bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma with 131I-lipiodol: patient dosimetry
Authors: Pauleit D. , Palmedo H. , Bender H. , Bucerius J. , Ezziddin S. , Klein V. , Grünwald F. , Biersack H.-J. , Reichmann K. , Risse J. H. 
Published: August 2007

SummaryAim: Dosimetry in 131I-lipiodol therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the hitherto largest existing patient cohort. Patients, methods: 38 courses of intra-arterial 131I-lipiodol therapy with a total activity up to 6.7 GBq were performed in 18 patients with HCC. Liver and tumour volume were measured by computed tomography (CT) and 131I activity by scintigraphy on day 3, 6, 14, 28 and 42 after injection. Lipiodol deposition in tumour nodules as shown by CT rendered definite attachment to scintigraphic data possible. The radiation dose in tumour nodules, liver and lungs was calculated according to the MIRD concept and the tumour dose related to pre-therapeutic tumour volume, response and survival. Results: Mean tumour dose was 23.6 ± 3.6 Gy (14.2 ± 2.1 mGy/MBq) with maximal 162 Gy (90.1 mGy/MBq) after one and 274 Gy after three courses. The dose to nontumourous liver was 1.9 ± 0.2 Gy (1.2 ± 0.1 mGy/MBq) and the mean dose ratio of tumour / nontumourous liver 11.1 ± 1.7 (max. 82). The pulmonary dose was 25.9 ± 1.8 mGy (16.3 ± 1.2 μGy/MBq) and therefore much lower. There was a reciprocal relation between tumour dose and pretherapeutic tumour volume. Tumour dose had no effect on response or survival. Conclusion: High radiation doses are particularly in small tumour nodes achievable but not necessarily related to tumour response. The dose of non-tumourous liver and lungs is much lower.
Procedure guideline for radioiodine test (Version 3)
Authors: Dressler J. , Eschner W. , Lassmann M. , Leisner B. , Reiners C. , Schicha H. , Dietlein M. 
Published: August 2007

SummaryThe version 3 of the procedure guideline for radioiodine test is an update of the guideline previously published in 2003. The procedure guideline discusses the pros and cons of a single measurement or of repeated measurements of the iodine-131 uptake and their optimal timing. Different formulas are described when one, two or three values of the radioiodine kinetic are available. The probe with a sodiumiodine crystal, alternatively or additionally the gammacamera using the ROI-technique are instrumentations for the measurement of iodine-131 uptake. A possible source of error is an inappropriate measurement (sonography) of the target volume. The patients' preparation includes the withdrawal of antithyroid drugs 2–3 days before radioiodine administration. The patient has to avoid iodine-containing medication and the possibility of additives of iodine in vitamin- and electrolyte-supplementation has to be considered.
Procedure guideline for radioiodine therapy and 131iodine whole-body scintigraphy in paediatric patients with differentiated thyroid cancer
Authors: Dietlein M. , Biermann M. , Frühwald M. , Linden T. , Bucsky P. , Reiners C. , Schober O. , Franzius C. 
Published: August 2007

SummaryThe procedure guideline for radioiodine (131I) therapy and 131I whole-body scintigraphy of differentiated thyroid cancer in paediatric patients is the counterpart to the procedure guidelines (version 3) for adult patients and specify the interdisciplinary guideline for thyroid cancer of the Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft concerning the nuclear medicine part. Characteristics of thyroid cancer in children are the higher aggressiveness of papillary thyroid cancer, the higher frequency of extrathyroidal extension and of disseminated pulmonary metastases as well as the high risk of local recurrences. Radioiodine therapy is generally recommended in children, the 131I activity depends on the children's body weight. Radioiodine ablation in children with small papillary cancer (≤1 cm) should be considered. TSH stimulation is reached two weeks (children) or three weeks (adolescents) after withdrawal of thyroid hormones. Anti-emetic drugs are highly recommended. CT of the chest and examination of pulmonary function are clearly indicated if there is any suspicion on metastases. 3–6 months after 131I ablation, the 131I whole-body scintigraphy is highly recommended as lymph node metastases are frequently detected in paediatric patients. Follow-up care should be arranged in shorter intervals than in adults to test the compliance and to adapt dosage of thyroid hormones to the children's body weight. Reference values of fT3 are higher in children than in adults. Evidence is insufficient to describe in which constellation the TSH may be kept within the low normal level. Therefore, TSH suppression is generally recommended.
Structure of the Annual-Mean Equatorial Planetary Waves in the ERA-40 Reanalyses
Authors: Dima Ioana M. , Wallace John M. 
Published: August 2007

