Design: A randomized, controlled trial. Subjects and interventions: Sample consisted of 50 women aged 65 years or older, with osteoporosis, randomized into one of three groups: strengthening group ( n = 17) performed balance training with muscle strengthening; stretching group ( n = 17) performed balance training with stretching; and control group ( n = 16), no activities. Interventions lasted eight weeks, twice a week, 60 minutes a day. Main measures: Postural control was evaluated by the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction for Balance (CTSIBm) and Limits of Stability Test. Strength was assessed by dynamometry and the shortening of the hamstrings by goniometry. Results: Relative to controls, participants in the strengthening group displayed significantly increased dorsiflexion strength and knee flexion strength, as well as centre of pressure velocity, directional control, and oscillation velocity (CTSIBm test). The stretching group had significantly improvements in hamstring length, knee flexion strength, centre of pressure velocity, and amplitude of movements. Relative to the stretching group, the strengthening group yielded better knee extension strength and directional control. Conclusion: The results suggest that both interventions are effective in improving postural control when compared to the control group, and the strengthening group was superior to the stretching group in knee extension strength and in directional control.
The synergistic effect of benzo[a]pyrene and lead on learning and memory of mice
Authors: Youbin Qi , Chengzhi Chen , Yan Tang , Xuejun Jiang , Chongying Qiu , Bin Peng , Baijie Tu 
Published: April 2012

In the present study, the single and combined neurotoxic effects of benzo[a]pyrene ([BaP] 0.0, 0.5, and 5.0 mg/kg body weight; intragastric administration) and lead acetate (0.0, 5.4, and 54.0 mg/L; by drinking water) were examined on KunMing mice. In the Morris water maze, results showed that BaP and lead induced synergistic effects on the escape latency and the time spent in the target quadrant but also showed an additive effect on the number of times animal crossing the original platform. Also, BaP and lead induced a synergistic effect on DNA damage in the single-cell gel electrophoresis. However, BaP plus lead showed additive effects on the levels of malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione. These results suggested that the combination of BaP and lead can lead to a synergistic effect on spatial learning and memory impairments, and the mechanisms of the synergistic effects on behavioral deficits may be due to the oxidative stress injury.
Antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic activities of ethanolic extract of Zygophyllum album in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice
Authors: Ghoul Jamel El , Boughattas Naceur A , Ben-Attia Mossadok 
Published: April 2012

Zygophyllum album has been mentioned in Tunisian system of folk medicine to be of value in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The present study was designed to investigate the possible antihyperglycemic effects of ethanolic extracts of the whole plant of Z. album on blood glucose, plasma insulin, serum lipids and hepatic glycogen and metabolism enzymes of carbohydrate in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Administration of the ethanolic extract from plant (100 and 300 mg/kg body weight) for 14 days resulted in significant reduction in plasma glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, very-low-density liprotein, hepatic glucokinase and glycogen in STZ diabetic mice. In addition to that, significant increase in plasma high-density lipoprotein, hepatic phosphofructokinase and glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase was observed in STZ diabetic mice. After administration of the ethanolic extract, the increased level of plasma insulin is not significant in diabetic mice. In conclusion, the present results showed that the ethanolic extract of Z. album possesses significant antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects in experimental model of diabetes mellitus.
Properties of normalized radial visualizations
Authors: Daniels Karen , Grinstein Georges , Russell Adam , Glidden Mason 
Published: April 2012

This paper defines a class of normalized radial visualizations (NRVs) that includes the RadViz mapping onto the two-dimensional unit disk. An NRV maps high-dimensional records into lower dimensional space, where records’ images are convex combinations of the dimensions (called dimensional anchors) laid out in two dimensions as labels on a circle and in higher dimensions on the surface of a hypersphere. As radial visualizations have evolved, conjectures have been proposed for invariants, such as lines mapping to lines, and convex sets to convex sets. Some have been informally proven for RadViz. We formally establish these properties for all NRVs and illustrate them using RadViz. An extensive theory of Parallel Coordinates has been developed elsewhere with great benefit to the visualization community. Our theory should provide similar benefits for radial visualization users. We show that an NRV is the composition of a perspective and an affine transformation. This projective transformation characterization leads to a number of properties including line, point ordering and convexity invariance. Knowledge of these properties suggests that the visual existence of structure in the data can guide a visualization researcher in further productive exploration of the data. We show the established properties hold regardless of whether or not the dimensional anchors lie on the circle or the hypersphere. These insights also suggest directions for future NRV work, such as rotational preprocessing to separate data in RadViz and NRVs for better cluster visualization.
Public health action and mass chemoprophylaxis in response to a small meningococcal infection outbreak at a nursery in the West Midlands, England
Authors: Stewart Antony , Coetzee Nic , Knapper Elizabeth , Rajanaidu Subhadra , Iqbal Zafar , Duggal Harsh 
Published: April 2012

