bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reliability-Based Dynamic Maintenance Threshold for Failure Prevention of Continuously Monitored Degrading Systems
Authors: Li Lin , You Mingyi , Ni Jun 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
Machine failures in manufacturing systems interrupt production operations and cause production loss. The conventional methods for failure prevention are to perform preventive maintenance before failure occurs. In these methods, a fixed maintenance threshold (FMT) is obtained using the lifetime distribution of each machine. This threshold can then be used to trigger maintenance work-orders. A problem with the conventional technique is that it does not consider the updated state of the system, which continues to change before and after maintenance. Therefore, unnecessarily high costs can be incurred due to unexpected equipment failure (lack of maintenance) or excessive maintenance. In this paper, a reliability-based dynamic maintenance threshold (DMT) is calculated based on the updated equipment status. The benefits of the DMT are demonstrated in a numerical case study on a drilling process. The results illustrate that the maintenance policy using the DMT can reduce unscheduled downtime, increase equipment availability, and utilize the equipment remaining useful life more effectively than a conventional FMT-based maintenance policy.
Occupational eye injury and risk reduction: Kentucky workers’ compensation claim analysis 1994–2003
Authors: McCall B P , Horwitz I B , Taylor O A 
Published: June 2009

Background:Occupational eye injuries are a significant source of injury in the workplace. Little population-based research in the area has been conducted, and is necessary for developing and prioritising effective interventions.Methods:Workers’ compensation data from the state of Kentucky for the years 1994–2003 were analysed by demographics, injury nature and cause, cost, and occupational and industrial characteristics. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey was utilised to compute injury rates for demographic and occupational groups.Results:There were 10 545 claims of ocular injury, representing 6.29 claims per 10 000 workers on average annually. A substantial drop in the claim rate was found after the state passed monetary penalties for injuries caused by employer negligence or OSHA violations. Claims by men were over three times more likely than those by women to have associated claim costs (OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.32 to 0.85; p = 0.009). The highest eye injury rates per 10 000 of 13.46 (95% CI 12.86 to 14.07) were found for the helpers/labourers occupation, and of 19.95 (95% CI 18.73 to 21.17) for the construction industry. The total cost of claim payments over the period was over $3 480 000, and average cost per claim approximated $331.Conclusions:Eye injuries remain a significant risk to worker health, especially among men in jobs requiring intensive manual labour. Evidence showed that increased legislative regulation led to a decline in eye injuries, which was consistent with other recent findings in the area. Additionally, targeting groups most at risk, increasing worker training, providing effective eye protection equipment, and developing workplace safety cultures may together reduce occupational eye injuries.
The burden of road traffic injuries in Nigeria: results of a population-based survey
Authors: Labinjo M , Juillard C , Kobusingye O C , Hyder A A 
Published: June 2009

Background:Mortality from road traffic injuries in sub-Saharan Africa is among the highest in the world, yet data from the region are sparse. To date, no multi-site population-based survey on road traffic injuries has been reported from Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa.Objective:To explore the epidemiology of road traffic injury in Nigeria and provide data on the populations affected and risk factors for road traffic injury.Design:Data from a population-based survey using two-stage stratified cluster sampling.Subjects/setting:Road traffic injury status and demographic information were collected on 3082 respondents living in 553 households in seven of Nigeria’s 37 states.Main outcome measures:Incidence rates were estimated with confidence intervals based on a Poisson distribution; Poisson regression analysis was used to calculate relative risks for associated factors.Results:The overall road traffic injury rate was 41 per 1000 population (95% CI 34 to 49), and mortality from road traffic injuries was 1.6 per 1000 population (95% CI 0.5 to 3.8). Motorcycle crashes accounted for 54% of all road traffic injuries. The road traffic injury rates found for rural and urban respondents were not significantly different. Increased risk of injury was associated with male gender among those aged 18–44 years, with a relative risk of 2.96 when compared with women in the same age range (95% CI 1.72 to 5.09, p<0.001).Conclusions:The road traffic injury rates found in this survey highlight a neglected public health problem in Nigeria. Simple extrapolations from this survey suggest that over 4 million people may be injured and as many as 200 000 potentially killed as the result of road traffic crashes annually in Nigeria. Appropriate interventions in both the health and transport sectors are needed to address this significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.
The effect of education and home safety equipment on childhood thermal injury prevention: meta-analysis and meta-regression
Authors: Kendrick D , Smith S , Sutton A J , Mulvaney C , Watson M , Coupland C , Mason-Jones A 
Published: June 2009