The three-dimensional structure of the annual-mean equatorial planetary waves in the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) is documented. The features in the free atmosphere are predominantly equatorially symmetric, driven by east–west heating gradients. The geopotential height and wind perturbations are strongest at or just below the 150-hPa level. Below the level of maximum amplitude, the circulations in the waves are thermally direct with latent heat release in deep convective clouds and radiative cooling in the intervening cloud-free regions. Within the overlying capping layer, the wave-related circulations are thermally indirect, with rising of the coldest air and sinking of air that is less cold. At the cold point, just above the 100-hPa (17 km) level, the ERA-40 annual-mean vertical velocity in the equatorial belt ranges up to 3 mm s−1 over the equatorial western Pacific during the boreal winter, implying diabatic heating rates of up to 3°C day−1, an order of magnitude larger than typical clear-sky values. Strong heating is consistent with evidence of widespread thin and subvisible cirrus cloud layers over this region. It is hypothesized that the air mass as a whole is rising (as opposed to just the air in the updrafts of convective clouds) and that this plume of ascending air spreads out horizontally at or just above the cold point, ventilating and lifting the entire lower stratosphere. El Niño years are characterized by anomalously weak equatorial planetary waves in the Indo-Pacific sector and slightly enhanced waves over the Atlantic sector and cold years of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle by the opposite conditions. Equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature is as well correlated with the strength of the equatorial planetary waves in the upper troposphere over the Indo-Pacific sector as it is with the conventional Southern Oscillation index based on sea level pressure.
Short-Range Forecast Impact from Assimilation of GPS-IPW Observations into the Rapid Update Cycle
Authors: Smith Tracy Lorraine , Benjamin Stanley G. , Gutman Seth I. , Sahm Susan 
Published: August 2007

Abstract
Integrated precipitable water (IPW) estimates derived from time delays in the arrival of global positioning system (GPS) satellite signals are a relatively recent, high-frequency source of atmospheric moisture information available for real-time data assimilation. Different experimental versions of the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) have assimilated these observations to assess GPS-IPW impact on moisture forecasts. In these tests, GPS-IPW data have proven to be a useful real-time source of moisture information, leading to more accurate short-range moisture forecasts when added to other observations. A multiyear experiment with parallel (one with GPS-IPW processed 24 h after the fact, one without) 3-h cycles using the original 60-km RUC was run from 1999 to 2004 with verification of each cycle against rawinsonde observations. This experiment showed a steady increase in the positive impact in short-range relative humidity (RH) forecasts due to the GPS-IPW data as the number of observing sites increased from 18 to almost 300 (as of 2004) across the United States and Canada. Positive impact from GPS-IPW on 850–700-hPa RH forecasts was also evident in 6- and 12-h forecasts. The impact of GPS-IPW data was also examined on forecasts from the more recent 20-km RUC, including a 1-h assimilation cycle and improved assimilation and physical parameterizations, now using real-time GPS-IPW retrievals available 30 min after valid time. In a 3-month comparison during the March–May 2004 period, 20-km RUC cycles with and without assimilation of GPS-IPW were compared with IPW for 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-h forecasts. Using this measure, assimilation of GPS-IPW data led to the strongest improvements in the 3- and 6-h forecasts and smaller but still evident improvements in 9- and 12-h forecasts. In a severe convective weather case, inclusion of GPS-IPW data improved forecasts of convective available potential energy, an important predictor of severe storm potential, and relative humidity. Positive impact from GPS-IPW assimilation was found to vary over season, geographical location, and time of day, apparently related to variations in vertical mixing. For example, GPS-IPW has a stronger effect on improving RH forecasts at 850 hPa at nighttime (than daytime) and in cooler seasons (than warmer seasons) when surface moisture observations are less representative of conditions aloft. As a result of these studies, assimilation of GPS-IPW was added to the operational RUC run at NOAA/NCEP in June 2005 and to the operational North American Mesoscale model (also at NCEP) in June 2006 to improve their accuracy for short-range moisture forecasts.
Sensitivity of Cloud-Resolving Simulations of Warm-Season Convection to Cloud Microphysics Parameterizations
Authors: Liu Changhai , Moncrieff Mitchell W. 
Published: August 2007