Background: Meningococcal infection is fatal in 10% of cases, and age-specific attack rates are highest in infancy. A nursery outbreak was declared just before a bank holiday weekend in August 2010, when two children attending the same nursery were confirmed to have meningococcal infection. Although such outbreaks are rare, they generate considerable public alarm and are challenging to manage and control. This report describes the investigation and public health response to the outbreak. Results: Both cases had relatively mild disease and were confirmed as having serogroup B infection. Chemoprophylaxis and advice were given to most of the 146 children and 30 staff at the nursery. Within 28 hours of declaring the outbreak, over 95% of parents received information, advice and prescriptions for their children. GPs were also given information and the after-hours service provided continuity over the weekend. No further cases were identified and the outbreak was closed four weeks after being declared. Conclusions: Considerable logistical challenges were involved in providing timely advice and chemoprophylaxis to the entire nursery and staff one day before a bank holiday weekend. The speed of the public health response and implementation of preventive measures was crucial in providing assurance to parents and staff, and reducing their anxiety. The decision to provide on-site prescribing at the nursery (coupled with information sessions and individual counselling) proved to be a key implementation-success factor. Effective coordination and management by the outbreak control team was able to rapidly provide leadership, delegate tasks, identify gaps, allocate resources and ensure a proactive media response. A number of useful lessons were learnt and recommendations were made for future local practice.
Modification of an exposed loop in the C1 domain reduces immune responses to factor VIII in hemophilia A mice
Authors: Wroblewska Aleksandra , van Haren Simon D. , Herczenik Eszter , Kaijen Paul , Ruminska Aleksandra , Jin Sheng-Yu , Zheng X. Long , van den Biggelaar Maartje , ten Brinke Anja , Meijer Alexander B. , Voorberg Jan 
Published: April 2012