Objective:To evaluate whether home safety education and safety equipment provision increases thermal injury prevention practices or reduces thermal injury rates and whether the effect of interventions differs by social group.Methods:Systematic review and meta-analysis using individual participant data (IPD) evaluating home safety education with or without provision of free or discounted safety equipment provided to children or young people aged 0–19 years. Main outcome measures: possession of functional smoke alarm, fitted fireguard and fire extinguisher; keeping hot drinks or food and keeping matches or lighters out of reach; having a safe hot water temperature and rate of medically attended thermal injuries.Results:Home safety interventions were effective in increasing the proportion of families with a functional smoke alarm (odds ratio (OR) 1.83, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.74) and with a safe hot tap water temperature (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.80). There was some evidence they increased possession of fitted fireguards (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.94), but there was a lack of evidence that interventions reduced medically attended thermal injury rates (incident rate ratio (IRR) 1.12, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.56). There was no consistent evidence that the effectiveness of interventions varied by social group.Conclusions:Home safety education, especially with the provision of safety equipment, is effective in increasing some thermal injury prevention practices, but there is insufficient evidence to show whether this also reduces injury rates.
Building national estimates of the burden of road traffic injuries in developing countries from all available data sources: Iran
Authors: Bhalla K , Naghavi M , Shahraz S , Bartels D , Murray C J L 
Published: June 2009

Objective:To use a range of existing information sources to develop a national snapshot of the burden of road traffic injuries in one developing country—Iran.Methods:The distribution of deaths was estimated by using data from the national death registration system, hospital admissions and outpatient visits from a time-limited hospital registry in 12 of 30 provinces, and injuries that received no institutional care using the 2000 demographic and health survey. Results were extrapolated to national annual incidence of health burden differentiated by age, sex, external cause, nature of injuries and institutional care.Results:In 2005, 30 721 Iranians died annually in road traffic crashes and over one million were injured. The death rate (44 per 100 000) is the highest of any country in the world for which reliable estimates are available. Road traffic injuries are the third leading cause of death in Iran. While young adults are at high risk in non-fatal crashes, the elderly have the highest total death rates, largely due to pedestrian crashes. While car occupants lead the death count, motorised two-wheeler riders dominate hospital admissions, outpatient visits and health burden.Conclusions:Reliable estimates of the burden of road traffic injuries are an essential input for rational priority setting. Most low income countries are unlikely to have national injury surveillance systems for several decades. Thus national estimates of the burden of injuries should be built by collating information from all existing information sources by appropriately correcting for source specific shortcomings.
The Preventing Australian Football Injuries with Exercise (PAFIX) Study: a group randomised controlled trial
Authors: Finch C , Lloyd D , Elliott B 
Published: June 2009

Background:Knee injuries are a major injury concern for Australian Football players and participants of many other sports worldwide. There is increasing evidence from laboratory and biomechanically focused studies about the likely benefit of targeted exercise programmes to prevent knee injuries. However, there have been few international studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of such programmes in the real-world context of community sport that have combined epidemiological, behavioural and biomechanical approaches.Objective:To implement a fully piloted and tested exercise training intervention to reduce the number of football-related knee injuries. In so doing, to evaluate the intervention’s effectiveness in the real-world context of community football and to determine if the underlying neural and biomechanical training adaptations are associated with decreased risk of injury.Setting:Adult players from community-level Australian Football clubs in two Australian states over the 2007–08 playing seasons.Methods:A group-clustered randomised controlled trial with teams of players randomly allocated to either a coach-delivered targeted exercise programme or usual behaviour (control). Epidemiological component: field-based injury surveillance and monitoring of training/game exposures. Behavioural component: evaluation of player and coach attitudes, knowledge, behaviours and compliance, both before and after the intervention is implemented. Biomechanical component: biomechanical, game mobility and neuromuscular parameters assessed to determine the fundamental effect of training on these factors and injury risk.Outcome measures:The rate and severity of injury in the intervention group compared with the control group. Changes, if any, in behavioural components. Process evaluation: coach delivery factors and likely sustainability.
Origin and use of the 100 cigarette criterion in tobacco surveys
Authors: Bondy S J , Victor J C , Diemert L M 
Published: June 2009