Abstract
This paper investigates the effects of cloud microphysics parameterizations on simulations of warm-season precipitation at convection-permitting grid spacing. The objective is to assess the sensitivity of summertime convection predictions to the bulk microphysics parameterizations (BMPs) at fine-grid spacings applicable to the next generation of operational numerical weather prediction models. Four microphysical parameterization schemes are compared: simple ice (Dudhia), four-class mixed phase (Reisner et al.), Goddard five-class mixed phase (Tao and Simpson), and five-class mixed phase with graupel (Reisner et al.). The experimentation involves a 7-day episode (3–9 July 2003) of U.S. midsummer convection under moderate large-scale forcing. Overall, the precipitation coherency manifested as eastward-moving organized convection in the lee of the Rockies is insensitive to the choice of the microphysics schemes, and the latent heating profiles are also largely comparable among the BMPs. The upper-level condensate and cloudiness, upper-level radiative cooling/heating, and rainfall spectrum are the most sensitive, whereas the domain-mean rainfall rate and areal coverage display moderate sensitivity. Overall, the three mixed-phase schemes outperform the simple ice scheme, but a general conclusion about the degree of sophistication in the microphysics treatment and the performance is not achievable.
Interaction between Dynamics and Cloud Microphysics in Orographic Precipitation Enhancement: A High-Resolution Modeling Study of Two North Alpine Heavy-Precipitation Events
Authors: Zängl Günther 
Published: August 2007

Abstract
Interactions of atmospheric dynamics and cloud microphysics with the Alpine orography are investigated for two north Alpine heavy-precipitation cases (20–22 May 1999 and 22–23 August 2005). Both cases were related to a deep cyclone propagating slowly eastward along the Alps, advecting moist air of Mediterranean origin toward the northern side of the Alps. A validation against high-resolution rain gauge data reveals that the average model bias is below 15% in the region of interest, but there is a tendency to systematically underestimate very heavy precipitation. A scale decomposition of the discrepancies between model and observations reveals that errors on the meso-β-scale contribute at least as much to the total model error as discrepancies on the meso-γ-scale. On the scale of single mountain ridges and valleys, the formation of precipitation maxima at valley locations is investigated, with particular emphasis on a region in which a valley receives systematically more precipitation than the adjacent mountain ridges. It is found that the downstream advection of precipitation hydrometeors generated in an orographic feeder cloud is essential for the development of valley maxima. Strong ambient winds and (due to the fall speed difference between snow/graupel and rain) a low freezing level favor a large distance of the precipitation maximum from the upstream mountain ridge. Under suitable geometrical conditions, downstream advection of hydrometeors can even lead to systematically more precipitation in the valley than over the adjacent ridges. Another mechanism capable of generating a systematic rainfall maximum at valley locations requires a freezing level between valley bottom and crest height and a mountain wave flow penetrating into the valley. Under such conditions, the increase in the fall velocity related to melting of snow or graupel into rain leads to a locally intensified fallout of hydrometeors and thus to a maximum in the precipitation rate.
Supervised exercise training combined with ginkgo biloba treatment for patients with peripheral arterial disease
Authors: Wang Jianxiong , Zhou Shi , Bronks Roger , Graham John , Myers Stephen 
Published: August 2007