AbstractDevelopment of neutralizing Abs to blood coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) provides a major complication in hemophilia care. In this study we explored whether modulation of the uptake of FVIII by APCs can reduce its intrinsic immunogenicity. Endocytosis of FVIII by professional APCs is significantly blocked by mAb KM33, directed toward the C1 domain of FVIII. We created a C1 domain variant (FVIII-R2090A/K2092A/F2093A), which showed only minimal binding to KM33 and retained its activity as measured by chromogenic assay. FVIII-R2090A/K2092A/F2093A displayed a strongly reduced internalization by human monocyte-derived dendritic cells and macrophages, as well as murine BM-derived dendritic cells. We subsequently investigated the ability of this variant to induce an immune response in FVIII-deficient mice. We show that mice treated with FVIII-R2090A/K2092A/F2093A have significantly lower anti-FVIII Ab titers and FVIII-specific CD4+ T-cell responses compared with mice treated with wild-type FVIII. These data show that alanine substitutions at positions 2090, 2092, and 2093 reduce the immunogenicity of FVIII. According to our findings we hypothesize that FVIII variants displaying a reduced uptake by APCs provide a novel therapeutic approach to reduce inhibitor development in hemophilia A.
What have we learned from brucellosis in the mouse model?
Authors: Grilló María-Jesús , Blasco José María , Gorvel Jean Pierre , Moriyón Ignacio , Moreno Edgardo 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBrucellosis is a zoonosis caused by Brucella species. Brucellosis research in natural hosts is often precluded by practical, economical and ethical reasons and mice are widely used. However, mice are not natural Brucella hosts and the course of murine brucellosis depends on bacterial strain virulence, dose and inoculation route as well as breed, genetic background, age, sex and physiological statu of mice. Therefore, meaningful experiments require a definition of these variables. Brucella spleen replication profiles are highly reproducible and course in four phases: i), onset or spleen colonization (first 48 h); ii), acute phase, from the third day to the time when bacteria reach maximal numbers; iii), chronic steady phase, where bacterial numbers plateaus; and iv), chronic declining phase, during which brucellae are eliminated. This pattern displays clear physiopathological signs and is sensitive to small virulence variations, making possible to assess attenuation when fully virulent bacteria are used as controls. Similarly, immunity studies using mice with known defects are possible. Mutations affecting INF-γ, TLR9, Myd88, Tγδ and TNF-β favor Brucella replication; whereas IL-1β, IL-18, TLR4, TLR5, TLR2, NOD1, NOD2, GM-CSF, IL/17r, Rip2, TRIF, NK or Nramp1 deficiencies have no noticeable effects. Splenomegaly development is also useful: it correlates with IFN-γ and IL-12 levels and with Brucella strain virulence. The genetic background is also important: Brucella-resistant mice (C57BL) yield lower splenic bacterial replication and less splenomegaly than susceptible breeds. When inoculum is increased, a saturating dose above which bacterial numbers per organ do not augment, is reached. Unlike many gram-negative bacteria, lethal doses are large (≥ 108bacteria/mouse) and normally higher than the saturating dose. Persistence is a useful virulence/attenuation index and is used in vaccine (Residual Virulence) quality control. Vaccine candidates are also often tested in mice by determining splenic Brucella numbers after challenging with appropriate virulent brucellae doses at precise post-vaccination times. Since most live or killed Brucella vaccines provide some protection in mice, controls immunized with reference vaccines (S19 or Rev1) are critical. Finally, mice have been successfully used to evaluate brucellosis therapies. It is concluded that, when used properly, the mouse is a valuable brucellosis model.
A Gaijin-like miniature inverted repeat transposable element is mobilized in rice during cell differentiation
Authors: Dong Hai-Tao , Zhang Lu , Zheng Kang-Le , Yao Hai-Gen , Chen Jack , Yu Feng-Chi , Yu Xiao-Xing , Mao Bi-Zeng , Zhao Dong , Yao Jian , Li De-Bao 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackgroundMiniature inverted repeat transposable element (MITE) is one type of transposable element (TE), which is largely found in eukaryotic genomes and involved in a wide variety of biological events. However, only few MITEs were proved to be currently active and their physiological function remains largely unknown.ResultsWe found that the amplicon discrepancy of a gene locus LOC_Os01g0420 in different rice cultivar genomes was resulted from the existence of a member ofGaijin-like MITEs (mGing). This result indicated thatmGingtransposition was occurred at this gene locus. By using a modified transposon display (TD) analysis, the active transpositions ofmGingwere detected in rice Jiahua No. 1 genome under three conditions: in seedlings germinated from the seeds received a high dose γ-ray irradiation, in plantlets regenerated from anther-derived calli and from scutellum-derived calli, and were confirmed by PCR validation and sequencing. Sequence analysis revealed that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or short additional DNA sequences at transposition sites postmGingtransposition. It suggested that sequence modification was possibly taken place duringmGingtransposition. Furthermore, cell re-differentiation experiment showed that active transpositions of bothmGingandmPing(another well studied MITE) were identified only in regenerated plantlets.ConclusionsIt is for the first time thatmGingactive transposition was demonstrated under γ-ray irradiation or in cell re-differentiation process in rice. This newly identified active MITE will provide a foundation for further analysis of the roles of MITEs in biological process.
Effects of acid on the microstructures and properties of three-dimensional TiO2 hierarchical structures by solvothermal method
Authors: Zhou Jing , Song Bin , Zhao Gaoling , Han Gaorong 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) TiO2 hierarchical structures with various microstructures have been successfully synthesized via a surfactant-free and single-step solvothermal route, in which hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitric acid (HNO3), and acetic acid (HAc) are employed as the acid medium, respectively. The effects of acid medium on the microstructures and properties of 3D TiO2 hierarchical structure have been studied. The results indicate that 3D dandelion-like microspheres assembled of radial rutile nanorods are obtained in the sample prepared with HCl. Both the fraction of rutile and the diameter of nanorod enhance with the increasing HCl concentration. For the products derived from either HNO3 or HAc, 3D spheres composed of anatase nanoparticles are present. The 3D dandelion-like TiO2 hierarchical structures show low reflectance and efficient light harvesting since this ordered rod geometry offers a light-transfer path for incident light as well as multiple reflective and scattering effects. Moreover, 3D TiO2 with this unique topology shows superior photocatalytic activity despite low surface area, which can be ascribed to the enhanced light harvesting, fast electron transport, and low electron/hole recombination loss.
Convergence of algorithms for fixed points of generalized asymptotically quasi-ϕ-nonexpansive mappings with applications
Authors: Qin Xiaolong , Agarwal Ravi P , Cho Sun Young , Kang Shin Min 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
In this article, strong convergence of Krasnoselski-Mann iterative sequences and Halpern iterative sequences are investigated based on hybrid projection methods. Strong convergence theorems for common fixed points of a family of generalized asymptotically quasi-ϕ-nonexpansive mappings are established in the framework of Banach spaces.

Mathematics Subject Classification 2000: 47H09; 47J05; 47J25