Truly global standards and definitions will likely never exist for tobacco control surveillance. One difference across definitions of smoking status is whether or not a lifetime consumption of 100 cigarettes is a necessary criterion for ever and current smoking. Frequently asked questions about this measure demonstrate a need for information on its development and appropriateness in different settings. This commentary attempts to assemble information on the origin and adoption of this measure and provide some critical commentary on its usefulness.The question has been traced to Canadian and American mortality cohort studies from the mid-1950s. From there it has spread to inconsistent use in many settings. To our knowledge, it was not originally (or since) empirically defined as a threshold of exposure related to health consequences or future smoking risk when used in youth.Anecdotal evidence over several decades, however, shows the question has pragmatic utility in self-report data collection. It is a useful, if somewhat arbitrary, screener for “never regular” tobacco use among adults, where never smoking needs to be defined in data collection. Use of the criterion may lower prevalence estimates somewhat. Definitions must always be considered when creating time-trends or international comparisons.There are also circumstances where it is inappropriate to exclude individuals who do not meet this criterion from further data collection, or reports. For research in youth, the criterion typically should be used only with more detailed information about experimentation, but it may be a useful additional indicator of established smoking.
PROPOSAL OF A SEMIFORMAL MODEL OF ANONYMOUS COMMUNICATION
Authors: ŠPROJCAR JOSEF 
Published: June 2009

We present a semiformal model of anonymous communication with several participants performing several anonymous actions on several messages, e.g. in digital pseudosignatures. The goal is to design a model having enough expressive power to model simple as well as very complex anonymous communication patterns.Our model concentrates on anonymity of a sender, a receiver, and on the relationship anonymity. However, the model is easy to adopt to other types of anonymity. A special anonymous channel formalism is introduced and extensively explored in this paper. The formalism builds on the top of so-called estimation procedure which takes knowledge of the adversary and processes it to find anonymous participants. Some other, already published, models of anonymity, e.g. the model of Hughes and Shmatikov or of Halpern and O'Neill, are compatible with our model – they could be used as building blocks together with (or instead of) our estimation procedure. Therefore, the tools developed for those models can be easily adapted to be used with our model.We use protocol runs and an observational equivalence on the runs which is induced by adversary's knowledge. This is a well developed area of the theoretical computer science and many tools developed therein can be adapted to work with our model. Our model is also open to many additional features, e.g. the possibility to include probability distributions on anonymity sets.
SOLUTIONS OF THE SCHRÖDINGER–POISSON PROBLEM CONCENTRATING ON SPHERES, PART I: NECESSARY CONDITIONS
Authors: IANNI ISABELLA , VAIRA GIUSI 
Published: June 2009

In this paper we study a coupled nonlinear Schrödinger–Poisson problem with radial functions. This system has been introduced as a model describing standing waves for the nonlinear Schrödinger equations in the presence of the electrostatic field. We provide necessary conditions for concentration on sphere for the solutions of this kind of problem extending the results already known.
Inhibition of Transforming Growth Factor-β–Mediated Immunosuppression in Tumor-Draining Lymph Nodes Augments Antitumor Responses by Various Immunologic Cell Types
Authors: Fujita Takuya , Teramoto Koji , Ozaki Yoshitomo , Hanaoka Jun , Tezuka Noriaki , Itoh Yasushi , Asai Tohru , Fujino Shozo , Kontani Keiichi , Ogasawara Kazumasa 
Published: June 2009