Objectives: To evaluate whether a combination of supervised exercise training and ginkgo biloba treatment is a better treatment than exercise training alone for patients with peripheral arterial disease. Design: A 24-week double-blind, placebo-controlled ginkgo biloba trial with the first 12-week period as a non-exercise control stage and the second 12-week period as an exercise training stage. Setting: Exercise physiology laboratory. Subjects: Twenty-two subjects with peripheral arterial disease. Interventions: The subjects were randomly allocated into a ginkgo or a placebo group. During the first stage, the ginkgo group ingested standardized ginkgo biloba tablets with a daily dosage of 240 mg, while the placebo group received placebo tablets. During the second stage, all subjects engaged in a supervised treadmill-walking programme while continuing to take the same dosage of ginkgo biloba or placebo tablets. Main measures: Walking capacity on treadmill, oxygen consumption during exercise, peripheral haemodynamics and blood viscosity were measured at baseline, and after the first and the second stages of treatment. Results: The ginkgo group did not show significant changes in most of the measured variables after each stage of treatment, except that the maximal walking time was significantly increased after the combined treatment (from 236 ± 112 seconds to 557 ± 130 seconds, P < 0.001). However, similar response was also found in the placebo group after exercise training (from 384 ± 125 seconds to 820 ± 146 seconds, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Supervised exercise training combined with ginkgo biloba treatment did not produce greater beneficial effects than exercise training alone in patients with peripheral arterial disease.
A new efficient statistical test for detecting variability in the gene expression data
Authors: Mathur Sunil , Dolo Samuel 
Published: August 2007

DNA microarray technology allows researchers to monitor the expressions of thousands of genes under different conditions. The detection of differential gene expression under two different conditions is very important in microarray studies. Microarray experiments are multi-step procedures and each step is a potential source of variance. This makes the measurement of variability difficult because approach based on gene-by-gene estimation of variance will have few degrees of freedom. It is highly possible that the assumption of equal variance for all the expression levels may not hold. Also, the assumption of normality of gene expressions may not hold. Thus it is essential to have a statistical procedure which is not based on the normality assumption and also it can detect genes with differential variance efficiently. The detection of differential gene expression variance will allow us to identify experimental variables that affect different biological processes and accuracy of DNA microarray measurements. In this article, a new nonparametric test for scale is developed based on the arctangent of the ratio of two expression levels. Most of the tests available in literature require the assumption of normal distribution, which makes them inapplicable in many situations, and it is also hard to verify the suitability of the normal distribution assumption for the given data set. The proposed test does not require the assumption of the distribution for the underlying population and hence makes it more practical and widely applicable. The asymptotic relative efficiency is calculated under different distributions, which show that the proposed test is very powerful when the assumption of normality breaks down. Monte Carlo simulation studies are performed to compare the power of the proposed test with some of the existing procedures. It is found that the proposed test is more powerful than commonly used tests under almost all the distributions considered in the study. A microarray data is used to illustrate the working of the proposed test. Results indicate that the proposed test is very powerful in detecting the smallest change in differential expression variance with high degree of confidence than some of its competitors.
Respiratory impedance in children with cystic fibrosis using forced oscillations in clinic
Authors: Gangell C. L. , Horak F. , Patterson H. J. , Sly P. D. , Stick S. M. , Hall G. L. 
Published: August 2007

Measurement of lung function is an important component of clinical management in cystic fibrosis (CF), but has been difficult in young children. The present study aimed to characterise the utility of the forced oscillation technique for measurement of lung function in preschool-aged children with CF in a routine clinical setting.Lung function was assessed in 56 young children (aged 2–7 yrs) with CF. Respiratory system resistance (Rrs) and reactance (Xrs) at 6, 8 and 10 Hz were measured and expressed as Z-scores. Children were classified as asymptomatic or symptomatic based on an administered respiratory questionnaire and physical examination at the time of testing. Between-test repeatability was assessed in 25 children.Measurement of lung function using the forced oscillation technique was feasible in the CF clinic. The children with CF, as a group, had Z-scores forRrsat 6 Hz (Rrs,6)Rrs,8,Rrs,10,Xrsat 6 Hz (Xrs,6) andXrs,8that were significantly different from zero. Children with current symptoms showed significantly decreasedXrsand increasedRrs,6compared with asymptomatic children.Measurement of lung function using the forced oscillation technique is feasible in young children with cystic fibrosis in a clinical setting. The technique has the potential to improve knowledge concerning early cystic fibrosis lung disease.
Discrimination of exudative pleural effusions based on multiple biological parameters
Authors: Daniil Z. D. , Zintzaras E. , Kiropoulos T. , Papaioannou A. I. , Koutsokera A. , Kastanis A. , Gourgoulianis K. I. 
Published: August 2007

Pleural effusion is a common complication of various diseases. Conventional methods are not always capable of establishing the cause of pleural effusion, so alternative tests are needed. The aim of this study was to explore means of discriminating between different pleural effusion groups, malignant, parapneumonic and tuberculous, based on the combined function of seven biological markers.Adenosine deaminase (ADA), interferon-γ, C-reactive protein (CRP), carcinoembryonic antigen, interleukin-6, tumour necrosis factor-α and vascular endothelial growth factor concentration levels were measured in pleural fluid from 45 patients with malignant, 15 with parapneumonic and 12 with tuberculous pleural effusion. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, multinomial logit modelling and canonical variate analysis were applied to discriminate the pleural effusion groups.The three groups could be discriminated successfully using the measured markers. The most important parameters for discrimination were ADA and CRP concentration levels. An individual with an ADA concentration level of >45 U·L−1and a CRP concentration of <4 mg·dL−1was more likely to belong to the tuberculous pleural effusion group, whereas one with an ADA concentration level of <40 U·L−1and a CRP concentration of >6 mg·dL−1was more likely to belong to the parapneumonic pleural effusion group, and one with a CRP concentration of <4 mg·dL−1to the malignant pleural effusion group.The combination of adenosine deaminase and C-reactive protein levels might be sufficient for discriminating between the three different groups of exudative pleural effusion: malignant, tuberculous and parapneumonic.
Structural footprinting in protein structure comparison: the impact of structural fragments
Authors: Zotenko Elena , Islamaj Dogan Rezarta , Wilbur W John , O'Leary Dianne P , Przytycka Teresa M 
Published: August 2007

Abstract

Background
One approach for speeding-up protein structure comparison is the projection approach, where a protein structure is mapped to a high-dimensional vector and structural similarity is approximated by distance between the corresponding vectors. Structural footprinting methods are projection methods that employ the same general technique to produce the mapping: first select a representative set of structural fragments as models and then map a protein structure to a vector in which each dimension corresponds to a particular model and "counts" the number of times the model appears in the structure. The main difference between any two structural footprinting methods is in the set of models they use; in fact a large number of methods can be generated by varying the type of structural fragments used and the amount of detail in their representation. How do these choices affect the ability of the method to detect various types of structural similarity?

Results
To answer this question we benchmarked three structural footprinting methods that vary significantly in their selection of models against the CATH database. In the first set of experiments we compared the methods' ability to detect structural similarity characteristic of evolutionarily related structures, i.e., structures within the same CATH superfamily. In the second set of experiments we tested the methods' agreement with the boundaries imposed by classification groups at the Class, Architecture, and Fold levels of the CATH hierarchy.

Conclusion
In both experiments we found that the method which uses secondary structure information has the best performance on average, but no one method performs consistently the best across all groups at a given classification level. We also found that combining the methods' outputs significantly improves the performance. Moreover, our new techniques to measure and visualize the methods' agreement with the CATH hierarchy, including the threshholded affinity graph, are useful beyond this work. In particular, they can be used to expose a similar composition of different classification groups in terms of structural fragments used by the method and thus provide an alternative demonstration of the continuous nature of the protein structure universe.