AbstractTumor-draining lymph nodes (DLN) are the most important priming sites for generation of antitumor immune responses. They are also the location where an immunosuppressive cytokine, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), plays a critical role in suppressing these antitumor immune responses. We focused on TGF-β–mediated immunosuppression in DLNs and examined whether local inhibition of TGF-β augmented antitumor immune responses systemically in tumor-bearing mice models. For inhibition of TGF-β–mediated immunosuppression in DLNs, C57BL/6 mice subcutaneously bearing E.G7 tumors were administered plasmid DNA encoding the extracellular domain of TGF-β type II receptor fused to the human IgG heavy chain (TGFR DNA) i.m. near the established tumor. In DLNs, inhibition of TGF-β suppressed the proliferation of regulatory T cells and increased the number of tumor antigen-specific CD4+ or CD8+ cells producing IFN-γ. Enhancement of antitumor immune responses in DLNs were associated with augmented tumor antigen-specific cytotoxic and natural killer activity in spleen as well as elevated levels of tumor-specific antibody in sera. The growth of the established metastatic as well as primary tumors was effectively suppressed via augmented antitumor immune responses. Inhibition of TGF-β–mediated immunosuppression in DLNs is significantly associated with augmented antitumor responses by various immunocompetent cell types. This animal model provides a novel rationale for molecular cancer therapeutics targeting TGF-β. [Cancer Res 2009;69(12):5142–50]
Notch Activation Induces Akt Signaling via an Autocrine Loop to Prevent Apoptosis in Breast Epithelial Cells
Authors: Meurette Olivier , Stylianou Spyros , Rock Rebecca , Collu Giovanna M. , Gilmore Andrew P. , Brennan Keith 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
The Notch pathway is aberrantly activated in a wide range of cancers, including breast carcinoma, and is required to maintain the transformed phenotype of many of these tumors. Notch signaling contributes to the transformed phenotype, in part, by preventing apoptosis in response to many different stimuli. However, it is unclear how Notch activation can lead to a general suppression of apoptosis. We show here that Notch signaling induced an autocrine signaling loop that activates Akt in breast epithelial cells. This activation of Akt was necessary for Notch-induced protection against apoptosis in the nontransformed breast epithelial cell line MCF10A. Moreover, inhibiting Notch signaling in breast cancer cells induced a decrease in Akt activity and an increase in sensitivity to apoptosis. Finally, the inhibition of ASK1 by Akt was responsible for the protection from apoptosis induced by DNA damage, as it prevented c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase-mediated phosphorylation and activation of p53. [Cancer Res 2009;69(12):5015–22]
In vitro and In vivo Activity of Novel Small-Molecule Inhibitors Targeting the Pleckstrin Homology Domain of Protein Kinase B/AKT
Authors: Moses Sylvestor A. , Ali M. Ahad , Zuohe Song , Du-Cuny Lei , Zhou Li Li , Lemos Robert , Ihle Nathan , Skillman A. Geoffrey , Zhang Shuxing , Mash Eugene A. , Powis Garth , Meuillet Emmanuelle J. 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT signaling pathway plays a critical role in activating survival and antiapoptotic pathways within cancer cells. Several studies have shown that this pathway is constitutively activated in many different cancer types. The goal of this study was to discover novel compounds that bind to the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of AKT, thereby inhibiting AKT activation. Using proprietary docking software, 22 potential PH domain inhibitors were identified. Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy was used to measure the binding of the compounds to the expressed PH domain of AKT followed by an in vitro activity screen in Panc-1 and MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cell lines. We identified a novel chemical scaffold in several of the compounds that binds selectively to the PH domain of AKT, inducing a decrease in AKT activation and causing apoptosis at low micromolar concentrations. Structural modifications of the scaffold led to compounds with enhanced inhibitory activity in cells. One compound, 4-dodecyl-N-(1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)benzenesulfonamide, inhibited AKT and its downstream targets in cells as well as in pancreatic cancer cell xenografts in immunocompromised mice; it also exhibited good antitumor activity. In summary, a pharmacophore for PH domain inhibitors targeting AKT function was developed. Computer-aided modeling, synthesis, and testing produced novel AKT PH domain inhibitors that exhibit promising preclinical properties. [Cancer Res 2009;69(12):5073–81]
Cathepsin D and Eukaryotic Translation Elongation Factor 1 as Promising Markers of Cellular Senescence
Authors: Byun Hae-Ok , Han Na-Kyung , Lee Hae-June , Kim Ki-Bum , Ko Young-Gyu , Yoon Gyesoon , Lee Yun-Sil , Hong Seok-Il , Lee Jae-Seon 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
Induction of premature senescence may be a promising strategy for cancer treatment. However, biomarkers for senescent cancer cells are lacking. To identify such biomarkers, we performed comparative proteomic analysis of MCF7 human breast cancer cells undergoing cellular senescence in response to ionizing radiation (IR). IR-induced senescence was associated with up-regulation of cathepsin D (CD) and down-regulation of eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1β2 (eEF1B2), as confirmed by Western blot. The other elongation factor, eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1α1 (eEF1A1), was also down-regulated. IR-induced senescence was associated with similar changes of CD and eEF1 (eEF1A1 and eEF1B2) levels in the HCT116 colon cancer cell line and the H460 lung cancer cell line. Up-regulation of CD and down-regulation of eEF1 seemed to be specific to senescence, as they were observed during cellular senescence induced by hydrogen peroxide or anticancer drugs (camptothecin, etoposide, or 50 ng doxorubicin) but not during apoptosis induced by Taxol or 10 μg doxorubicin or autophagy induced by tamoxifen. The same alterations in CD and eEF1A1 levels were observed during replicative senescence and Ras oncogene-induced senescence. Transient cell cycle arrest did not alter levels of eEF1 or CD. Chemical inhibition of CD (pepstatin A) and small interfering RNA–mediated knockdown of CD and eEF1 revealed that these factors participate in cell proliferation. Finally, the senescence-associated alteration in CD and eEF1 levels observed in cell lines was also observed in IR-exposed xenografted tumors. These findings show that CD and eEF1 are promising markers for the detection of cellular senescence induced by a variety of treatments. [Cancer Res 2009;69(11):4638–47]
Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles of Microdissected Cell Populations Indicates that Testicular CarcinomaIn situIs an Arrested Gonocyte
Authors: Sonne Si Brask , Almstrup Kristian , Dalgaard Marlene , Juncker Agnieszka Sierakowska , Edsgard Daniel , Ruban Ludmila , Harrison Neil J. , Schwager Christian , Abdollahi Amir , Huber Peter E. , Brunak Søren , Gjerdrum Lise Mette , Moore Harry D. , Andrews Peter W. , Skakkebaek Niels E. , Meyts Ewa Rajpert-De , Leffers Henrik 
Published: June 2009

AbstractTesticular germ cell cancers in young adult men derive from a precursor lesion called carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the testis. CIS cells were suggested to arise from primordial germ cells or gonocytes. However, direct studies on purified samples of CIS cells are lacking. To overcome this problem, we performed laser microdissection of CIS cells. Highly enriched cell populations were obtained and subjected to gene expression analysis. The expression profile of CIS cells was compared with microdissected gonocytes, oogonia, and cultured embryonic stem cells with and without genomic aberrations. Three samples of each tissue type were used for the analyses. Unique expression patterns for these developmentally very related cell types revealed that CIS cells were very similar to gonocytes because only five genes distinguished these two cell types. We did not find indications that CIS was derived from a meiotic cell, and the similarity to embryonic stem cells was modest compared with gonocytes. Thus, we provide new evidence that the molecular phenotype of CIS cells is similar to that of gonocytes. Our data are in line with the idea that CIS cells may be gonocytes that survived in the postnatal testis. We speculate that disturbed development of somatic cells in the fetal testis may play a role in allowing undifferentiated cells to survive in the postnatal testes. The further development of CIS into invasive germ cell tumors may depend on signals from their postpubertal niche of somatic cells, including hormones and growth factors from Leydig and Sertoli cells. [Cancer Res 2009;69(12):5241–50]